【4K】Japan Walk – Tokyo ,Shinjuku city新宿区, Shin-Ōkubo (新大久保),December 2020,#Japan #Tokyo #Shin-Ōkubo
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Shin Okubo: Korean Town in Tokyo
If you are into Korean culture, there is a perfect destination for you in central Tokyo where you can to find all you need! Tokyo’s Korean Town, Shin Okubo has everything related to South Korea. There are countless Korean shops and products in this neighbourhood including Korean beauty, K-pop, Korean food and grocery.
As South Korean pop culture has become a huge trend worldwide (especially Korean idols and beauty products), now Shin Okubo is becoming one of the hottest spots in Tokyo among young generation. Apparently, Shin Okubo is now a new favourite spot to hang out among teenagers after beating Shibuya and Harajuku.
Even though is you are not into Korean idols nor spicy Korean food, Shin Okubo is really interesting place to visit. And also it’s surprisingly easy to access. I have recently visited Shin Okubo Korean Town for the first time, and would like to share my list of best things to do in Shin Okubo and why you should visit there!
Korean Food
Have you tried Korean food before?? Korean cuisine is one of the most popular foreign cuisines in Japan. It’s spicy, healthy and tasty, and especially attracts young girls. There are hundreds of Korean restaurants in Shin Okubo area offering delicious, affordable and authentic Korean food.
Korean cuisine is especially recommended if you like spicy food as they use a lot of chilies for cooking, but many restaurants in Shin Okubo offers non-spicy dishes even for kids. If you tried enough Japanese food and want to try something different, how about dining at one of Koran restaurants in Shin Okubo??
There are numbers of significant Korean food you should definitely try.
Cheese Dak Galbi is the most talked about food among Tokyoite for the past year. It’s spicy stir fried chicken and vegetables served with a lot of cheese. Korean BBQ is the top choice for meat lovers. (Did you know Yakiniku (Japanese BBQ) is originally imported from Korea??) Fried Chicken is also a trending Korean dish which comes with spicy red sauce. Hot pot dishes like Samgyetang (chicken soup) and Yukgaejang (spicy beef soup) are perfect for cold weather.
I have recently dined at the restaurant called Delica Ondoru. The popular Korean restaurant has two stores in Shin Okubo area. They serve Koran style BBQ and a huge variety of Korean home style dishes including these dishes I mentioned above. My personal recommendation is Bibimbap served in a sizzling hot stone bowl 🙂 They offer great deals for lunch time.
More Korean restaurants in Shin Okubo:
Korean Beauty Shops
Korean girls’ obsession with beauty is endless, and the beauty industry in South Korea is really huge. Korean beauty (K-Beauty) products have become favourites of cosmetic users worldwide, and Korean beauty YouTubers are buzzing on the internet lately. “Ulzzang Makeup” is a huge trend among young girls who wish to look like beautiful South Korean girls (Ulzzang means “best face” or “good-looking” in Korean language).
In Japan, Korean beauty products including makeup and skin care are as common as Japanese products today, and you can shop them at many stores and online easily. However, the variety and amount of the K-beauty products are optimum in Shin Okubo. There are cosmetics shops in every corner of the street selling Korean beauty products including the latest items. There are also large cosmetics department stores in Shin Okubo such as SKIN GAREN, SKIN HOLIC and MYONDONG COSME. Also some of popular Korean beauty brands have their own stores such as NATURE REPUBLIC, It’s SKIN and TONY MOLY.
A good indicator that a culinary trend has reached its end is when convenience stores start trying to replicate it. Let’s welcome the Korean-style cheese dog to its final weeks of relevance.
The corndog has been a mainstay in the Shin-Okubo neighborhood of Tokyo in recent years, but since last week Lawson has been selling its own version as part of the “Nice Cheese Grand Prix” campaign. The snack (¥248 after tax) is a pretty faithful representation of the Hallyu-powered original, with gooey cheese studded with potato chunks encasing a sausage.
While this marks the end of the food’s cool factor, Lawson’s version tastes pretty good. The original offerings in Shin-Okubo weren’t palate paradigm shifters, and the convenience-store interpretation gets the most important element — the melted cheese — right, while the potato on the outside offers a nice textural contrast. Best part? No need to stand in line to try this out.
AloJapan.com