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4 Unique Shops in Shin-Okubo - Tokyo's Korea Town!

Last updated: 12 May 2020

Tokyo's Korea Town, just north of Shinjuku in Shin-Okubo, has become a well-established community of immigrants and ethnic Koreans. Signs with Hangul (Korean) characters are perhaps more common than ones in Kanji here, giving the neighborhood a solid visual identity and international vibe.

Styles of people lining in front of the wide range of shops and restaurants in the vicinity, reflect the cultural fusion as well. From Korean restaurants and yakiniku barbecues to cosmetic stores, supermarkets and kimchi specialty stores, travelers can enjoy a sense of authentic Korean culture without leaving Tokyo. Here we introduce 4 interesting shops in the area!

In this cafe - where you can drink Korean traditional tea - Korean language lessons are also offered. These lessons are very popular because you can learn while drinking tea. You can relax in the cafe as if you were invited to its owner's home, which is why the returning customers say they could truly enjoy a relaxing time at this cafe.

Kanryu Sabou offers a variety of different teas, some boasting body and beauty-friendly benefits, such as Sujeonggwa, adlay tea, Polygonatum odoratum tea and yuzu tea.

Food is one of the common languages we all speak, and supermarkets are a fantastic forum to discover new words.

With over 2,000 Korean food products like meat, vegetables, rice, cold noodles, kimchi, Korean seaweed, marine products and so on its spacious sales floor, Kankokuhiroba is a sure bet.

Most of the ingredients are directly imported from South Korea, so you can happily enjoy the actual local taste of Korea in Japan. They also stock many tableware items and daily necessities so it goes without saying for Korean people living in Japan, but if you enjoy cooking or trying new kinds of foods, you'll love wandering among the aisles.

Japan and Korea both offer a range of world-renowned beauty products, and The Beauty Shop is where you can access the latest. The pink accentuated shop interior gives a cute and clean atmosphere. Items that are currently popular and trendy in Korea are a sensation among Japanese people, who are sensitive to beauty, and also among overseas customers.

In addition to Japanese staff members, there are also Korean staff members who provide kind and polite service. Current hot-selling skin care products such as CC cream for correcting your skin color and nasolabial fold cream, plus the variety of skin care masks, are something you'll want to check out.

Just 5 minutes on foot from JR Shinokubo station is Delicaondoru, a restaurant serving Korean home-cooked meals and charcoal barbecued meat. Its versatile menu with more than 160 items is alluring. You will also be delighted with the six side dishes which come with each dish. Samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly meat) and Gochujang (Korean red chili paste) samgyeopsal are particularly popular. The cheap but tasty well-received lunches are worth standing in line for.