Shin-Okubo Station
In the heart of Koreatown
The small Shin-Okubo station, much less known than its nearby big sister Shinjuku, hosts the famous Korean district of Tokyo.
Shin-Okubo Station
Shin-Okubo station is located between Shinjuku station and Takadanobaba station on the famous Yamanote line, a circular line serving the major areas of Tokyo. If Shinjuku can be perceived as the heart of Tokyo, and Takadanobaba as a quiet student district, Shin-Okubo embodies the Korean district. This is a fairly rare concept in Japan and Tokyo: ethnic neighborhoods are uncommon, so this " Korea town " is an exception in a very "Japanese" capital.
The station was inaugurated on November 15, 1914, and today welcomes more than 45,000 visitors a day. The station has only one exit, leading directly onto Shin-Okubo Street: it is, therefore, impossible to go wrong.
Only two platforms (number 1, direction Ikebukuro and Ueno, and number 2, direction Shinjuku and Shibuya ) are installed in this small station where you won't risk getting lost. It is one of the only two Yamanote stations, with Mejiro, not to offer a direct connection with another line. However, the Chuo line, as well as the Chuo-Sobu line, are easily accessible via a station called "Okubo", which is on the same artery 300 meters away.
The Shin-Okubo district is ideally located on the Yamanote and can even be reached directly on foot from Shinjuku. The Kabukicho red-light district is only 1 km away.
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The riches of Koreatown
On leaving the station, just go immediately to the right, passing under the tracks of the Yamanote. You will thus arrive directly on the main street, Shin-Okubo Dori, which serves the district. Restaurants, arcades, cosmetics stores, and K-pop shops abound. The district began to develop in the 80s, with the arrival of Korean emigrants, and the opening of Korean grocery stores.
The main street has a unique charm, with its colorful store signs written in Korean and its European-style green streetlights.
The main street of Shin-Okubo
Jenna in Japan
Impossible to go to Okubo and avoid the K-pop phenomenon, Korean pop.
DR
As you stroll the crowded sidewalks, you'll hear streams of K-pop and smell the tantalizing whiffs of street food stalls. Indeed, it is the ideal district to "travel" outside the Japanese archipelago for a few hours and discover a little piece of South Korea.
After a game in one of the many game centers or pachinko, don't miss discovering the shops that abound in the district: fans will find what they are looking for in everything related to Korean pop and its boy bands. Both big and small Korean cosmetics and makeup brands are sold in small boutiques offering everything from fake nails to seaweed shampoo. In particular, you will find the famous fabric masks (soaked in lotion and put on the face) that Japanese and Korean women love.
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Korean gastronomy is well represented in Shin-Okubo: on the various stands in the street, you can taste for a few hundred yen hotteoks (Korean pancakes filled with honey, cinnamon, or even cheese), hatogus ( sausage skewers and fried cheese), or enjoy a bubble tea, a drink made from tea and milk containing tasty tapioca balls.
After shopping, the area is full of bars and restaurants at a lower cost to spend a good evening. This is an opportunity to discover emblematic dishes such as kimchi, bibimbap, but also Korean barbecue, and bulgogi. Many restaurants offer you to grill slices of marinated meat (pork or beef) yourself on a central grill. Attention foodies!
A neighborhood street-food stand
Flickr Yosomono
Korean barbecue, kimbap, bulgogi or even bibimbap, all the wonders that Korean cuisine offers can be found in Shin-Okubo (Tokyo).
DR
Discover the Yamanote, Tokyo's iconic subway line:
- Tokyo Station
- Nippori Station
- Uguisudani station
- Ueno Station
- Akihabara Station
- Kanda Station
- Shimbashi Station
- Hamamatsucho Station
- Tamachi Station
- Ebisu Station
- Harajuku Station
- Shinjuku Station
- Takadanobaba station
- Ikebukuro Station
- Otsuka Station
- Komagome Station
- Tabata station
Address, timetable & access
Address
Timetable
JR East: via the Yamanote line
