Just outside Tsuhurashi station are the kimchi scented streets of Korea Town, which is also known as Little Seoul. Lining Tsuruhashi’s main street are shops selling the A-Z’s of Korean goods, ranging from fresh fruit and food dishes to Korean skin care products. You’re spoiled for choice when it comes to freshly made Korean street food, with buckets of kimchi and different vegetable dishes up for sale, as well containers of japchae, seafood pancakes, and traditional Korean desserts. Of course Korea Town has much more to offer in terms of how deep its cultural roots run. There are also guesthouses in and around the main street, book stores with English-language exchanges, Korean wedding shops, and cafes.
There’s a strong sense of Korean heritage in Tsuruhashi, hailing from the area’s concentration of generations of Korean-Japanese. My walk down the street was accented with overhead speakers ringing with ballads sung by your favourite Korean popstars, and shop owners greeting one another with a cheerful, “Annyeonghaseyo!”.
