Living in Shin-Okubo

Tokyo's largest Koreatown. Korean groceries, Korean food and beauty services are all within walking distance, and Korean-speaking real estate agents and Japanese language schools are concentrated here, making it the neighborhood most often named as the first place to settle for international students, working holiday makers and single residents who arrive with weak Japanese. But that infrastructure is itself the commercial district, so on weekends it is crowded with tourists and the south side is mixed with entertainment and adult-oriented businesses, giving it a clear character of gaining convenience in exchange for giving up 'quiet living'.

It is Tokyo's largest Koreatown, served by the JR Yamanote and Sobu lines. Korean supermarkets, restaurants and hair salons are densely packed so you can manage life in Korean alone, and with many Korean residents it is regarded as the neighborhood with the lowest burden for initial settlement. It is good to know that on weekends the alleys are crowded with tourists and there is the noise typical of a lively district. It is two stops from Shinjuku on the Yamanote Line, so transport is convenient, and its Korean daily-life infrastructure is the best in the city, making it especially popular with international students and working holiday makers.