Man made disasters, such as global warming, are one thing, but Japan also has more than its fair share of natural disasters. The March 2011 Tohoku Earthquake (3.11) was the strongest in Japan's recorded history and the 4th biggest worldwide. Tokyo itself is way overdue: the Great Kanto Earthquake was in 1923 and the chances of a big one hitting the capital in the next 30 years is said to be in the region of 80% with an estimated death toll of 300,000. One comic book has recently gone viral because it predicts the actual date of the next big one. In the 1999 manga, The Future I Saw (Watashi ga Mita Mirai), Ryo Tatsuki, gives July 5th as the date of the next mega quake. The fact that Tatsuki also correctly predicted the March 2011 disaster has caused a slew of cancellations, especially from Asian tourists. Completely coincidentally, my trip to the UK is booked for July 4th...
South Korean tourists are the 2nd largest group of foreign tourists in Japan and many do seem to be asking whether it is safe to travel (here). Japan has a complicated history with Korea, particularly following Japan's annexation of the country in 1910 and the ensuing period of colonial control. Even since the normalisation of diplomatic ties in 1965 - this year is the 60th anniversary - relations have been rocky, though in recent years feelings of affiniity between the two countries have definitely grown. In contrast to the population of Korean oldcomers - those who came or were forcibly brought to Japan in the pre-war period and were either unable to or chose not to go back after the end of the war - newcomer Koreans started to increase in the 1980s, with many, especially exchange students, settling in Shin-Okubo, Tokyo's Korean Town, just one train stop from Shinjuku. The South Korean drama boom starting in 2004 spurred interest in Shin-Okubo, and the second, third, and fourth waves (han'ryū=韓流), centering on K-pop and Korean film and Netflix dramas, only heightened interest in Korean pop culture and the popularity of "Little Seoul."
Today, Shin-Okubo is a remarkably vibrant place, a hub for South Korean culture, full of Korean street food, restaurants, (super)markets, convenience stores, cafes, bars/clubs, stores with K-pop merchandise, and Korean make-up and fashion shops - not to mention street performers. Just turn right when you exit the station but be prepared for a mass of humanity as you crawl along the street - it gets really crowded, especially at weekends. But those who associate Shin-Okubo with only Korean culture may be surprised to learn that the area also has large South-East and South Asian populations. In particular, the Nepalese community has been growing rapidly in recent years, so much so that the area is also sometimes referred to as "Little Nepal" (together with the area north of Asagaya). I visited the Nepalese restaurant Rato Mato which blew me away both with the quality of the food and the prices. So, which would you choose - Korean, Nepalese, or something else? Let us know in the COMMENTS!
