Tsuruhashi Korean Town

Tsuruhashi is Japan's largest and most vibrant Koreatown, centered around JR Tsuruhashi Station in Osaka's Ikuno Ward. Step off the train and the smell of grilling meat pulls you immediately into a maze of narrow alleyways crammed with hundreds of small restaurants and shops. The yakiniku restaurants here offer remarkable quality at prices that surprise visitors accustomed to Tokyo or tourist-area rates. Many establishments have been run by the same families since the postwar Korean community established this neighborhood, and that generational continuity shows in both the cooking and the warm, no-frills atmosphere. Market stalls sell every variety of kimchi imaginable, along with Korean cosmetics, traditional clothing, and imported groceries that are hard to find elsewhere in Japan. South along Miyuki-dori, the character shifts to a more contemporary Korean culture scene, with trendy cafes, K-pop merchandise shops, and younger crowds drawn by the wave of Korean popular culture.