It’s often with a twinge of dread that the traveller in me hears about about cultural enclaves in whatever city in the world.  How such and such a street is home to the largest population of 'insert nationality here' outside of 'insert country here'.  These places seldom reflect the feverish praise passed between wide-eyed backpackers and guide books that are at pains to put flip flops on the ground.  A good example might be the Liberdade neighborhood of Brazil’s Sao Paulo.  The highest concentration of Japanese people outside of Japan lives in this part of the city. Superlatives like this might have you believe you’re heading to a Latin-America Shinjuku.  What you get though is Brazil, but with a few more Japanese restaurants.  It’s with a sense of trepidation then that this expat approached the eastern Tokyo neighbourhood of Nishi Kasai (西葛西), by many accounts, Tokyo’s ‘Little India’.  

The adjective-noun coupling ‘little’ and ‘India’, might evoke images of packed out Paharganj, however Nishi Kasai is anything but.  The numbers don’t lie though; around 10% of Indians residing in Japan do so here, making theirs the largest Indian community in the country.  

Building ‘community’ takes time, and Nishi Kasai’s Little India has been evolving for some thirty years, thanks in part to the efforts of community leader Jagmohan Chandrani, who arrived in the area during the early 80s. Educational institutes often form the backbone of community, especially in suburban Japan, and with Chandri’s help, Nishi Kasai can boast of two ‘Indian’ primary schools, with students numbers upwards of 800 between the two.

Upon arrival in Nishi Kasai, these achievements and this community might not be immediately visible, especially when you consider India the country as being delightfully ignorant of personal space.  In fact, in place of India’s charming chaos, Nishi Kasai gives off an air of convenience. This is ‘bed town’ territory, with good links to Tokyo’s offices.  

Read the full article at www.city-cost.com