Known as Japan's largest Koreatown, with Thai, Burmese and Indian restaurants too
Shin-Okubo is often called Japan's largest Koreatown, but step into its streets and you'll find restaurants and variety shops from China, Thailand, Myanmar, India and other parts of Asia. This area is actually two towns, Hyakunincho and Okubo, which together make up what's called Shin-Okubo. The station follows this theme too: on the 3rd and 4th floors of the Shin-Okubo Station building, a "food"-themed exchange hub opened in 2021. The hub is called "Kimchi, Durian, Cardamom,,,", three ingredients strung together.
Shin-Okubo Station is on the Yamanote Line; Okubo Station, also located in Hyakunincho 1-chome, is served by Chuo-Sobu Line local trains. Shin-Okubo Station sees about 49,000 boardings a day, nearly double Okubo Station's roughly 26,000. For daily shopping this neighborhood ranks 30th among Tokyo's 193 neighborhoods, and for public transit 40th, putting both shopping and transit near the top tier. The neighborhood also has Toyama Park, the Shinjuku Sports Center and other sports facilities, as well as Waseda University's Nishi-Waseda campus, Kaijo Junior and Senior High School, and several vocational schools, making it an education-focused area.
Looking at our street photos, the two weakest scores in this neighborhood both show up at street level: cleanliness ranks 148th among the 193 neighborhoods, and architecture ranks 172nd, the lowest of the 7 sub-items.
Kaichu Inari Shrine, about 100 metres west of Shin-Okubo Station, was founded in 1533. According to legend, the Inari deity appeared in a dream to a yoriki (deputy officer) of a teppo-gumi (musket corps) and taught him marksmanship, so the shrine was named "Kaichu," meaning hitting every shot. By the Edo period, the residence of the Iga-gumi Hyakunin Teppo Unit (the Hundred-Man Musket Corps) was set up here, and that is how the name Hyakunincho came about; the shrine's annual festival still features a procession of the Hundred-Man Musket Corps today. The Hyakunin-gumi also grew azaleas as a side business, and in 1883 volunteers in the town planted 70 varieties totaling 10,000 plants. After Hibiya Park opened in 1903, most of the azaleas were sold off to it, and the area gradually turned into a residential district. The railway arrived around this same period: Okubo Station opened in 1895, and Shin-Okubo Station opened in 1914. After the war, people demobilized from the battlefield opened instrument repair shops near Shin-Okubo Station, which led to a growing number of instrument stores; Hyakunincho was once known as the "Town of Musical Instruments".
Compared with the 193 Tokyo neighborhoods in this guide (scores 0–10)
Hospitals with inpatient beds (2020 data), public elementary and junior high schools whose catchment covers this area, high schools and universities within 1 km, stations, and parks of 1 ha or more. Many Tokyo junior high students attend private schools, so junior high catchments are only a guide.
123 blocks · Curated boundary · Data version 2026-10-12
Compared against the Tokyo neighborhoods in this guide; metrics without enough data are not ranked. Shopping counts convenience stores plus the nearer of a supermarket or a traditional market (public and private retail markets); night markets, vendor zones and shopping-street shops are not counted. Transit is rail-first with a lower weight for buses.
TidyMap rates the street environment and everyday convenience. It does not assess the home itself, safety, noise or actual living experience. About data limits
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How to read it: yellow = poor, blue = good; grey = not enough data
TidyMap rates the street environment and everyday convenience. It does not assess the home itself, safety, noise or actual living experience. Street environment scores use AI assessments of imagery; convenience scores use public facility data.
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