Photo: Nene Chicken

8 new Korean restaurants and shops in Shin-Okubo

From spicy fried chicken to a make-your-own cosmetics shop, these are must-see spots in Tokyo’s slice of South Korea

Friday 18 June 2021

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Better known as Koreatown, Shin-Okubo is a paradise for fans of Korean pop culture, cosmetics and cuisine. The neighbourhood is full of gourmet restaurants, Instagrammable cafés, K-drama themed cafés, and cosmetics stores with the latest products straight from South Korea.

Here are some new Shin-Okubo spots to grab a snack, do some shopping and make you feel like you’re in the heart of Seoul.

Note: these venues might close early depending on the current Covid-19 measures. Please check with the individual outlets for their latest business hours.

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Restaurants and bars

Jinsei Sakaba

Shin-Okubo

Photo: Jinsei Sakaba

Jinsei Sakaba's gorgeous wooden façade is reminiscent of the Changa bar from the K-drama 'Itaewon Class,' with its plethora of Korean-style windows with both hangul and Chinese characters printed on them.

The restaurant is well-known for its chijimi (Koraen savoury pancakes), which come in all kinds of flavours, including spicy kimchi cheese, chewy potato, and even seasonal oyster pancakes. If you prefer to stick to the basics, the restaurant also serves classics like jjigae and bibimbap, which pair well with the wide range of makgeolli (Korean rice wine) available.

Korean
Shin-Okubo

Photo: Nene Chicken

Nene Chicken is South Korea's largest fried chicken brand with about 1,300 stores worldwide and three of those are in Shin-Okubo. Here, you’ll find juicy fried chicken pieces in a variety of flavours, including the house’s classic plain fried chicken, Yangnyeom (a sweet, spicy and crispy batter), and fried chicken pieces topped with grated cheese. If you can't make up your mind, the Half & Half Chicken menu lets you pick two flavours on one plate.

There are also side dishes including sweet potato chips, gyoza dumplings, and cheese balls in a slightly sweet dough, which blends well with the melty cheese.

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Byorujan

Korean
Shin-Okubo

Photo: Byorujan

This Korean restaurant is popular both for the authenticity of its dishes and its photogenic interior featuring a huge chandelier to light up the main room and colourful neon lights on the walls.

The restaurant’s best selling lunch dish, kanjanseu, consists of prawns marinated in soy sauce, mixed with rice and assorted vegetables. Don’t worry about making a mess – the prawns are already cut, so you can just dig in. For something with an italian twist, Roger Pasta is a creamy dish made with tomato and gochujang (sweet red chili paste).

Shin-Okubo

Photo: Makkori Story

This Korean restaurant on Ikemen Street (that’s Hot Guy Street in Japanese), specialises in samgyeopsal (thick-sliced grilled pork belly). Recently, the restaurant made a splash on social media with its decadent Shrimp Roll Samgyeopsal, which consists of shrimp wrapped in pork belly, grilled in butter and eaten with cheese fondue.

The restaurant has an all-you-can-eat samgyeopsal lunch deal for 90-minutes (¥1,500 per person). There is also plenty of Korean alcohol including makgeolli and soju.

Macapresso

Cafés
Shin-Okubo

Photo: Macapresso

The tunkaron – meaning ‘fat macaron’ – has really taken off in South Korea. Bigger than the typical dainty French ones, these macarons are stuffed with cream and beautifully garnished. The best place to try them in Tokyo is Macapresso.

Every season, the café offers new tunkaron flavours, such as Oreo; milk, which uses homemade milk jam; and grape cream cheese – the fresh grapes really pop in your mouth.

But the Jogeron, a shell-shaped macaron ornamented with edible pearls and other sweet decorations, is the most popular of all. It comes in two flavours: chocolate banana and strawberry. If you’re looking for a highly Instagrammable sweet treat, Macapresso won’t let you down.

Shin-Okubo

Photo: cafe ON

This K-pop-obsessed spot in Shin-Okubo has played host to several Korean stars, so keep your eyes peeled when you visit. Inside the café, there’s a large screen playing K-pop videos and K-dramas. On the walls, you’ll see show costumes and celebrity autographs. You can request your favourite K-pop song to be played, and you can buy mugs, posters, and stickers at the counter.

Café On is popular for its original drinks and dishes, too. Come hungry and get the Moppan: three flavours of fried chicken (plain, garlic and spicy), cheese with stir-fried rice cakes, cheese balls, and a cheese pork cutlet all on one plate.

There are adorable desserts such as bingsu (fluffy shaved milk ice) topped with a bear-shaped scoop of vanilla ice cream, and croffles (croissant waffles) served with ice cream. Wash it all down with one of the original drinks, including milkshakes with sweetened puffed wheat, tapioca with Korean honeycomb toffee, and iced café au lait with a gummy bear chilling on the edge of the cup.

Shops

Eena

Shopping
Cosmetics
Shin-Okubo

Photo: Eena

It’s hard to not notice this Korean cosmetics shop with its vivid yellow-and-black façade. The biggest highlight? The shop claims it’s the only place in the world where you can make your very own cosmetics tailored to your skin. The store features a special booth where you can pick three ingredients, all of which are natural and free of chemical additives. A skilled staff member will help you combine it all into a product you can take home.

Aside from DIY, Eena has a large selection of Korean cosmetics for both men and women. The store also features a YouTube recording studio and a social media shooting booth where you can show off your best BTS pose.

Shopping
Higashi-Shinjuku

Photo: Yes Mart

If you’d rather whip up your own Koraen feast at home, Yes Mart is the place to go. This supermarket, which opened in September 2020, has a myriad of Korean ingredients, vegetables, and condiments at low prices, such as sanchu (Korean lettuce), Korean dried seaweed, gochujang (sweet red chili paste) and more. Plus, there are popular instant noodle brands like Samyang and Noguri and a large selection of imported alcohol.