Kobe’s Chinatown is one of the few main places I’ve been looking forward to seeing since making plans to visit this city. I’ve been longing for some real Chinese food since coming to Japan… actually no. I’ve been longing for some real Chinese food since moving to Oregon a little over ten years ago. So maybe… just maybe… Kobe’s Chinatown can help satisfy my glutton desire. On the other end, I just want to see what the Japanese’s take on China and Chinese stuff is like. That in itself is worth coming here to find out.

Strings of lanterns throughout the streets.

Chinese zodiac stone sculptures.

“Oriental” phone booth.

Pork bun 豚まん mascot.

 

Haha… I didn’t know what to expect out of this place but I was sure amused by this “town”. As a Chinese myself, I couldn’t help but get a good chuckle out of the “oriental” style decors and all that is stereotypical “Chinese”. The dragons, the exaggerated gold and red color scheme, the “chinese food”… This place actually might be more “Chinese” than China itself XD.

Walking from one gate to the other, you can walk and gander through everything in this “town” in about 10-15 minutes. The layout is like a squiggly + sign with a coordinating gate at each end (North, South, East, West).

Lots of open food shops. Actually… I’d say over 95% of the shops are food shops. and they all sell the same things at the same price. Dumplings, ramen, man (bao), dim sum, and various fried stuff on skewers. Some have pork burgers, while others have pork legs. But by and large, everything is the same. Makes the place seem to be just one giant food stand divided along the streets. I think all the shop workers were Chinese, judging from their accent and looks (I would know…). While they were friendly, they still have that “buy my stuff or go away” vibe that I’m all too familiar with.

Panda loves Coke.

Wong Low Kat! Seeing this made me feel more in Chinatown than anything else around xD

Some of the food I picked up. Panda man (red bean filling), fried squid ball, Peking duck wrap, fried chicken, and chashu bao. Nothing to rave about. Need to come back here to try their butaman 豚まん (pork bao) as I heard good things about them but the line was just too long. There’s really nothing to do here except to eat and get to see a Japanified Chinatown. Don’t bother coming here to look for real Chinese food though. If you’re from another Asian country, or been to the Chinatowns in San Franciso and New York, you’ll probably be disappointed here ^^;. Still worth taking a stroll through if only just for the fun of it.