5,100 Indians, or twelve percent of the entire Indian population in Japan, live in the vicinity of Nishi-Kasai station on Tokyo's Tozai subway line. Although Japan had the largest Indian communities in the trading ports of Kobe and Yokohama before the Second World War, the number of Indians living in Tokyo's Nishi-Kasai district began to increase around 1998. This was due to the large number of Indian IT technicians coming to Japan to deal with the Year 2000 Computer Problem. Their main workplaces were the headquarters of banks, securities companies and other financial institutions located in Kayabacho and Otemachi along the Tozai subway line, so Nishi-Kasai was chosen because it is only a 15-minute subway ride away with no transfer. Nishi-Kasai also had excellent access to the Indian Embassy and the airports in Tokyo. In addition to this geographical convenience, Nishi-Kasai station was built in 1979 and was a rather new station in Tokyo, making it a comfortable place for the Indians to live, as there were few long-time residents and the rents were inexpensive. Interestingly, the resemblance of the Arakawa (in the first photo), running through the western part of this district, to a tributary of the Ganges, flowing through Calcutta, seems to have been one of the reasons why the Indians, especially those from Calcutta, preferred this area. In this largest Indian community, there are many Indian restaurants ( in the second photo), Indian food stores, etc., and the exchanges with local Japanese people are frequently hosted by them.
Licensed tour guide, travel consultant.
Masahisa Takaki.
全国通訳案内士 高木聖久。
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