Little Tokyo on the Rhine

I live in the city of Cologne. But I happily make the half-hour journey north to Düsseldorf for one very good reason: Japanese food.
You wouldn’t think that this mid-sized German city could be home to great Japanese fare that is even better than lots of what I’ve had in my hometown of San Francisco. But it is. The reason why? Düsseldorf hosts Europe’s third largest Japanese expatriate population, with London first and Paris coming in a close second.

How did this happen? After World War II, the Japanese were interested in possibilities of working with German industrial companies. The location on the Rhine River was ideal for transportation routes. Today, all sorts of Japanese industries have settled in Düsseldorf, including those in the Japanese banking, insurance, and shipping areas. Additionally, service companies have cropped up to serve those business people and their families. Therefore there are a large variety of Japanese restaurants and shops in an area known as Little Tokyo on the Rhine.

The Japanese district is densely packed in and around Immermann Street. It is home to several grocery stores, gift shops, books stores, clothing stores, a Nikko Hotel and restaurants. On any Saturday morning the streets are filled with Japanese families doing their weekly shopping.
I prefer one of the larger grocery stores because of their premium choice of Japanese delicacies. Unfortunately, since I am probably one of the only „Japanese“ who can’t read the labels, the store owners haven’t gotten around to changing the labels to English. And with food terms, my German is sometimes a bit lacking. So I try to identify the pictures on the labels and hope when I get home and open up the can or package, I am chewing on something I recognize. This has not always been the case.

As it turns out, there are several different types of Nori for wrapping rice in, which I had never even heard of before. Some have not been so very tasty. But not to be daunted, I continue on a trial-and-error basis to try my luck. This particular store also has a very inviting selection of fresh slabs of sushi and pre-cooked teriyaki chicken. They even have fresh ika and tako, which are really my favorites.

The only big problem for me is standing at the counter trying to order something. When it’s my turn, I am asked something in Japanese, no doubt along the lines of „What can I help you with?“. But being unsure, I first say in German that I am very sorry - but I don’t speak Japanese. This is always greeted with an astonished reaction, which must be akin to „You sure look Japanese, are you mentally deficient or pretending not to understand us?“. In any case, with lots of finger-pointing, because some of the clerks don’t speak German, I manage to get my order in.

The next trial comes at the check out counter, where I am told the price in Japanese. Not wanting to give myself away, I quickly and sneakily peek at the cash register where I hope the total is big enough to read. Mostly it is, and I can pay without letting on that I haven’t understood a word. The only embarrassing moment is when the clerk says thank you and goodbye (no doubt) as I’m leaving the store and I can’t respond, but pretend I haven’t heard and rush out.

After all that shopping, I am usually famished and run over to my favorite restaurant, Na Ni Wa. This is a „moderately“ priced Japanese restaurant, specializing in noodles. By moderately priced, I mean a bowl of Udon costs about 13 dollars. And tea isn’t free. Still, In Germany that is cheap for a Japanese meal. This restaurant is so popular, that is it rare when a line hasn’t formed outside the door. Sometimes it meanders around the corner and halfway down the block, it’s so long. But the wait is worth it, and you know it’s a great place by the many Japanese who are also waiting in line.

Oh, now I’ve rambled on so much about Little Tokyo, that I forgot to mention the EKO House of Japanese Culture, across the Rhine in the suburb of Niederkassel. It has a real Japanese Buddhist temple, a serene Japanese garden and an original teahouse, But on the other hand, I have to tempt you with something for a future article, so I’ll stop here with the memory of sweet-smelling udon urging me to soon take us on another trip to Düsseldorf.