Indian businesses and services in Tokyo, Japan

Nishi-Kasai, in Edogawa ward on Tokyo's eastern side, became the city's best-known Indian neighbourhood around the turn of the millennium, when Indian IT engineers arriving to work on large software projects settled near its station on the Tozai Line, which runs straight into Otemachi and Nihonbashi. It is a quiet residential area rather than a commercial strip, but it has Indian grocery stores and restaurants, and Indian international schools and community gatherings are close by.

Elsewhere, Tokyo's South Asian life is spread out. Nepali residents are now the largest South Asian group in Japan, and many of the curry restaurants found in almost every neighbourhood are run by Nepali families. Around Shin-Okubo, alongside the Korean shops, there are halal and South Asian groceries serving Nepali, Bangladeshi and Pakistani residents, and the Ameyoko market between Ueno and Okachimachi stations has long sold imported foods. Yokohama, where an Indian international school has a campus, has an Indian community of its own.

Diwali is celebrated by community associations, often in rented halls, and Namaste India, an Indian festival in Yoyogi Park, has drawn crowds for food and performances. Hindu temples and gurdwaras are few, so it is worth asking community groups or grocers where services are held. Tokyo's rail network makes all of these areas easy to reach, and weekends are the liveliest time to visit.