The Chinatown in Nagasaki is one of the three major Chinatowns in Japan, along with the Yokohama and Kobe Chinatowns. Many visitors come to try local dishes such as "Champon" or "Sara-Udon". In this article, we will introduce the history and our recommendations for things to eat at Nagasaki Chinatown.
About Nagasaki Chinatown
Nagasaki Chinatown began as a single warehouse built in 1702 to store cargo brought into Japan from China through Dejima Island. The official name is Shinchi Chinatown. Over 40 restaurants, souvenir shops and sundry shops fill the roughly 250 square meter area, which is on reclaimed land.
There are 4 gates, at each of the north, south, east, and west sides of the Chinatown, which are a must-see. All of them are built with roof tiles imported from China, and are built according to Chinese feng shui, and arranged facing the 4 directions, with pinpoint accuracy. As with the Yokohama and Kobe Chinatowns, materials were imported from China's Fuzhou City, and the buildings were built by visiting craftsmen.
The Nagasaki Chinatown is one of the venues for the annual Lantern Festival held every February, where colorful lanterns and art are on display.
What to Eat in Nagasaki Chinatown
There are a number of restaurants and take-out shops, but we will recommend some of our favorites here.
Champon
About 100 years ago, the founder of a restaurant called Shikairo wanted to make something both healthy and affordable for the Chinese students that were there, studying abroad, so he took a south-eastern Chinese dish and added local Nagasaki ingredients in an original arrangement. Usual ingredients include onion, cabbage, bean sprouts, Jew's ear mushrooms, fish cakes, pork, squid and other seafood such as clams, with an average of about 10 different ingredients. The soup differs between shops, with options such as pork bone broth or chicken broth, for example.
Sara-Udon
Sara-Udon, or "plate noodles", began as a version of Champon. The difference is, that after the noodles have been pan-fried so they are crispy, the soup is added on top. There are 2 types: thin noodles (see photo), and thick noodles that have been fried just enough to brown. In the case of thin noodles, a sweet soup that has had starch added to it to make it stick to the noodles is poured on top of the noodles, and for the thick noodles, the noodles are mixed with the soup as they are pan fried, so the noodles soak up the soup and get a chewy texture.
Sesame Dumplings, Yori-yori, and Other Chinese Sweets
Freshly-steamed manju buns with a filling of tender, simmered pork loin called "Kaku-ni Manju", sesame dumplings with red bean paste filling and a coating of sesame seeds on the outside, firm and crunchy fried "yori-yori" sweets, "Hatoshi", which are made with shrimp paste sandwiched in white bread, then fried, and other types of take-out foods are widely available.
Access to Nagasaki Chinatown
From Nagasaki Station, it's about 4 minutes by taxi, or take the tram from the "Nagasaki-eki-mae" stop, headed towards Sufuku-ji Temple for about 8 minutes, and get off at the "Shinchi-Chukagai" stop.
Spot Information
- Spot name：Nagasaki Chinatown
- Address：Nagasaki-ken, Nagasaki-shi, Shinchi-machi
- Access：Take the tram from the "Nagasaki-eki-mae" stop, headed towards Sufuku-ji Temple for about 8 minutes, and get off at the "Shinchi-Chukagai" stop.
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