A Guide to Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown: Enjoy Local Specialties as You Walk!

What is the Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown?

Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown is one of Japan\'s three main Chinatowns in the country alongside Yokohama and Kobe. The lively streets that are decorated in primary colors are filled with Chinese restaurants as well as other stores that sell Chinese artifacts and confectionery.
Each of the exits - north, south, east, and west, have a vermilion-lacquered Chinese-styled gate. Each of these gates is decorated with a god from Chinese legend on top. The east gate has a blue dragon, the west a white tiger, the south a vermilion bird, while the north has a black turtle. You may enjoy a fantastic ambiance in this area during the Mid-Autumn Festival where they have yellow garden lanterns that adorn the streets, while in the winter festival, they have red lanterns lined up.

Enjoy the Gourmet While Walking!

Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown has restaurants that serve authentic dishes, as well as other stores where you may take out the food and walk around as you eat. Below are two examples of those types of food!

Kakuni Manju (Pork Belly Buns)

Kakuni Manju, or pork belly buns, which have a soft texture that just melt in your mouth. This dish is made out of braised pork that has been simmered in soy sauce, rice wine and sugar and then removed of any excess fat. The pork is then placed inside a fluffy manju or skin of the bun. Braised pork is a Chinese-style food that is the main dish in Shippoku Ryori, which is a traditional Nagasaki cuisine, where people surround a table where one dish is divided into several plates. Pork belly buns are created in such a way to enjoy this dish easier.

Price Range: Around 400 JPY for 1 Piece

Goma Dango (Sesame Balls)

"Goma Dango" or Sesame Balls are a sweet Chinese food. This is a fried food which is rounded up to about 3cm in diameter with sesame seeds sprinkled on top. The base is made out of sugar and rice flour that has been kneaded while the filling is red, sweet beans that have sesame oil added to them. It would a good idea to enjoy this treat while it is still hot, as the fragrant sesame seeds and the sweet bean paste complement each other really well!

Price Range: About 100 to 160 JPY for 1 Piece

Must Try Nagasaki Specialties

Aside from the traditional Chinese cuisine, you would also want to try the unique specialties of Nagasaki, as well. The foods below are two examples of noodle-based dishes representative of Nagasaki.

Nagasaki Champon Noodles

Nagasaki Champon noodles are topped with a luxurious amount of vivid colored food. The extremely thick noodles called "Champon Dama" or "Champon Men" itself are made with wheat flour while the toppings are usually shrimp, squid, pork, carrots and cabbage that have been stir-fried with lard. The dish is then seasoned with salt and pepper while the soup has a pork-bone base. Among the many restaurants in Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown serving this dish, the number one place you should try out would be "Kouzanrou Nagasaki Chinatown Branch".

Price Example: Top Grade Champon Noodles, 1,500 JPY (excl. tax)

※ This image is for illustrative purposes only.

Nagasaki Sara Udon (Plate Noodles)

This is another famous noodle-based dish that is known as a Nagasaki specialty. The toppings included are kamaboko (boiled fish paste), bean sprouts, Chinese cabbage, pork, and other stir-fried food. They then add soup, season the dish with some salt, pepper and soy sauce. The next step would be to add diluted potato starch to make the dish thicker. Finally, thick soup is poured over the stir-fried noodles. Like the Champon noodles, there are many restaurants that serve this particular dish. Among them, the most popular would includes the Taiwanese restaurant "Lao Lee Group Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown Branch".

Price Range: 800 JPY (excl. tax)

※ This image is for illustrative purposes only.

These are some examples of food that you may find at Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown. Please give this place a visit when you come to Nagasaki during your trip!