Explore Japanese culture in São Paulo

Red lanterns let you know you’ve arrived in São Paulo’s Little Japan, one of the most popular neighborhoods in the city for shopping and snacking on Asian cuisine. Liberdade's evolution from Japanese enclave to pan-Asian hub offers a new dimension to Brazil's cultural tapestry, and highlights the history of the largest Japanese community outside of Japan.

About 60,000 people live in this cluster of blocks south of Praça de Sé, and more than 600,000 Japanese Brazilians live in the São Paolo metropolis, but the wider Japanese community expands across the country, with more than two million Japanese descendants living throughout Brazil.

A catholic church on a street — Igreja Santa Cruz da Alma dos Enforcados was built in 1887 on top of the old cross that paid homage to Chaguinha, an old freeman that was hanged at the same place.

Left, a garden with a pond; right, a bronze statue of a woman — Left: A pond with koi fishes at the Japanese Garden at Rua Galvão Bueno. Right: Deolinda Madre, also known as Madrinha Eunice, was a "sambista" and founder of Lavapés samba school.

Discover the history of the city’s Brazilian-Japanese community at the Museu Histórico da Imigração Japonesa, and don’t neglect to uncover its Afro-Brazilian origins and a memorial to a difficult past at the Chapel of the Afflicted. Offering new perspectives on Brazilian heritage and history, Liberdade is one of the best neighborhoods for finding color and excitement in the often gritty urban center.

Left, an overhead shot of Japanese food on a table; right, two people eating Malaysian food at outdoor seating — Left: New Mimatsu's most ordered dishes: tempura, sukiyaki domburi and misoshiru. Right: Eating outside at Laomazi.

Start your gastronomic journey at the weekends-only Feira da Liberdade, a street food fair with Japanese and Brazilian favorites, and save room for a full Japanese meal like the omurice (omelette-covered rice) at New Mimatsu, the delicious ramen at Lamen Kazu or the Malaysian food at Laomazi.

A Buddhist temple and garden — Lohan Temple's patio and garden with three Buddhist deities.

Left, people lined up outside of a store with Anime graffiti on the facade; right, a vendor selling anime collectibles — Left: Anime graffiti in the streets of Liberdade. Right: "Ambulantes" selling Anime collectibles and other toys.

The red lamp posts will lead you through the neighborhood as you explore built-in spaces for tranquility like the Oriental Garden or the private collection of Lohan Temple, a martial arts and religious center. In this neighborhood, let your nerd flag fly and join the crowds of families and teenagers posing in front of anime-inspired street art and perusing shopping malls for memorabilia from every corner of pop culture and anime fandom imaginable.

Japanese sweets and pastries on a shelf inside a Japanese supermarket — Okinawa moti and other Japanese sweets and pastries inside a Japanese supermarket.

For fans of grocery store stops when traveling, Liberdade has some of the best grocery stores in São Paulo. Aisles are full of imported snacks and rare combos of classic Brazilian ingredients, Japanese sweets and salty snacks.

All photos are by Manuela Lourenço for Lonely Planet.