KOBE -- The port city of Kobe, with the largest concentration of Americans and Europeans in the Kansai region, a few of whom have lived in Japan since the Taisho Era (1912-1926), has long been known as one of Japan's most Westernized cities.
But what is little known is that it is also home to a large, perhaps the largest, population of Indians in Japan. A stroll through the streets of Kobe's Sannomiya or Kitano districts reveals a host of Indian restaurants and Indian-run businesses, from textiles to jewelry.
The air is filled with the aroma of spices used in the preparation of curries far more piquant than your average "curry-rice." Here, the Indian chefs will often make a public production of their cooking: rolling out the naans with a flourish. Outside, at the jewelry and sari shops, the strong scent of incense and the sounds of the sitar create an ambience reminiscent of Delhi or Mumbai. Colorful chiffon scarves flap in the breeze on the racks outside. And in the windows, almost always, sits Ganesha -- the Indian elephant-god, symbol of prosperity and good luck.