The city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, has hundreds of Japanese restaurants. A world away, in Hamamatsu, a city on the east coast of Japan, there are many places to buy and eat Brazilian food. Why is each country's food so popular in the other? The answer to this question dates back to the early 20t century.
In 1908, people from Japan began to immigrate* to Brazil to work on coffee plantations*. Many of these Japanese immigrants (called nikkei) moved to Sao Paulo and settled in a neighborhood called Liberdade. Like many immigrants, they spoke their native language and prepared traditional foods from their home country. Over time, the nikkei opened many Japanese markets and restaurants in the Liberdade district. Today, this neighborhood has one of the largest Japanese communities outside of Japan. Restaurants sell ramen noodles and sushi everywhere. Also, each weekend, there is a large street market. Street sellers sell traditional Japanese goods and foods. The event is popular with both city residents and tourists.
In the 1980s - three generations after the first nikkei settled in Brazil - a reverse immigration began to take place. Over 300,000 Japanese Brazilians, later generations of nikkei, moved to Japan. Many settled in Hamamatsu. Most Japanese Brazilians spoke only their native language (Portuguese). They also missed the foods and culture of Brazil. As a result, all over Hamamatsu, food shops and restaurants have sold traditional Brazilian foods since then.
Today it's possible to eat excellent Japanese food in Sao Paulo and traditional Brazilian food in Hamamatsu. Whether travelling through Brazil or Japan, it's worth visiting these two cities to experience the tastes and cultures of their unique immigrant communities.