Immermannstrasse
Native Japanese Impressions
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Photo: greg |
No doubt the Japanese all know of the Immermannstasse in Duesseldorf. It runs from Hauptbahnhof to Berliner Allee through to the Oststrasse. Once you enter onto this street, you may think that you are not on a street in Dusseldorf , Germany, at all, but on one of those in Japan, or another Asian country.
Everything you can see is quite different from the other streets around you; signs are written in Japanese; about 70％ of people who pass you by are Japanese - business men, strolling young couples, wives out shopping; even kids and teenagers out after school in the late afternoon and early evening. The language people speak to each other is, of course, Japanese.
Japanese people can buy all that they need here. Japanese goods from home. Groceries, books & magazines, gifts and leisure goods, interior design accessories, sake, breads, sweets and so on. Many stores offer points cards and discount systems.
The Immermannstrasse is also home to Japanese travel agencies, beauty salons, massage salons, real estate agencies, a pharmacy, and a laundry where we can speak Japanese.
You will find also the Nikko Hotel here, one of the five star hotels in Duesseldorf, in the middle of the street just like a landmark. One of the famous Japanese department stores, Mitukoshi, is located at the back of the Nikko. There is even a Japanese bakery here; the whole area is the envy of our fellow Japanese neighbours who live in other parts of Germany.
This is more than wonderful for us. Eating out is very important to us and so it’s also great that the area is full of restaurants where you can sample our food. Benkei, which is in the Nikko Hotel is popular, as is Nippon-Kan where you can try wonderful tempura; or Kikaku which is always packed, not only with Japanese, but it’s also popular with Germans keen to indulge in our delicious cuisine. You can taste almost all kinds of Japanese dishes such as sushi, sashimi, teppanyaki, tempura, noodles and rice bowls in the Immermannstrasse and also in the Klosterstrasse which is the parallel street north.
Go on try it!