Japanese enclave in Saigon, a presentation (Vietnam)
In early 2021, in the gloomy covid days, I made a presentation at a virtual seminar about the history of Saigon’s Japan town. This neighbourhood was my on and off home in Vietnam, from 2014 to early 2020. After Covid, I moved to the new Japanese area in Pham Viet Chanh.
I started by asking people what other ethnic enclaves they know of in South East Asia? We discussed the Japanese town/s of Bangkok, the Korean towns in Bangkok and Singapore and the Burmese alley in Taiwan.
The Japanese in Vietnam
Historically, there was supposed to be a small settlement in central Vietnam. In Hoi An there is a Japanese Bridge. Japanese were the first foreigners from non-Eastern Bloc countries that were allowed to be back in Vietnam after the war. There is a Hong Kong movie that talks about a Japanese photographer returning to Vietnam to document life under the new regime. The movie was actually shot in Hainan.
The Japanese population rose in the 1990s and 2000s. Only recently, the numbers are dropping and Koreans are the fastest growing immigrants.
Most Japanese work for Japanese companies or manufacturers. But there are many independent business owners too, such as this contact who runs a small cafe that serves Indian curry.
The Japanese town is located in central Saigon. 15b Le Thanh Ton Street.
The entrance to the Japanese town.
Japanese office workers heading for lunch. Vietnamese wedding photographer filming a couple. 
This neighbourhood housed Vietnamese military families. In the 2000s they started renting out rooms to the Japanese. Over the last two decades, they added higher floors and created 1-2 bedroom apartments for short and long stays.
The alleys have restaurants from all over Japan and supermarkets. During the day, Japanese come here for grocery shopping or lunch.
The ground level hosts shops and restaurants while the higher level is where the locals and the Japanese live.
There are some cafes, including this one (Samurai Cafe) that makes a conscious effort to bridge locals and Japanese with events and Japanese language classes.
At night the 50 or so counter bars open. They are small bars where the patron can buy a drink for a hostess and enjoy their company.
There is even a sento - a public bath.
The place is open till early morning and looks like something out of a cyberpunk novel.
In spite of the neighbourhood’s somewhat dicey reputation, it is safe. Many local families still live here and you can sometimes see the kids play badminton with the girls who work in the counter bars. The police make frequent rounds of the alleys.
Local young people like to come here to take photos and sometimes pretend that they are in Japan.
Saigon has also seen a rise in Digital Nomads or remote workers. When I first came here, I was also working for a Singapore company. I used to stay put at the VOCR cafe and do my work. I used to meet several other people like me. By the end of 2010’s decade, this trend accelerated, Saigon became expensive and remote workers started moving to other cities like Danang.
Hanoi also has a Japanese town which is older by a couple of years. But it is much more spread out. There is no conscious attempt in Hanoi to create spaces for the Japanese-Vietnamese interaction.
The economic slowdown affects the Japanese towns. In Saigon’s Japanese enclaves, I see the local staff learning Chinese. The Japanese areas are still growing as younger Japanese or even Japanese companies start looking for cheaper real estate. Saigon’s Pham Viet Chanh and Bangkok has Phra Khanong are the new Japanese areas in these cities.
