The first is the Asociación México Japonesa. The organization was formed in 1956, and has been serving as a link between Japan and Mexico for more than sixty years. They have a restaurant called ICHI, where you can enjoy a wonderful Japanese meal as you look out onto a Japanese garden. They sometimes hold the Mercado Japon, which has a Japanese market where you can buy bento boxes and other things, plus a breakfast buffet every weekend. There are Japanese supermarkets in Mexico City that sell bento boxes as well. Apparently ICHI was the very first Japanese restaurant to open in Mexico City.
Bento box at ICHI restaurant
Mercado Japan
The Japanese garden
There is also a 100-yen shop called Dokkoi Japan on the Asociación grounds (though everything costs closer to 270 yen), as well as shops selling food, tennis courts, a pool, a Japanese school, a manga museum, and other facilities. Before the pandemic, they also hosted summer and fall festivals, which huge numbers of Mexicans enjoyed as well.
The manga museum
Business has been tough during the pandemic, and the Asociación México Japonesa doesn’t get any subsidies or funds from the Mexican government—so the organization is really struggling right now. I’m just praying that it can find a way to hang on and make it through. It’s located in a quiet residential neighborhood, and the name of the street is Fujiyama. It’s kind of funny and makes me smile a bit, being Japanese.
Speaking of street names, there’s also one called Tokio (which is how Spanish speakers say “Tokyo”), and on it is the Marukoshi Bakery. It’s a tiny place, but it’s popular among the local people as well as the Japanese. You can get cute bakery goods that the kids love there, as well as Japanese-style bread loaves.
Marukoshi Bakery
There are also a ton of great Japanese restaurants in Mexico City, but I’ll have to hold off telling you about the restaurants and cafés until another time.
Lastly, there’s Parque Masayoshi Ohira in Coyoacán. Masayoshi Ohira served the 68th and 69th terms as the prime minister of Japan. The park is so small that you can walk around the entire grounds in about fifteen minutes, but the pond has an arched bridge, it has a torii gate, and there are even a few cherry trees. On the day I visited, there were two or three girls there who I think were taking commemorative photos for their 15th birthdays (in Mexico, there’s a tradition of having a huge celebration for girls on their 15th birthday). There were also a bunch of boys there dressed up in formal clothes surrounding the girls, who were dolled up as if they were princesses, and taking photos of them. It was great to see them using the Japanese gardens as a backdrop to take pictures on such an important day. There were also people who came here to take cosplay photos.
Parque Masayoshi Ohira
A lot of people in Mexico love Japan, so the park is a favorite of the Mexican locals as much as the Japanese. You don’t have to live here, either. It’s an interesting place to go even if you’re only in Mexico for a short visit, as it gives you a sense of how people here see Japan and a chance to feel the friendly atmosphere.
