Street resembling Tokyo appears in southern China

The sign of a street name in Chinese characters is covered up by black cloth at Ichiban Street in Foshan, China, on Monday. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

BEIJING -- A street that resembles bustling entertainment districts in Tokyo has appeared in the southern Chinese city of Foshan, Guangdong Province. While many visitors enjoy taking photos of the area, there is criticism appearing online calling it "blind worship of Japan."

According to Hong Kong's Ming Pao and other newspapers, this area is named Ichiban Street and resembles a combination of the Kabukicho district in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, and Shibuya, also in Tokyo. Many youngsters interested in Japanese culture seem to be paying visits to the area.

Many photos of the street are posted on China's Twitter-like platform Weibo. Signs in Japanese such as "tomare" (stop) and "takushi" (taxi), as well as displays related to Japanese anime works including "One Piece" and "Case Closed" are seen.

The street is plastered with signs in Japanese at Ichiban Street in Foshan, China. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

The street demonstrates a certain popularity of Japanese culture, but critical online comments are mounting at the same time. Chinese characters displaying the street name at the beginning of the arcade were covered up by black cloths on Monday.

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