Even before you pass beneath one of the 10 ornamented gates marking the boundaries of Yokohama's Chinatown, you start picking up signals that you're about to cross into a different country.
It's more than just the red-and-gold banners, the garish architecture or the scent of sesame oil and ginger in the air. The Chinese themselves may describe it best, with the word renqi. Pronounced "hitoke" in Japanese, and written with the characters for "person" and "spirit," it can be translated variously as "bustle," "animation" or "vivacity."
As its 18 million visitors a year would attest, this Chinatown is indeed the real thing -- and bustle, animation and vivacity describe it perfectly. Though its narrow streets are rarely uncrowded, the bustle becomes a veritable throng around mealtimes. This should be no surprise: The sheer gusto with which Chinese are known to attack their native cuisine is not only a wonder to behold, but a pleasure to emulate.