Comparative Migration Studies volume 9 , Article number: 28 Cite this article. Metrics details. A Correction to this article was published on 16 August In global cities such as London and Tokyo, there are neighbourhoods where ethnic, religious, cultural and other forms of diversity associated with migration are commonplace and others where migrants are regarded as unusual or even out-of-place. In both types of contexts, migrant-run eateries are spaces in which people of various backgrounds interact.
This comparative paper is based on findings from two ethnographic neighbourhood studies in West Tokyo and East London. The Tokyo neighbourhood of Nishi-Ogikubo is one of emerging diversity, in which migrant entrepreneurship is rather new and uncommon, whereas East London has seen immigration for decades and migrant-run businesses are so common as to be taken-for-granted.
In East London, in contrast, intercultural interactions are much more commonplace in public and semi-public spaces, but in the case of migrant-run eateries, they are characterized by somewhat superficial encounters. This paper contributes to scholarship on the role of third places for intercultural relations, highlighting the importance of established cultural norms of interaction in specific third places. By comparing two vastly different contexts regarding the extent of immigration-related diversity, it demonstrates how encounters between residents of different backgrounds are deeply embedded in cultural norms of interaction in these places, and how migrant entrepreneurs in each context adapt to these established norms.
In global cities such as London and Tokyo, there are neighbourhoods where ethnic, religious cultural and other forms of diversity associated with migration are commonplace Wessendorf, , and others where migrants are regarded as unusual.
As outlined in the introduction to this special issue, the former is a context of emerging diversity where daily interactions between the Japanese majority and migrants are fairly uncommon. In this context, migrant-run eateries represent the first visible sign of the presence of migrants. East London, in contrast, has seen immigration for decades and migrant-run businesses and restaurants are so common as to be taken-for-granted.
