Cathy C.
Yelp
Yelp Review 2025 #169:
Liberdade is the Japantown of São Paulo. Brazil has a big Japanese population due to Japanese migration of 1908 aboard the Kasato Maru. Coffee plantations needed workers and the Japanese answered the call.
Now, you'll see a strong Japanese influence on Brazilian culture. Liberdade is lined with Japanese restaurants, cafes, grocery stores and other businesses. You can get a kimono here, a Ghibli T-shirt, matcha latte, a bottle of Ramune, go to a Hello Kitty-themed cafe (they have 3 in Liberdade), eat a bowl of hot ramen.
At the center of Liberdade, you'll see a rock monument to commemorate the visit of Princess Mako to Brazil in 2018. It's a nice place to walk around and see graffiti, visit the small Japanese garden for free, and eat.
About a 3-minute walk from Liberdade is downtown São Paulo. It's walkable. You can take a tram or an Uber.