Galvão Bueno Street, Sao Paulo

Galvão Bueno Street in Liberdade is the epitome of the Asian atmosphere. It has oriental-style lamps and has been part of the Japanese neighborhood since 1974. The street is home not only to the Japanese but also to the Chinese, Taiwanese, and Koreans since the 1950s. It features a towering nine-meter tall red torii, symbolizing the entrance to Shinto Shrines, which serves as a landmark.

As the main thoroughfare of Liberdade, Galvão Bueno Street bustles with activity from early morning until evening. Local residents, businesspeople, and tourists flock to the street in search of Oriental products or affordable Asian cuisine for lunch. The avenue resembles an open-air market every day, particularly on weekends.

People from all over the world and Brazil come here to discover Asian grocery stores, Japanese bookshops, antique shops, and the So-Go Plaza Shopping mall—a central place for everything oriental, including anime and manga items. The area is lively with street vendors selling colorful knick-knacks and artwork under bright umbrellas for shade.

The street derives its name from Dr. Carlos Mariano Galvão Bueno, a lawyer and professor who lived in the 1880s, as opposed to the more contemporary Galvão Bueno, who is a sports broadcaster at Rede Globo—clarifying any potential confusion.

Galvão Bueno Street intersects with the Viaduto do Glicério, a large highway in Liberdade, offering an interesting opportunity for photography. While the view may not be entirely panoramic, it provides a fairly good glimpse of the vastness of the city of São Paulo.