BAR-HOPPING

Bar-Hopping in Shinjuku

Hashigo-zake: a few drinks in one alley, then a few more in the next.

The Japanese word for bar-hopping is hashigo-zake — “ladder drinking.” Shinjuku is built for it: several completely different drinking districts sit within a ten-minute walk of each other, each one a cluster of small places where one or two drinks is a perfectly respectable stay. Here is what each alley is like, and one route that strings them together.

The alleys

Five drinking districts, one station

West Exit · Post-war alley

Omoide Yokocho

A tight grid of lantern-lit lanes under the railway by Shinjuku's West Exit, with roots in the street markets that sprang up after the war. Most places are tiny — a counter, a grill, a dozen stools — and specialise in yakitori and motsuyaki. Smoke from the grills drifts through the lanes; that is part of the charm, and part of the dress code warning. Two of this guide's shops are here: Torien, cooking since 1947 by its listing, and Motsuyaki Ucchan, a 25-seat counter that takes no reservations.

Kabukicho · Tiny bars

Golden Gai

A few minutes east, in Kabukicho, Golden Gai squeezes more than 200 tiny bars into a few narrow blocks of old wooden row houses. Many seat fewer than ten people, each with its own theme and its own master (owner-bartender). Many bars charge a cover of several hundred yen — the honest ones post it at the door, and those are the ones to walk into. Treat it as a neighbourhood, not a theme park: buy a drink, chat if the master starts it, and move on gently.

Kabukicho · Renovated row houses

Kabukicho Red Noren-gai

Opened in 2018 in three renovated pre-war row houses on the north side of the ward office, Red Noren-gai is the easy-going modern cousin: a handful of small eateries and taverns around a shared alley feel, including the yakitori tavern Shinkei from this guide — open until 4:00 AM.

Kabukicho Tower · Food hall

Kabuki Hall (Shinjuku Kabuki Hall — Kabukicho Yokocho)

On the second floor of Tokyu Kabukicho Tower (opened 2023), this festival-themed food hall gathers regional Japanese soul food — plus Korean — under one roof with a stage and DJ booth. It is the most visitor-friendly first step into Kabukicho, and our APA Hotel tavern sits right next door in the APA Hotel tower when you want to settle into an izakaya proper.

Shinjuku Sanchome · Locals' streets

Suehiro-dori & Shinjuku Sanchome

South-east of the station, the streets around Shinjuku Sanchome and the Suehiro-dori shopping street have been filling glasses for generations of theatre people and editors from the nearby rakugo theatre, Shinjuku Suehirotei. The mood is a notch calmer than Kabukicho. This guide's Fujiya (motsuyaki, one minute from the station) and Nihon Saisei Sakaba stand on these streets.

Sample route

One evening, four stops

From grilled skewers to a 4:30 AM steak

1. Omoide Yokocho→ 2. Golden Gai wander→ 3. Red Noren-gai→ 4. BEEF KITCHEN STAND Kabukicho

Start around 5–6 PM in Omoide Yokocho. Ucchan opens at 4:00 PM and Torien serves from 11:30 AM, so the alley is already alive. One or two skewers and a beer per place is the correct pace — the shops are small and the next lane is ten steps away.

Drift east into Kabukicho as the neon comes on. Look into Golden Gai's lanes; if a bar's cover charge is posted and the theme catches your eye, that is your second stop. Otherwise, keep it as scenery and head for Red Noren-gai, where Shinkei starts grilling at 6:00 PM.

Finish at BEEF KITCHEN STAND Kabukicho, three minutes from Seibu-Shinjuku Station. Small plates from ¥109 and the ¥319 bifteki steak make an easy last order, the ¥438 cover keeps the edamame coming, and the kitchen runs until 4:30 AM — from 11 PM the room turns into a casual karaoke tavern, built for exactly this part of the night. If you are still going after that, Isomaru Suisan and Torimichi Sakaba in this guide never close at all.

Street smarts

Enjoying Kabukicho, the relaxed way

Choose places that show their prices

Kabukicho's touts earn commissions by steering visitors into bars whose prices appear only on the final bill. The standard local advice is simple: smile, keep walking, and pick places — like every shop in this guide — whose menu and prices you can check before you sit down.

One drink is a fine stay

In the alleys, nobody expects a long stay. Order, enjoy, pay, and let the next person have the stool. That rhythm is what keeps 200 tiny bars alive.

Mind the last train — or don't

Trains around Shinjuku wind down around midnight to 1:00 AM. Miss it and Kabukicho simply keeps going: plenty of taverns in this guide run past 4:00 AM, and two never close. The first trains start again around 5:00 AM.

Photos: ask first inside

The alleys themselves are photogenic and fine to shoot. Inside the tiny bars, a quick ask — or a pointed camera and a smile — before photographing people keeps you a welcome guest.

All 13 shops, with addresses, hours and phone numbers:

Back to the guide How to enjoy an izakaya