Omoide Yokocho consists of a dense, narrow network of alleys packed with wooden stalls and flickering lanterns, wedged tightly against the western tracks of Shinjuku Station. It emerged in the chaotic months after nineteen forty-five as an…
Shinjuku After Dark
This walking tour takes you through the heart of Shinjuku's nightlife, from the smoky, post-war alleys of Omoide Yokocho to the tiny drinking dens of Golden Gai and the iconic neon glow of Kabukicho. It is the best way to feel the cinematic, high-energy pulse of Tokyo after the sun goes down.
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1. Omoide Yokocho Memory Lane
2. Cross Shinjuku Vision
A giant three dimensional tabby cat dominates the corner of this building, appearing to lounge above the busy intersection of Shinjuku. The creature measures over three hundred square feet and emerges from a curved led screen that wraps…
3. Kabukichō Ichiban-gai Street
The Kabukicho Ichiban-gai arch frames the entrance to the district with a blaze of neon red letters. Following the Second World War, city planners intended to build a grand Kabuki theater here to bring high culture to the reclaimed…
4. Godzilla Head
The Toho Cinema building in Shinjuku holds a massive, scaly Godzilla head perched twelve stories above the street. It is a full-scale replica based on the nineteen ninety-two film, Godzilla versus Mothra. Weighing eighty tons, the head…
5. Shinjuku Golden-Gai
Six narrow alleys hold over two hundred tiny bars, each squeezed into a two-story wooden structure no wider than a person's outstretched arms. After the second world war, this area served as a thriving black market for goods, but…
6. Hanazono Shrine
The stone torii gate at the entrance to Hanazono Shrine stands out against the neon glare of Shinjuku because it is painted a vivid, singular vermilion. This is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Inari, the deity of fertility and worldly…