The Piss Alleys and Arcades of Shinjuku

Shinjuku Station is the busiest in the world with most major lines passing through, like the JR East and Tokyo Metro. More than 3.5 million people pass Shinjuku Station every day. Home to Tokyo’s main commercial center and some of the cities largest malls and tallest skyscrapers. Beautiful and traditionally landscaped parks are a short train ride away, including Shinjuku Gyoen which is easy to see why this is one of the most popular. The ward has a rich culture dating back to the Edo period and a very interesting recent past.

At night the neon city explodes to life with shops, bars, arcades, and rivers of people. The alleys around Omoide Yokocho which mean Memory Lane are a maze of tightly packed bars, restaurants, and food stalls. The locals also call Omoide Yokocho, Piss Alley, due to a lack of bathrooms and drunken patrons relieving themselves in these alleyways. With countless bars to explore make sure you try the local beers, highballs, and it wouldn’t be a trip to Japan without trying the sake.

Kabukicho is the main entertainment district of Shinjuku. The streets are lined with multi-level computer game arcades, clubs, and gambling dens. This is home to the world-famous Robot Restaurant with nightly shows featuring robots, monsters, dancers and a blinding laser show. Just walking the streets is a visually stunning experience with the neon lights, hanging lanterns and electric billboards all lighting the way.