The Essential Guide to Shinjuku, Tokyo's Busiest Neighborhood

Tokyo’s 23 wards, or ku, divide the world’s most populous city into digestible neighborhoods, often nicknamed after whichever train station serves them. The city’s biggest nexus is the ever-buzzing Shinjuku, a bright-lighted hub with a roaring food and beverage scene, and the home of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which will take place in a flashy new arena designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma.

We've divided Shinjuku into its five most popular sub neighborhoods, with a lowdown on where to go, what to do, and most importantly, what to eat. And though Shinjuku might be nearly synonymous with sensory overload, our guide will ensure you don't waste a minute—whether you have a week to explore or just a few hours between games.

Shinjuku Station

Shinjuku Station is the world’s busiest railway junction, with over 3.6 million passengers passing through each day. (The crossing of pedestrians at the Shibuya Crossing is tame compared to the wave of businessmen crashing through Shinjuku's turnstiles at rush hour.)

The businesses around the mega-station are largely devoted to the station's commuters, with a delicious dichotomy of low- and high-brow portable eats. Walk down Omoide-yokocho (Memory Lane), a snaking backstreet just west of the tracks. The tightly packed side road was a popular spot for selling black market goods after the Second World War, and today it’s one of Tokyo’s last traditional yokocho—which roughly translates to an alleyway replete with greasy, smoky food stalls. If you’re keen to linger, try Albatross, a teeny three-story space that can pack in no more than 30 customers. When the weather is nice, the postage stamp-sized roof opens as well.

At the other end of the spectrum is the depachika below the Isetan department store. A depachika is essentially a cavernous food hall on the basement level, and this one serves everything from $300 muskmelons (a cousin of the cantaloupe) to limited edition teas. It’s also a great place to stock up on omiyage, which are beautifully packaged (and often edible) Japanese souvenirs.

Nishi-Shinjuku

A rare section of Tokyo constructed in a wide-avenue grid, Nishi-Shinjuku looks almost like Washington, D.C., in its purpose-built sprawl of corporate buildings. The twin-towered Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building has one of the megalopolis’ most popular attractions: a lofted observatory with a bird's eye view of the city and, on clear days, Mount Fuji in the distance.

While Shinjuku’s other sub-neighborhoods are best known for their bars, Nishi-Shinjuku arguably contains Tokyo’s top three. First is the classic, dimly-lit New York Bar on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt Tokyo—made famous by Sofia Coppola’s film Lost in Translation—where live jazz plays every night from 8 p.m. on (7 p.m. on Sundays). The hotel’s lobby venue, The Peak Lounge, is a local favorite for its $50 all-you-can-drink sundown special and nearly-as-impressive views.

In a nondescript apartment building nearby, Tokyo’s most coveted bar experience is at Ben Fiddich, where the owner—dressed like a Japanese Colonel Sanders—crafts imaginative cocktails with handcrafted tipples and homegrown herbs. On the floor above is Sunface, which has a similar hunting lodge vibe, a constant flow of customers, and an equally impressive cocktail menu.

Kabuki-cho

The district of Kabuki-cho is often referred to as Tokyo's red light district, and it's the infamous stomping ground of the yakuza (Japanese mafia). The area is generally safe—and very popular—to visit. For travelers, a trip to Kabuki-cho is really about wandering beneath neon lights, snapping photos of the giant Godzilla statue perched atop the Gracery Hotel, and partying at the futuristic Warp Shinjuku, Tokyo’s biggest nightclub.

Oone of Tokyo’s best museums, the Samurai Museum, can be found in Kabuki-cho as well. The museum recounts 700 years of warrior history, and has artifacts like samurai swords and armor worth geeking out over. If you want help navigating Kabuki-cho, tap Mark Rawlins, a guide for Inside Japan, whose daily tours take guests to a mix of old and new spots.

Golden Gai

Only a decade ago, a visit to the five alleys of Golden Gai was taboo for travelers, when signs were posted in bars forbidding gaijin (foreigners) from entering. The sentiment wasn’t necessarily anti-tourist, but a testament to the pubs’ raison d’êtres: to foster convivial chitchat among patrons (impossible if you didn’t speak Japanese).

Each bar had a theme (say, Italian film or Bluegrass music) and only six or eight chairs, each of which had a nightly rental fee around the cost of two drinks. It was Araku that first pivoted its theme to “tourist”, thus welcoming in visitors, and others have followed suit. The most sought-after seat (if you can snag one, that is) is at the library-turned-shochu dispensary, Open Book Bar.

Few visitors venture beyond the bars, but it's worth sticking around for an afternoon at Thermae-Yu, an onsen with real mineral water brought in from the Izu Peninsula, or for a visit to the Hanazono Shrine, one of Tokyo’s oldest, holiest places of Shinto worship.

Shinjuku Ni-Chome and Shinjuku San-Chome

Rather than having street names, Japan’s addresses are marked by blocks, known as chome. In the Shinjuku area, its second and third chome (Ni-Chome and San-Chome, respectively) are home to some of the city’s most vibrant subcultures. In Ni-Chome, you'll find the hub of Tokyo’s LGBTQ+ nightlife scene, which is largely concentrated around the welcoming Arty Farty bar. Also popular is the nearby Dragon Men—a formerly underground joint that’s gone mainstream—which has live DJs, drag queens, and a mix of locals and foreigners. Whatever it is you're looking for, walk the streets here and you'll likely find it.

San-Chome is more of a mixed bag, with a lot of different things to do and eat. Fuel up at retro video game cafe 8bit, where you'll find Super Nintendo and some of the cheapest eats in the city. For ramen, snoop around Tabelog, Japan's Yelp, where you can find the highest-ranked noodles near you whenever hunger strikes. (Note that Japanese diners are much harsher critics than the average American; 3.5 stars should be considered excellent, and restaurants earning more than an average for 4 stars are unicorns.) The area is also packed with chain restaurants, more of a badge of honor than a point of contention in Japan, like Sushizanmai, a spot known for kaitain (conveyor belt sushi), and for pulling the ultimate PR stunt each year when the owner buys the country’s most expensive tuna at auction.

At the far side of San-Chome you’ll find a classic version of Tokyo at Shinjuku Gyoen, one of Tokyo’s best parks. The beautifully manicured gardens come to life during cherry blossom season in late March, and with fall foliage in November—though, frankly, they're deserving of a stroll any time of year.