Kabukicho Izakaya Food Tour and Golden Gai Experience in Shinjuku

Experience Tokyo’s bustling culinary back streets and try several delicious Japanese foods: sushi, yakitori (skewers), as well as classic RAMEN! (on everyone’s MUST TRY LIST). 

Start by walking through Omoide Yokocho. Filled with rustic food stalls and bars from the 1950s, you will feel as if you stepped back in time to the middle of the 20th century. We will have a drink together and some skewers in one of the most charming parts of Tokyo; giving you a very authentic feeling of Japan as you dine with locals. 

Then we will make our way to Kabukicho, Asia’s largest yet safest, red-light district. Learn more about this famous area as your guide explains Japanese izakaya culture, the amazing world of karaoke bars and the famous Robot restaurant, as well as other hidden gems. You will enjoy Ramen before we head to a local sushi restaurant. We will end our tour with a ramble through the back drinking alleys at Golden Gai (Tokyo’s most popular spot for unique tiny bars, and pub-nightlife).

Start your tour by walking through the busy streets of Shinjuku heading straight for Omoide Yokocho (literally “Memory Lane”) as your first stop. Omoide Yokocho is rightfully named as it is littered with rustic bars from the 1950s. Anyone of the older generation will feel as if they stepped back in time to the middle of the 20th century.  Many of these bars still stay true to their roots, serving roasted giblets with beef and pork, which was a staple when food was scarce after World War II. You'll head to a place where you can experience grilling your own meat  and vegetables, it will give you a very authentic feeling of Japan as you dine mostly with locals.

From there you'll make your way to Kabukicho, Asia’s largest, yet safest, red light district. Here, you'll learn more about this very famous area as your guide explains to you japanese izakayas, the amazing world of karaokes and Robot restaurant as well as other hidden gems of Kabukicho. You will enjoy two delicious foods including Tonkotsu - a delicious pork simmered for hours and hours delivering a very creamy and savory taste. Your guide will also explain the history, manners to eat and different versions of ramen.

Before heading to Golden Gai, enjoy an amazing sushi experience, where you'll sample some very local sushi that you will surely enjoy. Afterwards, move into Shinjuku’s Golden Gai neighborhood known for being Tokyo’s most popular spot for unique izakaya - bar stall and pub nightlife. Get a glimpse which will take you back to what Tokyo was like during the early and middle of the 20th century. Golden Gai locations are so densely packed you can almost be in two places at once (one foot in each). Despite its run-down appearance, Golden Gai generally attracts well-off clientele and their prices match accordingly with it being one of the most expensive places to drink in the city.  Golden Gai is filled with over 200 small pubs, stalls, and karaoke bars where most are only big enough for five to seven people. Boasting the most densely packed nightlife area in the world, unique in every stall measured in inches rather than feet, Golden Gai will be a glimmer of Tokyo you will never forget, where you'll enjoy a cool drink in this historic place. This tour covers all food costs including 1 drink in Golden Gai.