If you have one picture of Tokyo in your head — towers, neon signs stacked ten storeys high, a river of people — it is probably Shinjuku. The district wraps around Shinjuku Station, which handles more passengers than any other station in the world, and splits neatly in two. West of the tracks is the skyscraper district: hotels, offices and the twin-towered Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, whose observation decks are free. East of the tracks is where the evening happens: department stores and big-screen crossings, the entertainment quarter of Kabukicho, the pocket-sized bars of Golden Gai and the smoky yakitori counters of Omoide Yokocho.
What makes Shinjuku more than a nightlife district is how quickly it changes. Shinjuku Gyoen, a former imperial garden, is a short walk from the busiest crossing and is one of Tokyo’s finest cherry-blossom and autumn-leaf spots. Shin-Okubo, one stop north, is the city’s Koreatown. And because almost every train line passes through, Shinjuku is also the most practical base in Tokyo for day trips to Mount Fuji, Hakone and Nikko.
Highlights
- Free night views from the 202-metre Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
- Bar-hopping in Golden Gai, around 200 tiny bars squeezed into six alleys
- Yakitori and beer shoulder to shoulder in Omoide Yokocho
- Kabukicho’s neon gate, the Godzilla head and late-night ramen
- Shinjuku Gyoen for cherry blossom, autumn colour and a quiet hour
- Direct highway buses and trains to Mount Fuji and Hakone
Shinjuku in pictures
How long to stay and where to base yourself
How long: give Shinjuku at least one full evening. If you are staying here, add a daytime half-day for Shinjuku Gyoen, the government-building view and the department-store food halls.
Where to base yourself: the west side (Nishi-Shinjuku) is calmer, with large international hotels and airport limousine bus stops at the door. The east side and Kabukicho put you in the middle of the nightlife; expect noise and crowds until late. Around Shinjuku-sanchome and Shinjuku Gyoen-mae you get quieter streets and still walk everywhere. See our where to stay in Tokyo comparison for how Shinjuku stacks up against Shibuya, Ginza and Asakusa.
