Areas at a glance
- Nishi-Shinjuku (west): skyscrapers, large hotels, the free observatory. Quiet at night.
- East Exit and Shinjuku-sanchome: department stores (Isetan’s basement food hall is a destination in itself), big electronics shops, restaurants on every floor of every building.
- Kabukicho and Golden Gai: nightlife, cinemas, karaoke, bars.
- South Exit: Takashimaya, the bus terminal and a pleasant terrace walk towards Yoyogi.
- Shin-Okubo: Koreatown — Korean barbecue, cosmetics and street snacks, one stop north on the Yamanote Line.
Eating and drinking
You rarely need a reservation. Look up: restaurants stack vertically, and the best ramen or tonkatsu shop is often on the seventh floor. Ticket-machine ramen shops, standing soba bars and conveyor-belt sushi make a quick meal for around ¥1,000–1,500; an izakaya evening with drinks is more often ¥3,000–5,000 a head. Department-store basements (depachika) sell beautiful take-away food that is discounted in the last hour before closing.
In Golden Gai, pick bars that display a price list, expect a cover charge, keep your voice down in the alleys and do not photograph people. Two or three bars make an evening.
Money-saving ideas
- The government-building observatory is free and the view rivals paid decks.
- A Tokyo Subway Ticket covers the Marunouchi, Oedo and Shinjuku lines here, but not JR.
- Lunch sets are far cheaper than dinner at the same restaurants.
Safety
Shinjuku is very safe by big-city standards, but Kabukicho is the one place in Tokyo where visitors are regularly overcharged. Do not follow street touts offering bars, clubs or massage, however friendly; choose venues yourself and check prices first. Watch your drink in late-night clubs. Last trains leave around midnight to 00:30, and taxis add a late-night surcharge.
Sample plans
One evening
Sunset from the government-building observatory, yakitori in Omoide Yokocho, a walk under the Kabukicho gate to see Godzilla, then two bars in Golden Gai.
One full day
Morning in Shinjuku Gyoen, depachika lunch from Isetan, an afternoon of shopping or a sumo show, and the evening plan above.
Two days based here
Day one as above. Day two: an early highway bus from Busta Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko for Mount Fuji, back in time for a late ramen.
