Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
7
Omoide-yokochō
$
YAKITORI
OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP
Since the postwar days, smoke has been billowing night and day from the
yakitori
(skewered barbecue meat and vegetable) stalls that line this alley by the train
tracks, literally translated as Memory Lane (and less politely known as Shonben-
yokochō or Piss Alley). A few stalls have English menus.
( Nishi-Shinjuku 1-chōme,
Shinjuku-ku; skewers from ¥100;
noon-midnight, hours vary by shop;
JR Yamanote Line to Shin-
juku, west exit)
8
Shinjuku Asia-yokochō
$
ASIAN
OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP
An indoor night market that spans the Asian continent, Asia-yokochō has vendors
dishing out everything from Korean to Vietnamese to Indian. It's noisy, a bit
chaotic and particularly fun in a group. The entrance is on a side street (across
from a pub called The Hub); take the elevator to the roof.
( 2nd Toa Hall Bldg roof, 1-21-1
Kabukichō, Shinjuku-ku; dishes from ¥480;
5pm-5am;
JR Yamanote Line to Shinjuku, east exit;
)
Understand
Tokyo Today
Tokyo has reinvented itself countless times in the past hundred years: after being lev-
elled during the Great Kantō Earthquake (1923) and again during the firebombing of
WWII; following the bursting of the 1980s' economy bubble; and recently after the
2011 triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown that sent the country
reeling. Tokyoites are nothing if not pragmatic, carrying on and adapting to - even em-
bracing - the new normal.
