Tokyo Pub Crawls

The Tokyo Nightlife Scene

Tokyo's nightlife is a set of parallel universes with no single centre. Golden Gai in Shinjuku packs more than 200 bars into a grid the size of a city block, most of them seating twelve people maximum, all of them with a cover charge (¥300–500 at the door is standard). Kabukicho sits next door and runs louder, later, and considerably less subtle. East side, Roppongi targets the international crowd and charges accordingly. The key thing to understand is that these districts don't communicate: you're not walking between them in one night.

What You'll Pay

Beer in a convenience store runs ¥150–200, which is relevant because konbini drinking outside is perfectly legal and widely practised before heading out. Inside a bar, expect ¥500–700 for a draft, more in Roppongi, less in a Nakameguro wine bar where the pour is generous. A night in Golden Gai with four or five bars, cover charges included, typically comes to ¥3,000–5,000. Add dinner and you're looking at ¥7,000–10,000 all in, which by Tokyo standards is not expensive.

Best Nights

Friday and Saturday are busiest everywhere, but Thursday in Shimokitazawa (live music venues, smaller bars, younger locals) has a different character entirely. Golden Gai is worth doing on a Wednesday when the bar owners are behind the counter instead of staff, conversations happen, and you don't spend twenty minutes waiting for a seat. Avoid Roppongi on Friday unless the crowd itself is the point.

Practical

Last trains run around midnight on most lines, 12:30am on some Yamanote services. This is the hard cutoff. Miss it and you're taking a taxi, which from Roppongi to anywhere central costs ¥2,000–4,000. Suica or Pasmo IC cards load onto an iPhone or Android wallet, tap on, tap off, no queueing for tickets. Card payments are increasingly accepted in bars but Golden Gai is near-universally cash. Dress code is essentially non-existent except in a handful of hotel bars.