Food Tours · Tour

Into the Golden Gai Bars That Turn Strangers Away

Golden Gai is six lanes of roughly two hundred bars, most seating five or six people, and a fair number of them do not serve customers they do not know. Some are effectively members' rooms; others post a seat charge that discourages walk-ins. Getting inside is the point of this tour: the operator has arrangements with bars that would otherwise turn you away at the door. Three hours, meeting outside the ramen shop at the Omoide Yokocho entrance, closest exit B15 at Shinjuku station. The first stop is a local izakaya, either in Omoide Yokocho under the red lanterns or in Kabukicho, for yakitori, karaage and the rest of what people actually order. Then a walk through Kabukicho, the largest entertainment district in Asia, with your guide explaining the history and what all the signage means, which is more interesting than guessing. Golden Gai comes last, one of the very few blocks of post-war Tokyo never redeveloped, and the bar you are taken to has karaoke. Admission and cover charges at each venue are included and photos are sent afterwards. Food and drink are not included: you buy your own, which keeps the ticket price low and lets you drink at your own pace. English-speaking guide, up to fifteen guests. Arrive fifteen minutes early. Venues can change if a bar cannot take the group, and you can ask in advance which places are planned for your date.