Golden Gai

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  • Address
    East Shinjuku, Shinju-ku
  • Transport
    underground rail: Marunouchi Line to Shinjuku-sanchōme (exit B3)

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Lonely Planet review

This ramshackle block of tiny boîtes became golden just in time for the '64 Olympics. By day, there's not much going on here except for dozens of stray cats. But by night, the closet-sized bars, some accessed by stairways steep enough to bruise your shins as you ascend, light and fill up, mostly with off-duty office workers.

There's been much speculation about the demise of Golden Gai's rickety structures and narrow alleyways, but for the moment it seems a new generation is buying in and quietly setting up shop.