Omoide Yokocho

Omoide Yokocho, nicknamed 'Memory Lane' and, less flatteringly, 'Piss Alley' by older generations of expatriates, is a narrow cluster of tiny yakitori and bar-snack stalls tucked beneath the elevated rail tracks near Shinjuku Station, dating back to the black-market stalls that sprang up in the immediate postwar years. Each stall is minuscule, typically seating six to ten people on wooden stools pressed close together, with charcoal grills sending smoke curling up into the rafters and into the alley itself. The food is straightforward and smoky: grilled chicken skewers in classic cuts, motsu (offal) skewers favoured by regulars, crisp karaage fried chicken, and cold Sapporo beer to wash it all down. There is no wine list or curated beverage programme here — beer, highballs, and simple shochu are the order of the evening, matched to the smoky, salt-and-tare grilled fare. The dining room character, if it can be called that, is intensely atmospheric and unpretentious: salarymen crowd elbow to elbow with tourists, strangers share benches by necessity, and the entire alley operates on cash and quick turnover rather than reservations. Individual stalls do not typically take bookings, and with such limited seating, arriving after the after-work rush around 6-7pm often means a short wait outside a chosen stall before a stool opens up. The postwar atmosphere, largely unchanged for decades, remains one of the most authentic surviving glimpses of old Tokyo nightlife.