Shinjuku Golden Gai (Tokyo)

 bar, city district

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Golden Gai is a few minutes walk from the East Exit of Shinjuku Station, between the Shinjuku City Office and the Hanazono Shrine. Its architectural importance is that it provides a view into the relatively recent past of Tokyo, when large parts of the city resembled present-day Golden Gai, particularly in terms of the extremely narrow lanes and the tiny two-story buildings. Nowadays, most of the surrounding area has been redeveloped: The street plans have been changed to create much wider roads and larger building plots, and most of the buildings themselves are now much larger high- or medium- rise developments. This has left Golden Gai as one of a decreasing number of examples of the nature of Tokyo before Japan’s “economic miracle”, that took place in the latter half of the 20th century.

Typically, the buildings are just a few feet wide and are built so close to the ones next door that they nearly touch. Most are two-story, having a small bar at street level and either another bar or a tiny flat upstairs, reached by a steep set of stairs. None of the bars are very large; some are so small that they can only fit five or so customers at one time.[5] The buildings are generally ramshackle, and the alleys are dimly lit, giving the area a very scruffy and run-down appearance. However, Golden Gai is not a cheap place to drink, and the clientele that it attracts is generally well off.