Shinjuku

Bar BenFiddich is a 15-seat bar on the ninth floor of a building in Nishi-Shinjuku. There is no menu: the bar asks you to tell the bartender what you like and a cocktail is made for you. Bookings are taken through an online reservation page for three seatings a night, at 19:00, 21:00 and 23:00. The bar keeps an irregular schedule and closes when owner-bartender Hiroyasu Kayama is away, with the next month's dates announced on the 20th of each month. A sister bar, bar B&F, is on the second floor of the same building.

Good to know

• The bar strongly recommends booking in advance, as reserved guests are given priority and walk-ins may not be seated.
• Reservations are not accepted for groups of more than five people, and one group must not split itself across several bookings.
• A reservation is cancelled if you are 15 minutes late.
• The bar cannot always meet a request for a particular seat.
• The phone is not answered during opening hours, so use the online reservation page.
• Opening days are irregular and the bar closes when the owner-bartender is away; the next month's schedule is announced on the 20th of each month.
• Prices, cover charges, payment methods, the smoking policy and any age limit are not stated on the official site.

Albatross has been open since 1997 and is the only bar in Omoide Yokocho, the Showa-era eating and drinking lane by the west exit of Shinjuku Station. The bar describes itself as a gallery bar, with a chandelier hanging close overhead and artwork on the walls; it shows work by young artists across its branches. It opens every day of the year and stays open until at least 2:00 the next morning. The Omoide Yokocho shopping-street page gives a maximum capacity of 45 and lists payment as cash.

Good to know

• Friday and Saturday opening times are listed differently by the bar's own site and by the Omoide Yokocho shopping-street page, so check before you go.
• The Omoide Yokocho page lists payment as cash and was last updated as of March 2021.
• Whether prices include tax is not stated.
• Cover charges, the smoking policy and any age limit are not stated on the official site.
• Telephone 03-3342-5758. The bar also takes enquiries about private hire, pop-ups and filming.

Albatross G is a gallery bar in Shinjuku Golden Gai, the drinking quarter in a corner of Kabukicho that the bar's own site describes as holding nearly 300 bars. It is on Golden Gai's 5th street. The bar shows artwork by young artists, as its sister bars do, and the site says Albatross G in particular has been strongly supported by visitors from overseas. It opens every day of the year from 19:00 until 5:00 the next morning.

Good to know

• Prices, payment methods, cover charges, the smoking policy, the number of seats and any age limit are not stated on the official site.
• Telephone 03-3203-3699. The bar also takes enquiries about private hire and filming.
• Golden Gai is a dense lane of tiny bars; this one is on the 5th street.

OPEN BOOK is a bar of about ten square metres in Shinjuku Golden Gai, opened in 2015 with the slogan "the world's best lemon sour". Its signature drink is built on brown sugar shochu with syrup made from pesticide-free Japanese limes, sliced lemons from Hiroshima, a thin glass and large ice. The shelves hold books left by the owner's grandfather, the late writer Kojimasa Tanaka. The bar states that it opens basically every day from 20:00 and closes by midnight, and asks guests to check its Instagram for the latest. There is no signboard: it is the third shop in from the outside on Golden Gai's 5th street.

Good to know

• There is no signboard. The bar is the third shop in from the outside on Golden Gai's 5th street, and around 100 shops share the same street address.
• The bar says it opens basically every day from 20:00 and closes by midnight, and asks guests to check its Instagram for the latest hours.
• Prices in the bar, the number of seats, payment methods, cover charges, the smoking policy and any age limit are not stated on the official site.
• The official site is also an online shop, and it asks visitors to confirm they are 20 or over before entering.

YONA YONA BEER WORKS is a craft beer pub pouring the beers of Yoho Brewing on tap, a couple of minutes from Shinjuku-sanchome Station in the basement of a building behind Bic Camera. Beers are poured in three sizes, 250ml, 400ml and 550ml, and there are tasting sets of three or of ten. Food runs from salads and mac and cheese to whole roast chicken, which the pub notes takes 25 to 40 minutes to cook. All prices on the menu include tax and the whole pub is non-smoking.

Good to know

• The whole pub is non-smoking.
• All listed prices include tax.
• The all-you-can-drink courses are for two people or more.
• Roast chicken and fried chicken take about 25 to 40 minutes to cook.
• Takeaway is canned beer only; the pub does not sell draught beer by volume to take away.
• Book online through the reservation page or by phone on 050-1808-8835.
• There is free Wi-Fi and no car park.
• The number of seats, any closing day and any age limit are not stated on the official page.

Sushi Tatsu is the only sushi restaurant in Omoide Yokocho, the lane of small eating places by the west exit of Shinjuku Station. The restaurant says it takes its toppings and its rice seriously and makes its own thick omelette. The omakase sushi is already seasoned apart from the rolls, so the restaurant asks you to eat it without soy sauce. There is an upstairs room that can be used by a private party of up to eight. It is open from 17:00 to 23:45 and closed on Sundays and public holidays. Payment is cash.

Good to know

• Payment is cash only.
• Closed on Sundays and public holidays.
• Reservations are recommended; phone 03-3342-0740.
• The restaurant has no website of its own. The information comes from the official site of the Omoide Yokocho shopping street, where the Japanese page is marked as of June 2024 and the English page as of March 2021, so check before you go.
• The smoking policy, any cover charge and any age limit are not stated.

Sushizanmai Shinjuku Higashiguchi is on the third floor of the Seno Building, right by Exit B10 of the subway at Shinjuku-sanchome and three minutes from the East Exit of JR Shinjuku Station. It has 84 seats in all, 14 at the counter and 70 at tables, and the official page notes that the large number of tables suits everything from a pair to a group. Ordering is by tablet and dish names are printed in English as well as Japanese. The restaurant is open every day and non-smoking throughout. It closes at 22:00 from Monday to Thursday and at 23:00 from Friday to Sunday and on public holidays.

Good to know

• The restaurant is non-smoking at all times.
• Open every day, with no closing day.
• The lunch menu is served on weekdays only, from 11:00 to 15:00.
• Reservations are taken online through ResReserve, or by phone on 03-5357-7737.
• Whether prices include tax is not stated on the official menu.
• Any cover charge and any age limit are not stated on the official page.

Sushizanmai Higashi Shinjuku stands on the corner where the street meets Shokuan-dori, north of Kabukicho, and is open from 11:00 right through to 5:00 the next morning every day of the year. The fish is sent in daily from Toyosu. There are 72 seats spread over the ground floor and the basement, with counter and table seating on both. The restaurant is non-smoking throughout, dish names are printed in English as well as Japanese, and ordering can be done from your phone.

Good to know

• Open until 5:00 the next morning, with last orders at 4:30.
• The restaurant is non-smoking at all times.
• The lunch menu is served on weekdays only, from 11:00 to 15:00.
• Reservations are taken by phone on 03-5155-6655.
• The official page carries notes about reservations and lunch being suspended between 8 and 16 August, but does not give the year, so check before relying on them.
• Whether prices include tax is not stated on the official menu.
• The official page gives walking times from Higashi-Shinjuku and Seibu-Shinjuku stations but not from JR Shinjuku Station.

Kakiden serves kyo kaiseki and cha-kaiseki over four floors of the Yasuyo Building, a minute from the Central East Exit of Shinjuku Station. The rooms on the 6th, 8th and 9th floors were designed by Yoshiro Taniguchi, the architect of the Crown Prince's Palace and the Japanese rooms of the State Guest House. The 9th floor holds three tea rooms, Zangetsu, the ten-mat room and Ichiyoan, which can be booked as private rooms; the 8th floor has chair seating. Courses run from a boxed kaiseki lunch to multi-course dinners, and a service charge of 10 percent is added. On Sunday evenings only the private rooms open, by advance reservation.

Good to know

• A service charge of 10 percent is added to the bill.
• The private tea rooms on the 9th floor carry a room charge and must be booked at least four days in advance.
• On Sunday evenings only the private rooms open, by advance reservation. If the following Monday is a public holiday, Sunday is normal and the holiday evening is private rooms only.
• The Tsuki course can only be ordered with an advance reservation.
• Prices, the Saturday and Sunday lunch last order, and the list of accepted cards are given differently on the Japanese and English pages, so confirm them with the restaurant.
• Cancellation charges apply: for the 8th floor, 30 percent from 15:00 the day before and 100 percent on the day; for the 6th, 7th and 9th floors, 30 percent from 15:00 three days before, 50 percent the day before and 100 percent on the day.
• Open all year except the New Year period and the summer Bon holidays.
• Book online through the reservation page or by phone on 03-3352-5121.
• The number of seats, the smoking policy and any age limit are not stated on the official site.

Tsunahachi has been frying Edo-style tempura in Shinjuku since 1924. The main restaurant closed on 31 May 2026 for rebuilding, and since 23 June 2026 the same manager and staff have been running this annexe in the TRES SHINJUKU building, a few minutes from Shinjuku-sanchome Station. The sixth floor has 17 counter seats and 18 table seats, and the basement another 34 table seats, with some dishes served only in the basement. The whole restaurant is non-smoking and it opens every day from 11:00 to 22:00.

Good to know

• The whole restaurant is non-smoking at all times.
• This is the annexe. The original Tsunahachi main restaurant closed on 31 May 2026 for rebuilding and is due to reopen in autumn 2028.
• The lunch menu is served until 15:00, with last orders at 15:00.
• Some set meals, including the tempura and sashimi sets, are served only in the basement dining room.
• Reservations are taken by phone on 03-5315-0320. The restaurant asks you to say that you saw the website. The chain's online booking form does not list this branch.
• There is no car park.
• Whether prices include tax, which card brands are accepted, any cover charge and any age limit are not stated on the official page.