Why go
Choose the district before choosing the venue: Shinjuku and Shibuya favor dense, energetic nights, while Ginza and Roppongi offer different scales and price points. Confirm last entry and transport timing, and keep the evening geographically compact. Use Nightlife in Tokyo as the planning lens; details in Nightlife in Tokyo connect each choice with concrete places and timing.
The full story
Drink The party never stops in Tokyo , and you will find good little bars and restaurants everywhere. The most Japanese way to spend a night out as an individual or in a small group would be at Japanese-style watering holes called izakaya (居酒屋), which offer food and drink in a convivial, pub-like atmosphere (see Japan for details). Cheaper chain izakaya like Tsubohachi (つぼ八) and Shirokiya (白木屋) usually have picture menus, so ordering is simple, even if you don't know Japanese – but don't be surprised if some places have Japanese only touchscreen ordering systems. Another common option, which is often unbelievable to non-Japanese ears, is “all you can drink” (nomihōdai, 飲み放題), where you can drink all you want from a fixed menu for 90 minutes or 120 minutes. This is aimed at group parties, and is generally paired with a meal, often “all you can eat” (tabehōdai, 食べ放題), often in a private room. There are also a number of cheap bars where you can get a drink for ¥300 or even cheaper. Tokyo’s most distinctive drink is Hoppy (hoppi, ホッピー), a virtually non-alcoholic beer-flavored drink (0.8% alcohol), which is drunk by mixing with shōchū (at 25%) at a 5:1 ratio, yielding an about 5% alcohol drink, essentially a substitute beer.
Useful to know
- Confirm current details from the relevant official operator before relying on this nightlife in tokyo advice.