Tokyo

Shinjuku Golden Gai Food Tour

Badge of ExcellenceTokyo, Japan

3 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

This walking tour of Shinjuku’s buzzing areas of Golden Gai and Kabukicho is the perfect way to discover great bars, restaurants, and food stalls, without having to do any research. Discover new haunts, and feast on local specialties, such as ramen and “yakitori” (skewers). Learn about local history from your guide, and best of all, enjoy the perk of having tastings included.

Walking food tour of the Shinjuku’s Golden Gai and Kabukicho districts
Learn why the area is one of Japan’s most famous entertainment areas
Try a diverse selection of Japanese dishes like ramen and yakitori
Benefit from the perk of having two drinks included

What's Included

Local Guide
Two drinks included
4 Food Stops

Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Food and drink, unless specified
Transportation costs

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

1-chōme-2-6 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan
Meet up point: Meet in front of the KISSATEN Tajimaya Coffee House Address: 1 Chome-2-6 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 160-0023 Directions: Follow signs for the West Gate to exit Shinjuku Station, then exit via B15.

Start time

05:00 PM

End point

Japan, 160-0021 Tokyo, Shinjuku City, Kabukichō, 1-chōme1６ゴールデン街
End Point: Golden Gai Area

What To Expect

Begin your journey into Tokyo’s beating heart in Kabukicho. Here, greet your guide and head straight for Omoide Yokocho, a street whose name translates as Memory Lane.

Travel back in time as you pass bars that have remained unchanged since 1950 and then proceed to Kabukicho, the largest and safest Red Light District in Asia. Stop to enjoy a sample of two delicious foods including ramen.

Conclude your tour in Shinjuku’s Golden Gai neighborhood, famed for its effervescent nightlife consisting of more than 200 pubs, stalls, and karaoke bars. Sip on an included cool drink while here. Feel free to continue exploring this raucous enclave independently.

Tajimaya Coffee

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Omoide Yokocho

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Kabukicho

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

第1モナミビル (Pass By)

Hanazono Shrine (Pass By)

Shinjuku Golden Gai

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Adults 20 years old and above only
Karaoke After Party available
Not wheelchair accessible
Changes to tours and spots we visit may occur due to schedules of restaurants, public holidays, weather conditions and other unforeseen circumstances. Applicable substitutions will be made in this case.
Dietary Restrictions Flexibility: Pescetarian and Vegetarian friendly

Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

175 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 175 reviews

Great tour with good food and lots of culture

Alice_O, Apr 2024

My partner and I really enjoyed this tour. Guilia was very knowledgeable about Shinjuku and the Golden Gai area. The food in each of the restaurants was really delicious and we were able to try a good variety of Japanese dishes. We would have liked more of a chance to have drinks along the way but overall it was a great tour!

A great night in Shinjuku!

Patricia_C, Jan 2024

The most memorable part of the tour was the fantastic guide Wesley, he was informative, fun, made sure it was a great night, we were so lucky to have him. The places we went to were great, loved the food and the drinks. It was a fantastic night.

Lot of good context but lack substance

DJUSMIN_A, Dec 2023

We want to like the tour but we’re somewhat disappointed. The tour guide was very good but for a food tour for foodies we don’t find the places we tried were very good. For the amount we paid best go to a high end sushi places or a Kaiseki dinner.

Fabulous addition to our trip with a great guide - Alex!

Denise_P, Nov 2023

Alex was a fabulous guide, and all four of us thoroughly enjoyed the entire evening. He was friendly and engaging and very knowledgeable. He shared lots of great cultural insights along the way. This tour was about so much more than just delicious food and gave us insight into an area we most likely would not have visited on our own. Thank you, Alex!

We LOVED this tour!

Hunter_B, Oct 2023

This was such a great tour!! We have been on many food tours all across the world but this one was ranked top for the amount of food we experienced! Our guide, Daniel, was very knowledgeable, friendly and went above and beyond to make sure the tour was memorable. Highly recommend anyone wanting to experience local foods and see the city!

THIS IS NOT A FOOD TOUR, non local guide! very disappointing!

Michelle_T, Sep 2023

A couple of thing went wrong. 1. Our guide was not local, he was Italian (quite nice) hit not local and recently arrived in japan, so he is not an expert on culture traditions… he is still learning and you can tell. Many of his comments were “Japanese are stupid and they don’t know the difference between one religion and the other, so they mix it..”, from what I know this is very normal and actually the fact that each family make there own “customs” is the custom…. 2. THIS IS NOT A FOOD TOUR! We were really expecting to ding hidden gems and street food or Izakaya spots, trying new thing and learning about Japanese culinary world… this was a tour we’re we stopped at 3 places had a lot of food but not good food, and no explanation whatsoever! The sushi spot was terrible, did not think we could get sushi that sad in japan… Yakut pry was dry, no sauce no flavor… ramen was good it was the only local and tasty stop, but still no explanation as to what type of ramen we were eating… We did pass by a few places and our guide said lo this is the best …. In Tokyo… so why we didn’t stop there is a mystery to me!

Good tour

Thor_G, Jul 2023

The Guide was very friendly and provided interesting information about the areas we visited on the tour. The tour was a little disorganised, as the guide did not pre-arrange seating times with restaurants. We were rejected from a couple of restaurants because they could not accommodate our group size. There was standing room only in the last venue that we visited, and it was very uncomfortable. For a tour this expensive, we expected to have guaranteed seating at venues. We recommend that the Guide agrees seating times with the venues beforehand. Overall, we were pleased with the tour and the Guide’s knowledge.

Great tour! Recommended

Rosemary_B, Jun 2023

We took this tour in early May 2023. Really enjoyed it. These tours are a great way to experience parts of the city you would never find or fully appreciate on your own.

Authentic Tokyo night life

Maryanne_G, Jun 2023

Walking the narrow streets of the Golden Gai with all the small, intimate bars was truly a fascinating and authentic experience. We enjoyed the entire tour and the food was delicious .

Amazing night in Shinjuku

tpr110, May 2023

This was a truly incredible food tour! Not only did Alex fill our bellies with the best tastes of Shinjuku, he also was incredibly knowledgeable & taught us many things about the food & the area we would never have found or known on our own. He was a charismatic , funny tour guide who truly brought us all together , felt like I was touring with friends! And I definitely had the best ramen of my life! Come hungry!! Thanks for an amazing night Alex!

Osmar gave us all an unforgettable experience

Roz_W, May 2023

Perfect balance of delicious food, learning about the area, and fun experiences. We had an awesome time and Osmar was a fantastic guide. He brought each place to life with history and stories and explained the food we were about to eat. Everyone had fun and the karaoke at the bar in Golden Gai was a great experience. Overall, was so happy we booked this tour and has been a highlight of our trip.

Fun and delicious food tour

krisfox1005, May 2023

Sandra did a great job navigating us through some savory areas of Tokyo and showed us some delicious food. We were happy that she made sure we could hear as the areas we visited were noisy.

Highly, highly recommend!...

Caitlin_T, May 2023

Highly, highly recommend! Such a fun experience, and SO MUCH FOOD! Sandra was the BEST host! She took us all over Shinjuku - we not only got so much delicious food, but we also learned about each part she took us to. I won't spoil all that we learned, but we loved the facts and tidbits! We ate yakitori, ramen and sushi and ended in Golden Gai enjoying cocktails (with a dash of karoke) with the other couples. Such a fun evening with great company! If you're still thinking about booking it or on the fence, just book it. It's so worth it!

Sandra was our best guide ever!

Mark_M, May 2023

Learning from Sandra was a highlight. She was spectacular. Her knowledge of Tokyo, Shinjuku, and Golden Gai was so helpful to us on out first day In Tokyo. She met us at the pre arranged location. We walked through the fascinating back streets Iin Shinjuku. Locals we encountered were impeccably nice and welcoming. Let me say that we ate well. We ended the evening at an up the stairs 7 chair bar in Golden Gai. What a friendly and great experience. We loved it..

Great evening with Sandra

Maja_K, May 2023

Great tour and Sandra was super helpful. I am gluten free vegetarian, she was able to arrange great meals for me. We had a fun group, enjoyed 3 restaurants, walk around and ended up in the bar singing karaoke. Strongly recommended!

Great night of food and song

Christina_S, May 2023

Everything was great- the food was all awesome! We added on karaoke at the end and really had a blast. Would definitely recommend. Our tour guide was lovely- We really enjoyed hearing about her story of moving to Japan from Barcelona - because the food and culture is just that good!

This tour is amazing! Don't miss it!

Susan_B, Apr 2023

This tour was amazing! Don't miss it. Sandra was our guide and she was an amazing tour guide! We had a great group on our tour and it was so much fun! The food was amazing and we enjoyed the 3 food stops and 1 bar stop. We would have never found by ourselves or ventured to the area as tourists. The organization of the tour and facts shared about the food, history and food was well worth the price of the tour. I loved that this tour visited the Golden Gai area which sold me on the excursion. This tour was the highlight of our trip to Japan. I recommend asking for Sandra and taking this tour. The best compliment is I woukd take this tour again when I come to Japan and ask for Sandra again. She seems like a good friend now! Perfect evening!

Interesting and yummy!

Kathryn_F, Apr 2023

We had a great time tasting authentic Japanese food in a neighborhood that has survived since WW II. It was fun and interesting. Sandra was a wonderful guide. She was knowledgeable and lots of fun. I highly recommend this tour, and Sandra.

KarenK_B, Apr 2023

I absolutely loved this tour! Our tour guide was Tommy who is a born educator, people person, karaoke master and just fun fun person. Our food stops were all amazing and we met fascinating people. Our food tour of 5 hit it off and the 3+hours went by fast. I can’t wait to see our group photos from Tommy!

Underwhelming

Joseph_C, Apr 2023

Although the tour guide was friendly we could have benefited from a true local (I believe the guide has only lived in Tokyo for a few years). The cost of the tour was high for the type and quality of food/drinks tried. I would skip this one.