Shinjuku Golden Gai

This dense warren of narrow alleys packed with tiny bars is a rare survival of postwar Tokyo, preserving low wooden buildings on a scale long vanished from the surrounding high-rise district. Just a few hundred cramped establishments, many seating only a handful of patrons, occupy two stories along lanes barely wide enough to pass. Once associated with the black market and later with writers, artists, and filmmakers, the district retains a bohemian atmosphere and draws visitors curious about an older, more intimate nightlife.