I had a very long and exhausting week and wanted to celebrate by having a night out in Golden Gai, which I haven’t done in over a year. But upon arrival (Friday 11pm) I was greeted by the most ridiculous sight imaginable.
Golden Gai looked like a freaking amusement park, that’s how full it was. People standing in queues to get into bars, huge groups of 5+ tourists trying to find a place that can seat them all, a young family with two kids, a mother pushing a stroller with a baby in it, …. It felt like a joke. The crowd looked like they were mocking the street touts, once feared, now drowning in a sea of tourists. And the very notion that this place is supposed to be “gritty” or “back-alley”or “dangerous” seemed preposterous at best. It took me 15 minutes to walk through Golden Gai, which is insanely long for such a small area. Because I kept getting stuck behind people taking pictures or stopping for seemingly no reason.
I gave up on Golden Gai and deliberately went to an area I know very few tourists go to. But there I was greeted by “we’re closed” and “only Japanese”. This made me really mad, but honestly I can’t blame them. I would be annoyed too if I ran a bar under these conditions.
Next time I just want a beer somewhere, I’ll try some other Yamanote line stops, at least two or three away from Shinjuku.
Edit: Also agreed, weekdays especially at non-peak time, it’s probably still fine.
by Friendly_Software11
41 comments
I went there with some friends visiting and a beer was like 1,000. I’ll only go if friends and family visit and want to go.
Golden Gai has been a shitshow for a while. Overrun by tourists not even eating/drinking half the time. Generally you can only go to the good places where you are already a regular and/or when you are obviously not a tourist.
Thankfully it mostly hasn’t been overrun by places looking to fleece the tourists, so at least it is still mostly the Golden Gai it always has been.
Friday and Saturday nights are the worst times to go to Golden Gai for that exact reason. If I go, it’s usually during a random weekday.
One aspect of overtourism and the impact of social media making places viral. It’s a double edged sword.
I went there a few months ago when I had some family visiting, didn’t feel much different from my first time in, like 2014 when I myself was a tourist
It’s always been this way. Hell I went on a couple dates there pre-Covid and still had a good time.
It’s still a fun trip, just not something you’d do on the regular
A japanese girl I’ve talked to there told me she goes to Golden Gai to practice her English… I’m heartbroken too
>The crowd looked like they were mocking the street touts, once feared, now drowning in a sea of tourists.
The rest of what you wrote sounds terrible but this is pretty funny.
There are absolutely zero reasons to go to GG, or even Kabukicho.
Insane that in a city of thousands of bars people go there to be fleeced and you’re probably just going to be with rowdy tourists.
Just pick a bar and become a regular, usually the second floor ones will do. Even on a weekend night its not bad especially if they give preference for regulars
I went there a couple months ago, one time around midnight on a Saturday night, and it was almost as bad as you described, but not quite that bad in my opinion… And then again on a random weeknight, probably a Monday or Tuesday night and it was fine, not too busy. I have noticed Kabukicho and Golden Gai getting worse year over a year. I’m happy to see that the bars themselves seem to be the same as I remember from years ago, even if the atmosphere and people around me change… I think I will always have a soft spot for the area, even if it is not actually “worth it” anymore.
As someone who was a regular at Golden Gai in the early 2000s, (kids came along so I could no longer pull all-nighters) it’s interesting to hear how much it has changed. It was very rare to meet any non-Japanese (I never saw any outside of Champions) and even Japanese friends were surprised to hear that I went out there as it had a reputation for being cliquey and unwelcoming.
Having said that, I didn’t see many young people out drinking there so I did wonder about the future of the area if there was no ‘new blood’. Maybe the influx of overtourists has saved the place.
You know Japanese people probably say the same thing about you going there a year ago right
OP, sorry to hear that your Golden Gai experience was not a good one.. Maybe this is a point where you can start exploring new places, maybe more local and less touristy.
To be honest, unless there is a specific place with quality, Golden Gai bars are horrible: one time (pre-Covid), when I went there with my friends visiting, one of the places served me white wine in a little plastic cup that is obviously not very clean..
ive been a month ago and it wasnt so bad inside the bars when i went, though outside i did notice there are many tourists. i went with my japanese bf to a second floor bar, it was only the two of us, and then went to another second floor bar, there were only japanese people.
Golden Gai is a tourist trap.
Long shot but is the bar Seishun 青春 still there??? Or the little bar where the guy and his daughter played guitar and singed accapela with customers?
I miss the days of covid when I’d go there and it would be totally chill and awesome haha
A decade a go I thought it was such a crazy experience when I went into one of the bars and it was all westerners. It was seriously crazy luck to see a bunch of westerners even just a decade ago. I went back earlier this year and it was now crazy to see a bunch of Japanese at the bars. Such a strange change. I prefer not to visit Tokyo anymore and I have a lot more fun in Chiba and Kobe, where it’s mostly locals. I come to Japan to speak Japanese and experience Japanese culture, so it’s not particularly fun to me to be around other westerners when I visit.
This is why I no longer tell anyone about my favorite spots in Tokyo. Let tourists stay on the theme park route.
I am a regular and know the area quite well. What you are describing is quite on point, there are 3 kinds of joints in GG,
* the ones that welcome tourists, the charge may be waived for international visitors, there are English signs everywhere, and/or for some obscure reason they are famous abroad or in guides (Deathmatch in Hell, La Jetee…). I would say maybe 1/4th of the places are like that.
* The places that very openly refuse tourists (the “members only” places). Used to be rare, not anymore.
* The ones that will more or less subtly refuse tourists (“closing now” or “we are reserved”). Many places are like that. They will flatly refuse tourists in group of 2 or more, and you need to behave.
If you speak good Japanese, it should be no problem to go anywhere even in “members only” places.
Bars went through covid and survived, they don’t need foreigners money…
I’ve had some good nights at Golden Gai recently but you have to try a few bars until you find one that’s relatively quiet and welcoming. Agree the alleys are overcrowded with tourists these days. It’s nice though when you walk into an obscure bar and the chaos of what’s going on outside dissipates.
In all of Tokyo, why would you pick this area if not a tourist?
Even a decade ago we used to see a bunch of tourist there on busy nights but now seeing fuckin kids in strollers is absolutely fuckin wild.
There’s some irony in criticizing the current clientele at these tiny bars (tourists), given that you haven’t visited / supported them in over a year.
OP also posted a near identical thread a few months ago ..
*I’ve been seeing this all over lately. Tourists treating nightlife areas like attractions to visit with their family. Last night I was in Kabukicho at like 11pm and saw some random tourist walking around with two kids below age 10*
Bruh, I’m gonna be honest with you.
It really just sounds like you’re a foreign resident, who is now whining and gate keeping what is and has been for a while, a very well known tourist destination.
That’s like saying I love going to USJ for the food, but damn it’s overrun now!
GG being a spot hasn’t been a secret in 30 years, and flights are cheap at the moment. The line about “the touts once feared”? What even the fuck is that about 🤣
Sure, there’s something to be said about a more romanticized time period, where these things were still small and relatively unknown; a kind of well known secret to folks living here. That was a long ass fucking time ago. I get your feelings, but imo, they’re slightly tone deaf and misplaced.
On the upside, there’s no shortage of tiny snacks, and little izakayas with bomb ass food around. Time to find your new secret spot, and tell no one about it. Also, about the finally needing a break and a night out, I get that. This really sucks to have happened on what appears to be a rare night out for you. Better luck next time OP 🍻
While golden Gai is crowded, I live in Tokyo and I never have a problem going to one of my regular bars in golden Gai. Yea, of course there are always other customers but I can invariably get in with no issue. There are always some bars with seats available. You are exaggerating a bit.
Are there a lot of tourists? Yes. But it’s been that way for years now.
Go out to the west side. Koenji, Kichijoji….
Much more agreeable in terms of crowds, at least for now – it’s been getting worse as more streamers try to show “off-the-beaten-path” places to try and stand out.
Akabane is also good, but a bit out of the way (unless you live that way or are heading towards Saitama).
What other spots do you go to off of the yamanote for bars?
Japanese don’t go to Golden Gai bc it is a tourist trap. There are sooo many other yokochos with small bars to drink at if you want.
There was a group of three blonde families with an army of very young children, including toddlers in prams having dinner at Golden Gai when I went past in summer. Their prams took up so much space. Yes this was at night too. Thought it was a rather amusing sight.
Felt exactly this way in pontocho in kyoto. Was incredibly crowded and was like waiting in line just to get through.
Instagram fodder now
Just go to nippori station lot’s of joints and still not packed like Ueno or Shinjuku
Go one or two stops out and you’ll find basically zero tourists. Luckily everyone is going to the same handful places, which leaves the rest for people who actually live here.
Sorry to tell you but I’ve lived in Tokyo for 2 years and every single weekend night, especially after 10pm, it’s like this. I still go sometimes because there are specific bars and bartenders I like, and I always find interesting people to talk to. Also in my experience there’s usually roughly 80% foreigners there, especially at the ground level bars. Sometimes the more hidden bars have more Japanese people, and there are a few that are members only which I’ve heard only admit Japanese people.
Golden Gai is a tourist trap. That’s also obvious by the very high cover charge at every bar.
I had a good time in 2017 but just walked away when I came by this year
>The crowd looked like they were mocking the street touts, once feared, now drowning in a sea of tourists.
So what you’re saying is it’s not all bad news.
I coined it golden gaijin a while ago haha
Completely overrun nowadays
Oh no I am no longer the only main character gaijin in golden gai
Golden Gai stopped being Golden Gai in the mid 2000s (I’d say around 2006-08 IMHO)
Before that it was a note in a travel paperback, but soon as it was mentioned in travel blogs/tv spots/food shows etc, it was beginning of the tourist trap. It’s been steadily becoming a night time Takeshita-Dori since once Instagram/TikTok and influencer culture came around.
It’s the Tokyo “red light district” what did you expect if not tourists? What do you think you see in any similar area in any country in the world? Tourists. That’s how bars like Deathmatch in Hell can survive. Tourists. Why do you think the touts are there? To scam locals that know better? Golden Gai is a tourist area. You think locals are staying at the Godzilla hotel up the street? I swear, some people on this sub act they know Tokyo so well but are totally out of touch.
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