Tokyo
City, Japan has the most complicated subway lines and connections when viewed
from map illustrations. But through
constant commuting and familiarization, transfer from one point to another
within the metro becomes easy. It
becomes an advantage and marred with uncertainty to go home late night when one
is familiar with the routes and timetable of the Tokyo Metro Pass.
In
a lot of times, one has to catch up the last train ride with drunk salarymen
nearly lying on trains as a common sight.
Because taxi fares in Tokyo City are quite expensive, a night life and
an uninterrupted drinking spree becomes almost impossible or a risk to be
taken.
Like
the pitched tents outside the streets of Seoul, I have always imagined drinking
together with the Japanese salarymen on the same set-up in Tokyo. But there was nothing of the same sort as we
wandered. The alleys though and the neon
light signage along the streets were the marks of how I envision night life in
Tokyo will be.
The
ramen shops are the usual go-to places at night. But along with the ramen shops are the yakinikus on cramped spaces and mostly
near the metro stations.
For this visit, it was not easy
to wander at night for these are the early autumn nights of Tokyo, Japan.
ODAIBA
Odaiba
is a man-made island, known for shopping and as an entertainment district. The Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo’s harbor and
waterfront area illuminates at night, which is one of the top tourist
attractions in the City. Their version
of the Statue of Liberty is also picturesque and a popular backdrop for
self-portraits.
The
life-sized Gundam statue, related to
the anime series, which stands in front of the DiverCity Tokyo Plaza is also an
added attraction for Odaiba.
Tokyo
Metro:
Yurikamome Line connected thru the Shimbashi Station of the Tokyo Metro
on the Yamanote Line. Disembark at the
Daiba Station (15-minutes travel time).
SHIBUYA CROSSING
The
Shibuya is known as the major nightlife area of Tokyo and a fashion center of
Japan. The Shibuya station of the Tokyo
Metro is one the busiest railway stations and the Hachiko Exit is the access to
the famed Shibuya Crossing. The statue
of Hachiko, a dog, between the station and the intersection is a common
rendezvous.
There
is one particular ramen shop that we frequent on a street adjacent to the
building where the famous Starbucks Shibuya is – the Ichiryu Ramen. The combo of ramen and fried chicken
complemented by the bottle of Kirin beer is perfect for the chilly night.
SHIMBASHI
Underneath
the railways of the Shimbashi station of Tokyo Metro are aligned izakaya (Japanese style pub), yakiniku (barbeque) and ramen
shops. The cramped spaces almost
discouraged us from dining. But with the
thought of limited time and that there would be no other way to explore the
area but to dine and drink, we were lead to an izakaya named Torahachi. And
it was a good choice.
It
was the typical nightlife for a Japanese salarymen. Almost all seated around us came from work
and they all came to unwind, while us, to experience dining the locals’ ways.
SHINJUKU
The
first time I came to Tokyo, I was treated by a friend to yakiniku (grilled meat) and bottles of beer. I was drunk and my memory was not clear as to
where we had our drinking spree. It was
somewhere in Shinjuku near the Robot Restaurant as a friend recalled and reminded me.
On
my third visit to Japan for this early autumn trip, a friend of ours (Carla) lead
us to another alley in Shinjuku, which as locals name “the Piss Alley”. The alley is home to small bars, yakitori grills and food stalls, which
claims to have its history dating back as post-war Japan. I don’t know why they should call it piss
alley.
But
with cramped space, narrow pathways (not really the main reason) and the fact
that credit card is not accepted, we opted for a more spacious Japanese
restaurant on an adjacent street.
We had our dinner at Horumon Jonetsu (a barbecue restaurant), where I noticed that most servers were Vietnamese. The skewered meat,
bottles of beer and even a rice bowl set for a late night dinner was the best
way to end our autumn trip in Tokyo.
