Ahhh, piss alley. What a lovely nickname for a place to eat…
But really, Omoide Yokocho is a legendary alley packed to the brim with small food stalls in Shinjuku (a Tokyo neighborhood). Most of the food stalls here sell yakitori (grilled skewers of meat) and believe me when I tell you that it’s some of the best food I’ve ever had! And it’s pretty cheap.
Now, the reason Omoide Yokocho is nicknamed “Piss Alley” is because of its lack of restrooms, which I can certainly attest to. Initially there were no public restrooms, and although there are a few now, I wouldn’t recommend trying to find them. At least for me, I was en route to a private female stall when I may or may not have stumbled into a few men relieving themselves in the wide open space reserved for men. Anyway, enough about bathrooms. I’ll fill you in on some places you can find a good restroom in a moment. But for now, back to the food!
The address for Omoide Yokocho is: 1-chōme-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tōkyō-to 160-0023, Japan.
If you put the address into Google maps, it will take you right there! Keep an eye out though, it can be hard to miss. One minute you’re walking down a regular street and all the sudden there will be a small opening for you to slip into. It is an alley after all. In any case, you’ll likely spot some tourists around.
Like it said before, Omoide Yokocho is full of tiny food stalls. And when I say tiny, I mean tiny. Each food stall holds only 6-10 seats, and you should be prepared to be elbow to elbow with the person next to you.
As you can see in the photo above, many of the food stalls were closed upon our initial visit. We stopped by early to check out the location and take photos, then came back later when the alley started to come alive.
If you look it up online, the area is technically open 24 hours, but even at 5:30 pm, when we eventually meandered in, a good portion of the stalls were not open, or were preparing to open. By around 6:00 pm, the street began to fill up as smoke from the grills began to pour out into the alley. By 6:30, it was every man for themselves as customers fought for empty seats. From what I’ve heard, this remains the case into the wee hours of the night!
As far as where to eat, you’ll have luck at nearly any place in the alley. Like I mentioned before, most of the restaurants serve yakitori, which literally translates to “grilled meat.” You’ll probably see some huge trays of it as you walk by the stands.
Of course there are other foods too. Ramen, sushi, and other Japanese staples can be found here, but I highly recommend sitting at a yakitori stall, as this is what the area is famous for!
When we visited, we basically wandered around until we found a stall with empty seats. We lucked out by choosing a stall with an English menu, which was great because I was one skewer away from choosing uterus over chicken. Ha…
Anyway, a lot of the stalls will offer English menus since many tourists have become keen to the famous alley. But, some won’t. In this case, you can always point and say “kore, onegaishimasu,” which literally means “that please.” In any case, it might be helpful to learn a few key phrases of Japanese before traveling to Japan.
One thing to look out for when eating in Omoide Yokocho is a table charge. The stall we chose had one, though it was only ¥300 (about $3 USD). Most of these table charges are accompanied by a small appetizer, so if one is handed to you or if one is at the bar before you sit, you’ll likely have to pay that table charge. Though it’s typically not much, these charges can ramp up the busier it gets. Because many people come to Omoide Yokocho and sit and drink for a good amount of time, this ensures that the employees are still making money.
At the stall we chose, there were a few set meal options. I got 5 skewers of meat and a drink for around $10 USD, which is a great deal!
Be careful though, even though Omoide Yokocho is primarily a cheap option for food, it’s soooo good, and you can easily knock back a good amount of skewers if you’re hungry enough. Which isn’t so bad in my opinion.
Another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of people smoke in this area. Most places in Japan are divided into smoking and non-smoking sections, but Omoide Yokocho is very similar to the vibe of an Izakaya (Japanese Pub), in that there is quite a bit of cigarette smoke and alcohol being thrown around. Personally, I am not a fan of cigarette smoke, but we were in a stall where thankfully, most customers were not smoking.
In any case, the mood of Omoide Yokocho is fun and exciting. It’s loud, busy, and the food is delicious! If you want to beat the crowd, head over around 5:00 pm, otherwise, dive right into the action and jump from stall to stall, enjoying all of the incredible eats!
Okay, so I haven’t forgot about the bathrooms. Luckily for all of us, Omoide Yokocho is very close to possibly the best nightlife area in Tokyo: Kabuchiko. This is the area with Robot Restaurant, some 18+ places (lol), and allllll the crazy Shinjuku lights. A couple of places you can pop into the restroom would be:
- Don Quijote Kabuchiko: 1-chōme-16-5 Kabukichō, Shinjuku-ku, Tōkyō-to 160-0021, Japan
- Odakyu Department Store: 1-chōme-1-３ Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tōkyō-to 160-8001, Japan
- BIC Camera Shinjuku: Japan, 〒160-0023 Tōkyō-to, Shinjuku-ku, Nishishinjuku, 1-chōme−5−１ 2F～7F 新宿西口ハルク
- Shinjuku Station: 3-chōme-38 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tōkyō-to 160-0022, Japan
Depending where you’re at in the alley, any of those places will be anywhere from a 5 – 10 minute walk away, and will definitely have nice, clean restrooms.
Well, that just about does it! Omoide Yokocho is a must-see area if you’re in Tokyo. I hope you check it out and love it!
samanthanowhere 