Most visitors walk through Nakano to reach Broadway. This guide is about the neighborhood they're missing — the izakaya streets, the ramen shops, and the Tokyo that doesn't perform.
November 25, 2025
8 mins read
Most visitors to Nakano walk through Sun Mall, poke around Broadway, and leave. They came for anime figures and vintage toys. That's fine. Broadway has its own guide.
This guide is about what's happening on the side streets once the lanterns light up. Nakano is where Tokyo goes to eat and drink without pretense. The ramen shops stay open until 3am because shift workers need dinner, not because late-night dining is trendy. The izakayas fill with regulars who've been coming for decades. If Shinjuku is where you perform going out, Nakano is where you just go out.
4 Minutes from Shinjuku, Another Tokyo Entirely
Kichijoji has the park. Koenji has the vintage. Nakano has the bars.
The JR Chuo Line runs west from Shinjuku through a string of neighborhoods, each with a distinct identity. Kichijoji draws crowds to Inokashira Park and the cafes surrounding it. Koenji is the 古着の聖地—the vintage clothing mecca—with over 60 shops concentrated south of the station, attracting bohemian crowds and musicians.
Nakano is neither of these things. Nakano is where you eat and drink.
The Chuo Rapid train covers the distance from Shinjuku in 4 minutes. The local takes 5-7 minutes for the same 4.4 kilometers. Either way, by the time you've checked your phone once, you've arrived somewhere that feels nothing like the station you just left.
When "drinking" is the priority
Koenji has nightlife, but a longtime resident once noted it's "not as lively as Shimokitazawa" for bars. Nakano's density is different. Step off the train at the north exit and within two minutes you're choosing between dozens of izakayas, standing bars, and ramen shops packed into overlapping commercial streets. The concentration is immediate and deliberate.
The fare from Shinjuku is ¥170 cash or ¥167 with an IC card. For that price, you trade Shinjuku's crowds for a neighborhood that doesn't care whether you're impressed.
The 224-Meter Gateway (And What Lies Beyond)
Walking through vs. walking off
Sun Mall runs 224 meters from Nakano Station's north exit to Nakano Broadway. The arcade covers 110 shops and sees 50,000 people pass through daily. A wave-design glass ceiling installed in 1998 lets natural light filter through. An hourly steam locomotive chime marks the time. Seasonal LED displays change the arcade's color scheme.
None of this is why you're here.
Sun Mall is functional transit. The shops sell shoes, clothes, daily necessities—the things local residents actually need. During daylight hours, it's a practical shopping street. The arcade opens at 10am; most shops close by 9pm.
The alleys that don't appear on maps
The interesting part happens when you turn off Sun Mall. Look east and you'll find narrow lanes branching toward the drinking streets: Fureai Road, the numbered streets (Ichiban-gai, Niban-gai, Sanban-gai), and beyond them, Showa-Shinmichi. These alleys compress decades of Tokyo drinking culture into a few hundred meters.
Sun Mall is how you get to Broadway. The side streets are why you might skip Broadway entirely.
Showa-Shinmichi: Where Salarymen Have Decompressed Since 1960
"Hyakken Yokocho" — a hundred doorways, no wrong choice
Showa-Shinmichi runs 250 meters, a 5-minute walk from the north exit. The street's official tagline is "昭和と今が出会う街"—where Showa meets today. The description is accurate. Green and red checkered lanterns mark the entrance to what the shopping street calls "Hyakken Yokocho"—Hundred Shop Alley.
The poet Yoshida Rui, who lived along the Chuo Line for years, once said: "When I lived along the Chuo Line, when it came to drinking, it was Nakano." He wasn't talking about Shinjuku overflow or trendy bar openings. He was talking about this street.
Where to start when every lantern looks inviting
Name | Style | Hours | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
Panipani | Standing bar | 17:00-24:00 (Fri-Sat to 1:00), closed Sun | Earl Grey highball, modern interior |
Namidabashi | Retro izakaya | — | ~10 seats, wall menus, unchanged since Showa |
Uoya Yozou | Standing fish bar | 17:00-1:00 daily | ¥280 sashimi, former fishmonger |
Taishu Sakaba Yo | Taishu sakaba | 17:00-22:30, closed Mon | Opened ~2022, counter seating |
The language barrier is smaller than it looks
Only 10% of Tokyo's izakayas have English menus. Showa-Shinmichi is no exception. This sounds like a problem until you realize it doesn't have to be.
Order "moriawase"—the chef's selection platter. Ask for "kyo no osusume"—today's recommendation. Point at what the person next to you is eating. Look for photo menus, which many places post outside. If you want a guaranteed English tablet menu, Torikizoku has two locations in Nakano.
The density of Showa-Shinmichi means low stakes. If one place doesn't work out, the next lantern is 10 steps away.
Fureai Road and the Numbered Streets: Hong Kong After Dark
The photogenic chaos of Ichiban-gai
Fureai Road runs north-south from the station toward Waseda-dori. The area includes Ichiban-gai (First Street), Niban-gai (Second Street), and Sanban-gai (Third Street)—a cluster of drinking establishments stacked between Sun Mall and Showa-Shinmichi.
The character here is different. Where Showa-Shinmichi feels intimate and nostalgic, Fureai Road feels like a neon postcard. Signs and lanterns overlap. Japanese visitors compare it to Hong Kong nightscapes. This is the part of Nakano that photographs well.
Nakano Yokocho is a 4-shop izakaya complex—multiple small bars sharing a single entrance. Nakano Beer Kobo hides in a back alley off Showa-Shinmichi, brewing 8 house beers in a space run by a French-trained chef.
Standing bars vs. seated: how the format changes the night
Standing bars (立ち飲み, tachinomi) dominate this area. The format matters. Standing bars turn over faster, cost less, and create a different social energy than seated izakayas. You're not settling in for a long evening at one spot—you're moving between them.
A typical evening at a standing bar runs ¥2,000-3,000. Beer starts at ¥300. If you want to sit down and stay longer, the seated izakayas in Showa-Shinmichi accommodate that pace instead.
Rengazaka: The South Exit You Didn't Know Existed
European brick, Japanese sake
Most visitors never leave the north exit. The drinking streets, Sun Mall, Broadway—everything famous about Nakano is north. But Nakano has two exits.
Rengazaka is a one-minute walk from the south exit. The name means "brick slope." A brick-paved alley runs between buildings, lined with bars and restaurants that look nothing like the north exit. The atmosphere is European. The crowd is couples, women, families—different from the salaryman density on the other side of the station.
When the north exit crowd isn't your crowd
Name | Style | Note |
|---|---|---|
Nakano Aonisai | Japanese sake bar | Casual atmosphere, sake pairings |
Bar Bacchus | Oden bar | Western-style, visible interior |
Minami no Kaeru | Dining bar | Organic cooking, Guinness on tap |
If the north exit is where salarymen decompress after work, Rengazaka is where they might bring a date. The prices are slightly higher. The volume is lower. The vibe is upscale casual rather than working-class practical.
Two distinct drinking experiences at one station. Choose based on who you're with and what kind of evening you want.
Aoba and the Ramen Battleground
Where the double-soup ramen was born
Japanese food media calls Nakano a "ramen gekisen-ku"—a ramen battleground. The description fits the density, but it undersells the history.
Aoba Nakano Honten sits 3 minutes from the north exit. This is where the fish-and-animal double soup (Wスープ) style originated. The combination of seafood broth and pork or chicken stock—now common across Tokyo—started here. Aoba isn't just another ramen shop in a crowded neighborhood. It's the original location of a historically significant style.
The styles you'll find within walking distance
Nakano's ramen scene covers the spectrum:
Aoba Nakano Honten: The original double-soup, fish + animal broth
Minowa-ya: Iekei-style tonkotsu, rich and heavy, opened 2022
Budoka: Another iekei option, 3 minutes from the south exit, ultra-rich with free rice refills
Saicoro: Niboshi (dried sardine) + tonkotsu, thick homemade noodles, ¥500 special on the 29th of each month
Kaeru: Jiro-style massive portions, piled vegetables, choose your noodle thickness
Tadaima Henshin-chu: Hiroshima oyster specialty—unusual for Tokyo
The ramen shops stay busy late because Nakano's drinking culture creates hungry people at 2am. Shift workers and last-train missers know these kitchens remain open when the izakayas close.
Nakano by Day: When the Lanterns Are Off
Sun Mall in daylight: local shopping, not tourism
Nakano transforms when evening arrives. But if you show up at noon, you'll find something worth seeing too—just different.
Sun Mall during daylight hours is practical Tokyo. Residents buying groceries. Salarymen grabbing quick lunches. The arcade feels like a local shopping street because that's what it is. The energy is lower, the crowds thinner, the experience quieter.
What's open before 5pm
Lou opened in 2021 as the sister shop to Paddlers Coffee in Hatayagaya. The cafe runs from 8:00 to 22:00 (closed Wednesdays), with the bar taking over at 5pm. The space uses entirely custom-built furniture—no ready-made pieces. Records spin city pop and jazz. The specialty is milk coffee made with Hateruma Island black sugar.
Inside Broadway, Coffee Zingaro occupies a second-floor space produced by artist Takashi Murakami and Kaikai Kiki. Hours are 12:00 to 18:00, though the schedule varies—check their Instagram. The interior combines Showa-era retro design with Murakami art. Coffee comes from Norwegian roaster Fuglen.
The neighborhood transformation happens around 5pm when izakayas begin opening. Arrive at 6pm for photos of lanterns against blue-hour sky. Arrive at 8pm for the full energy.
Getting There and Getting Oriented
From Shinjuku (and everywhere else)
Nakano Station is served by three lines:
JR Chuo Line (Rapid): 4 minutes from Shinjuku
JR Chuo-Sobu Line (Local): 5-7 minutes from Shinjuku
Tokyo Metro Tozai Line: Western terminus, runs east to Nihombashi, Otemachi, and Nishi-Funabashi in Chiba
The Tozai Line makes Nakano directly accessible from central Tokyo business districts without transferring at Shinjuku. The line passes through Takadanobaba, Iidabashi, Kudanshita, Otemachi, and Nihombashi before continuing to eastern Tokyo.
North exit vs. south exit
Exit north for Sun Mall, Broadway, and the izakaya streets. Exit south for Rengazaka and date night. The station is small enough to switch sides if you change your mind.
This guide is published by Hinomaru One, a Tokyo-based private tour operator.
