Tokyo Travel Guide

Sip cocktails in the swish lounges of high-rise Shinjuku, join the throngs of partygoers in Roppongi, or seek out an alternative crowd in the narrow streets of Ebisu.

Tokyo's traditional expat haunt, Roppongi is heaving with bars and clubs, from raucous party spots to sleazy pick-up joints. The swish bars, upmarket restaurants and chic lounges of the new Roppongi Hills area are popular with a predominantly Japanese crowd.

From glamorous spots such as the Park Hyatt's 52nd-floor New York Bar (made famous by the film Lost in Translation) to Ni-chome, Tokyo's largest gay district, Shinjuku has it all. Despite a seedy side in the area's Golden Gai (renowned for its yakuza - Japanese mafia – activity), and in Kabukicho (the red light district), visitors are unlikely to run into any trouble, and the atmosphere is not intimidating.

With their narrow alleyways lined with tiny noodle bars and funky cafés, Ebisu and Daikanyama throng with young Tokyoites and visitors looking for a less glitzy, more alternative, side to the city. Ebisu offers up some of the hippest clubs, while Daikanyama has a number of intimate, laidback bars.

It is considered rude to pour your own drink in company: if you're thirsty, pour someone else's first and they will return the favour. Most bars and clubs are open until the early hours of the morning: it is never hard to find a drink in Tokyo.

Explore Senso-ji Temple to the strains of Ryuichi Sakamoto's gentle Little Buddha. Get ready to go clubbing in Ebisu to Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra's fast-paced Tokyo Strut. Walk through Shinjuku late at night to Zen, moody instrumental hip-hop by DJ Krush.