About this site
TOKYO 23 is a local guide to 74 places across Tokyo's 23 wards, written in Korean, Japanese and English. What separates it from other travel information is its weight on the rules that operate inside a place, rather than a list of places.
Why 'how' matters more than 'where'
Visitors rarely come unstuck at an old Tokyo establishment because they could not find it. They come unstuck when they sit down and open the menu, only to learn the order was meant to be placed at the door; when two people share one coffee in a kissaten; when a ten-thousand-yen note appears in Golden Gai.
None of this is in the guidebooks, because to the people who live here it is too obvious to explain. This site hunts down that unexplained part in Japanese-language sources and writes it out. There are currently 261 entries.
Three layers of information
| Layer | Count | Nature |
|---|---|---|
| Specific to one shop | 261 | Confirmed in the venue's own material, owner interviews or Japanese press coverage. For instance, that Tonki varies the number of cuts in a cutlet according to the customer's build comes from an interview with the owner. |
| Common to a trade | 0 | Customs that apply across a whole trade, such as one order per person in a kissaten. We do not publish these separately, because the same sentence would repeat across many pages; where relevant they are woven into the individual shop's entry. |
| The place itself | 74 | Descriptions of atmosphere and practical notes for visiting. |
What is covered
- Alley Gourmet — neighbourhood diners and veteran shops off the tourist route
- Showa Retro — kissaten with interiors intact from the 1960s and 70s
- Night & Bars — small counter-led places in yokocho lanes and Golden Gai
- Subculture — second-hand books, used records, shops that dig deep into one field
- Urban Walk — riverbanks, rooftops and old shopping streets you can walk for free
Verification status
Stated plainly: of the 74 entries, 74 have had their name, address, hours and phone number cross-checked against official sites and published listings. These carry a 'Verified' mark.
The remaining 0 have not been individually verified. For those we give the address only to ward level rather than inventing a street number, and provide a Google Maps search link instead. We judged that more honest than fabricating a plausible address. The verified count grows as checks are completed.
Why only 74 places
We prepared 230 to begin with. But for 171 of them we have not yet found the story that belongs to that specific shop. We could have attached only the conventions common to the trade — "at a counter-style old shop you order at the door first" — but then the same sentences would repeat across many pages.
That helps nobody. So we publish only the 74 places for which we hold shop-specific knowledge. The rest return one at a time, as we dig through Japanese sources and find what is particular to each.
One genuinely useful entry beats a padded count.
About the images
All 77 photographs are CC-licensed (or public domain) images from Wikimedia Commons. Each one carries the file name, photographer, licence and a link to the original page.
They are shown in two clearly marked kinds. 49 are photographs of the place itself; 28 are reference photographs conveying the mood of the area or theme, and each of those states explicitly that it does not show the venue.
We reproduce no photographs from venues' own websites or blogs. Actual venue photos are reached through external links on each detail page.
Revenue
Running costs are covered by Google AdSense. No venue pays for inclusion, and no ranking is adjusted for payment. See our Ad Policy.
Publisher
| Site | TOKYO 23 |
|---|---|
| Contact | storykim1980@gmail.com |
| Based in | Tokyo, Japan |
| Coverage | 74 places / 23 wards / 261 local notes |
For corrections, closure reports or removal requests, please use the contact page. We act on them promptly once confirmed.