Albatross G Golden Gai
Gallery & Bar アルバトロスG · Albatross G Golden Gai
- Ward
- Shinjuku
- Price
- ¥2,000~3,000 (cover charge ¥500)
- Hours
- 19:00-next day 05:00 (L.O.04:
- Closed
- Open daily
- Getting there
- 6 min walk from Shinjuku-sanchome Stn (E1 exit)
- Founded
- 1997
- The Golden Gai standard ¥500 cover charge applies, cash only
- Where most Golden Gai bars are cramped and dim
- Most of Golden Gai is shuttered before 8pm
We do not republish copyrighted photographs. Use the links below to see the actual venue.
Obvious to locals, invisible to visitors
There is a simple reason guidebooks leave this out: to the people who live here it is too obvious to be worth explaining.
The Golden Gai standard ¥500 cover charge applies, cash only. With 28 seats over two floors it is roomy for this street, and foreign customers are common — an easy first stop.
Where most Golden Gai bars are cramped and dim, this one is hung wall-to-ceiling with chandeliers. It doubles as a gallery with occasional exhibitions.
Most of Golden Gai is shuttered before 8pm. This place opens at 7pm and runs to 5am — arrive earlier and you will find the whole street empty.
What it is
Shinjuku is a ward where a mega-terminal abuts narrow alleys. Cash only, and a seating charge on top. Know those two things and nothing will catch you out. Start with a draft or a highball, then ask the owner where to go next. After six in the evening the atmosphere shifts completely — pick your hour to match your purpose. Keep the receipt — it makes the name easy to look up later, since many signs are kanji-only. Rather than anchoring your itinerary, it slots naturally into the gaps between other stops.
What to order
Why locals keep coming
The owner works the bar personally, so the quality of conversation is the quality of the place. Similar bars cluster nearby, so there is no need to settle in — the hopping itself becomes the point.