Shinjuku

The alleys this site covers in Shinjuku began as post-war black markets. Omoide Yokocho and Golden Gai are corridors lined on both sides with bars of six or seven square metres, and that density writes the rules. Round stools are packed along the counter so your shoulder touches your neighbour's, and shuffling along to let a newcomer in is the basic courtesy.

The crucial point is that **each bar sets its own rules**. One drink minimum per person, a cap on rounds, no groups of three or more, a cover charge — the conditions differ shop by shop, and most are posted at the door or on the wall. Nearly every awkward moment a foreign visitor has in Golden Gai comes from walking in without reading that notice. Glancing at the door before you enter is the local manners.

Some bars operate under the same name in two places, and people regularly confuse the Golden Gai branch with the Omoide Yokocho one; the two differ in atmosphere and clientele. Meanwhile, a minute from the Shinjuku ticket gates, a self-service place opens from 7am to 11pm, so early-morning coffee and late-night beer come across the same counter. Tourists, office workers and pensioners mixing there is Shinjuku in cross-section.