Nonbei Yokocho, "drunkard's alley", is a narrow alley of tiny bars and yakitori counters beside the JR tracks at Shibuya Station, built in 1950. Time Out counted 39 shops in 2020, many full with seven or eight people. Most open in the evening, and some charge a seat fee.
Nonbei Yokocho is an alley of tiny bars and yakitori counters squeezed beside the JR Yamanote tracks at Shibuya Station, built in 1950, right after the war. Time Out counted 39 shops in 2020, and many of them are full with seven or eight people. Most open in the evening. The name means roughly “drunkard’s alley”.
It is the oldest-feeling corner of the station area, a short walk from the crossing but nothing like it: small wooden bar fronts, red lanterns and a counter. It belongs on any evening plan for Shibuya at night and on the wider list of things to do in Shibuya.
Accounts trace Nonbei Yokocho to street stalls from the post-war black market. One version, which its own source reports only as “reportedly”, says an Occupation-era rule in 1950 moved stalls off the streets into fixed premises. Time Out Tokyo dates the yakitori shops that still run the alley to the early 1950s, and notes that the street once held the head office of the Tokyu railway company.
It nearly did not make 70. In spring 2020 every shop closed for COVID-19 and the bars launched a crowdfunding appeal, aiming for ¥4 million, to keep going. They reopened. Some places have changed hands since: in March 2025 the perfume shop NOSE SHOP opened a fragrance-themed bar on the site of a yakitori shop that had traded for about 60 years.
Checked October 2026, from Time Out and travel guides:
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Number of bars | 39 in 2020 (Time Out); other guides say “under 40” |
| Size | Many full with 7 or 8 people; some fit only 4 or 5 |
| Hours | About 18:00 to 24:00, set by each bar |
| Address | 1-25 Shibuya (Time Out lists 1-25-10) |
Some bars have a second room upstairs; others are a single counter. Yakitori counters and small cocktail bars sit side by side.
There is no single rule for the alley. Each bar sets its own prices. Some add a seat charge, and many Japanese bars bring a small compulsory snack (otoshi) that appears on the bill. Time Out’s 2013 listing for Bar Piano, a bar in the alley, mentions a seating charge, which shows the practice exists here. Ask “how much is the charge?” before you order, or look for a priced menu at the door.
A few habits that keep you welcome:
On safety, the UK Foreign Office lists Shibuya among Tokyo’s higher-risk nightlife areas for drink spiking. Its advice is plain: see a priced menu before you enter a bar, and never follow street touts into one. Touting on public property is banned across Shibuya ward under an ordinance revised from 1 April 2025, so anyone pulling you towards a bar is breaking the rules.
Weekends bring far more people to Shibuya: a 2014 survey counted about 390,000 people a day at the crossing on non-working days against 260,000 on weekdays. With seats this scarce, a weekday evening is the easier bet. In daytime most bars are closed. If you want company the first time, the Shibuya Crossing & Hidden Streets Walking Tour threads Nonbei Yokocho and the Maruyamacho backstreets on a two-hour walk from the Myth of Tomorrow mural to the Hachiko statue. For drinks with a guide, the Shibuya Local Bar & Izakaya Crawl Tour visits three small bars and izakayas in the backstreets; the fee covers the guide and entry, and you pay for food and drinks yourself, in cash.
They are a short walk apart and feel very different. Nonbei Yokocho is post-war, cramped and run by small owners. Shibuya Yokocho, on the ground floor of Miyashita Park, opened in 2020 as a 100 m row of 19 regional food counters with long hours. Go to Shibuya Yokocho for a group meal and Nonbei Yokocho for one drink at a counter. Both are covered on the Shibuya restaurants page.
The alley sits beside the JR tracks on the north side of the JR station, just south of Miyashita Park and a short walk from the Hachiko statue. For the rest of the area, start at the Shibuya Japan homepage.
2 hours
Begins at Taro Okamoto's Myth of Tomorrow mural inside the station, crosses the Scramble and threads Nonbei Yokocho and the Maruyamacho backstreets before ending at the Hachiko statue.
from$18
Check availability1.5 hours
The cheapest and most-reviewed Shibuya walk: starts by Hachiko, crosses the Scramble, then works through Nonbei Yokocho, Miyashita Park, Center Gai and a lookout in Mark City.
from$13
Check availability3 hours
A guide takes you to three small bars and izakayas in the Shibuya backstreets that you would struggle to find alone; the fee covers the guide and entry, and you pay for food and drinks in cash.
from$38
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Nonbei Yokocho is a small alley of bars and yakitori counters beside the JR Yamanote tracks at Shibuya Station. The name means roughly "drunkard's alley". It was built in 1950, just after the war, and Time Out counted 39 shops there in 2020. Many are so small they are full with seven or eight customers.
It depends on the bar. There is no alley-wide rule, and some bars add a seat charge or a small compulsory snack to the bill, which is common in Japanese bars. Time Out's 2013 listing for one bar in the alley, Bar Piano, mentions a seating charge. Ask before you order, or look for a priced menu at the door.
Each bar sets its own hours. A travel guide gives a rough range of 18:00 to midnight, and some places open earlier or close later. With so few seats per bar, be ready to try more than one door, especially at weekends, when far more people come to Shibuya.
Yes. The bars are open to any adult, and walking tours of Shibuya route through the alley. Seats are few, so if a bar is full, try the next door rather than wait. The UK government advises checking prices before you sit down anywhere in Tokyo's nightlife areas and never following street touts into bars.
It is at 1-25 Shibuya, beside the JR Yamanote tracks on the north side of the JR station, just south of Miyashita Park. Time Out gives the address as 1-25-10 Shibuya and describes it as right by Shibuya Station. It is a short walk from the Scramble Crossing and the Hachiko statue, and several Shibuya walking tours pass through it.
Miyashita Park is a public park on the roof of a long, low shopping building beside the Yamanote tracks, a few minutes' walk north of Shibuya Station.
Shibuya at night means the lit Scramble Crossing, SHIBUYA SKY until 22:30, and small bars in Nonbei Yokocho and around Center Gai.
Shibuya's food clusters in a few places: Shibuya Yokocho under Miyashita Park for regional Japanese dishes, Nonbei Yokocho for yakitori and tiny bars, Center Gai and Dogenzaka for ramen and casual izakaya, and the food halls in Mark City and Parco.
Center Gai is the narrow pedestrian street that starts at Shibuya Crossing and runs into Udagawacho, lined with brand shops, fast food outlets and nightclubs.