Yakitori Alley Tokyo: Shinjuku Memory Lane Menu & Guide

This guide is part of our Tokyo Travel Guide: Neighbourhoods, Food and Getting Around — start there for the overview, itineraries and costs.

"Yakitori Alley" usually means Omoide Yokocho ("Memory Lane"), a cluster of narrow lanes beside the tracks just outside the west exit of Shinjuku Station, packed with tiny counters grilling chicken and offal skewers. The same nickname is also used for the restaurants under the elevated JR tracks at Yurakucho, next to Ginza, which is covered separately further down.

Yakitori Alley at a Glance

Where Is Yakitori Alley in Shinjuku?

Omoide Yokocho sits on the west side of Shinjuku Station, squeezed between the JR tracks and the Nishi-Shinjuku office district. Leave the station by the west exit and walk north alongside the tracks; the entrance is marked by the alley's sign and red lanterns, and GO TOKYO puts it about two minutes from the station on foot. The lanes are barely wide enough for two people to pass.

The official association describes the area as about 80 premises on roughly 2,000 m². Around 60 of those are places to eat and drink, mostly yakitori-ya (chicken skewer bars) and motsuyaki-ya (grilled offal bars), alongside a few ramen, soba and sushi counters and some non-food businesses such as ticket shops.

A Short History of Memory Lane

Around 1946 the area by the west exit lay in rubble after the war's air raids. According to the official Omoide Yokocho history, an open-air black market of street vendors, separated by little more than door boards, grew up on the site during the period of controlled rationing.

• 1947: strict controls made staples such as ramen hard to sell, but beef and pork offal supplied by the occupation forces was not controlled, so stalls switched to grilled giblets. The association credits Horaiya with being the first to serve motsuyaki here in 1947.
• Around 1959: redevelopment for the station terminal building saw some 300 shops and stalls declared squatters and evicted; the survivors are the lanes that remain today.
• 24 November 1999: a fire burned down about a third of the alley, with no casualties. The shops were rebuilt, and 24 November is now "Omoide Yokocho Day", marked each year with a disaster drill across the lanes.

Many buildings are the post-war barracks-style structures, and some shops are run by the second or third generation of the same family.

What to Order: The Yakitori Menu Explained

Menus are often handwritten in Japanese, though many places have photo menus and some have English. Yakitori are ordered by the skewer, and for most cuts the staff will ask whether you want tare (タレ, a sweet-savoury soy-based glaze) or shio (塩, salt). Offal such as heart and gizzard is commonly eaten with salt.

Common Skewers

How Much Does a Skewer Cost?

Prices are set shop by shop, so there is no single menu for the alley. As a guide:

• Japan Guide puts yakitori at around ¥100–¥200 per stick in general, sold singly or in pairs.
• A 2026 guide to the alley quotes ¥150–¥350 per skewer at Omoide Yokocho.
• On the official shop listings (prices as of 2021), Torie's six-skewer yakitori platter was ¥1,000, and Kabuto's eel skewers were ¥350–¥400 each.

Beyond chicken, expect pork and beef offal skewers (motsuyaki), offal stew (motsu nikomi), grilled vegetables, seafood and simmered dishes such as oden.

Drinks and Extra Charges

• Beer: about ¥500–¥600 at most stalls, and ¥700–¥800 at the more tourist-oriented ones.
• Highball: about ¥500–¥700.
• Sake and shochu: served by the glass or flask; prices vary by shop.
• Seat charge (otoshi): some shops add a charge of around ¥300–¥500, often with a small appetiser, and some have a table charge of around ¥500. Not every shop charges one, so check if the menu does not say.

Shops to Know

The details below come from each shop's entry on the official Omoide Yokocho website. Those entries were last updated in 2021–2024, so hours and prices may have changed; check before making a special trip.

Kabuto (鰻 カブト)

An eel specialist and one of the alley's best-known counters. Every part of the eel, from head and fins to liver and tail, is skewered and grilled over charcoal. There is essentially no ordering: skewers of different cuts arrive one after another, and each customer is limited to three alcoholic drinks. Listed hours are 13:00–20:00, closed Sundays and national holidays, with 11 seats and cash only. Queues are common.

Asadachi (朝起)

Known for unusual dishes rather than yakitori. The menu changes daily with the fish and shellfish available, and also lists delicacies such as frog, loach and snapping turtle (the turtle needs a reservation). Listed hours are 13:00–24:00 (last order 23:30), closed alternate Mondays, with 18 seats and cash only.

Torie (鳥会)

A yakitori-focused shop that pays particular attention to the charcoal, salt and grilling, and also serves offal stew, seafood and oden. It is one of the larger places, with 50 seats. Listed hours are 18:00–24:00 with irregular closing days, cash only.

Yasube'e (安兵衛)

The largest privately run restaurant in the alley, founded in 1950 according to its Japanese listing, with 64 seats. It serves yakitori, offal stew, seafood bought daily at Toyosu Market and regional sake. Listed hours are 16:00–24:00, closed Mondays, and it is one of the few that accepts credit cards, debit cards and UnionPay as well as cash (details as of June 2024).

Etiquette and Practical Tips

• Bring cash. The association's president wrote in 2021 that about 60% of shops took cash only; GO TOKYO lists the alley as cash only.
• Keep groups small. With five or six seats at many counters, groups of two or three find space far more easily than larger parties.
• Expect house rules. Some shops require one food and one drink per person, some set a time limit (often 90 minutes), and some charge for the table.
• No smoking in the lanes. Smoking is banned on the streets of Omoide Yokocho and allowed only inside shops that permit it.
• Toilets are shared. Shops on Nakadori Street have no toilets of their own and share a communal block, remodelled in 2021; go before it becomes urgent, as queues build.

Taking Photos

The lanes are among the most photographed spots in Tokyo, but the association asks photographers to respect customers and shops. Filming and media photography in the area require an application at least 10 days ahead, a fee and permission; tripods and flash are prohibited; and permitted filming generally takes place on weekdays from 10:00 to 17:00. For casual photos, keep to the lanes, avoid blocking the passage, and ask before photographing staff, customers or shop interiors.

The Other "Yakitori Alley": Yurakucho and Ginza

Searches for "Yakitori Alley" also turn up Yurakucho, one stop south of Tokyo Station on the JR Yamanote Line, beside Ginza. Here the bars sit in the gado-shita ("under the girders"): the arches beneath the elevated tracks. Japan Guide describes the restaurants running a few hundred metres north and south of the station along nearly 700 metres of track, a long-time haunt of office workers. Older, gritty yakitori and izakaya counters sit alongside wine bars, Italian restaurants and German beer halls, especially on the more upscale north-west side, and some places put seats outside in warmer months.

The red-brick arches date from 1910 and carried Japan's first elevated railway. Between Yurakucho and Shimbashi, a 300-metre stretch of them has been redeveloped as Hibiya Okuroji, a polished complex of restaurants, bars and shops about six minutes on foot from either station.

Which one? Omoide Yokocho is the compact post-war lanes most people picture; Yurakucho is more spread out and handier after a day in Ginza.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Yakitori Alley in Tokyo?

The best-known Yakitori Alley is Omoide Yokocho at 1-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, about two minutes on foot from the west exit of JR Shinjuku Station, along the tracks. The name is also used for the bars under the JR tracks at Yurakucho, next to Ginza.

Is Yakitori Alley the same as Memory Lane and Piss Alley?

Yes. In Shinjuku, Yakitori Alley, Memory Lane, Omoide Yokocho and Piss Alley all refer to the same set of lanes beside Shinjuku Station.

What is on the Yakitori Alley menu, and what does it cost?

Expect chicken skewers such as negima, momo, tsukune, kawa, reba, hatsu and sunagimo, plus grilled offal, stews and seafood. Recent guides put skewers at about ¥150–¥350 each and beer at about ¥500–¥800. Budget around ¥2,500–¥5,000 per person including a seat charge where one applies.

What time does Yakitori Alley open?

Most shops open around 17:00 and close around midnight, though some open from lunchtime and each shop sets its own closing days.

Do shops in Yakitori Alley take credit cards?

Mostly not. Many shops are cash-only, so bring enough yen. A few larger places, such as Yasube'e, accept cards.

Can you take photos in Yakitori Alley?

Casual photos of the lanes are common, but be considerate: do not block the passage or photograph people without asking. Filming and media photography require advance permission and a fee from the shopping association, and tripods and flash are prohibited.

Where is the Yakitori Alley in Yurakucho and Ginza?

It is under the elevated JR tracks around Yurakucho Station, beside Ginza, with restaurants spread along the arches north and south of the station. The Hibiya Okuroji section runs between Yurakucho and Shimbashi.