Shinjuku izakaya hopping: Omoide Yokocho & Golden Gai

Shinjuku at night has two layers. The outer layer is big signage, photo menus and touts — easy to enter, and largely interchangeable. The inner layer is the six-seat counters of Omoide Yokocho and Golden Gai, where the owner looks at an unfamiliar face and shakes their head — not out of hostility, but because there are six seats and regulars already have them.

These three hours pass through three different moods. Omoide Yokocho — a post-war alley of skewer joints, thick charcoal smoke, shoulder to shoulder with strangers, draft beer and yakitori. Golden Gai — over two hundred tiny bars stacked into six lanes, each one built around its owner's private obsession, and you get in because your guide has been drinking there for years. Then a neighbourhood izakaya with actual elbow room, where you eat a real meal rather than snacks.

One drink and one dish at each stop are already in the price, so you're never guessing what you're spending. Your guide handles the ordering and the etiquette — when to pour for the person beside you, where cameras aren't welcome. Non-drinkers are fine: swap for oolong tea or soft drinks, same price.