This evening we're going out to the Golden Gai
Which is an area in Shinjuku
With lots of tiny streets and alleyways
Filled with bars
The sort of bars where it's...
Just the bar
And about 6 or 8 seats
Really tiny places
We walked through it the other day
And it was actually a really inviting, friendly
Easy-going atmosphere
Which kind of surprised me
Because if you've heard of the Golden Gai
One of the things people say about it
Is that foreigners aren't welcome
And there's bars with signs saying
"No gaijin"
But I think that's just a few places
And a few places are members only as well
A lot of places said "foreigners welcome"
Anyone come in, have a drink
So we're going out there tonight
To see what it's like
I'm not sure how much I'll be able to film
I'm not sure if these small places will be happy for me to be filming
Or if it'll make other people in the bar feel uncomfortable
So I'll do my best
Sorry if it's a short video
But hopefully I can show you a bit of what it's like
Remember that most bars in the Golden Gai
And in Tokyo
Do have a cover charge
Which is a bit like an admission fee
Which you pay per person
Or per group
Then drinks are a little pricey
Here we are: The Golden Gai
It's a lot quieter than the other night when we were here at the weekend
First stop is Bar Plastic Model
Because it was in the game No More Heroes
I was a bit nervous because of what I'd heard
About the Golden Gai
And from the outside this door didn't exactly look inviting
We just went in to Bar Plastic Model
And it was really friendly
It wasn't intimidating at all
It was just a little bar
With about 4 seats along the bar
And 4 seats behind that
It was a little bit pricey
The cover charge was 700 yen
But it was really friendly
The people behind the bar were really nice
Nothing to be scared of!
So let's go on a tour of the Golden Gai
I wish I could show you inside more places
Lots of the bars are so so small
This one's only got 7 seats
There's a couple of streets just like this one
It's like a grid
They're all criss-crossing each other
And they're all really tiny alleyways
Pedestrianised
With loads of bars all the way along
Most of the bars are quite expensive with the cover charge
But there are a few cheaper ones if you look
I think it's worth going to one or two
For the experience
Cover charge 1000 yen
Drinks 700 yen
This one has no charge for travellers
No charge, no tax, no rip off
This one takes credit cards
There's Hair of the Dog
I've heard about that one
I've only seen
Maybe one that said no foreigners
They all look really welcoming
Some even have a reduced cover charge
For people on holiday
So come and have a look!
Also because they are small bars
It's polite to
Have your drink
And then move on or order another drink
It's not somewhere you'd hang around for a long time
Which is the same thing in a lot of the small restaurants here
If you want to go to the Golden Gai
You can walk there from Shinjuku Station
It's also really close to Higashi Shinjuku
And Shinjuku Sanchome
On the metro