Location: Shinjuku
Top Things to do in Shinjuku
What to do and see in Shinjuku, Kanto: The Best Things to do Good for a Rainy Day
In busy Shinjuku, you’ll find some of the tallest buildings in Toyko, as well as tons of shopping malls, bars and clubs. To escape the hustle and bustle, TripAdvisor travelers recommend visiting Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, a beautiful and peaceful park in the middle of the city.
Restaurants in Shinjuku
1. Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,558 reviews
The tallest building in Shinjuku, TMG No. 1 offers sweeping views of Tokyo -- all the way to Mt. Fuji on a clear day -- from the 45th floor observatory.
Reviewed By kc3302 - Riverwood, Australia
Fantastic views of the Tokyo City and suburbs. Free entry. There are two observation towers - one in each of the building's two towers. It is located above Tochomae Station (on the Toei Oedo line), or is a comfortable 10 minute walk from Shinjuku Station (all other train lines including JR, Keio, Seibu, Odakyu and other subway lines).
2. Hobby Center Kato Tokyo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 60 reviews
Reviewed By AndyinOmaha - Omaha, United States
The Kato Hobby Center in Shinjuku is a dream destination for any kid -- or dad -- who's loved playing with model trains at any time in his life. There are full-size displays of running model trains, in gauges (in the same layout) of HO through N. The detail is amazing, and the quality for modelers is top-notch. Upstairs are layouts where kids can bring their own trains in for test runs and play. The Hobby Center is also a retail outlet for full train "Starter Sets" [tracks, power packs, and engine with train cars] as well as individual train cars/engines....plus every imagninable replacement part in bins. Kato makes train cars of all types of Japan's railways, European railways, and the US as well. The coolest thing they make (quoting the TSA inspector who examined my carry-on luggage as I re-entered the USA) is the nifty N gauge starter set of the brand new N700 "Nozomi" series of the shinkansen [bullet train] that runs on the Tokyo to Hiroshima Tokaido route. A VERY cool souvenir for anyone who loves model trains. The Hobby Center is located beyond Shinjuku, which makes it a distant (and expensive) 5,000 yen cab ride if you're coming from the heart of Tokyo. I never could have found the place without a cabbie with GPS, so it's worth the extra yen to get there directly.
3. Shinjuku Suehirotei
4. Samurai Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,906 reviews
Feel the real Samurai spirit.Samurai Museum is located in the KABUKICHO district of Shinjuku, which is one of the urban areas in Tokyo. It displays various kinds of authentic artifacts such as Samurai armor, helmets and weapons. The mission for the museum is to share true Samurai spirits with you so that you can have a better understanding of Samurai , including how they fought, who they were, what they believed. The museum offers an English guided tour that runs frequently for you to learn rich Samurai history at a deeper level. Many interesting facts about Samurai are covered in this tour.In addition, it has a photo booth where you are allowed to take pictures wearing Samurai outfits or Kimono. Also, the museum offers a special sword show at 2,3,4 and 5 pm everyday for you to watch two trained actors doing a sword fighting performance. The Museum shop is also worth visiting to buy cool gifts such as Katana.
Reviewed By jason3216
The museum has a private collection of some of the best samurai armor, swords and other accessories I have seen. There are guided tours in English that run about every hour (About 1hr duration). Tickets are reasonably priced and includes an informative guided tour, a chance to try on a samurai helmet with a sword as well as other garments such as kimonos. There is also a samurai sword-wielding demonstration that runs at set intervals during the day (You can return during the day to see the demonstration). Easy walking distance from Shinjuku station. A must see.
5. Isetan Shinjuku Store
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 1,136 reviews
This department store is one of the trendiest in Japan, and its flagship Shinjuku store houses the finest in clothing, accessories, and homeware. It is also known for its impressive variety of foods.
Reviewed By aj4422016 - Melbourne, Australia
My goodness! What an amazing experience! Head straight to the basement and browse the endless selection of food stalls - there’s Japanese, other Asian and Western stalls, and a gourmet supermarket meaning endless options all for takeaway. The highlight for me was the desert section - maybe 20+ stalls of the finest European chocolate, pastries, cakes and desserts and you are treated like royalty when you buy something- the first class staff will exquisitely package, wrap and bag your food (even with cold packs) so it is still immaculately presentable when you get it home. A luxury shopping experience! Thanks Isetan!
6. Shinjuku Golden Gai
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 2,225 reviews
Reviewed By bish-sg - Singapore, Singapore
A great place to walk around and get transformed back in time to how the drinking scene in Tokyo was.. great place to grab a couple of drinks just for the experience. Most places charge a cover fee for entrance and usually seat any where between 6-8 people. There are some that are strictly for members and will have it written on the door clearly, so don’t bother with them
7. Fire Museum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 266 reviews
Reviewed By Valkyrie_108
I had this museum high on my list considering my father is a firefighter in Australia. The history levels and the static displays of the fire fighting equipment was fascinating, comparable to the Fire Museum in Penrith, Australia with the amount of displays of vehicles, in air sea and on the ground. The day I visited, the displays you could usually sit in where closed to the public; though you could still view them. It will be on my father's list to visit when he is able to.
8. Kagurazaka
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 740 reviews
Reviewed By JPSalik - New York City, United States
We were fortunate enough to find an airbnb apartment in this neighborhood and we enjoyed it so much. This is reminiscent of St Germain in Paris (Japanese style of course) with all the small alleyway, full of restaurants on every level of the buildings. So many choices. We spent 10 glorious days and did not feel like going anywhere else as there is so much to discover. This neighborhood has French influence with many restaurants, we tried a couple but the Japanese food is so good that we could not have enough time for all. Walking day and nights in the small alleyways we never felt threatened as we found Japanese people so welcoming, kind, polite and patient with us as we do not speak the language. We learned to say the minimum and to bow, this was enough to show our appreciation for their kindness. Where in the world do you have the owner, the waiter and the cook following you in the street and bowing good bye and thank you? We were deeply impressed by their courtesy and this was not unique, this is the norm here. We will come back to this airbnb and neighborhood again.
9. Omoide Yokocho
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 1,109 reviews
Reviewed By matthenry9 - London, United Kingdom
I had a lovely time wandering through these couple of alleys, before sitting in one of the tiny restaurants for some yakitori- I had beef & also a bunch of veggies wrapped in bacon! Delicious. Some of the restaurants (which are all pretty tiny) have second floors, so dont assume they're all full. Like most bars/restaurants around Tokyo, all have a cover fee ranging from ¥300-1000.
