My wife and I went for drinks in the Shinjuku Golden Gai. We left the third bar that we went in because there was a *really* drunk and awful Australian guy, so I can see why tourists irritate locals. The atmosphere was really soured so we left.
The next bar that we went in was quiet, with just two Japanese guys chatting to the bartender. One was really drunk and he started talking to me in Japanese. I said “gomen nasai, nihongo ga wakarimasen” (I can struggle through a bit but didn’t understand the guy unfortunately. I ordered all my drinks and spoke to the bartenders in Japanese all evening.) His friend said “he doesn’t like foreigners,” so we left…
The fifth and final bar was okay. We were having a nice conversation with some people. A lady was chatting to my wife and she overheard me speaking some Japanese and it’s like a switch flipped. She started saying (in Japanese) “you don’t speak Japanese” and calling me stupid. I said sorry in Japanese and English and she just got more irate, calling us stupid foreigners repeatedly until we left.
We’re in our 30s, we weren’t in a group, we weren’t being loud.
I’d say the overall atmosphere just changed around 3am when most westerners had left, and it felt kind of hostile thereafter. We didn’t feel welcome in the area generally.
I guess I wanted to vent and wonder what I could have done differently. It really spoiled what would have been a great night.
37 comments
Yeah I’m sold I’m not going. I read some other posts about this place this week . I’m good meh
Jojo Bar is 10x better
Edit: I fully wish ppl would support the small independent theme bars vs tourist xenophobic trash bars
I’ve spent about 4 years in Japan and have never had this happen. Go down there all the time either solo or with buddies and have had many many nights there until dawn lmao.
Everyone’s experience is different. My husband and I were treated very well and welcomed warmly.
I didn’t make it to Golden Gai on my trip, but my husband and I got turned away from numerous places especially in Kyoto. We did everything “right” to our knowledge. I got warned about this from some people, others told me it would never happen. You’re not the only unlucky one. It just seems to vary from experience to experience. Sorry that yours was particularly hostile!
I had this one dirty lowlife looking guy stare at me once when I was trying to speak Japanese to order something at a restaurant, about 30 minutes out from Shibuya. Some old women did too. It wasn’t a good vibe. Oddly enough one of the old ladies helped me wife find the restroom light switch unsolicitedly just minutes before, and she’s obviously Caucasian (I’m not).
Obviously, no one at the restaurant speaks a lick of English, so what language _should_ I use?
Only happened once or twice though, I’ve met a bunch of people I spoke for a long time with in broken Japanese, and we had a lot of fun.
Only time ive ever been in Golden Gai we got drunk with a group of friendly locals and had a ton of fun exchanging our broken japanese/english with each other.
Been to Japan 4 times and can’t say I’ve ever seen something like you describe happen, but I guess it can happen anywhere. Not everyone in the world operates with reason, and I’d imagine it’s less-so if they aren’t a happy drinker.
Been to Japan twice and Golden Gai
Nothing even close to what you said Ive noticed
Bad luck for you i guess
TLDR a lot of Japanese business owners are racist
I go very often. Golden gai is a bit of a tricky place.
So, to give a bit of context…
First of all, there are a few very tourist friendly places, to the point they make most of their money from tourists. There are also a few “almost tourist only” places. Many other places, however, have developped a “love and hate” relation with tourists in recent months, that is starting to get to the surface.
Putting aside the language barrier, there are sometimes issues that have become quite problematic, ESPECIALLY since tourism restarted.
Top of my mind:
* people getting realllllly drunk, stag parties and the like, sometimes trashing the place
* people taking photos where you can see other patrons
* tourists trying to negotiate the cover charge, or complaining about it. Even after 15 or 20 years, regulars still pay the cover charge. It’s not negotiable. It’s part of the system.
* The overall “rate of consumption” of tourists can be quite low, as visitors come here to “feel the ambiance”, they won’t drink much but spend a long time in one place.
* Also linked: larger groups. Golden gai is a place enjoyed solo, regulars come alone, tourists will come by groups of 2 or more. Groups of 3 or more can be very much frown upon, because, well, they take 3 seats of regulars, while consuming less. And as you noticed, 3 seats can be A LOT of place for a bar.
* (Edit, forgot that one) : buying a drink to the mamasan is the easiest way to break the ice, and all regulars will usually buy a drink when entering, but it’s quite rare that tourists do so.
* Edit : also tourists trying to -share- drinks to avoid ordering more.
The whole area thrived without tourism for decades, it also survived covid pretty much unscathed, only with the regulars. It proved to itself it can do without tourists.
But again, some places can be super welcoming to short term visitors… The complicated part is to find “which ones”. Some aren’t but they become super open once you “mingle with the crowd” or break the ice with the bartender. Some will never, ever, open their arms to newcomers.
It’s a really enjoyable place, with lots and lots of stories and histories. It can accomodate tourists, as long as you, let’s say, “behave”.
Don’t think of it as a human zoo.
An an Aussie, apologies for the Aussie guy, hopefully he wasn’t too belligerent.
Psst, if you want the atmosphere of Golden Gai but with none of the tourists, head to Sankaku Chitai in Sangenjaya.
I wouldn’t call this bad luck. I’m pretty open and the vibes at golden gai were downright awful. Place was bogus. It appears many have had this experience lately. We had one drink at one bar and it was not fun. It ultimately felt like a chore we had to perform as a tourist. We walked around and ultimately said this is stupid and left.
I had a very different experience just a few nights ago. Went into the first bar that had 3 open seats for me, my wife, and my brother in law. There were two younger Japanese guys in there and a female bartender. They had the NPB game on, and even with the major language barrier (I speak no Japanese, they spoke some English) we all got along great, talked baseball and got to know each other a bit, and got drunk. Honestly been a highlight of the trip and I’d love to go back.
Went to Golden Gai to explore and maybe drink in 2 separate nights with my husband. Both times I felt the place was just a big tourist trap so we left. Had more fun drinking and dancing at one of the gay clubs in Nichome.
Went to Golden Gai and it was dead…
Either bars were empty or only had a couple of people in there. Although I did go at 9pm so maybe it gets more lively after.
Omoide yokochō however was jammed packed. Even at 7-8pm (went two nights but didn’t go in as the lines were too long and there’s other yokochos out there). The funny thing is that omoide yokochō is like advertised as ‘brush your shoulders with the locals’ where you’re eating and chatting with locals. All the bars were like 95% foreigners…
Until a few years ago (some local told me) tourists weren’t allowed to hang there in GG. Not sure if that’s true. When I was there last month it was mostly tourists. And each bar had like one local who seemed to be into hanging with tourists there.
I’ve been in Japan almost a decade and have rarely had any issues like this. It definitely does happen but I can’t imagine dealing with it multiple times a night.
What did you expect from the golden gai?
As a Japanese, golden gai or the entire kabukicho cho is the last place to drink unless there are specific reasons. We usually avoid the areas especially in the midnight.
I do a regualar circuit of “rock mother” (not golden gai but nearby which I love because they let you choose the tunes) then “Hair of the dog” as the staff and regulars are always cool, another “secret” tiny bar for food and chats then finish in “death match in hell” as the owner is a solid metal guy and its a mix of locals and travellers.
In my younger days I visited many many of the other more obscure bars in Golden Gai and yes i experienced some of what you mentioned for sure. Some simply don’t let any non regulars in or have no signage or lights on to welcome you.
Now I just know where to go and what i like.
I think if you visit bars around the world you will find some simply don’t welcome foreigners that aren’t “the same” as the locals, it’s just the way some people are wired. Don’t take it personally, just move on to where you are welcome. China, Korea and Thailand are much the same.
As another poster correctly mentioned, when you run a dive bar EVERY seat and every drink sold really counts for the owner and foreigners not drinking enough could mean the tiny bar with 8 seats doesn’t breakeven that night…rent and expenses have gone up a lot in Golden gai of late according to my mate in death match in hell.
Does trying to speak Japanese / broken Japanese annoy some xenophobic people more than not bothering at all?
We had a pretty bad experience with this kind of thing on our first day, where we saw a cafe that looked really nice for breakfast had English on the menus, but when we tried to get a table the waitress told us it was fully booked, even though that obviously wasn’t the case (it was pretty empty).
It made me feel really nervous for the rest of the trip. But we had a blast in golden gai, we met awesome Japanese locals and bar staff who were super keen to hang out. So i guess there are always going to be people who don’t want foreigners around, but it’s very hit and miss, and definitely not anything you did to deserve it.
Damn that’s too bad, Golden Gai was one of the highlights on my trip. Couldn’t sleep the second day of my trip and stayed out until dawn.
Some people are angry drunk. Sounds like that happened.
Was there recently, jewboy 30s American, there with my fiancée:
I recommend:
Bar Buster: punk rock owner, cheap bar, super nice guy, locals and tourists
Art Bar: cheap bar, very nice bartender when I was there, great karaoke, good vibes, more touristy though.
Bar Champion: v touristy, neutral bartender, cheap bar, great karaoke.
We walked through the area during our stay. Couldn’t think of a worse place to drink. Small bars filled with tourists like us! Tourist trap. Tokyo Shinjuku had some racist bar tenders not even in the Gai area. I got told off for ordering drinks. Not like that in the rest of Japan. Quite the opposite.
We got refused service in asakusa for our first dinner… it was really disheartening. Ended up eating Chinese.
Who gives a fuck if someone doesnt like foreigners.. His problem.
I had a pretty good time with a friend. I’m chinese and he’s belgian. But I can speak Japanese with no accent due to growing up there as a child so maybe thats why we had a good time.
you do have to be a bit selective about the bar you go into though, if it’s just japanese businessmen relaxing after work I don’t go in, obviously they don’t want random tourists there
What could have been done differently- don’t spend your vacation in dive bars
I really wonder what you were saying in Japanese though, for that girl to react that way.
Wow that’s such a bummer 🙁 I was just in golden gai a few weeks ago and had a great time. The bartenders and Japanese patrons were all super friendly and happy to let me practice my Japanese with them.
Had the same experience about a month ago. Got turned away from multiple empty bars (they said members only) The not spending money thing is not an excuse since we were dropping lots of cash wherever we were accepted.
Loved Japan but the overly xenophobic tones were apparent throughout my trip.
that sucks. was not my experience at all. but yes the place is basically just confused tourists gawking at everything lol. so if people want to avoid that, don’t bother.
nothing more jarring than hearing english everywhere around you to break the ambience and atmosphere of japan.
You must’ve had an off night. I went to Golden Gai this past May. I found a bar that had an English sign and the cost of the beer. I walked in, asked for a beer, showed him a 1000 yen bill and was shooed away. I thought it was odd. I found another sign nearby written in English and Japanese and said they took credit card with an upcharge. Didn’t bother me. I went up and it was a bit awkward being the only American in the room. I tried to order a beer and the proprietor started to make fun of me in Japanese. But I ran with it and got that beer then she put a song selector machine in front of me for karaoke. Not something I was in the mood for but I kept just going with the flow. I sang Master of Puppets. A couple of the other patrons sang with me. Once i finished a couple of them took turns on the mic and then left. Then the bar started to fill up with other foreigners. Scotland, Canada, San Francisco, Korea etc. Once Japanese guy came in the early transition and him and I started to talk about Super Metroid and other video games. But as the night went on we all took turns singing karaoke and drinking beer and sake. It was probably my favorite night in Japan. I didn’t stay as late as I wanted to since I didn’t want to miss the trains and didn’t know how hail a taxi. Plus I didn’t trust the people loitering outside of Golden Gai offering me a ride. If you get a chance to go again I highly recommend it.
I have the pictures from that night and I look back on them fondly. I drew a crowd with some of my song choices and people outside were recording videos. I wish I could get my hands on them.
Wow sorry they ruined your experience. My fiancée and I went twice in October and the bartenders and people were great, but we did go between 9 PM – 12 AM.
I will say though I’m not surprised. We tried to go to a Love Hotel around Kabukicho after and had a pretty poor experience too. Went in, chose our room and all of a sudden the employee at the booth called us over and in Japanese said, “this is not a real hotel. Do you understand?”
I told her in Japanese, “Yes I know. We only want to stay for 2 hours/short rest (which literally was an option on their sign)” and she kept saying “I don’t understand you, if you don’t know leave”. I thought maybe I wasn’t saying it correctly so tried using my translator but as soon as I tried they said no that’s too much trouble and said to leave.
Meanwhile 3 local couples had come in/out no problem. Later I had someone check what I said cause she made me second-guess myself. Nope. I said it perfectly fine and was told they most likely just pretended to not understand to make us leave.
I felt like it was evident the employee was using the “language barrier” as an excuse to keep foreigners out. I’m just surprised in your case they were all so direct about it.
Me experience there last year with my girlfriend was pretty pleasant honestly. Sounds like you just ran into some assholes.
Golden Gai sucks. Had the worst night out there. Between feeling unwelcome, the Nigerian scammers, and the loud ass tourists, it just felt like I may as well be back home at some shitty bars in USA