this is travel, not tourism

Shinjuku is well known by the skyscrapers, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and its view of the city and, of course, by the Kabuki-cho. But my favourite place in this neibourhood is the yakitori alley located in the East area. This zone is full of yakitori (grilled chicken) and ramen (noodles in soup) restaurants lined in the small streets, creating a very particular atmosphere during the night.

Bar located at Shibuya which mix perfectly the tachinomiya (Japanese stand up bar) style with the British sports bar. It's probably the cheapest bar in the center of the city and they serve good Japanese and West food. The perfect place to start the night party drinking some beers, before you go out for a more trendy but also more expensive place.

There's another one in Mushashi-Shinjyo.

There's a street oden vendor near Kichijouji station that has no name, but it's a fantastic place to try these tipical Japanese delicacy consisting of several ingredients, such as eggs, daikon radish, meat, konnyaku or processed fish cakes, boiled on soy and dashi (fish broth) soup. The owner is really nice and love foreigners coming to his place. Take a sit, a beer and enjoy.

Perhaps this neighborhood is not as popular as Harajuku (mainly for the foreigners), but it's definitely as trendy and much more authentic. You won't find only a lot of good stores, but also good live-houses, cafes and restaurants.

There is even some kind of rivalry between the young Japanese who like Harajuku and those who prefer Shimokitazawa.

The store located in Harajuku is the headquarters of the chain toys stores Kiddy Land, lunched in the 50's. It's something more than a simple toys store, it's the perfect example of the Japanese cuteness and a 5 floors paradise for techy and japanesque toys lovers.