Pete's Eats

Shinjuku, originally uploaded by Pete Barr-Watson.

Had a great evening out in Shinjuku last night.

We went along to an area of small alleys well known for the Yakitori (barbecued chicken/pork etc on sticks). The main alley is pretty historical and known by a few different names, not least: “Shonben yokocho” (Piss Alley) and “Omoide yokocho” (Memory Alley).

Thanks to Boris (an almost native Tokyoite now!) here’s why this particular alley has these names:

“Memory alley because it is very old. After the big fires of Tokyo at the end of WWII, this area of what later became Shinjuku (sort of “new hospitality area”: 新 shin: new, 宿 shuku/juku: stop on a journey, where you can get food and lodging, transit point ) was totally barren and lawless. This alley was where they first started opening businesses again, namely blackmarkets and food stalls…

Piss alley because, well… it’s near one of the seedier parts of Tokyo. (Kabukicho, Goldengai, etc) “