Koenji

What to see

Koenji's sights are its streets. From the south exit, Koenji Pal Shotengai is a covered arcade about 220 metres long that carries straight on into Look Street, and between them is the neighbourhood's densest run of vintage clothing, record shops, military surplus and punk fashion. You've got more than a hundred vintage shops within walking distance of the south exit. There's no trick to it. Walk slowly, go upstairs, and leave room in your bag. North of the tracks, Koenji Junjo Shotengai is the everyday counterpart, over two hundred shops that took their name from Nejime Shoichi's novel about the street, which won the Naoki Prize in 1989.

The one fixed sight is Koenji Hikawa Shrine, a short walk from the station. Its grounds hold Kisho Jinja, the only shrine in Japan dedicated to the weather. It began in 1944 as the shrine of the army's weather forecasting unit and moved here in 1948, and you write your wish for fine weather on a geta-shaped wooden plaque. Want the full Koenji? Be here on the last weekend of August for the Awa Odori. It started on this shopping street in 1957 and now fills the neighbourhood with around 10,000 dancers.

Where to eat and drink

Lunch is Tensuke, a 12-seat tempura counter north of the station where chef Kurihara drizzles batter over an egg cracked into hot oil and finishes the tamago tendon with a flourish. The queue matches its reputation, so you'll want to be in it before the noon opening. Don't want to wait? You've got cheap ramen, curry and set-meal shops on both sides of the tracks, feeding a neighbourhood of students and musicians.

Evenings start under the tracks. The gado-shita strip beneath the JR line is packed with small izakaya, yakitori counters and standing bars. It's loud and smoky, and cheap by Tokyo standards, and you'll find dozens more in the side lanes north of the station. After that it's a gig or another bar. The live houses around Koenji and Higashi-Koenji put on shows most nights, and bars that play records until late are a Koenji speciality.

Where to stay

Koenji has very little hotel stock, and that suits it. Most visitors come out for an afternoon and evening from Shinjuku, six minutes away on the Chuo Line, and that's the sensible base for your first trip. Staying a week or more? Look at apartment rentals in the residential streets around the station, one stop from Nakano and a few from Shinjuku. It suits music fans, vintage hunters and repeat visitors who want an ordinary Tokyo neighbourhood with a lot going on at night. Don't forget the weekend rule. Rapid trains skip Koenji on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, so use the Chuo-Sobu local.

How to do it in a day

Arrive before noon and join the queue at Tensuke for the egg tempura bowl as the counter opens. Walk it off along Koenji Junjo Shotengai, then cross under the tracks to Koenji Hikawa Shrine and write a wish for fine weather. By early afternoon the vintage and record shops are open, so take the Pal arcade south into Look Street and give it two or three hours, going upstairs wherever a sign points. When it gets dark, head back to the station for a first round in the izakaya under the tracks, then look up who's playing at the live houses and finish your night at a gig. On a weekend, it's the Chuo-Sobu local back to Shinjuku.