'No nightlife in Tokyo? Wrong!" So says the website of the Tokyo Convention and Visitors Bureau and, to prove its point, it is holding a new event, Tokyo Yokocho Week, which commences Jan. 15.
The event, which despite its name actually runs for two months through March 15, sees a group of drinking establishments nestled under the Yamanote Line train tracks between Yurakucho and Shinbashi stations come together to offer special discounts to non-Japanese. If all goes to plan, there will be a constant procession of non-Japanese doing pub crawls under the train tracks — an area known as Yokocho.
To participate, see the Tokyo Yokocho Week website for the names of the six participating venues. Then, when you visit your first venue, be sure to ask for your Yokoso Discount Passport, which will entitle you to specially discounted sets of food and drink.
And if you're looking for further entertainment either before or after your meal, you might care to visit one of the 15 additional bars in Ginza that are also offering to waive their cover charges to any non-Japanese in possession of the Yokoso Discount Passport.
Tokyo Yokocho Week will be held in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, from Jan. 15 through March 15. For more information, visit www.gotokyo.org/en/yokocho/index.html.
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