Discover Shimokitazawa, Tokyo’s boho music and thrifting mecca

The narrow lanes of Shimokitazawa in Tokyo thrum with energy day and night. The young and bohemian prowl its second-hand shops, fill its cafes with excited chatter, and pack cheek to jowl in izakaya bars and closet-sized clubs searching for the next big name in music.

The suburb lies just west of central Tokyo, at the intersection of two major commuter rail lines, Keio and Odakyu. The area was once predominantly farmland, but following the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, many city dwellers decided to rebuild in the relative safety of the outskirts. By the 1930s, the population had increased nearly sixfold. With development outpacing road construction, Shimokita retained the configuration of its farming village past, with narrow, winding streets and pedestrian-friendly cul-de-sacs.

During the Second World War, Shimokita was spared widespread damage. Afterwards, a thriving black market sprang up around the train stations, fostering an ethos of fiercely independent small business still felt today. In the 1960s and 1970s, the relatively low rents attracted young people from gentrifying enclaves in Shibuya and Shinjuku, and live music venues and bars soon followed, as did theatres and niche performance spaces, cementing Shimokita’s artistic reputation.

For decades, the wider trend in Tokyo has been to bulldoze these small-scale commercial districts to make way for sleek high-rise developments. However, proactive residential and commercial associations have largely shielded Shimokitazawa from a similar fate, keeping it true to its bohemian roots.

Discover Shimokitazawa through the eyes of a local.

The best hotels in Shimokitazawa

Given its narrow streets and small plots, hotels in Shimokita have been scarce. However, when the Odakyu Line was moved underground in 2013, a long tract of land was opened up to new development. Two boutique hotels staked a claim, each offering a unique experience.

Mustard Hotel

Best for: A stylish base on a budget
Address: 3 Chome-9-19 Kitazawa, Setagaya City, Tokyo 155-0031
Price:

Minimal and modern Mustard Hotel leans into Shimokita’s music culture, with a lending library of LPs in the lobby curated by local record store Jazzy Sport and a turntable in each of its 60 rooms. The hotel collaborates with visiting creators and artists, hosting exhibitions and live performances. The airy, neutral palette and simple wood furnishings of the interiors open directly onto the adjoining promenade, integrating guests into the neighbourhood. Both in-house cafe Sidewalk Coffee Roasters and bar Kurage focus on homemade artisanal fare, attracting locals and tourists alike.

Yuen Bettei Daita

Best for: An urban ryokan experience
Address: 2 Chome-31-26 Daita, Setagaya City, Tokyo 155-0033
Price: Rooms from 52,400 JPY

Recommended as one of the best hotels in Tokyo, Yuen Bettei Daita brings the secluded retreat of a hot spring ryokan into the city. The buildings hug a verdant public path and use the typical internality of traditional Japanese architecture to offer privacy: windows are covered with demure shoji or turned towards private internal gardens. Inside, traditional natural materials such as tatami, washi and wood carved into smooth organic shapes furnish the modern Japanese rooms. In the gardens, landscaping stones from a century-old townhouse that stood nearby can be found. The alkaline waters in the bathhouse are supplied by Ashinoko onsen springs in Hakone, and are paired with a steam room and sauna, making the hotel a popular escape for Tokyoites too busy for a longer jaunt.

Where to eat in Shimokitazawa

Another quirk of Shimokita is its obsession with curry. Nearly every restaurant in the neighbourhood has their own take, spanning regional cuisines around the world, an a curry festival is held here every fall. Charming Kyuyamu Tei is an all-round crowd pleaser, attracting long lines of customers daily. They serve three daily variations on Osakan-style ‘spice curry’, an idiosyncratic blend of Japanese and Indian influences. Expect fusions like squid ink chicken keema with cloud ear mushrooms.

Tea and coffee in Shimokitazawa

Indie cafes and coffee shops abound in Shimokita, giving tired shoppers and musicians a place to rest and get their caffeine fix. The tiny Mosque Coffee makes Turkish coffee on the traditional bed of hot sand, with a matching Anatolian decor. Super-fine grounds and water are placed in a small, long-handled pot called a cezve, then boiled repeatedly by being pressed into the 200°C sand, producing a thick, rich coffee with suspended grounds.

Oribe Shimokitazawa adjoins a ceramics gallery with regularly changing exhibitions of Oribe ware, a wabi-sabi style beloved of tea ceremony practitioners since the sixteenth century. Enjoy a coffee in one of their chunky mugs or, if the weather is hot, a classic matcha shaved ice.

The best izakaya bars in Shimokitazawa

In the evenings, izakayas get buzzing, offering cheap and filling fare to a lively crowd. Shirube is famous for its sunken central kitchen with hearty oden hotpots on a constant simmer and a well-curated and ever-evolving sake selection.

Pint-sized Andon, meanwhile, serves humble onigiri rice balls and porridge made from single-origin Akita rice cooked in a traditional iron cauldron. It also sells craft sake and beer from the prefecture, which can be enjoyed in a grassy courtyard. Izakaya Mother, a local landmark thanks to its Gaudi-esque mosaic facade, has served up rock music, light bites, and classic cocktails since 1972. Across the street, speakeasy No Room for Squares offers customised mixology hidden behind a retro Coca-Cola vending machine.

One of the most unique spots to drink and dine is The Suzunari, an independent theatre founded in 1981 by actor Kazuo Honda. Still clad in Bubble-era (1980s, named for Japan’s bubble economy at the time) neon, the facility hosts indie performances on the second floor, but the closet-sized rehearsal rooms on the first have been converted into a cluster of quirky mini bars. Gijido, easily identified by its moss-covered door, is an excellent place to start.

Shopping in Shimokitazawa

By day, shopping is Shimokita’s main attraction. The area is a second-hand mecca, packed with thrift stores and LP shops. Don’t expect it to be especially light on the wallet though. The stores tend more toward fashion-forward and well-preserved vintage treasures than bargains, with prices set accordingly.

Some of the largest, busiest, and best-known shops are Flamingo, Chicago and New York Joe Exchange. As the names suggest, they skew toward Americana. RagTag, meanwhile, focuses on luxury brands and can be a good place to find collectable and discontinued rarities. Little Trip to Heaven has older vintage and upcycled jewellery. And Soma is a must-stop for sneakerheads.

For vinyl hunters, the chaotic aisles of venerable Flash Disc Ranch can provide hours of crate digging. Owner Masao Tsubaki is a local legend, having curated the shop’s always-changing, genre-spanning collection since 1982. The local branch of popular second-hand vendor Disk Union is also a good place for record shopping, with some bargains priced as low as 400 JPY (2.50 USD).

Listening bars and live music in Shimokitazawa

Come nighttime, the crowds gather in Shimokitazawa to get an earful of the music they love, either live or at LP-stocked listening bars.

Listening bars are a Tokyo specialty: tiny, dark bars with top-of-the-line sound systems, owners with encyclopaedic knowledge of a particular genre, and patrons who come to drink and listen, but not talk. Cash-only Jazz Haus Posy has been a haunt for Shimokita jazz lovers since 1973. Owner Misa has amassed a collection of more than 3,000 records while travelling to the world’s biggest jazz festivals. At Little Soul Cafe, the vibe is livelier and the tunes tend toward 60s soul and funk, although the eclectic collection tops 14,000 LPs. Owner Nobuo Miyamae is equally passionate about spirits, particularly rum, and has a menu of some 300 bottles, including rare and craft varieties. The polymath also made much of the furniture by hand.

For live music, expect tiny basement venues and well-behaved crowds giving the band their full attention. Door charges are the norm, with one drink often included. Rock venue Shelter is one of the biggest, with daily shows and a capacity of around 250. It’s been a fixture in the Shimokita scene for more than 30 years, a favourite of artists like Denki Groove, Asian Kung-fu Generation, and Hi-Standard.

440 is an acoustic haven, booking low-key folk and singer-songwriter acts. It’s also open as a cafe during the day and has a rare outdoor terrace. Long-standing Club Que has a reputation for impeccable professionalism that makes it popular with both up-and-coming and established musicians across genres, making it a good place to dip a toe in the eclectic Japanese scene.