Restaurant Row on Sanbangai Street, Shinjuku, Tokyo

Sanbangai Street pedestrian shopping alley near Shinjuku Station in Tokyo with restaurants and shops.
Sanbangai Street pedestrian shopping alley near Shinjuku Station in Tokyo with restaurants and shops.

Sanbangai runs along the west side of Shinjuku Station, one of several narrow lanes packed with small restaurants, izakayas, and noodle shops in the district. The Shinjuku Post Office, one of Tokyo's main postal facilities, anchors the northern end of the street. Many of the shopfronts here operate as tachigui, or standing-and-eating counters, a format common in the area for quick meals between train connections. Shinjuku Station itself handles more daily passengers than any other station in the world, and streets like Sanbangai developed to serve that constant flow of commuters.

Photo taken in March 2023.

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