Showa-Inspired Movie Night & Snack Bar Tour in Shinjuku

This Showa-inspired snack bar tour is meant to take guests back in time — to 20th-century Japan, to be exact — and deep dive into Tokyo nightlife. Your host is a snack bar fan, having visited more than 700 bars around Japan in the last decade. Who better to show you around Tokyo’s vibrant nightlife?

Your experience will start at Shinjuku Piccadilly, where you’ll watch the short film “Soup,” released in spring 2024. This film tells the story of how pork-bone broth ramen (tonkotsu ramen) got its distinctive cloudy broth. And yes, it’s based on a true story! Then, you’ll wander into the night for a snack bar-hopping tour.

Japanese snack bars are different from izakaya (Japanese gastropubs). Snack bars, colloquially known as “snakku” in Japanese, are much smaller, often having no more than a handful of counter seats. Customers sit down and usually drink while having a heartfelt conversation with the bar’s Mama-san, or owner/bartender. When possible, your host will take you to snack bars where the owners also know about Japanese movies (including “Soup”) and Japanese entertainment.

Expect to be entertained throughout this experience. While you walk from Shinjuku Piccadilly to the first snack bar of the night, your host will give the group missions and quizzes to test your knowledge of Japanese food and culture. At one of the snack bars, you’ll also get the chance to showcase your singing skills during a karaoke jam session. The experience will wrap up and end at Shinjuku Station. It’s here that your host will also hand you a secret present to remember your experience by.

Experience flow:

- Meet your host at Shinjuku Piccadilly

- Watch “Soup” (46 min) at Shinjuku Piccadilly

- Walk around Shinjuku

- Visit two snack bars back-to-back, both in Shinjuku

- Get back to Shinjuku Station