Koenji is special. While often overlooked by visitors to Tokyo, locals know this area as home to some of the city’s most creative, free-thinking, and perhaps less rule-abiding Tokyoites, who have made it a vibrant and diverse neighborhood in its own right. With its vintage stores, unique architecture, and diverse range of food options, Koenji is the perfect place to start exploring this west side of Tokyo. In the evening, the neighborhood bursts into life as a popular drinking spot, where locals crowd its famous backstreet alleys, creating one of Tokyo’s best nighttime experiences.

Start your day with a casual walk, and make your way southwest of the JR station up a pedestrian street known for its vintage stores. There are Safari,  ZOOL and Slut on the main street, while Hurry Up, Mecha, Anemone and a few others are more hidden in the smaller alleyways.

        While in this area, be sure to check out Sou Fujimoto’s famous House NA on this street with its cube-shaped open layout. While it may offer little privacy for its residents, it’s an eye-catching architectural gem not to be missed.

On Koenji’s north side, you can continue your architectural journey at Za Koenji, designed by none other than Pritzker Prize awarded architect Toyo Ito. The building operates as a theater and cinema, but even without a ticket, you are usually able to check out the beautiful winding staircase on the inside.

        And then there is the Kita-Kore Building in the northwest, a legendary cluster of houses encapsulating Koenji’s unique sense of creativity and wonderful weirdness. If you visit before opening hours, marvel at the famous monster building on the corner, and be sure to return later in the afternoon when the shops and bars come to life. What most people don’t realize is that there’s a small, almost hidden pathway to the right of the building that leads straight into its core.

On the inside, you will find a courtyard-looking area that seems like it’s about to collapse any minute, and here you’ll find a wonderful small bar serving drinks, chai and food late into the morning hours that could exist nowhere but exactly in this neighborhood.

        If you still want to continue your evening exploration of Koenji, then make your way to the smokey street underneath and next to the JR railway, where izakayas serve local grub and drinks any evening of the week. This yokocho alley is one of Tokyoites most popular and authentic, and not as crowded by tourists as some other ones in Shinjuku or Asakusa.

Kosugiyu is a locals’ favorite sento (bathhouse) located in an old house which was renovated and re-designed by Koenji’s younger creatives. If you’re not into marveling at the Mount Fuji painting on the inside while soaking your naked body with locals, then opt for the cafe and coworking space next door  which is also a perfect place to relax after a day of exploring Koenji.

        Koenji Extra:

If you happen to visit in August, be sure to attend the famous Awa Odori Dance Festival which draws a crowd of over a million people who gather to marvel at the beautiful dancers and rhythmic sounds of drums well into the night.

Photos: Sybilla Patrizia and Hidekazu Tsutsui