Dinner Under the Tracks – Tokyo Yūrakuchō Evening Food Tour

Eat and drink where “dining under the tracks” was born

We spend the night in Tokyo’s historic Yūrakuchō, wandering the little bars and restaurants tucked under the 115-year-old railway arches beneath the elevated Japan Railways (JR) tracks. Part of a viaduct laid from some 54 million bricks, this gādo-shita stretch is a designated Civil Engineering Heritage site. This “under the tracks” style of eating, now popular across Japan, was born right here in Yūrakuchō, exploding from the black market that filled these arches in the aftermath of World War II.

The arches run further than Yūrakuchō. They keep going south under the same tracks into Hibiya Okuroji, a restored run of brick vaults where the good stuff hides in plain sight, then out the other end into Ginza Corridor-gai near Shimbashi. The Corridor’s louder and has its share of chains, but there are finds in there too. I’ve spent hours combing these corridors to find the best spots.

Everything’s a short walk apart. I build the run on the night and can swap a stop if a place is packed or closed (the upside of going with someone who knows the area). No two nights are quite the same, but here’s the kind of thing I fold in:

Monjayaki vs. okonomiyaki.
Most people know okonomiyaki, but monjayaki actually predates it. Our first stop introduces you to a unique dish that started off as a kids’ food and has grown to have its own neighborhood of shops in Tokyo. We’ll order both so you can compare and contrast.

You say sake, I say nihonshu.
An introduction to Japanese rice wine (what we call sake) at a spot that stocks small breweries from all over Japan and serves each pour with food from the same region. Get to know the incredible range of nihonshu and find the styles you love best.

Terroir cocktails.
Drink Japan in a glass, with cocktails built from Japanese spirits and ingredients. Not drinking? They’ll custom-build you a mocktail that’s just as good using seasonal fruits of your choosing.

This is your night, not a script. Tell me what you’re into and what’s off the table. Drinker, teetotaler, vegetarian or vegan – I’ll build around it. We also have the freedom to make interesting detours along the way or after the night officially ends.