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Shinjuku

On this page we look at the South side of Shinjuku where there's plenty of shopping and a beautiful Japanese garden to stroll around when you need a break from the city.

For information on the East and West sides, see our Shinjuku East section.

Shinjuku Station - Plan Your Attack

This part of town is a popular tourist spot for a number of different reasons. I'm coming to that in just a moment. Before you go anywhere, however, it's a good idea to figure out this particular Tokyo train station in relation to where you want to go. Why? It's huge!

With approximately 3 million people passing through on an average working day, and a maze of exits designed to confuse, planning your attack and having a sense of where you need to go will make this a much more pleasurable experience.

The main exits which are well sign-posted and easy to follow are the East, West, South, South East and New South exits. JR has put some really good Tokyo station maps together that will help you get your bearings: Station Map.

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The New South And South East Exit Areas

Taking either of these exits will take you into what I think of as the upscale downtown shopping area in Shinjuku. You'll find major shopping outlets here like Gap and HMV as well as smaller boutique style shops along with a great choice of cafes and restaurants.

If you turn right and follow the road under the bridge from the South East ticket gate you'll see a shop called L-Breath on your left hand side which is a great place to pick up hiking gear (possibly a little expensive though depending where you're coming from).

You'll also find a Zara clothing shop and a Starbucks with a good area for sitting outside if you want to relax with a coffee and watch the world go by.

Keep going past these shops and you'll find yourself at Takashimaya Department store and Times Square.

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Main South Exit

If you want the most direct route to Times Square and Takashimaya department store among others, the South exit shows you exactly where you need to go. When you get to the exit the building is straight in front of you.

Times Square is a huge shopping complex with a variety of restaurants, the biggest Kinokuniya book store (with a great foreign books section on the seventh floor), and Tokyu Hands to have you buying things you never knew you needed but just have to have! We did warn you : )

Turn right out of the South Exit, keep walking straight, and you'll see the famous Park Hyatt triple towers straight in front of you. Continue walking past the Hyatt for around another 10 minutes and you'll find yourself in the relatively new Tokyo Opera city area.

As the name suggests this is a center for art, music and other creative performances. There's an opera house, a playhouse and a smaller "Pit" area for cosier displays.

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Shinjuku Gyoen (Park) Directions

Shinjuku Gyoen is a nice respite from the city when you need a break from the neon and noise that continually bombard you in the main shopping areas. In Spring this is a lovely place to catch the cherry trees in full bloom.

We've put together a video of how to get to Shinjuku Gyoen from the station so hopefully you should be able to find it without any trouble. On average its around a 10 minute walk so you don't have too far to go.

For the red light district of Tokyo, see our Kabukicho link.