1. Nakano Broadway
    Photo: Cowardlion/DreamstimeNakano Broadway
  2. Coffee Zingaro
    Photo: Kisa ToyoshimaCoffee Zingaro
  3. daily chiko
    Photo: Time Out TokyoDaily Chiko
  4. Nakano Broadway
    Photo: Kisa ToyoshimaNakano Broadway

21 best restaurants, cafés, shops and things to do in Nakano

Just one train stop from Shinjuku, this chilled neighbourhood is famous for anime stores, cosy cafés and casual restaurants

Kaila Imada
Written by
Kirsty Bouwers
Contributor
Kaila Imada
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Sometimes dubbed ‘Western Tokyo’s Akihabara’, Nakano deserves its 'otaku (geek) heaven' moniker. But beyond the anime and manga paradise that is Nakano Broadway, you'll find plenty to keep you entertained here. Just hop on the train for one stop from Shinjuku and you'll find that Nakano is one of Tokyo's most authentic neighbourhoods.

The area has more or less survived Tokyo’s incessant modernisation drive. Head slightly northeast from the station and you’ll find an old-school, partially pre-war block chock-full of izakaya, bars and more, while Edo-era (1603-1867) temples and serene parks can be found further north still. It’s a bustling mix of office workers, university students and families, and the locals are generally very friendly, laid-back and up for a chat.

Ready to explore? Here are some of our favourite eateries, shops and hangout spots in this bustling 'hood.  

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Eat and drink

  • Restaurants
  • Cafés
  • Nakano

In an area heavily populated with bars and izakayas, this café is a welcoming sight. Lou, which opened in 2021, is the sister shop to Paddler’s Coffee Nishihara. This Nakano café offers a more extensive food menu than Paddler’s, with a variety of Nordic-inspired soups, pastries, cakes and ice cream. It’s also got a pretty great drink selection of coffee, tea, craft beer and wine.

The vibes here are relaxed, with records spinning everything from classic jazz to city pop by Miki Matsubara. We especially love Lou’s tableware collection, which includes thick mugs and dainty glass spoons that could easily double as art. The cute vases by ceramicist John Molesworth on each and every table are also available for purchase. You can pick up coffee beans, too, plus pleasant smelling room sprays, hand soaps and sanitizers.

  • Restaurants
  • Nakano

World-renowned contemporary artist Takashi Murakami has opened up a new café in Nakano Broadway known as Coffee Zingaro. This art-filled café is a welcoming spot in the anime and manga shop-filled district and is Murakami’s latest venture in the area after closing down Bar Zingaro in 2020.

Coffee Zingaro has a lot of pizazz with its retro kissaten vibes inspired by the 1960s and ‘70s. You'll find Murakami's artwork all over the café, from the NFT videos playing on the large TV screen to food and drink inspired by the artist’s signature flower motif. But this isn’t just an art café. Coffee Zingaro is set up with tables that double as gaming consoles, where you'll find classic games like Mario Bros, Donkey Kong and Street Fighter. When ordering, you can purchase special flower coins (¥500 each) to play these games.

Coffee here comes from Nordic roastery Fuglen Tokyo, while you can also get kissaten favourites like melon floats and pudding. Don’t miss the pancakes, either, which are created by Tonari no Kaido, a pastry shop started by Murakami and his Kaikai Kiki team. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Nakano

For serious tuna fiends, this izakaya serves virtually every cut of bluefin tuna in a multitude of ways. There’s even a maguro sake (served hot or cold), where the nihonshu is infused with dashi (fish broth) to make a drink that’s something between a soup and a cocktail. 

Most chefs believe that tuna is best served raw, so that you get a chance to enjoy the texture and flavour of the fresh fish in its purest form. Maguro Mart follows that same principle with the majority of its dishes. 

The Maguro Mart platter, for instance, is a plank of assorted sashimi featuring different cuts of maguro for those who didn’t know there was more to tuna than akami (red lean tuna) and chutoro (medium fatty tuna). There’s also the maguro yukke (Korean-style tuna tartare), where thin strips of fresh lean tuna are mixed with fresh egg yolk and a sweet-savoury sauce for a rich starter that’s packed with umami.

Even the warm dishes like maguro tempura only ‘cook’ the outside of the tuna, leaving the centre rare and tender. Everything is delicious, but the key is not to let your eyes grow bigger than your stomach, or you’ll end the meal feeling like you never want to see tuna again. 

There are more than a handful of maguro fanatics in Tokyo competing for a table here. So expect to book a table a month in advance if you want to experience this tuna extravaganza. 

  • Restaurants
  • Nakano

The people behind Nakano’s famous tuna speciality restaurant, Maguro Mart, have opened an eatery nearby with an entirely different concept. Tototo serves pizzas in a stylish, contemporary space with an open kitchen, where a stone pizza kiln takes pride of place.

The pizza menu here is an inspired take on the classic Italian staple and Tototo is known for its generous toppings. So don’t come expecting the usual margherita or marinara. Instead, we recommend the Japanese-style pizza with Kochi bell pepper, shirasu (whitebait) and karasumi (salted mullet roe), or the wasabi, mushroom and pancetta pizza. The dough is made from a blend of Daisen Komugi wheat and wholewheat flour produced in the famous mountains of Tottori.

While the pizzas are obviously the star of Tototo, there are other dishes you can order to complement your meal. Seafood comes directly from the Toyosu Fish Market on a daily basis, so it's super fresh and reliable. The seasonal seafood marinade is a standout. The refreshing starter serves up a variety of sashimi – sea bream, yellowtail, tuna, firefly squid and ikura, etc – in a balsamic vinegar dressing accentuated with hints of yuzu.

You can also get Maguro Mart’s famed tuna cheek steak at Tototo. It’s nicely seared on the outside but still pink and rare inside, looking deceptively like slices of roast beef.

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  • Restaurants
  • Japanese
  • Nakano

Unagi (grilled freshwater eel) is considered a delicacy, but this low-key and inviting eatery offers this luxurious dish as a quick and affordable meal. An unadon, grilled eel glazed with a sweet-savoury sauce over white rice, costs as little as ¥590. For ¥1,100, you can get hitsumabushi, a speciality from Aichi prefecture, which resembles unaju (unagi served in a rectangular lacquer box) and should be enjoyed in two ways. First, you eat the eel and rice with a dash of wasabi. Then mix things up by pouring dashi broth into your rice and eat the unagi as you would ochazuke (a homely dish of broth and rice).

  • Bars and pubs
  • Izakaya
  • Araiyakushi-mae
  • price 1 of 4

The Shimonya chain of izakayas operates multiple branches along the Seibu and Chuo lines in Tokyo, but this joint by Araiyakushi-mae Station is where the story first started. Look for the yellow roof with the words yakiton (焼とん) and yakitori (焼とり) written on it, enter through the narrow door and grab a seat wherever – you'll soon be requested to order a drink (perhaps a highball) and some skewers (from ¥110). If you're an adventurous eater, go for the basashi (raw horse) or the 'rare beef steak', which is actually closer to a blue steak.

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  • Restaurants
  • Nakano
  • price 1 of 4

This is the original location of a chain of chuka (Chinese) soba restaurants found in the Kanto region. The rich soup is based on a traditional recipe from Kyushu, made with chicken meat and pork bones and then mixed with Tokyo-style seafood soup stock. The noodles are thick and relatively straight.

The menu includes four different types of dishes, including chuka soba and tsukemen, with the former being the most basic of them all, available at the modest price of ¥780. Being located in Nakano, an area known for its concentration of ramen shops, its unshakeable popularity is evidence of the level of quality found here. Not too heavy, not too light – you’ll never get tired of these offerings.

  • Restaurants
  • Nakano

This restaurant in Nakano pairs kappo cuisine (intimate, counter-style cuisine) with sake. Once you step into the shop, you’ll find a surprisingly casual dining space with one wall decorated with bottles wrapped in colourful tenugui cloth. Here you can enjoy sake by the glass from a selection of 40 different bottles, some of which are made by Wax and Wane, the shop’s original brand created in collaboration with 12 Japanese breweries.

Not sure what to drink? You can order any two shaku (around 36ml) of any bottle, so you can easily finish a small glass in two sips and try multiple kinds of sake in one sitting. The menu offers beers and sours, as well as unusual Japanese fusion dishes like chicken choux cream (¥680) or a taiyaki-shaped pie with raisins and anchovies (¥1,280). 

But there’s no need to stop here. Walk further inside the restaurant and you’ll come to a fancier dining space where the kappo meal pairing happens. You can get eight to ten dishes for ¥12,000. That includes the aforementioned chicken choux cream made with a savoury black pepper pastry and decadent diplomat cream. The chef will recommend his favourite sake to go with each dish to take your experience to the next level.

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  • Bars and pubs
  • Nakano

If you’re looking for a night of nostalgia, head straight to Juke ‘80s. This music request bar plays only tunes from – you guessed it – the 1980s. Even better, there’s no cover charge at the door and drinks are just ¥500. There’s even a small food menu with bar bites like fish and chips, fried chicken, pizza and onion rings. 

You can request either a song or music video for free from the extensive collection categorised in a dictionary-like book. To give you an idea of the bangers from that decade, popular requests include ‘Every Breath You Take’ by The Police, ‘September’ by Earth Wind & Fire and ‘We Are The World’, the collaborative song by 45 music superstars including Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder. 

If Japanese music is more your thing, head to Juke’s nearby sister bar Juke 80's J-Pop Bar, where you can request city pop classics from the likes of Tatsuro Yamashita and Harumi Hosono.

  • Restaurants
  • Bakeries
  • Numabukuro

It’s hard to come by a bakery in Tokyo that spins out good ‘ol American classics such as corn bread, brownies, chocolate chip cookies and carrot cake with cream cheese icing. But that’s exactly what you’ll get at Kyle’s Good Finds. A Nakano staple for over 30 years, this small but digilent bakery is run by American-turned-Tokyoite Kyle Sexton, a self-taught baker who’s been sharing his home-baked goods with locals in-the-know. 

While fresh bakes are the store’s bread and butter, keep an eye out for seasonal specials over Christmas and American Thanksgiving, as Kyle also whips up classic dinner bentos for those missing that taste of home. For instance, you might find turkey with stuffing, mac and cheese, collard greens and cranberry sauce on the holiday menu.

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  • Restaurants
  • Nakano

Join the queue and get an imagawayaki (a warm, round, cake-like snack with a filling of your choice) at Refutei, right opposite Nakano Station's north exit. Pick from classic red bean jam, red bean and mochi, chocolate cream, cream cheese and even sweet potato. Nothing on the menu is over ¥200, and eating it fresh and hot is the best way to go.

  • Restaurants
  • Ice-cream parlours
  • Nakano
  • price 1 of 4

Daily Chiko is no regular ice cream stand. If you're around Nakano Broadway, you definitely won't want to miss its 20cm tall soft serve, consisting of eight layers of heaven. Flavours change once in a while depending on how the manager feels, but vanilla, chocolate, matcha and ramune soda seem to be staples. Though this monstrous dessert looks intimidating, the ice cream itself is surprisingly light and only packs a third of the calories in a typical soft serve. Daily Chiko also operates an udon shop next door, so you can fill up on noodles before moving on to the main dish.

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  • Restaurants
  • Cafés
  • Nakano

Located in a quiet residential neighbourhood of Nakano, Mamatoko turns out some pretty creative shaved ice desserts. The owner of the shop, Asako Harada, is known as the 'Queen of Shaved Ice' and with good reason – she's eaten approximately 1,800 bowls in a single year. Take a seat at one of the counter spots and enjoy one of Harada's unique creations such as shaved ice with seasonal fruit toppings accented with sake lees, (the paste-like mixture left over from sake production) or a kakigori topped with granola. Flavours change with the season, so check the menu posted on the shop's Twitter before heading over.

  • Bars and pubs
  • Craft beer pubs
  • Nakano
  • price 1 of 4

Opened in May 2014 on the north side of Nakano Station, this 'beer workshop' is run by a fellow who trained under Koenji Bakushu Kobo's Kakyu Nomura before going independent. Five beers are found on tap, with the slightly fruity and very solid White probably the most popular choice. We, however, really liked both the IPA and the Pale Ale: these flavourful, appropriately bitter creations really seem to bring out the master's expertise. The food menu is also quite impressive, so there's no need to fill up before heading over. 

Shop

  • Shopping
  • Nakano

Walk down the cathedral-like shotengai (shopping arcade) in Nakano and you’ll reach the covered Broadway section. A popular haunt for Tokyo's otaku community, this five-floor complex contains numerous outlets of Mandarake, specialising in new and second-hand manga; branches of Fujiya Avic, the second-hand CD/DVD/anime store offering rarities and bootlegs; and a large number of shops selling collectible action figures. Most of the geek action is found on the second and third floors, though it's worth exploring the other corners of the building to see what you find.

  • Shopping
  • Nakano

Mandarake (pronounced ‘Mandala-K’) is the place to go for action figures related to obscure Japanese anime, retro US toys from the 1960s and ’70s, manga, dojinshi (fanzines) and much more geeky goodness. It has numerous outlets in the Nakano Broadway shopping centre. The Shibuya branch is almost as vast.

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  • Shopping
  • Nakano

A long-standing camera shop located next to JR Nakano Station, Fujiya Camera deals in items such as new and second-hand cameras, lenses and camera accessories. Founded over 70 years ago and loved by camera fans, this store carries a wealth of stock, including over 2,000 second-hand items. Fujiya Camera also employs friendly staff who are happy to advise beginners.

  • Shopping
  • Gifts and souvenirs
  • Araiyakushi-mae

Domestic beverages from sake and shochu to umeshu (plum wine) and Okinawa's awamori spirit line the shelves at this cramped neighbourhood liquor store that stocks products from a wide variety of breweries and distillers. A shipping service is available for gifts, while casual shoppers are drawn to the vast selection of 'one-cup' sake.

To do

  • Attractions
  • Religious buildings and sites
  • Araiyakushi-mae

Lending its name to the nearby Seibu line station, this Shingon temple has stood in Nakano since the 16th century, although the current building is rather more modern that that. Said to have the power to cure eye illnesses, Araiyakushi is where to get amulets and ema plaques customised for the purpose.

  • Health and beauty
  • Spas
  • Numabukuro

This local bathhouse stays open until 1.30am and attracts a diverse crowd, from old-timers to high school students. The facilities include steam saunas and open-air baths, while shampoo, conditioner, towels and other amenities can be borrowed for free. Entrance is ¥500.

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  • Shopping
  • Nakano

Takashi Murakami and his art management firm Kaikai Kiki opened this gallery in 2010 on the third floor of Nakano Broadway. On display are pieces of furniture, artworks and bits and bobs selected by Murakami himself. If you're wondering about the gallery's name, Hidari Zingaro was a genius sculptor from the Edo period (1603-1867).

To check out the latest exhibition showing at the space, visit the website.

More time to explore?

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