A hundred-metre lane west of Senso-ji where open-fronted izakaya spill plastic chairs onto the pavement from lunchtime onwards. The name comes from hoppy, a near-beer invented in 1948 that locals mix with cheap shochu, and the stalls still serve it with slow-cooked beef tendon stew. It is loud, cheerful and noticeably older than Shibuya’s drinking crowd, a slice of working-class Tokyo that has outlived the district’s decline and revival.
The street is at its best in the late afternoon, when the day-drinkers and the after-work crowd overlap. Pick a stall by the look of its customers rather than its menu, order a hoppy set and one stew, then move on to the next one.
Tips
- Order a hoppy set and ask for a naka (refill of shochu) when the glass runs low, which is how regulars drink it
- Gyu-suji nikomi, beef tendon stewed in miso, is the house dish on every stall and the best thing to order first
- Plastic sheeting goes up in cold weather, so the terraces are usable year-round but smoky