When geeks hear the word "Nakano", a few of their favourite things come to mind: manga, anime, comics, and toys. It is home to restaurants, quirky cafés and watering holes, where tourists and locals lurk and tired salarymen unwind the best way they know how.
Nakano-ku is known for a slightly bohemian element owing to the many artists, comedians and students who make it their home. Here you can find otaku mecca Nakano Broadway, as well as Nakano Sun Plaza, a towering hotel and concert hall that dominates the skyline.
Nakano has great nightlife that tends to be easier on the wallet than a night out in some of the more posh districts. A matrix of bars and restaurants of all stripes sits beside Nakano Station’s North Exit, extending along the shopping street. Bar hopping is a fine option, but below we’ve highlighted a select few bases, strongholds from which to mount excursions into new territory.
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01
Beer Kobo
![Beer Kobo]()
Beer Kobo
Entering Beer Kobo feels a bit like stepping down into the half finished rec room basement of a childhood friend. This place has a down to earth and workmanlike atmosphere. The folks at Beer Kobo brew their own suds and sell them for a reasonable ¥500. Beer Kobo also offers a basic food menu. There are standing counters and seating areas, as well as raised platform seating. For these, remove your shoes and ascend the ladders, bearing in mind as you drink that the sole bathroom is on the ground level.
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02
Juke 80s One Coin Bar
![Juke 80s One Coin Bar]()
Juke 80s One Coin Bar
Nakano sports twin 80s bars for musical devotees of that exquisite decade. Juke 80s One Coin Bar is essentially a giant juke box that serves booze and food. Flip through the lists of artists and songs, write down what you want to hear, and give it to the staff when you order your next round. Its sister location, which goes by the same name plus “Dining Bar Area2,” is located nearby and specializes in Japanese music from the same era.
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03
Club Nakano Heavy Sick ZERO
![Club Nakano Heavy Sick ZERO]()
Club Nakano Heavy Sick ZERO
Heavy Sick won its reputation by hosting some of the most ruthless DJs in town and pushing an agenda of hard, jagged beats: hardcore, the noisier wing of drum and bass, and breakcore. Heavy Sick is gunning for the true heads, bringing in the best local talent, like Joshua Moylett, as well as underground superstars like Kode9.
![Club Nakano Heavy Sick ZERO]()
Club Nakano Heavy Sick ZERO
![Club Nakano Heavy Sick ZERO]()
Club Nakano Heavy Sick ZERO
- Heavy Sick Zero
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- Tokyo Nakano-ku Nakano 5-41-8 Kasug Nakano B1, B2F
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- 0353801413
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- 12:00-24:00
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中野レモンハウス
新井1丁目23-24 Tokyo
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04
Kuroneco Maid Cafe
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Kuroneco Maid Cafe
Anyone with a hankering to sample the stranger side of things might consider a visit to Kuroneco (“black cat”) Maid Cafe, where the staff dress in costume and turn the cute up to 11. The nomihodai all you can drink deals set this maid cafe apart, as well as a more adult menu. Don’t get it twisted though: This is not a house of ill repute and the play goes no further than words.
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World Kaikan
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World Kaikan
This is Tokyo on extreme mode: a truly revolting edifice whose urine and shochu perfumed corridors lead to a number of dive bars. Golden Gai in Shinjuku is being overrun with lookie loos while locked in a stare down with developers but World Kaikan keeps hope alive for Tokyo realness. Vow's Bar is one of the World Kaikan's most notable tenants. The bar is tended by a Buddhist monk that has filled the tiny space with religious kitsch and devotional art.
- NAKANO VOW'S BAR
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2.0
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- Tokyo Nakano-ku Nakano 5-55-6 World Hall 2F
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- 0333855530
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illi Nakano
中野区新井1丁目9-4 フィルパーク中野ビル Tokyo
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06
Renga Zaka
![Renga Zaka]()
Renga Zaka
After a few drinks at World Kaikan, Renga Zaka, on the south side of Nakano Station, is a fine place to cleanse yourself on Nakano’s upscale bohemian side. The shotengai is a flâneur’s delight, paved with red brick.
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