Tokyo Up Late

Eat the streets after midnight. As the sun sets behind Mt Fuji, the neon lights of Tokyo flicker to life: izakayas, restaurants and bars fill; beer, umeshu, highballs, and sake are raised to cheers, and the scent and sounds of nightlife fill the air.  Tokyo's night scene is fun, boisterous and lively. This is where locals shake off a long day, often staying out till the last trains leave the city.  Late-night Tokyo is your guide through the night, from the lamp-lit streets to menu-plastered walls, where a Japanese smorgasbord is on offer: sake and beer snacks (think burdock chips and grilled ginkgo nuts) to sashimi and sake- or saikyo miso-grilled fish, karaage (fried chicken), and yakitori.  Start with a beverage and head out to stall-lined alleyways, with bubbling pots of soy glaze, or the tachigui with their sushi and barbecued meat, and enjoy a final stop with a train station's udon or a libation at a tucked away bar till the wee hours.