Koenji Subculture Walk Music Vintage and Hidden Tokyo

Koenji Subculture Walk Music Vintage and Hidden Tokyo

By Jim's Tokyo Tours

Free cancellation available

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Features

Free cancellation available
2h
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Overview

Visit iconic Koenji live music venues that helped define Tokyo’s underground music scene

Browse vinyl record shops specializing in punk, jazz, experimental, and Japanese indie music

Explore independent bookstores focused on politics, art, and alternative culture

Discover Koenji’s famous used clothing and recycle stores, central to its anti-consumerist identity

Walk through backstreets rarely visited by tourists

Visit a local Koenji temple that anchors the neighborhood

Stop at Kishō Jinja, a Shinto shrine dedicated to weather, fate, and resilience

Learn how Koenji became Tokyo’s enduring countercultural hub

Activity location

Kōenji Station
- Suginami City, Tokyo, Japan

Meeting/Redemption Point

Kōenji Station
- Suginami City, Tokyo, Japan

Check availability

Koenji Subculture Walk Music Vintage and Hidden Tokyo

2h
English

Travelers

Language options: English

Starting time: 17:00

Price details

P 2,318.40 x 1 AdultP 2,318.40

Total

Until Thu, Feb 19

What's included, what's not

Cultural and historical explanations throughout

Know before you book

Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Public transportation options are available nearby
Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Activity itinerary

Kōenji Station

10m

The plaza at the north side of Koenji station is a late-night hangout for people of all kinds, including street artists and musicians, as well as a spot for performing arts festivals and the kind of protest demonstrations, that first put Koenji on the counterculture map in the 1950s.

Live Music Jirokichi

10m

One of Tokyo’s most respected live music venues, known for jazz, blues, and experimental performances since the 1970s, Jirokichi was the leader of Koenji's live music scene when the owner began opening his basement music cafe without a state -- into a venue for weekend live performances.

Kishō Jinja (Weather Shrine)

15m

Kisho Jinja is the only Shinto shrine dedicated to weather forecasting. Constructed for the Imperial Army so that its nearby weather forecasting station could more accurately predict the weather, and allow Japan's military to more efficiently kill its enemies, it is now where Japanese go to pray for good weather. It is also unusual in the unique way visitors express their weather prayers.

EAD RECORD (Pass by)

EAD record, across the street from the shrine, possesses a full-on Koenji vibe in a little shoebox store with a huge reputation for its curated inventory and investment in the local music scene.

Godzilla-ya화수X

10m

Godzilla-ya is a retro toy and collectible shop under the tracks, where nostalgia, pop culture, and underground art overlap.

SUB Store Tokyo

10m

Attached to the iconic S.U.B.store clothing shop, S.U.B.store Café is a tiny, no-frills hangout that captures Koenji’s underground spirit in coffee form. Popular with artists, musicians, and regulars from the neighborhood, it’s less about latte art and more about atmosphere—raw, unpolished, and unapologetically local.

BE-IN RECORDS ビー・インレコーズ

10m

Visit Be-In Records, a classic Koenji record shop specializing in punk, rock, and underground music. Koenji's live music scene evolved out of its 1970s vinyl culture. The owner, Aki, opened for business 25 years ago as a way of keeping that spirit alive.

Koenji Pal Shopping Street

30m

Although a polished covered shopping arcade, PAL is home to a good sample of the vast number of used-clothing stores that have moved to Koenji over the past 20 years to flee the commercialism of other Tokyo neighborhoods.

Location

Activity location

Kōenji Station
- Suginami City, Tokyo, Japan

Meeting/Redemption Point

Kōenji Station
- Suginami City, Tokyo, Japan

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