If I'm in Shinjuku for a drink and needing some place with a bit of atmosphere, I usually head to Golden Gai. I've written about it plenty of times before. It is a collection of cool little bars tucked away in a little part of Shinjuku, in cool, ramshackle, surprisingly clean little alleys, with plenty of history and character deeply imprinted into the walls.

If you ever make your way into Golden Gai, make sure you make time to drop in to Araku, my friend Tracey's bar. Actually, I believe it's her families bar... That's her brother, Richard to the right and boyfriend/bartender extraordinaire, Ashley on the left in the above pic. They are all Australians and long term Japan residents (and actually, Tracey and Richard are the team that bring you the eternally useful mobile phone service TangoTown). Anyways, I digress, as I am often wont to do.

I dropped in there on Friday night for the first time and had a delightful time. Tracey and Ash run the bar on Wednesday and Friday nights, and on other nights of the week the place is staffed by fully bilingual staff so it's a great place to go if your Japanese isn't so great (in Golden Gai, if you don't speak much Japanese you can have a hard time..... ). Anyways, that makes it good for international visitors who can't speak any Japanese (erm, and the rest of us who are lazy to apply ourselves to extensive Japanese study). It's got heaps of room, another unusual feature in Golden Gai where the average bar seats about 6 - 10 people.... Araku has room for around 20/25 people, and actually - there were about that many people in there on Friday night. It was pumping. They sell great Australian wines and a range of nibblies too. Open till dawn. Go ch-ch-check it out! (How to find Araku)

Here's Sarah and Tracey being really still and sultry for the low-light photo... (god, can't wait till my big camera is back from the shop!)

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