It’s that time of year again when Time Out reveals the most vibrant and exciting places on the planet by way of the World’s Coolest Neighbourhoods ranking. And we’re proud to report that Tokyo’s Gakugeidaigaku made it to No. 15 on the 2024 edition of the list.
Based on local insights and insider expertise gleaned through Time Out’s comprehensive network of on-the-ground writers and editors, the survey examined city neighbourhoods across the planet based on livability metrics including food and drink, arts and culture, street life and sense of community. Being one of the world’s greatest cities, Tokyo obviously has a spot in the index, and this year Gakugeidaigaku emerged as the capital’s coolest neighbourhood – and one of the most exciting in the world.
To be precise, Gakugeidaigaku isn’t the actual name of the neighbourhood, but the name of the Toyoko Line station that serves the area officially known as Takaban. But the station name has been widely adopted to refer to this vibrant and diverse part of Meguro ward.
What we love about this one-time university enclave is that Gakugeidaigaku flies firmly under the radar, having always lived in the shadow of its more famous neighbours, Jiyugaoka and Nakameguro, which are both just a few stations away along the same Toyoko Line. This makes Gakugeidaigaku feel like an unexpected find with some serious street cred.
While the crowds flock to the two more well-known neighbourhoods mentioned above, cool kids and insiders know that Gakugeidaigaku has a more relaxed vibe and is much less commercialised. Here you’ll find mom-and-pop grocers and local institutions like bathhouses co-existing with independent, creative restaurants, cafés and bars. And being just four stations away from Shibuya (two if you take the express train), ‘Gakudai’ makes the perfect antidote to all that city-centre madness.
Some of our favourite hangouts in Gakugeidaigaku include WR for excellent coffee, Higuma for fluffy doughnuts, Onya for perfectly chewy udon, Meguro Hiiragi for taiyaki (fish-shaped cakes filled with red bean paste), Yakitori Yaoya Hanare for charcoal-grilled chicken on skewers, and Another 8 Corner for Japanese craft beer, just to name a few. However, with exciting new ventures in food and drink seemingly popping up every month of late, it’s worth checking out Gakugeidaigaku before everyone else inevitably catches on.
Meanwhile, at the top of this year’s World’s Coolest Neighbourhoods list is Notre-Dame-du-Mont in Marseille, France, followed by Mers Sultan in Casablanca, Morocco at No 2, and Pererenan in Bali, Indonesia at No 3.
Check out the full list of the World’s Coolest Neighbourhoods for 2024 here.
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