Manhattan nightlife plays an important role both in the tourism industry and the daily lives of residents, and that alone means that you'll need a good guide to help you find your way around Manhattan. Not only do locals usually take a guide to the city's nightlife seriously but also a fellow traveler to share the many cultural and night highlights in the city during the day.
This is what my friend Tony Starke has set out to accomplish with a guide to Manhattan that covers the whole city, from major tourist spots to those that are tucked away within the city's residential neighborhoods. He has assembled a guide that is comprehensive, easy to read, and is loaded with advice and tips for tourists, as well as locals, on how to get the best of all worlds in Manhattan.
My favorite thing about Tony's guide to Manhattan is that it includes a section of recommendations on things to do on the nightlife circuit. These include things like jazz clubs, pubs, bars, discos, and other places of entertainment that are often overlooked by the locals. I think this is a very cool feature of the book because it gives people a great place to start and helps them narrow down their search while they are still in Manhattan.
One of the best sections of the book focuses on the many clubs that are located within the greater Manhattan metropolitan area. There are many of them, such as the legendary Club Nokia and Club Seaview, to name a few, that are known for their unique clientele and the good music they play. I can personally attest to how much fun it is to be able to party at these clubs.
The second part of the guide offers information on the restaurants that are located in and around the city. These include the more high-end sushi joints, bars, and other restaurants that are located within the city limits. There are also some very good places to get cheap food and snacks in Manhattan, which make it easy to eat outside of your hotel.
If you're more into food and sushi, then there are plenty of them to choose from. It starts with
sushi bars. You'll want to make sure you find the right one for your tastes, though, because different bars serve different types of sushi depending on where you go. I recommend checking out the sushi bar at the Sushi Ogon in Harajuku if you want to get sushi and sashimi (fish).
Next there are Japanese food joints, which offer a wide variety of different foods as well as Japanese bars. They are often full of fresh ingredients and great deals on the food.
Finally, there are a number of bars that serve beer and other drinks and have live music during the day. A few of the popular bars that open early are the famous Club 101, Barcode, and the Shibuya night club.
It's important to remember that Manhattan isn't all about partying. There are also a number of places to do shopping and spend your free time. As you can probably guess, there are a number of shopping areas that you can visit.
The Shibuya shopping district is the most popular because it has lots of stores, boutiques, and restaurants to pick up the latest trends in clothing and electronics. It also has several parks that you can walk along and spend the afternoon and evening enjoying the shops.
The Akihabara nightlife is a little different because you have to be a little more serious about it to get into it. These are bars that have live music and dancers and DJs, but usually aren't very crowded.
Another interesting aspect of the book that I found interesting was the section on Takarazuka, Manhattan's exclusive nightlife. This is a part of the city that has been built around the clubs and bars of Takarazuka, an exclusive neighborhood of the city. The only people who actually live in the district are the residents of the surrounding apartments.