Tokyo gay neighborhood
All photos by the author
Shinjuku 2 Chome is enjoy a gay bar buffet. Located across two minute city blocks in Tokyo, the special ward is said to have the highest concentration of same-sex attracted bars in the society. But unlike the big, loud, and perpetually-sticky drinking house and dance clubs familiar to Americans or Europeans, the queer-friendly spaces in the district are small, intimate, and stylized or themed, each with a capacity fewer than a dozen heads.
Each exclude is run by a mama, typically both the owner and bartender, as well as the person who picks the theme of his micro-bar. Some bars in Shinjuku 2 Chome are curated to attract clientele with specific sexual preferences, such as chubby chasers, BDSM enthusiasts, and exhibitionists. Others are designed around a hobby or shared interest, love J-pop or sports.
In some bars, the spaces are so small that it’s often easier to name the queer community or subculture the bar caters to based on the customers, rather than what’s on the walls: Clientele may have similar hair styles or body types, or everyone could be sipping drinks through leather gimp masks.
There is something for everyone in Tokyo’s gay, boozy ep
I’ve been going to Ni-Chome, in the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo, long before writing Frommer’s Tokyo. It had a very cool reggae bar there called 69 that I loved; it was no larger than a subway compartment and was often just as jam packed. There were usually people there I knew, and I remember more than one occasion when the whole place was dancing in one rhythm as though one living organism, belting out the words in unison. There was another exclude there called Birdland, eclectically decorated with antiques and a bunch of weird decor and sprint by a very Zen-like Japanese couple, she with the shaven head of a Buddhist monk, he with prolonged hair.
Kinsmen, a refined gay bar, is still there, welcoming people of all persuasions, and Advocates across the avenue spills out onto the sidewalk prefer a friendly block party almost every night. In any case, I’ve seen Ni-Chome grow over the past couple decades into what is probably the largest gay nightlife district in Asia.
My updated account of Ni-Chome appeared in the December/January 2014 issue of Element, a magazine for gay Asian men published in Singapore. To get a handle on what’s new, I enlisted the aid of
A Guide to Lgbtq+ Bar Etiquette in Japan
Tokyo’s famous homosexual district, Shinjuku Ni-Chome, has one of the world’s top concentrations of LGBT-friendly businesses. For the most part, it’s a place where first-timers can dangle out without needing to worry too much about particular customs or cultural knowledge.
Ni-Chome is used to tourists but, those who wish to sneak into smaller, more local LGBT bars might find some cultural practices surprising. In Japan, manners are everything, so here are some insider tips on what to expect when visiting LGBT bars off the overcome path, and how to get the most out of the experience.
Venturing away from westernized lgbtq+ bars
Photo by: Alex Rickert Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name, but sometimes you gotta undertaking into the unknown.
Most gay bars in tourist spots enjoy Ni-Chome or Doyamacho in Osaka mimic American-style bars that feature large shot bars, dance song and dark atmospheres where customers of various sexes, genders, sexualities and identities can drink and make merry. You can certainly spot these kinds of bars, especially in Tokyo, but the vast majority are similar to what is commonly referred to as a スナックバー
Shinjuku Nichome: Stretching Your Yen in the Gayborhood
Shinjuku Nichome is recognizable as Tokyo’s gay district. The area is home to upper concentration of gay bars, clubs and restaurants—but how do you choose where to go? Here are a few spots we recommend for an evening out in Nichome.
Where to eat
It’s never a good idea to go drinking on an void stomach, not just for your health, but also because you might be tempted to purchase overpriced bar snacks later in the night. Here are a couple of options for sensible places to eat in the area.
Agalico
Agalico is a restaurant that serves a variety of Asian cuisine just across the highway from Shinjuku Nichome, next to Shinjuku Sanchome station exit C6. Some items on their menu are pricey, but they also have some great value for money dishes, such as the chicken over rice, which for 1,078 yen will leave one person absolutely stuffed. They also serve glasses of house red or white wine for 429 yen, and they fill those up right to the brim. Even if you’re feeling desire, a glass of sparkling wine filled to the brim will set you back just 550 yen.
アガリコ 新宿三丁目店
1F, 3 Chome−9−9, Shinjuku, Tokyo 160-0022
12 pm to 8 pm
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