The Red Light District

A late start to my night but a good one none the less! I spent the night with a new friend of mine that I met in the streets of Tokyo. His name is Pierre, he is French, he is an architect, and he travels to and fro Japan and Africa working on various projects...impressive right? Well besides all that mumbo jumbo, he is quite an entertaining man and a good guide for Tokyo. We started off at the batting cages in Shinjuku! Assuming that since I am American, I should be a PRO at hitting the ball...wrong! This was my first time in a batting cage, but my competitive nature is happy to say that I'm pretty sure I hit (barely tapping counts as a hit right?) more balls than he did. This place was so much fun it made me wonder why I haven't been doing this back home, not to mention it is quite affordable. 4 sore arms and 90 balls later, we were on our way out but a quick look at the feet eating fish tank! Part of an onsen, you stick your feet in, and the black little fish eat all the dead molecules off of your feet!!! Weird!

The next stop was a place I was so excited to visit....we were on our way to the Red Light District in Shinjuku known as Kabukicho. The home to many hostess bars, host bars, love hotels and entertainment etc...they call it the Red Light District of Shinjuku but it didn't seem so lawless to me. In fact, it still seemed quite safe but maybe I'm just a crazy rebel who is hard to impress. Anyway, the coolest part worth mentioning in this area was GOLDEN GAI. Now my description of this area will not do it justice but it is worth a try. Golden Gai is an extremely small area that is crammed with over 200 shanti like bars.

 

Not only does this area strike architectural interests but it also serves as a memory of what the whole area once looked like in the past. The areas around it have been modernized and drastically improved but this was the only space that was not burnt down by the Yakuza (Japanese Mafia which is still very present in this area). Golden Gai contains 6 extremely narrow alleys with shanti bars on each side of the walk way that are then connected by various pathways that are maybe the width of 1 person. There are no pretty storefronts to these bars and in fact, you can't really even see what's going on inside. Many of the bars are for members only and to become a member you often have to be referred by one. Also, if you are a member, you have the luxury of keeping your own bottles of alcohol there. The capacity in a lot of these spaces are 5 people and that is including the bartender. Most have second floors which act as either the same lay out bar as below, or they are living quarters (probably for the bartenders themselves). Although Golden Gai is pretty run down, this area is not known for cheap drink prices. It is said that the typical demographic of these bars are the more artistic people and the celebrities...interesting. I would recommend this area to anyone, the concept is so intriguing and it is definitely worth a look!