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Shinjuku Ni-choume
I've been out of the country on vacation. Not that you'd notice by my lack of posting, which remains chronically bad. Sorry, sorry! I didn't look for myself on the recent HP love meme because I somehow convinced myself that I'd turned in to one of those names that everyone sees and thinks, "Oh, yeah, whatever happened to…" So I was surprised when I found that there was actually a comment there addressed to me, and touched that the person said that even though I didn't write fic any more that they'd still like to read posts from me now and again. So for you, whoever you are, I'm trying to do better. This post's for you.
So where was I vacationing? Japan! It was one of my great trips of a lifetime. Mr Geoviki and I are the kind of travelers who try to cram in as much into one day as we can, so we did and saw a million things. I'll post about some of it (hopefully) in small bites.
I'll start with one small area of western Tokyo: Shinjuku Ni-choume, better known (at least to those of you who read yaoi) as Tokyo's gay district.
Shinjuku Ni-choume sign
Most of you are aware that greater Tokyo is the world's biggest city, population 13 million, give or take. Tokyo doesn't have a single center; instead, it grew larger around train stations until it finally melded together, so it's got many centers. Shinjuku is one center, and Shinjuku Station sees 2 million commuters every day. We found ourselves in Shinjuku, or passing through it, a lot.
Shinjuku is home to a lot of districts (choume) or neighborhoods. Ni-choume (2nd district) covers more turf than the gay area. In fact, after reading all these manga where the characters talk about going to Ni-choume, I was surprised how small the gay part actually is. It comprises one long street, Naka Dori, parts of the two adjoining streets, and the cross streets connecting them. This tiny realm, though, hosts roughly 200 bars, it's claimed, most of which are the size of your living room.
Shinjuku Ni-choume main street (Naka Dori)
I was a little nervous at first walking through the place because of its reputation, but really there are lots of folks just passing through on their way somewhere else. There weren't as many people spilling into the streets as are drawn in manga, but maybe it's more visibly active in summer. We were there 3 different nights, including Halloween, where we came across several transvestites who looked more like the New York Dolls than the beautiful women I've seen in J-Rock bands. Still, even though I didn't feel like my presence was disturbing people, it's one thing for an older Caucasian woman and her husband to wander around, but another to be taking touristy pictures of people in what is still a fairly homophobic country. So the pictures are few. I have one particular memory, though, of two guys, about 20 or so, tentatively holding hands while walking down the street, letting go, and reconnecting in the cutest way as they tried to judge what was okay for them to be doing in public.
So why were we in Ni-choume three nights? That's because there's a terrific jazz club there (and one that's a lot cheaper than the Blue Note). The first night we ended up there trying to find it (Japanese addresses have no connection to anything like streets, you see), and the other two nights were spent seeing music there.
Shinjuku Pit Inn entrance, in the heart of Ni-choume's gay district
We just picked one random night that was convenient for us and ended up seeing a world-class pianist, Fumio Karashima, in a quintet with 2 sax players. It was awesome, although I forgot what it was like to be in a bar that allows smoking. It's a small place, and they really aren't pushing the alcohol. Jazz is still big in Japan although it's sadly faded here in the US. Mr Geoviki and I are jazz fans, and we try to see it often here at home, so it was a natural choice. Then on our last swing through Tokyo before coming home, we dropped in again and caught another great band. If you ever go to Tokyo, let me tell you about this great club…
Shinjuku Pit Inn - Fumio Karashima
One other neighborhood that we wandered through is called Kabukicho, in nearby San-choume (3rd district). It's the red light district, filled with brothels, bars, love hotels (renting rooms by the hour, a common thing in Tokyo), and host clubs (I didn't realize they existed outside of yaoi, but it's true, I've seen them!) A host club is staffed with cute guys who entertain women by chatting them up, getting them to spring for very expensive drinks, and sometimes offer other services. The hosts linger on the streets, too, so I got an eyeful. I picked up a fascinating mp3 audio tour of the area, so Mr Geoviki and I drifted around deepest Kabukicho listening to our Ipods, where the yakuza (gangsters) run the place. Needless to say, I took only one picture, near the more family-friendly entrance.
Shinjuku - Kabukicho
So where was I vacationing? Japan! It was one of my great trips of a lifetime. Mr Geoviki and I are the kind of travelers who try to cram in as much into one day as we can, so we did and saw a million things. I'll post about some of it (hopefully) in small bites.
I'll start with one small area of western Tokyo: Shinjuku Ni-choume, better known (at least to those of you who read yaoi) as Tokyo's gay district.
Shinjuku Ni-choume sign
Most of you are aware that greater Tokyo is the world's biggest city, population 13 million, give or take. Tokyo doesn't have a single center; instead, it grew larger around train stations until it finally melded together, so it's got many centers. Shinjuku is one center, and Shinjuku Station sees 2 million commuters every day. We found ourselves in Shinjuku, or passing through it, a lot.
Shinjuku is home to a lot of districts (choume) or neighborhoods. Ni-choume (2nd district) covers more turf than the gay area. In fact, after reading all these manga where the characters talk about going to Ni-choume, I was surprised how small the gay part actually is. It comprises one long street, Naka Dori, parts of the two adjoining streets, and the cross streets connecting them. This tiny realm, though, hosts roughly 200 bars, it's claimed, most of which are the size of your living room.
Shinjuku Ni-choume main street (Naka Dori)
I was a little nervous at first walking through the place because of its reputation, but really there are lots of folks just passing through on their way somewhere else. There weren't as many people spilling into the streets as are drawn in manga, but maybe it's more visibly active in summer. We were there 3 different nights, including Halloween, where we came across several transvestites who looked more like the New York Dolls than the beautiful women I've seen in J-Rock bands. Still, even though I didn't feel like my presence was disturbing people, it's one thing for an older Caucasian woman and her husband to wander around, but another to be taking touristy pictures of people in what is still a fairly homophobic country. So the pictures are few. I have one particular memory, though, of two guys, about 20 or so, tentatively holding hands while walking down the street, letting go, and reconnecting in the cutest way as they tried to judge what was okay for them to be doing in public.
So why were we in Ni-choume three nights? That's because there's a terrific jazz club there (and one that's a lot cheaper than the Blue Note). The first night we ended up there trying to find it (Japanese addresses have no connection to anything like streets, you see), and the other two nights were spent seeing music there.
Shinjuku Pit Inn entrance, in the heart of Ni-choume's gay district
We just picked one random night that was convenient for us and ended up seeing a world-class pianist, Fumio Karashima, in a quintet with 2 sax players. It was awesome, although I forgot what it was like to be in a bar that allows smoking. It's a small place, and they really aren't pushing the alcohol. Jazz is still big in Japan although it's sadly faded here in the US. Mr Geoviki and I are jazz fans, and we try to see it often here at home, so it was a natural choice. Then on our last swing through Tokyo before coming home, we dropped in again and caught another great band. If you ever go to Tokyo, let me tell you about this great club…
Shinjuku Pit Inn - Fumio Karashima
One other neighborhood that we wandered through is called Kabukicho, in nearby San-choume (3rd district). It's the red light district, filled with brothels, bars, love hotels (renting rooms by the hour, a common thing in Tokyo), and host clubs (I didn't realize they existed outside of yaoi, but it's true, I've seen them!) A host club is staffed with cute guys who entertain women by chatting them up, getting them to spring for very expensive drinks, and sometimes offer other services. The hosts linger on the streets, too, so I got an eyeful. I picked up a fascinating mp3 audio tour of the area, so Mr Geoviki and I drifted around deepest Kabukicho listening to our Ipods, where the yakuza (gangsters) run the place. Needless to say, I took only one picture, near the more family-friendly entrance.
Shinjuku - Kabukicho