Tokyo's night life is the right life but what else is there to really say about Tokyo's nightlife? Before each of the times I've left for Japan I'd spend hours and hours mapping down plans, clubs, event information and everything on some real obsessiveness, thinking it'd help, but realized once getting there that all I was doing during the time researching it was wasting time because when it comes to Tokyo's nightlife? All the night clubs in Tokyo have girls and they are everywhere in Tokyo, Japan.
There is only one real guideline you should follow when going to nightclubs in Tokyo and that is, if you want to dance then go with other people but don't go with other people if you want to be a crook, playing Japanese girls all night. Tokyo is a loner's paradise. You have better chances getting Japanese girls by yourself than you do around other people.
Where to go in Tokyo
There are thousands of nightclubs/bars in Tokyo and it doesn't really matter what the building or inside looks like and what really matters is what kind of events they are having (one night could be rap/hiphop and the other night could be house.) And remember, the streets of Tokyo have more Japanese girls than any nightclub or bar in Japan.
A lot of people ask me, "where should I go in Tokyo?" And I used to tell them Shibuya's Dogenzaka (sort of like a redlight district, as there were sex clubs, yakuza, a lot of prostitution involving Japanese girls a short distance from where the party is, with the bright Pacman signs everywhere that I made famous in 2001,) after 11:00PM (which is the time most of the nightclubs start up. You should, most of the time, be fashionably late because girls are more interested in what just walked in than someone who had been at the bar all night getting fucked up.) I'd recommend, if going to Dogenzaka on a weekend, to relax in Shibuya until atleast 12:30 and then go check out Dogenzaka. Sadly, over the years Shibuya has cleaned up Dogenzaka. Now there are empty alleys where there once were nightclubs that never carded underage for ID, bars like Sugar High where you could go and drink all-you-can-drink from 11:00PM to 5:00AM for 3,000 yen, Japanese school girls in wait of a night of sex or their next enjo kosai, swinger couples approaching you for partner sex in love hotels, foreigner models asking you if you'd want to go to a party with other models when you aren't a model, three times as many love hotels than there are now, love hotels that were being ran and ran well by yakuza and convenience stores that sold alcohol. However, it seems that Shibuya, Tokyo, cleaned it's streets up during the time they were trying to win their Olympic bid and as of Fall 2009 all the yakuza are back in Dogenzaka, not a lot for sex tourists aside from the nightclubs but with the Japanese mafia back there's hope yet. No wonder the literal translation of Shibuya is bitter valley.
Now, when I'm asked, "where should I go in Tokyo?" I have a new answer and another approach. Machida, which is quite possibly, the last of real Tokyo. The best way to get to Machida is by taking Shinjuku's Odakyu line. When you arrive at Machida the train station will seem like it's more of a maze than Shinjuku's station but you'll figure it out quickly. You should go to Machida at around 5:00PM or later in the evening and stay out all night. Beer is easy to find there, liqour can be found at the grocery store, the street to the left of it's largest McDonalds entrance is where a lot of action/picking up girls takes place.
Machida is much like Shibuya, without the tourists, there is even a Machida 109 with the same fine as fuck tan Japanese girls shopping but in a more carefree environment. For beginners, buying a cheap refrigerated bottle of champagne from the grocery store, or drinking at it's TGIfridays. For experts, bring bottles with you and pickup Japanese girls outside 109. The lovehotels are behind the train station, there's got to be atleast ten. Also, in Machida you'll need to stand out from the crowd, dress to get noticed and must look approachable. Looking approachable means you should go alone, get/look drunk and look like you have a ton of money.
What makes Machida even more special is that after the last train, it turns into a skateboarding park of ramps, metal ledges, ledges with coping, stairs, no skate stoppers anywhere, no police anywhere, perfectly smooth flat ground for miles. It's a skateboarder's dream and it's in Tokyo! You'll realize that the spots existed all along but earlier, when there were crowds of people everywhere you wouldn't have seen it as skate spots, ledges you'd have access to and such. If you aren't a skateboarder, this is a crazy time to get fucked up and explore because of small bars and restaurants that are open all night.
One of Josh's favorite spots
If you are a skateboarder going to Japan for skateboarding or to get magazine coverage then consider checking out Module (which is the name of the nightclub,) in Shibuya. They have two projectors in their two lounge rooms that play skate videos, one right behind the bar, all the time and it's easy to meet new people there of importance and network.
If you are a gaijin foreigner model or aspiring model you should check out New Lex nightclub in Roppongi, models get in free.
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