Japanese Nightlife: Guilty Pleasures In Downtown Tokyo

During my first visit to the promised land, what started as an innocuous visit to Tokyo for an evening with friends, quickly escalated to partying -- first at a karaoke bar, and then at a nightclub. Tokyo is one of the few cities in the world, similar to New York and Paris, where one rarely feels the time trudging along. Instead, Tokyo takes over you, unbeknownst to yourself, and quickly absorbs you into its own enchanting world of the weird and crazy.

The Allure of Escape - What Separates Tokyo From Every Other City

When I visited Japan, I was stationed in a small town called Chigasaki-shi, in the Kanagawa prefecture. There wasn't much happening in the small town, so during the weekends, I used to go to other places like Osaka or Nagoya, but of course, most of the times, I would find myself hopping onto the train to go to Tokyo.

The city of Tokyo is unlike any other place I've visited. Inconspicuous with its dichotomous existence, Tokyo during the day time is very different from Tokyo during the nights, especially when one visits places like Akihabara or Ginza.

Not too dissimilar from the contrasting personalities of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the busy, fast-paced lifestyle during the day time quickly dishevels into an almost machiavellian aura that emanates from Tokyo during the nights. But that is exactly what foreigners and Japanese people alike find enchanting about Tokyo, as it provides a reprieve from the mundane and normalcy.

Maid Cafes - Bringing Anime to Life

Anime, a perfect world where heroes exist, the world is a bright, colorful place, and more often than not, happiness takes precedence over the more somber outcome, is one of Japan's biggest exports. Whenever anyone thinks about Japan, one of the first things that pops into their mind is anime, and the people in Japan are (very) aware of the globalization of anime.

As such, when you visit Tokyo, you will find numerous "Maid Cafes", which are themed restaurants. The girls waiting on you wear either vintage English maid outfit, or an ensemble uniform inspired from French maid outfits, school girl outfits, outfits worn by Japanese idols and waitress outfits, and are "kawaii", which translates to "cute". Their appearance is based on the outfits worn in anime shows, as they tend to customers while sweet-talking them, and put on small performances or acts to entertain them. To make the experience more authentic, they refer to customers as "Master" and "Mistress".

When I visited a Maid Cafe, I was informed that taking photos wasn't allowed, which is a general rule in any typical Maid Cafe in Japan.

Robots, Angels And Monsters - The Unlikely Uprising

While Maid Cafes are indeed themed restaurants, they are very innocuous. And when I wasn't in the mood to go to a nightclub or a bar, I found a fascinating option called 'Robot Restaurant' in Shinjuku, a themed restaurant and bar with dancers and lasers, including girls dressed in costumes ranging from robots to angels playing harps. And of course, you also had an elaborate show, where robots fought each other.

Robot Restaurant is the perfect place for those who want to escape the usual nightlife, and see an elaborate theatrical play that looks to be a manifestation of something out of this world. You can enjoy a meal and a beverage while looking at girls in flashy, spectacular outfits dancing, people in large robot gear fighting each other, large dinosaurs and a spellbinding laser show.

Hostess Clubs - A Beguiling Insight Into the World of Businessmen

Of course, no conversation about the oddities and sensational regarding the Tokyo nightlife would be complete, without mentioning the host and hostess clubs. To the uninitiated, hostess clubs are nightclubs where businessmen and women go to spend some time with "hostesses", which offers the customers a personalized, one-on-one experience with a hostess for the evening. The customer gets to interact with the hostess available during that time slot, and talk to her for as long as they stay in the club.

Whilst it is, once again, innocuous, it truly is a unique experience. There are thousands of such host and hostess clubs in Japan, which has also become mainstream in Japanese culture. As someone that tries to experience everything -- good and bad -- I found hostess clubs extremely interesting, and a unique way to socialize with people you wouldn't normally socialize with.

The Japanese culture remains an intriguing mixture of traditional beliefs, and modern outlook influenced by the popularization of anime and manga, impact of the western modernization, and challenging the sexual dogmas that have persisted for generations within the country. This makes Tokyo, the microcosm of Japan's evolving outlook, a unique and daunting place, that provides a nightlife experience like no other!