@joyousfrog Apologies about responding to such an old post at this point, but I just wanted to suggest one of my favorite places in Tokyo: Pride House!
It’s not a bar at all; it’s charitably a “cafe” in that they have coffee and such, but really what it is is a safe space and archive! A close friend of mine was and is involved in it and it’s a lovely place to stop for an hour and read or hang out and do whatever, especially if you’re interested in the history of LGBTQ issues in Japan, since it has on its shelves a lot of zines, magazines and other writings from the past that haven’t all been digitized yet!
My friend and I are sort of hobbyist academics (she’s a real academic of a different specialty but still) of Japan’s LGBTQ culture(s) so we drag our wives along while we pour over stuff every year when I’m in Japan
Cannot recommend it enough, at the very least so people buy their merch so they have more money!
Re: a question on the latest Insert Credit Gaiden episode about practical travel advice:
My friend Amy has written a book specifically aimed at simple and practical travel advice for Japan. She's been a bunch of times and her book is full of advice and guidance about how to buy tickets, which trains to get, how to buy stuff etc etc. She keeps selling out of stock on it and everyone that buys it really values it. https://cakeswithfaces.co.uk/product/japan-travel-guide-book/
If you prefer your advice to come in the form of a video, her Youtube channel is full of guide videos about buying tickets, riding trains etc: https://www.youtube.com/cakeswithfaces
@Chopemon I think this was my question!! I’m going next year for the first time and am stressing lol, these both look like fantastic resources!!! thank you!
@sabertoothalex can I help and de-stress your planning? I’ve been a few times and can tell you what to stress about (not much) and what not to stress about (most things).
Yeah I was going to say the same thing. I went for the first time recently and was kind of overwhelmed at the idea of traveling somewhere like that since I hadn’t done it before but once I got there I was like “woah I should have just gotten a cheap airplane ticket and come here without a plan when I was 20, it’s super chill.”
Edit - I’ll add one suggestion that I forgot in my post that I made above after we got back. If you know anyone who knows anyone who lives there, hit them up and see if they want to hang out! I contacted a friend of a friend who owns a skate shop in Tokyo and they happened to be having a party while we were there. It was totally fun hanging out with a bunch of drunk skateboarders only one of whom spoke any English! A big highlight of the trip.
I‘ll be going to Tokyo in January, and while I’m sure that I‘ll be asking for many recs, I’ll echo frog‘s post from a few months back. If anyone has any recs for gay (male) bars, I’ll take them!
I'm visiting a (straight) male friend and his wife who live in Shibuya and my trip is overlapping with another (female) friend who is staying in Ginza so even though they know the city and have tons of other recs, this is one area I'm not sure they'd know well.
Also between the two, is it preferable to stay in Shibuya or Ginza (I'll probably be spending lots of time in both)?
Tokyo (just above Ginza) is closer to both airports, and generally better connected to the rest of the country (be it Yokohama or the other big cities). So it’s a good place to crash when you arrive or to be if you plan to leave for somewhere else. Ginza is also much quieter at night.
Otherwise, you will probably spend much more time on the West side of town on a first trip, so Shibuya is probably an easier spot to crash in daily (and/or way cheaper Taxi destination at the end of the night). Not sure how outdated the reputation is but the most famous gay spot in Tokyo is Shinjuku Nichōme which is also on the West side of town.
So it kinda depends if you favor daily comfort or departure time.
Are you sure you’ll be in Ginza a lot? Won’t your friend move around instead? Ginza is generally pretty high end. It has a lot of expensive fashion, excellent but very expensive restaurants, and cool new night clubs. It does have some of my favorite department stores in Tokyo (Bic Camera Yurakucho, Hankyu Men’s, and everything around the Midtown Hibiya complex) and Ginza Corridor is a fun neighborhood, especially on Fridays. But Ginza has way less options (and opportunities for improvisation) than Shibuya.
What is the best/coolest manga cafe anyone has been to, and what set it apart? What has/had the widest, coolest, and or/most unique ot diverse manga selection to browse?
Similar to what @mindleftbody pointed out, I’ll just mention that I’ve lived in Japan since 2010, and even though I don’t know All of the Cool Spots anymore because I went home to be a family man, I’m happy to help if anyone has any specific questions, or ever gets stuck and needs emergency support or whatever! Nihongo OK! Hit me up anytime.
@Hunter I think Ginza is probably a better place to stay than Shibuya, and specifically I would recommend staying at one of the nicer hotels near Shimbashi Station. Shimbashi is a super convenient hub for trains to all kinds of places (including Shibuya), and a short walk from Ginza, but not actually considered “Ginza” so the hotels tend to be a little more affordable.
Plus Shimbashi Station has a throwback underground restaurant zone that feels like being teleported back to the 80s/90s/Showa Era, so that’s fun.
I didn’t (feel like I) specifically say that haha. I was trying to be neutral and open depending on what the trip might actually look like. I think both locations have merits. On a first trip, I would rather blindly recommend staying on the West side of town, but only if you plan to spend most of the trip in Tokyo (and meet / visit local people which will more likely be closer to the West side).
There are plenty of good yokochōall around town. I don’t know if you are referring to the same one when you mention Shimbashi but there is also Yūraku Yokochō which is missing from the list in the page I linked just above. It’s in walking distance from Ginza. Here is an English page about the place.
@chazumaru Sorry Maru. I didn’t mean to put words in your mouth. I have amended my original post.
Specifically I was talking about the B1 area under Jugo Building, which is below the JR trains at Shimbashi. But there’s also the famous “Under the Guard” (Shimbashi gado shita) area (which is on the list you shared, Maru). Lots of fun spots around the Shimbashi/Yurakucho/Ginza area.
@boogienight last time I was there the dude who runs big love records told me a few spots that did noise + punk stuff. I don’t remember the names unfortunately but I do recommend big love records in general and I’m sure the dude would be quick to point you in the right direction
I’ve posted this somewhere before, but I’m very into the heavy music scene in Japan and simply through following bands on Twitter (sorry, X) I’ve found out about so many.
The only one I’ve been to on this list is Antiknock.
I likely won’t be in Tokyo at all on my next trip in April but a lot of bands I like play bushbash.
I don’t know any venues in Kyoto at all, but I’ve got some suggestions for Osaka as well if you’re interested in possibly taking the quick trip over that way.
