Wow. That’s all I can say. You cannot even begin to imagine what the clubs are like in Tokyo. They are absolutely incredible, like nothing we have over here in the west! It figures that as much as the residents of Tokyo love to drink, they should have some damn cool places to do it.
Tokyo Clubs Far Surpass All Forms Of American Nightlife
For starters, the biggest difference is the sheer size of the clubs there. Every single one is designed to span several floors, usually with different themes and different styles of music for each. Rather than have one DJ per floor there were usually multiple, sometimes as many as six or seven DJs will constantly rotate out while all sorts of lasers flare and animation is projected onto the walls, plenty of fog machines working at full blast, countless girls dancing up on various stages…but that really does not even begin to describe the scene or do it the least bit of justice.
Let’s do this instead: Picture the best rave you have ever been to here in the States or even in Europe, you know back years ago when they were GOOD. Next take everything from it, the lights, sound, fog, lasers, music, the essence, every single last thing except for the plethora of designer drugs. Now drop that mass of madness into the middle of a skyscraper in the heart of Shibuya, let’s say spanning across the third thru sixth floors, and well then my friend you have yourself a bonafide Tokyo club.
Clubbing in Tokyo
Most of the Tokyo clubs are located either a couple of floors below-ground or a couple floors above-ground, occupying multiple low-level floors of a commercial high-rise. All the floors will be linked by a bank of elevators but also a set or two of stairs. There is just so much going on and because often each floor is distinctly different in both decoration and music, the best way to experience it all is to keep moving around and mingle your way through one floor before heading on to the next. And repeat.
These amazing clubs do come with a price, however. The minimum cover charge you’ll ever see is ¥2000 (roughly $25 USD; i.e. crappy show) and although most are between ¥3000-4000 ($35-48 USD), I did occasionally see some shows advertised with covers of ¥4500-5000 ($55-60 USD).
It’s not all bad though. Most of these clubs hand you a token after paying your cover, which you can then redeem at the bar for one free drink. That way you won’t feel so bad about just spending $90 to get you and your girlfriend in LOL. 😉
The tokens themselves are fairly simple, usually nothing more than pieces of plastic or coins with the club name or logo on it. I brought back several of these with me actually as souvenirs….now if I could figure out what I did with them…
One important tip though, at least for all you alcoholics: Through “painstaking” personal research I found out that if you display your free drink token up front, often the bartender will pour you a weaker drink, whereas not revealing the token until your drink is already mixed ensures a perfect pour. You’re welcome!
Perks Of Clubbing In Japan
Every decent club in Tokyo that I explored is equipped with an enormous bank of small rental lockers immediately past the security checkpoint. Simple and traditional gym lockers, they are only big enough for a purse, a jacket or two, and maybe a set of shoes — perfect for when the missus wants to wait till the last minute to slap on her heels or ditch them before the long drunken walk home. The cost is only ¥100 but offers a full refund if you make it back out in less than three hours. (Plus since you left early and didn’t close down the club that night, you’ve saved even more money.)
That is a handy feature and something which should be more common elsewhere around the world, especially in regions with temperatures that vary significantly throughout the year.
Not only does that make things more convenient in the winter by not having crowds in think bulky jackets trying to squeeze into an elevator pass through a thick crowd on the dance floor, but it also will help prevent anything from being stolen, misplaced, or even drunkenly left behind — something that we have all been guilty of at one point or another. The solution is cheap, effective, helpful in multiple ways, and given how easy it is to install and implement, I am surprised that more places do not have a similar system in place.
Wait….drunk “girl babysitters” or “drunk girl” babysitters?
Shibuya is the heart of Tokyo nightlife
While living in Tokyo I had plenty of time to explore all of the bars and clubs around Shibuya. Since travelers do not have the time to learn which bars and clubs are the best or all the proper cultural etiquette and rules associated with alcohol, it really helps to have a local friend help you out.
Don’t have one of those? Check out the folks at Magical Trip — join a friendly local guide for some high quality Shibuya barhopping. Whether traveling alone, with your buddies or your significant other, this is a great way to enjoy most authentic and enthralling nightlife in Tokyo. The guides from Magical Trip are friendly and entertaining — exploring with them is just like meeting a new friend who knows a lot more than you about Japan and Japanese nightlife culture 😉
The Level Of Service Provided At These Clubs Is Shocking!
They actually have numerous staff members who walk around occasionally looking for those super drunk girls, who are passing out while leaning against the walls or trying to lay down on the floor. The employees proceed to take them all out to the front entrance, where the entry staff is located. Out there is one guy whose sole duty is to take care of and watch out for the ladies that have had too much to drink and are completely FUBAR. He is proudly armed with roll of small black plastic bags, package of paper towels, even rubber bands to tie their hair up for them if they should happen to start heaving.
Can you ever imagine that back in the UK or US?!? You would never see anything close to it! No one, regardless of their salary, would want to be the “throw-up guy” stuck taking care of the sick chicks all night, every night. It would just never happen. I believe that most Americans are too grossed out to help a stranger throw up in a small black plastic bag, let alone tie a knot in it for them and then toss it into the nearby throw-up can. Yes, that’s right, there is a trash can for throw-up only.
But those guys at the clubs in Tokyo are all over it and I’ll be damned if they don’t always do it with a smile! Even if the boyfriend showed up to check on his lady, like I did one night when I noticed Mayu had been gone for too long, that proud little throw-up man would not let me help, insisting he had everything under control and to ‘go back to the dance floor until I was ready to claim Mayu and leave.’ It was fantastic! I pondered it for all of about half a second before saying thanks and making my way back past the lockers and towards the elevators. After all, might as well let Mayu rest and get through the worst of it downstairs while I reclaimed the buzz that I’d lost a few minutes before while hunting for her.
Now is that amazing or what? Have you ever seen or heard of service like that before? Where I come from, and everywhere I have been, its just unheard of to be that nice to strangers. But that is just one of the hundred reasons that Japan is my favorite country!
Would you accept a job as the throw-up man? Share your thoughts below!
As I mentioned before the clubs don’t open until 11pm or midnight so most do not start to get fully packed until 2am or 3am. But that last start frequently keeps the clubs open until 6 or 7am. As long as it is profitable, they won’t close until the party is over. You can literally dance, drink, and party until the sun comes up. How fantastic! I would advise everyone who enjoys an active nightlife to check out the party scene in Tokyo for a week or a weekend — but do it while still young so that you can actually hang!
Where To Visit In And Around Shibuya
While exploring Shibuya I managed to find dozens of phenomenal clubs, cool little bars, amazing restaurants, and excellent places to shop. By day I got in my shopping and saw the cultural sights, but come nightfall I entered drinking mode. Every night I would hunt for a new club or bar to test it. I was not always successful, sometimes I would be lured in by previous haunts, but either way I got a lot of drinking done! A multitude of those venues are on the map below, for anyone who might be visiting Ebisu/Shibuya in the future.
While experiencing the nightlife of Tokyo be sure to also visit some of the big clubs in Shibuya, which are utterly amazing and very much worth investigating, despite their high cost. Club Atom is one of the clubs that I definitely recommend. We went there almost every weekend while Jared was in town visiting. It is located six stories up in this skyscraper, covers three independently-themed floors each with multiple bars, and is always packed full of cute local women! Club Harlem right next door is nice as well, but harder to get into on the weekends. The list goes on and on…
Nonbeiyokocho
However they all pale to my favorite area, Nonbei Yokocho — “Alley Of The Drunkards.” I stumbled upon this place online and had to check it out for myself. Turns out that Nonbei Yokocho is just a few feet north of Shibuya Station. It is comprised of two parallel alleys that are home to around 50 miniature bars, usually only about 8 or 10 feet square with nothing more than four or five bar stools and a single bartender inside. Check out my photos from Non to get a better idea of just how small these bars really are.
There are a couple that are unfriendly to gaijin (derogatory term for a foreigner), but you will know those instantly as they will either not even serve you or hand you one beer but say that is all because “they are closing” or some similar excuse. If that should happen to you, no worries, just walk down to the next one and try again.
Nonbei Yokocho became like a second home to me while I was there. If I ever had a night where I was not sure what to do, I would start it at Non and before you know it the night would manifest itself. All of the best friends I made and best times I had originated from Nonbei Yokocho.
See More Nonbei Yokocho Nightlife
Here is a snippet from my old drunken ramblings on the original Shibuya Daze blog, provided for your amusement…or, more likely, complete lack of:
…for any of y’all that have ever been to a rave, that is probably the closest thing I can compare it to — but even that does not do justice to these kick-ass clubs. Let’s try something: Imagine a rave, complete with a DJ, light-show, and fog machine, but now up the number of DJs to half-dozen and throw in more lights and more fog machines. Take away all the people doing drugs and replace them with people getting drunk. Not too drunk though, most people here know when to stop. Now, still imagining, forget all the drama and arguments/fights that come up at raves and replace those with people all smiling, laughing, and telling stories.
Now, still imagining, throw in a few huge bars offering great drinks at great prices, staffed with cute Asian ladies that refuse to take tips, and don’t forget to add a couple more cute Asian women dancing up on the bar or stage. Then take this image that you have in your head, and put it on steroids, to really knock it up another few notches. That, my friends, is what all the clubs over here are like. It is unbelievable to say the least.
And, you know, while I was writing that I realized something else: in all the bars and clubs that Mayu and I have been to, we have not seen so much as one dispute or argument between people, not the slightest thing, whether it be between couples or just friends. Does not happen here. There is no drama whatsoever. It’s the exact opposite of clubs back home, where there is always some drama or a fight about to break out due to some drunken idiot. I am still amazed that with a city this size, and with this many people partying, that nothing happens. At least not on the surface.
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