Shinjuku Ni-chome: Tokyo’s Vibrant LGBTQ Hub

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Like most other major cities around the globe, Tokyo is home to a rich, vibrant, and diverse LGBTQ scene. With approximately 9.7% of Japan’s population identifying as queer, one can estimate that over 1.3 million LGBTQ people call this city home — and can call Tokyo’s historic gay neighborhoods their home-within-the-home.

A Brief History of Tokyo’s Gay Towns

While different pockets of queer nightlife can be found scattered throughout the city, by and large most of the community concentrates across Tokyo’s five historic gay neighborhoods: Ueno, Shimbashi, Ikebukuro, Asakusa, and (largest of all) Shinjuku Ni-chome. Ueno and Asakusa are among the oldest, and were known as hubs for gay sex workers and gay male socializing since the Edo era (1600-1868) when gay male sociality went under the term danshoku or nanshoku 男色 (male colors). 

The other neighborhoods all date back to the 1950s or 60s period of postwar Japan, when Tokyo’s LGBTQ water trade or mizu-shobai 水商売 received an economic boost from catering to US soldiers. Ni-chome’s own origins particularly intertwine with the occupation: a former red-light district for straights, Ni-chome faced an exodus of its sex workers following the 1956 Prostitution Prevention Law; the gays promptly moved in. 

In all major cities of Japan, these gay towns have served an important function as social hubs and safe spaces for queer folk to mingle and find love. In recent times, they have also become queer commercial centers, offering different LGBTQ goods and services such as DVD shops, underground cinemas, bath houses for hook-ups, and hotels for same-sex couples. As detailed in Mark McLelland, Katsuhiko Suganuma, and James Welker’s book Queer Voices from Japan, these neighborhoods, and especially Shinjuku Ni-chome, have been the setting for important milestones of queer social movements, solidarity, and community outreach, such as Barazoku magazine sponsoring a counseling room for gay youth in 1976 and the first candlelight vigil for AIDS being held in 1986.

Over the years, more and more gay, lesbian and transgender spaces have opened up throughout Tokyo as queer identities become less taboo. At the same time, the number of bars across the five historic neighborhoods has also steadily increased. In his chapter, “Lifestyles in the Gay Bars” in Queer Voices written in 1955, Kazuhiko Kabiya states that Ueno at this time only had one gay bar; there are now roughly 100. As some neighborhoods feature a calmer vibe and older demographic (such as Ueno and Asakusa), many members of Tokyo’s LGBTQ community naturally shift from neighborhood to neighborhood, helping these gay towns to enjoy a second renaissance.

What Makes Shinjuku Ni-chome Special

Ni-chome consists of only five city blocks, but has grown to be the largest gay district in all of Asia and the densest worldwide, consisting of over 400 small gay bars. While there is still a red light aspect to Ni-chome, the neighborhood today has expanded to a place for general queer socializing, clubbing, and dating, as well as a good spot for drag shows.

What is truly special about Ni-chome is not its size or the number of its venues, however, but its diversity. Unlike the other gay towns, which tend to be almost exclusively gay male-focused, there is truly something for everyone in Shinjuku Ni-chome: from legendary lesbian and sapphic bars like Gold Finger and Dorobune, to the famous drag queen-hosted Campy! Bar, dance clubs like New Sazae, and international ‘mix’ bars and clubs like Eagle Tokyo Blue, AiiRO, Alamas Cafe, and AiSOTOPE Lounge. All of these easily accessible venues are near the main thoroughfares of the neighborhood, ‘near to the surface,’ as it were, where the younger and more international crowds gather. While there are certain demographic trends to these venues (such as Arty Farty generally attracting early-twenties college kids) and sometimes special men-only or women-only events, these spots are generally welcoming to anyone of any gender or sexuality.

Beneath this surface, Ni-chome consists of hundreds more tiny, tightly packed bars, sometimes consisting only of 10 to 15 chairs. The deeper you venture into Ni-chome’s alleyways, the smaller and more exclusive these box-like bars become. Generally speaking, these bars cater mainly to Japanese-speaking residents of Tokyo and usually rely on a few dozen regular patrons; new guests are expected to be introduced by someone already part of the bar’s clientele. They can also be highly specific to gender and type: masculine gay men only, for example, or BDSM aficionados only.

It is quite possible to experience Ni-chome without even entering a bar: a great deal of the neighborhood’s social life takes place on the streets each weekend, where folks cooling down after too long in the clubs, or sipping cheap convenience store alcohol mingle together on the sidewalks and in the alleyways. Together with the diversity of Ni-chome’s venues, these fluid social spaces are a rare opportunity for the different sects of the LGBTQ community to truly blend and intermingle. 

How to Enjoy Shinjuku Ni-chome

The most important things to keep in mind when visiting Shinjuku Ni-chome (or any gay town, for that matter) is to go in with a respectful attitude, an open heart, and a pragmatic mindset. Arrive around 9pm or 10pm, or later when there are more people. For first-timers, stick to the surface-level bars and clubs along the major roads that clearly are inviting in new people to avoid intruding on a more intimate patrons-only venue. Avoiding dehumanizing the people in the neighborhood or turning them into a spectacle with non-consensual photography or gawking. Keep an eye on your purse and wallet, especially as the night gets more bacchanalian and wild. 

While always daunting to enter a completely new community, for LGBTQ newcomers in particular, building these local connections can be life-changing. Speaking of his relationship with Ni-chome, longtime Japan resident and self-described “Mayor of Ni-chome” Don Cortez explains: “In my twenties, Ni-chome was a way to engage with other people who I wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to. It was a way to hook up easily in an environment I felt comfortable in. It was a convenient place to meet since many people [in Japan] can’t invite others to their homes.”

“Now it’s a way to maintain a connection to the many talents that debut and showcase themselves here… it’s community building and acquaintance/friendship maintenance on a level that is quite necessary the older you get… A safe space to just be yourself, let it out.”

Cortez notes that he ventures into other gay neighborhoods besides Shinjuku Ni-chome such as Shimbashi’s Townhouse (“where the customers are men in suits”) and a venue called Proud Second in Nakano. As an experienced resident, Cortez can navigate these small spaces and interact fluently with other patrons and with bar masters, but cautions newcomers against going without a friend group familiar with the area.

Another person with strong connections to Ni-chome is Yuna Sun, one of the bartenders at the lesbian bar Gold Finger. Born in Japan and raised in Hong Kong, Sun has only returned to Japan within the last few years. After a year of working at Gold Finger, she feels like the bar has become home — a sanctuary in Japan after “realizing how heteronormative the country still is.”

“This Ni-chome and lesbian community has given me more than I could ever repay,” she tells me. “So, when I got the chance to work behind the bar and keep the other gays and ‘theys’ safe, I took it.”

For Sun, Cortez, and thousands of other queer people in Tokyo, of every nationality, sexuality, and gender in existence, Ni-chome means home. 

“This is where all my chosen family is,” Sun says. “It’s a little messy sometimes, but it’s cozy and warm. Even in the summer, hugs from people here don’t feel suffocating.”

All photos courtesy of Michael Troy Judd

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