Kabuki Cho is AWESOME!

So today, all of us Ryuugakusee (international students) went out in Shinjuku! Thank God! I've been going out in Shibuya so much it's nice to go out somewhere else for a change. We all decided to go to an Izakaya called Arata on Kabuki-cho (the original redlight district of Shinjuku). It was AWESOME! The place we went to is so cheap. Izakaya are probably the greatest things ever and if they ever had them in the states they'd probably go out of business. I think I explained what an Izakaya was before in an earlier post, but, I'll tell you what it is again.

An izakaya is a cozy bar/appetizer restaurant type place. You go there with groups of friends, you get your own private little room where you take of your shoes and all sit around a table and drink and eat and laugh and have a great time. Some Izakaya have what they call "Nomihoudai." Nomihoudai is where you pay a set fee and have unlimited drinks in a certain time period. Now if that isn't awesome, I don't know what is. Because the set time period is usually one to two hours.... and you know us college kids.. Fricking.. awesome! Also, if you're really lucky, you'll find a place with "Tabehoudai" also. Tabehoudai is unlimited food for a set time period. Double bonus. Unfortunately, Arata was only a Nomihoudai plus one appetizer. So, for about $18 bucks, I got unlimited drinks (beer, cocktails, shots.... though I only drink cocktails.. he he he) and an appetizer (Kareage = fried chicken.. he he he thats soooooo good!!). It was pretty awesome.... and later on, Kouta joined us as well. It was the first time he had met all of my international student friends. IT was so much fun and everyone got along great. IT was extremely helpful that everyone could speak Japanese too, because Kouta was really nervous about not being able to speak English. Anyway, poor guy, it was his first time hanging out with a bunch of loud, obnoxious, college Americans and one English girl. he he he The way Japanese kids party and the way we party is pretty different apparantly and Kouta had a blast laughing at how silly we all act!

Anyway, after Arata on Kabuki Cho in Shinjuku, we decided to head back to Shibuya to go to a dance club. And where did we end up? Gas Panic.. again... Remember that post about a month and a half back about the hip hop club? Yeah... that one. Well we ended up there again, which is fine because they play great music... EXCEPT... those Japanese B-Boys are like gremlins... Somebody must have fed them after midnight and put some water on them because their numbers multiplied over the last month. There were about 3 times as many wanna be B-Boys there this time and like no girls. So of course all the girls in our group were being prayed upon..... h aha ha Some random guy from Taiwan or something just comes up to me and is like "Hi, I'm from Taiwan." and then tries to grab me and get me to dance with him... what a weirdo he he he After a while, I got sick of fending of the B-Boy wannabes so Kouta and I left early and walked to his house. Luckily, he lives 15 minutes by foot from Shibuya... Everyone else had to stay out at Gas Panic all night until 5 in the morning when the trains started running again....

So anyway, a little about Kabuki Cho.. Apparantly, Kabuki Cho is Tokyo's red light district. Although I didn't see any red lights anywhere... ha ha ha :-P ANYWAY, there are a bunch of "massage parlors", love hotels (where people shack up for a few hours or a night), peep shows, cabarets etc etc.... But it also hosts a variety of cheap Izakaya... i.e. Arata. There are always a bunch of men and women standing around shouting out "Come to this Izakaya" "come here for a good time" etc etc.. which makes it kind of hard to get where you wanna go without being annoyed.. but surprisingly, it is extremely safe there. Just like it is everywhere in Tokyo.. ha ha ha That's what I love about this town. So huge, and SAFE!!! No huge worries! Although, I have heard that the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) like to frequent Kabuki-cho... But I didn't see any white-suit clad scary looking gangsters around... If I did, I would have asked for a picture.. h aha ha Just kidding mom don't worry I'm not wandering around looking for gangsters.. he he he All I'd really have to do is stay out in Ikebukuro after dark.. or so I've heard... he he he

Anyway, here are pics from our night in Shinjuku!