I had to take a 4 day business trip to Tokyo last week, and I am married and in my mid 30s. I had meetings and shit everyday from like 8am-630pm….so most of the family friendly stuff was closed or closing.
My hotel was in the Ikebukuro area, so I was like alright, young people, exciting, lets walk around and have a good time. It is nothing but 1000s of ‘girl bars’ with 20 year old dead-eyed girls holding a sign saying girls bar? girls bar? and regular ass izakayas.
Is Ikebukuro considered exciting just because there is a lot of people feeling lonely at the same time?
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Anyhoo, I gave up on Ikebukuro because I just find alcohol disgusting (not people who drink alcohol, the taste….fuckin hate it) So the next night I tried Shinjuku, then some other area that was recommended to me by one of my co-workers cant remember the name, didnt go to kabukicho/roppongi because I know well enough what those places are for….tried some of the business areas
The best thing I got out of Tokyo was a burger king (they dont have any in the inaka where I live) and a falafel sandwich.
The worst thing I got was red fucking raw chafed legs walking around trying to find something to do at night that didnt involve alochol or a snack bar…..and just a whole bunch of sadness watching drunk 20 year old dudes who clearly stand no chance with a woman naturally talking nervously to the girls holding the signs on the road for girls bars….while those same girls just have no life in their face at all
Now….I am assuming full well theres about to be a pile on for me judging other peoples life styles….I dont give a flying fuck if a someone wants to work at a snack bar, or a massage parlor, or a brothel or wherever….if its legal….have at it!
If you want to use those services, and its legal….have at it!
But people talk about Tokyo like its this magical fun amazing city in the middle of Japan…..and the nightlife is so amazing! But in my experience in the inaka, if I go to a new restaurant at night…and I have never been there before, the staff will come and talk for a bit….we will chill and have a good time, and if the food is good I will go back, and theres a sense of familiarity.
I don’t wanna write Tokyo off completely, I am sure if my daughter was with me, and I went in the afternoon I could find some fun stuff to do.
But my fucking god what a waste of 4 days.
38 comments
Go take a nap
I don’t understand the problem. You can still have a conversation with people without involving alcohol… It seems that you’re just grumpy that people didn’t flock to speak to you since foreigners aren’t a rarity in Tokyo.
Maybe you’d have enjoyed it more if you weren’t riding that high horse.
So everyone was having fun around you but you? Sounds like less of a Tokyo problem and more of a you problem? Tokyo is a big ass city. There is plenty to do if you look. I’d recommend you stop looking at what everyone else is doing and find the things you are interested in doing.
You chose BK over an izakaya.
You chose poorly.
Hint: you can order food without drinking at an izakaya
Sounds like the problem is you
What kind of thing were you expecting?? What did you want to do?
Obviously a lot of nightlife is going to revolve around drinking. But there are exercise groups, you can go running at night, there are cafes open late etc…
Also Ikebukuro and Shinjuku are I guess relatively seedy. But especially in Shinjuku there’s still plenty of stuff to do, if you know what you want to do. I can’t imagine just walking around and expecting something amazing to happen. That’s what booze and drugs are for
Check out Shinjuku Batting Center! Opens till 4am. I can never recommend this place enough – great for people watching too.
sounds like you got some projection & ego issues if you’re calling out how the girls’ eyes holding the signs were & the “hopeless” guys. main character syndrome or something. i don’t drink anymore & am your age & there’s plenty to be done anywhere. “bored people are boring people.” take it you’re not an artist of any kind? jotting down some notes & spinning this into a short story of a disappointing night with criticisms of the modern human condition would be a lot more productive than ranting about a night that didn’t live up to hype. “expectation is the precursor to disappointment,” & all that. it ain’t hard to strike up a conversation, or have a lil Dérive or take some photos or walk some alleyways or just sit & relax & people watch.
genuinely curious what you expected there to be. if you & i both don’t drink, we’re aware we’re the odd one out in the nightlife scene. what do you normally do or what would you look for anywhere in the world as a sober person?
Ikebukuro is a seedy shithole, what do you expect? Where do you get off on insulting uni students making a living.
You sound like an old man shouting at clouds. Go back to making LOTR fan fiction mate, no one cares.
The government actually came out and encouraged people to drink more when they saw alcohol sales dropping off. Tokyo basically runs on the stuff. Keeps the serfs distracted from developing any outside interests. Work, drink, sleep. Repeat.
Genuinely bro, there isn’t much anywhere in the world at night for taken single men who don’t drink. Most of culture around the world past 8pm is predicated on alcohol. I’m not saying that’s how it should but, just that that’s how it is.
Personally, I wouldn’t plan to do anything at that time that wasn’t exactly eating as a taken but alone guy in my 30s who doesn’t drink. You probably did miss out on baseball, golf and arcades, but depending on where you were those might not be valid anyway.
Most of the “magic of Tokyo” is in the dingy izakaya at 2am, or the karaoke room of strangers singing 小さな恋の歌. As someone who doesn’t enjoy alcohol, I’m afraid you won’t experience that. I understand your frustration, but it mostly comes from the significant gap between the way you live and the way that most people live their life.
So you went to two of the seediest areas of Tokyo looking for night life that didn’t involve alcohol rather than doing a simple google search for activities you might have actually been interested in?
The night life in Tokyo is amazing, assuming you look for it and prepare a bit. Live music events are happening everywhere, just need to know where they are. Personally I enjoy watching a movie in the theater while I’m down then having a drink in any of half a dozen open patio bars that I’ve found over the years (and not always alcohol either). While yes comedy is generally also associated with bars (especially with some of the talent in Tokyo badum-chin) it is also fun to go to sober as well.
Seldom do I expect to just leave my hotel at 9pm and find something by random exploration.
Also how the hell have you lived in Japan for a decade and not realized that after 8pm Japan is like the most anti-busker country in the world? Anyone trying it, outside of a massive park, would be like writing “come at me pigs” on their guitar.
What do you like to do? What can’t you do in the Inaka? Define those two things and see if you can find it in Tokyo.
Okay, you hate Tokyo night life — so what exactly were you looking for or wanting to do? Like, there’s plenty of shit to do if you’re not a drinker.
I agree with OP on the sad state of affairs with some you g people unable to socialize with the opposite sex.
As for what you could have done, Harry’s Sandwich shop (Harajuku) and Good Heavens bar (Shimokitozawa) sometimes have game nights during the week, so you don’t necessarily have to drink. Also, What the Dickens (Ebisu) is my go to for a random live music joint.
I don’t drink and am mid thirties married. As I’ve gotten older I’ve personally found less and less I’m interested in nightlife no matter where I am (very satisfied with my marriage, not looking to escape reality in a substance, have quality friends so don’t feel the need to look for new connections). Im only out if it’s a special event like fireworks, matsuri, or some event my wife wants to go to. Otherwise I meet up with friends to do something we enjoy like gaming, food, or sports. I’m sorry Tokyo was a let down for you. I’ve found anywhere I go in the world it’s my expectations in relation to reality that set my experience. I’m only truly disappointed when they are out of balance.
Sounds like you didn’t do any real planning, wore uncomfortable clothes to walk in, and didn’t go out with friends / family and still expected to have a great time. Just imagine a tourist said the above, would you be at all surprised they didnt have a good time?
It’s okay you’re frustrated that Tokyo didn’t meet your expectations. But just learn from it, take some time to find something you’re excited about in the place youre going to next. Yes spontaneous fun things can happen, but just remember that’s a CAN, not a WILL. I don’t think I have to tell you it’s common a reservation or buying a ticket in advance is the norm here for most events.
But outside of that I think you’re confusing other people’s perspective with your own. Of course many single, young, alcohol drinking people enjoy the nightlife in Tokyo. It’s very easy to find what they are looking for. I’m curious what you were actually looking to find?
What do you do in your town past 8pm for fun? It probably exists in Tokyo too.
Apparently you don’t know how to use google or are just boring as fuck lol. Tons of stuff to do in Tokyo at night that isn’t drinking. Animal cafes, gaming enter’s, shopping centers, karaoke, etc
Ikebukuro and Shinjuku aren’t the places to go. Add Ueno to that list.
– Night markets
– Night Museums
– Tokyo Dome City
– Mori Art Museum
– Batting Center
– Golf Center
– T-Site Diakanyama Tsutaya (massive bookstore open to 2am)
– Haunted Tours
There are so many small izakayas that have alcohol free beer, soda or juice and offer fantastic food. Many, many yakitori shops, many builds that let you in and up to see the night view of the city. So many museums that are open late. And I’m trying not to be judgemental here but saying you hate the taste of alcohol is very strange. There are so many types and they all taste different. Sounds like a child sneaking their first sip of beer. Your post was most definitely a massive complaining post, but these activities I listed came up in a 2 min google search. Good luck to you, try and be less critical, for yourself, life becomes more enjoyable and your own personal stress level will be lower. I’m speaking from experience.
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Op, had you said “Ikebukuro” instead of “Tokyo” in your title and post, maybe you wouldn’t have got so many people talking shit to you in the comment. Ikebukuro isn’t the exact place to have fun at night. Basically it’s a combo of China town and 風俗街.
Having that said, I don’t think you’ll find the same “fun” vibe in Tokyo with how you felt in Osaka. I assume that was in Dotonbori? Osaka people are just different somehow.
Adjust the title to “Inaka pleb goes to big city”
Why didn’t you go try new foods? Ikebukuro is known for real chinese cuisine. Tokyo has something like 150+ Michelin star restaurant?
Further more you could have visited night museums, Ueno park, Tokyo tower, Odaiba, Koenji has live music, Akihabara to geek out, Harajuku/Omotesando for shopping, any of the hundreds of shoten-gai’s, joined a drop in sports class like jiujitsu, or CrossFit, seen an obscure or contemporary art exhibition, booked a tour, even sunshine city is open late enough!
“I was chaffed from walking” – Sounds like your an out of shape bumpkin who has literally no clue how to explore a new city. Next time go to “timeouttokyo . Com” and you can find endless events.
Even if you don’t drink, Tokyo literally has a million things to do at night – it seems you were either poorly unprepared or you lead a sheltered boring life.
(Btw for someone who claims to hold no judgement, your whole post reads like a tear on the younger generation cultural norms – probably best to practice some self awareness)
Nightlife is the same in terms of activities pretty much anywhere you go in the world. Restaurant, cafe, club, bar, shopping, market/street vendors, doing some kind of drug, game (billiards, darts…). More important is the vibe of the area and who you’re doing it with. You’re also older, so tall buildings and bright lights don’t have the same effect as they might have if you were 21. So, yea, you walking around alone as a jaded adult is going to be boring as fuck.
You should have tried night coffee shops, night desserts and so on
lol everywhere is boring to a boring person 🙂 nothing can save you there buddy
Ikebukuro has some great restaurants, but a lot of the west side is just the seedy red light area, and the east side is mostly just izakayas and shops. Both sides have a bunch of jazz bars though, if you like live music. You said you avoided kabukicho, but you went to Shinjuku looking for something to do? Outside of kabukicho Shinjuku is mostly just department stores, although you can do some fun activities like attend stand up comedy shows in those department stores.
I’m not sure what you were looking to find other than buskers. Downtown tokyo doesn’t have a lot of busking compared to other major cities, although if you visit areas like Odaiba, Kawasaki, Yokohama etc you will find a lot more of that kind of thing.
Otherwise, as others have mentioned, just about anywhere in Tokyo you could go listen to live music, go to a game centre, go to a manga cafe, go attend a comedy show, go to the movies, go to the batting range, go play darts/ping pong/billiards, sing karaoke, meet people at a bar, go shopping pretty late in the evening, go visit a museum etc. I honestly can’t think of anything that you could do elsewhere that you couldn’t do in Tokyo.
Should have found a live house or one of the countless DJ bars throughout the city I suppose
Nobody asked mate
I think you have a ways to go before you “write off” Tokyo. You could find something new and exciting to do in that city every day for 10 years. There’s something for everyone, but if you’re not interested in booze after dark you may need to look a little harder, and maybe try a different approach than wandering aimlessly around watering holes and red light districts. Better luck next time. Maybe do a little research first?
Wow your post seemed to have triggered a lot of people lol.
I think you could have rephrased parts of your post to prevent unnecessary reactions. That would have gotten your message across better.
But I do empathize with your frustrations. Tokyo is generally overrated.
Go to a movie, go to a game center, karaoke, bowling, simulated golf, manga café, any of the thousands of restaurants around town, or just take a walk around your hotel
Sound like a big ol’ YOU problem.
You must be a real joy to be around no matter where you are.
Do you speak Japanese?
Wow this guy replied to almost everything! Really must be nothing to do
I think you have to use the internet and zero in with what you want. Some people would have a blast just watching Tokyo Story play out before their eyes.
Tokyo isn’t my favorite city, either, but I like going to that Mexican restaurant in Shinjuku, and walking around seeing the lights & people, doing some shopping.
I love Meiji Jingu and try to visit it and Harajuku each time I go, and visit a burger shop (hit & miss on the goodness of the burger shop).
Tea at Freres Mariage in Ginza is a splurge for me, but really atmospheric. Starbucks in Roppongi was also a refreshing break.
I had a friend who did improv in Tokyo, so that might be available now.
I do tend to be back in the hotel by 10 p.m. at the latest, soaking my feet in ice water, so maybe these are some of the tamest thrills Tokyo has to offer. But still, fun.
See? The great drama of the city! Glad she gave him what-for.