Last night in town
Trip Start
Jun 15, 2011
1
16
18
Trip End
Jun 26, 2011
Shinjuku, Kanto, Japan
Friday, June 24, 2011
The bars & entertainment venues might have been a little wild for our tastes but we had a wander around and soaked up the atmosphere on the street (sleazy). Unlike I would expect from a red light district, instead of girls on the street trying to get people into the clubs it was well groomed men in suits (they must have been boiling in the heat). Also odd, there seem to be a lot of Africans doing the job too. Usually they ignore tourists so we weren't bothered too much. It did mean that the narrow streets were packed with men.
Japanese people work hard and play hard. On a Friday night in Kabukicho they don't seem to know when to stop. We walked past so many people completely passed out on the street or gutter or being sick. People dragging their friends along or one group giving a guy who looked like he was about to pass out a shower with a bottle of water.
We went to a karaoke place about midnight for one last sing. We did get a little surprised by the cost - they mark up the room rate quite a bit in peak hour.
Trains stop about 1am even at Shinjuku station so once you've missed the last one you either need to pay for a cab, which is very expensive, or make the most of your night. It's quite common for people to book out a computer at an internet cafe and sleep until morning. On our walk home past the station we saw many people asleep on the ground outside the entrance.
