Subject: Gay Tokyo
Date: 	Wed, 21 Sep 1994 14:13:50 -0700
From: "Kraig R. Meyer" <kmeyer@solarium.aero.org>


Newsgroups: soc.motss
From: steve@wrs.com (Steve Sekiguchi)
Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1993 15:55:06 GMT


Here are a few pointers before you go to the Shinjuku bars.
	1) "Snack" bars are a kind of "hostess" bar.  They are very
	   expensive, usually $10+ for 1 beer.
	2) In more traditional style Japanese bars, a host will usually
	   seat you.  If it's not too crowded, he'll usually chat with
	   you a little.
	3) Unless you've got a guide, it's best to steer clear of the
	   mostly Japanese bars.  They can be very uncomfortable for
	   foreigners.

With this in mind here is a little list of my favorite Shinjuku 2-chome bars.

	Men Kura (english language sign on the 2nd floor)
	Good mixed crowd (Japanese and gai-jin) and the bearded bartender
	in the short "hapi" coat is my type of guy.  This bar is an
	older style bar with some karaoke (a Japanese hi-tech variant
	on the old sing-along).  It can get quite crowded on Friday
	and Saturday night.

	Kinsmen (engligh language sign on the 2nd floor)
	A more modern bar and caters to a very gai-jin crowd.
	This is the only shinjuku bar I know where english seems more 
	common than japanese.  The crowd is usually very friendly.

	Kusuo (japanese sign on the 2nd floor)
	This is a very japanese bar.  While there are some gai-jin
	even they speak mostly japanese.  I like this bar for the men
	it's usually got the best selection of burly-surly types.