Welcome To Tokyo’s Wild Nightlife!

Your first time in Tokyo is a sensory overload: the lights and the energy of the streets feel overwhelming in the best way:

There are several party districts in central Tokyo that beckon day and night – and it’s a great walking city too – here’s proof!

Welcome To Shibuya Crossing!

Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo is renowned as the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing, with up to 3,000 people crossing simultaneously, and it’s a must-see for tourists and a practical part of daily life for locals…here’s a look at what happens when all of the lights turn red:

It’s fun just to blend into the crowd and join the flow as it crosses the street.

The signs that adorn the buildings in this city are magical – and since I don’t speak any Japanese, I have no idea what they say, but they say it very colorfully!

I do recognize the DVD sign, and the shops themselves offer many colorful signs and images so you know what you are getting yourself into when you enter – like Tokyo’s famous game arcades!

In 1986, there were 26,573 arcades in Japan: giant rooms filled with all sorts of games…sadly, they have fallen off in popularity lately….in 2019, they were down to 4,022 arcades in Japan – but those that remain are still lots of fun!

Taito Station is famous, packed with games! These really are the best of the carnival games we grew up on: the arcades are packed with all sorts of fun, interactive games, including the iconic “claw” machines:

Taito Station has many locations, all filled with hundreds of game consoles and arcade machines – their Fuchu Kururu branch is in the Business Book of World Records for the most claw games in a single place!

As you enter an arcade center, you are immediately hit by a sensory overload, as music, loud game bells and banging drums hit you from all sides:

That includes the iconic “claw games”, where you must maneuver a crane over the prize you want, then lower the claw down to grab it…that’s my son Jeff getting ready to try as his friend and my wife Alex watch intently:

No matter how intently they focused on their prize, they were not going to beat the claw!

These claw machines are legendary, and I’ve never seen anyone get one of those stuffed animals in their claw! That’s OK, there were others things to beat – literally:

This is a “perform along” game – look at those giant bongo drums! I captured a bit of this wild game when two young women performed a duet!

These entertainment districts are good raucous fun – completely safe – with wild places like this!

Talk about a dive bar! Check out this unique party spot in the city!

The other thing you will find in Tokyo are vending machines: lots and lots of vending machines:

They are everywhere and they hold virtually everything you can imagine – and so many you can’t!

Click here to see some of the wildest vending items in the city!

If you dont want clams out of a vending machine, perhaps you’d like them served by a Chef who then performs for you!

Yes, these were our Chefs – see their incredible meal and more of their performance here!

We were also serenaded at one of Tokyo’s coolest bar districts!

We stopped in a “Golden Gai” bar and the Host performed for us! Click here to see that song!

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Categories: Art, Exotic Travel, Food, Japan, Memoirs, Music, Pop Culture, Technology, Tokyo!, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir

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