Japan's gay and lesbian sub-cultures are ancient and sophisticated. There are references to homosexual relationships in 11th century diaries and even in an amusing turn of events for the womanizing protagonist of The Tale of Genji, one of the world's earliest novels. Traditions of same-sex love flourished in later centuries.

Most recently, some young gays and lesbians have become decidedly more visible (there is even a guidebook for the general public, called "Gift of Gay", which details gay and lesbian influences in popular culture and history) participating in gay pride events and declaring a holiday on April 4, midway between Girl's Day and Boy's Day, wittily named "New Half Day".

Two popular stereotypes exist about Japan. First, that it is prohibitively expensive (great values for travelers do exist and it's even possible to have a fabulous budget vacation here); and secondly, that Japan is an unfriendly place for foreigners. In fact, Japan is inhospitable to other Japanese who step out of place. Shinjuku Ni-Chome, a small sub-district of downtown Tokyo, houses well over 200 gay and lesbian bars crammed into a 5-block area. Each bar may only have room to seat a dozen customers, and as a result, The Peppermint Bar will only welcome Peppermint Gals and their fans (whatever that happens to be) and other visitors, Japanese or not, will be given a decisively cold shoulder if they occupy precious space. Locate venues that feature your "type" and you will be welcomed into a cozy and secluded world where other patrons are pre-matched to your tastes. This is simply the result of hundreds of years of specialization within the shadow world and an economic reality of limited space and prohibitive rents.

• Japan Gay & Lesbian News
• Japan Lesbian Scene Update message forum
• Travel in Japan message forum
• Women in Japan message forum
• Additional Links and Resources

The updated and expanded 2nd Edition of the Utopia Guide to Japan surveys the gay and lesbian scene in 27 cities including Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagoya and Hiroshima. Listings include organizations, bars, discos, accommodations, spas, restaurants, and more. A special section highlights venues that are especially welcoming for women. Enjoy savvy comments and recommendations from local Utopians and gay travelers, as well as maps and addresses in Japanese. Click here to order

Network Marketing 1532-31 Yoshiki, Chikushino-shi, business card, (81-92) 924-8826, (81-80) 1747-4901, FAX (81-92) 924-8826, email. This gay and lesbian-friendly network marketing business offers the goal of complete financial freedom in 2-4 years, working 5-10 hours a week. The company is now in 44 countries, so work may be done anywhere in the world. Utopia Member Discount

• OCCUR (Japan Association for the Lesbian and Gay Movement
  Ishikawa-Building 2nd Floor, 6-12-11 Honcho Nakano, Tokyo 164 Japan, (813) 3383-5556, FAX 3229-7880, email. Grassroots gay activist organization and sponsor of the Tokyo Gay and Lesbian Film/Video Festival (see below).

HIROSHIMA -- area code (81-82)

Not much remains of the horror of the first atomic bombing. The small park where Hiroshima's iconic domed ruin stands, a World Heritage Site, seems forlorn and diminished in the peaceful green setting of the modern city. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is beautifully and effectively laid out, presenting first the history of the war and Japan's attempt to conquer Asia; followed by a collection of artifacts twisted, burned or deformed by the explosion. Then, as on that sunny morning and without warning, you turn a corner and face the ravaged humanity. Outside, an understated shrine, shaped like the canvas top of a covered wagon, barely shelters a box containing the names of the city dead -- a list, piled on other lists throughout history, of mankind's pitiless self-destruction.

Population is over 1.1 million (that's about 40,000 Utopians).

Click here for Hiroshima hotels and accommodations.

• Mitchan
  Shintenji, 243-5935. Almost any cab driver will know where this famous Hiroshima specialty restaurant is located and expect lines at the door. What's all the fuss? Okonomiyaki, a sort of vegetable pancake grilled right at your teppan table or counter grill, is a delicious, popular and inexpensive Kansai area dish. But Hiroshima is famous for its mountainous version and this is the place to grab an icy mug of beer and dig in. Try to sit at the counter so you may enjoy the free entertainment as your dinner is assembled from up to a dozen fresh ingredients. First select your "main ingredient" such as bacon, shrimp, squid or even strips of rice mochi. Next, the chef will pour and shape paper-thin crepes the size of a large dinner plate. Onto this go shredded cabbage, tempura cracklings, and bean sprouts. Shake on a bit of seasoning, add the main ingredient, and then flip the crepe over to cook the meat and steam the veggies. On another section of the grill, noodles (soba or udon) are sizzling with a little oil and an egg before being dropped on top of the already bulging crepe. Final embelishments are added: scallions, bonito (dried fish shavings), sweet and dark sauce, and bits of nori (dried seaweed).

OSAKA -- area code (81-6)

Osaka is a modern metropolis sprung up around a Shogun's castle that rises imposingly from its peach and plum blossom heart. Japanese say that the most handsome men in the region migrate to Osaka. The big city does provide anonymity for gays who flee the "small town" nosiness of metropolitan surroundings including Kobe and Kyoto when they want to relax. There are plenty of hunky country lads and city slick angels to meet. Much of the scene takes place around the transportation hub where trains, the local subway and the bus terminal to the international airport intersect.

Osaka's gay scene feels more friendly and international that Tokyo's. A decade of economic contraction in Japan has wiped out many small businesses, gay bars included. The clubs that remain now welcome a broader mix of guests, even women and straights, rather than the highly specialized clientele typical in the past. In Osaka, things have remained fairly stable with a few places closing and a few new clubs opening to take their place. As always there are hundreds of Japanese-only gay bars around, but the places listed here are where visitors and foreigers living in Japan can meet up with locals for fun.

The population of metropolitan Osaka is over 17 million (that's almost 700,000 Utopians).

Instructions to the Doyama-cho gay nightlife area: from the JR Train Station, take the south exit, turn left and cross the street to the Hankyu Umeda Station building and continue through to the other side where you will find the large, red HEP 5 shopping center (with the huge red Ferris wheel on the roof) and to its left, adjacent to the elevated tracks, a shopping alley called EST St. Continue down EST St two blocks until it dead-ends at the main avenue with the overhead highway and turn right to the corner of the major intersection. Doyama-cho is now diagonally opposite from where you are. Cross left under the overhead highway, then turn right and cross the smaller diagonal street. You are now at the corner edge of Doyama-cho, a maze of late night bars and restaurants. Turn left at this corner and walk to the next alleyway and take a right. Take this alley straight ahead to find Lupu, Coco love hotel, and Hokuoukan sauna. Explore the alleys to the right in the vicinity for many of the bars mentioned below, which advertise their names on rows of small signs that rise vertically on the building exteriors.

• Bar Bacchus
  3/F Daini-Shouei Kaikan, 6-14 Doyama-cho, Kita-Ku (see map, right around the corner from Explosion, just south), 6361-2366, email. The extremely friendly owner, Chanho, welcomes gays and lesbians to his bar. He's fluent in English and a great information resource for visitors. Super inexpensive drinks and snacks. 20-40yo, international crowd. Chances are you'll feel right at home here. 大阪市北区堂山町６—１４　第二松栄会館３F

  Comments from Utopians:

  "Cheapest drinks I found, all at only Y$500 fixed price (US$4), and no cover charge. Mostly gay but I felt very welcome here as a lesbian and I wasn't the only woman on the night I visited. Everyone was warm and chatty, especially the owner." -- lezbean, Jan 13, 2006

• Bar Muanngu
  Doyama-cho (somewhere opposite Just Rainbow Shop, see map), 6312-0588. Lesbian bar. Inexpensive drinks.
• Barfly
  3/F Sanyo Kaikan, 8-23 Doyama-cho (see map, same bld as Explosion), 6362-0287. Gay and lesbian bar. Reasonably priced drinks, no cover. Great company and karaoke fun with Hokuto-san and his staff. Open daily 6pm-3am.
• Jelly Fish
  2/F Taiyo Biru, 2-1-6 Sonezaki, Kita-ku (near Umeda Station), 6367-1080. Women-only bar, with no cover charge. Cheap drinks.
• Lady Killer
  Women-only parties held at different locations.

  Lupu (mixed) Kansai-Chuo Bld, Bekan 1/F, 101 15-2 Doyama-cho, Kita-ku, 6364-1357. This lesbian-run mixed bar welcomes visiting gays and lesbians. Owners Yu and Rika are extremely friendly and will quickly put you at ease. Yu speaks English and both are very helpful. Inexpensive drinks and snacks. Karaoke if you like. Relaxed atmosphere to meet old friends and make new ones. They are happy to host birthday events and will organize the cake and decorations. Open 8pm-5am, closed Wed. Utopia Member Discount.

  Comments from Utopians:

  "It was a bit of a challenge to find Lupu. The Utopia map was quite useful though I would also recommend that you check out Lupu's website, plus get a detailed map in English at Umeda Station and use it with what ever info you can get from here. Rika and Yu are a lovely, warm and friendly owners indeed!" -- locknlol, Aug 23, 2006

  "Lupu is a cozy nest and a great value. I had a high quality glass of white wine for Y$700 (US$6.) and my Japanese girl friend noted that a bottle of champagne here was only Y$5,500. (US$48.), very reasonable by Japanese standards!" -- lezbean, Jan 13, 2006

• Village
  2/F Ad-Kamiyama Bld, 14-3 Kamiyama-chou, Kita-ku (opposite the YWCA Bld and next door to Bar Colt), 6365-1151. Welcomes lesbians and holds occasional women's parties. A huge club by Japanese standards! Square, central bar for easy eye contact, additional table seating, and small dance floor. Very handsome and super friendly bar staff with some english spoken. Japanese style (snack tray is served with your first drink, so go ahead and eat it because you pay for it). Karaoke is the mainstay on week nights. They also have regular party events and drag shows (sometimes the staff or customers have been known to put on their own impromptu shows!). Crowd is 20-30s and a bit fashionable. Utopia Member Discount.

• Club Dawn
  3-3-8, Nakazaki-nishi, Kita-ku. Women-only disco night every 2nd Sun of the month (Jan and Aug are exceptions because of simultaneous national holidays). Admission includes drink. Unlike Tokyo, the night ends early! Open from 7pm to midnight only.
• Explosion
  B1 Sanyo Kaikan, 8-23 Doyama-cho, 6312-5003, email. Large dance club popular with trendy gays, lesbians and visitors. Open nightly until early morning. Girly-EX hosts women-only events on the last Sun of each month.

SAPPORO (Hokkaido) -- area code (81-11)

Sapporo is Japan's 5th largest city. Its population is nearing 2 million (that's about 80,000 Utopians).

• AIDS/HIV organizations and information
• Rainbow March
  011-533-7251, email. An annual pride parade event organized by Sapporo GLBT and their supporters. This parade has been held yearly since 1996.
  
  

• LEGO
  4/F Bld on the corner of South 5 West 5. A wonderfully friendly women's bar.

TOKYO -- area code (81-3)

Japanese onnabe (drag king hosts) from a women's club in Tokyo,
in a shot from the documentary film "Shinjuku Boys".

Suffering for more than a decade from Japan’s self-induced economic slump, Tokyo has seen much of its luster worn away by a recession seemingly without end. Art museums and performance spaces, once the crowning jewels of any serious department store, have turned into tired craft supply shops or now exhibit bins filled with last season’s unsold dishware. Once splendid designer boutiques openly hawk second-hand goods and hair scrunchies in sad sign-of-the-times sidewalk sales.

But there are also positive changes resulting from the flatlining economy. Bars are more mixed and friendly for foreign visitors (they need your business). English signage is now in common use, even on drink menus. With falling rental rates, savvy club owners have taken over neighboring venues, doubling or tripling the size of their once tiny establishments.

With prices having barely risen over the last dozen years, no tipping, no added taxes, and the dollar currently soaring against the yen, Tokyo is suddenly more affordable than New York, Paris or even Los Angeles! Taxis, once pure luxury rides -- with their lace doilies and white-gloved drivers who open the door for you -- have become a suddenly affordable, comfortable alternative to packed trains. Any tourist in their right mind should take advantage of this golden opportunity to discover the world wonders in the heart of this fascinating, and friendlier-than-ever Imperial city. Tokyo may never be this cheap again!

The population of Tokyo is over 8.2 million (that's about 330,000 Utopians).

• Tokyo Journal
  Aside from being the monthly English-language guide to current events and life in the metropolis, they also list gay events and venues.

• AKTA
  2-15-13 Shinjuku Ni-Chome (see map), 3226-8998. This community center and gallery in the heart of Tokyo's gay district focuses on AIDS/HIV prevention and resources. Take the elevator to 3/F.
• Century Gay Student Union
  Email. Japan-based international GLBT student organization providing support and advocacy for all gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals, transgenders, and hypergenders.
• Lesbian and Gay Square Dance Club
  3299-5085. Beginners welcome, no costume required.
• The Tokyo International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
  5-21-16 #601 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0001, 5380-5760 FAX 5380-5767, email. Organizers of this annual festival which has been running for more than a decade now.
• Tokyo Lesbian & Gay Parade
  Email.

  Lesbians marching in the 2005 parade:

The Shinjuku Ni-Chome neighborhood is easy to navigate using our Utopia map:

Click here for Tokyo hotels and accommodations.

With the real estate and bar business slump, due to Japan's long economic recession combined with the Internet's popularity for cheap networking, prices haven't really risen in more than a decade. A night out in Tokyo has deflated down to earth from the champagne stratosphere, with drinks now averaging about US$5. Also, there is no tipping or added taxes on bar bills which means Tokyo is an astonishing value for travelers!

The following venues are friendly towards women. There are several sorts of systems in play these days. Traditional bars include a tasty snack, sometimes cooked on the spot, along with the first drink and so prices are a bit higher to start off. Although bar-hoppers may opt to avoid traditional bars, these venues provide the extra service of social lubrication and really should be enjoyed, at least once, by visitors. Traditional places cater to leisurely conversations with the Masta (Master), and her bar staff who will politely quiz you and then introduce you to other women they feel are a good match for a chat. This can take some time, so relax and have fun. The best traditional bars reflect the sparkling personalities of owners who are highly skilled in entertaining their customers. Some bars include a flat "table charge" that usually comes with an unthrilling dish of standard bar munchies. Many clubs have now switched to the simpler "shot" system of paying per drink purchased, although cover charges may go into effect on holidays and for special events. Pay as you go at these type of bars. Traditional bars may run tabs until you ask for the bill.

Monthly women-only events like Diamond Cutter (first Fri at Arch) and Gold Finger (every kast Fri) may be taking place when you visit. Flyers for upcoming events along with maps to the location can be found at lesbian and gay establishments. Most bars open a couple hours after people have gotten off work (about 8pm).

SHIBUYA

• Chestnut and Squirrel
  090-9834-4842. Wed night party for women. One of the best places. No table charge.

  SHINJUKU NI-CHOME, SAN-CHOME

  The easiest way to get to the gay area is to take the underground walkway from Shinjuku Station's East Exit (down one floor after the train exit ticket machines) to Exit C5, C6, or C8 (see map).

• Arch
  B/F Dai-2 Hayakawaya Bld (see map), 2-14-6 Shinjuku Ni-Chome, 3352-6297, email. Theme parties, drag divas, underground beats. Sat men only. Some women-only parties as well. Relatively expensive entry fee includes a first drink.
• Advocates Café (mixed)
  1/F Dai-7 Tenka Bld (see map), 2-18-1, Shinjuku Ni-Chome, 3358-3988. Open-air gay café right on the main drag (this corner gets very crowded on weekend evenings, spilling out into the street). At the center of this universe of arty trendsetters is Mitsutaka, gymnast and former Japanese trampoline champion, whose series of out and proud nude athletic photos shot at the beach made him a role model for a new generation of J queers. Indoor and outdoor seating. International crowd f gays, lesbians and friendly straights. The best location in Ni-Chome to see and be seen. Open nightly.
• Agit
  1/F Matsui Bld, 2-15-9 Shinjuku-ku, 3350-8083. Small bar with karaoke for lesbians and their gay friends. Open daily 8pm-5am
• Agitation + G
  2/F TSK Bld, 7-15-2 Minato-ku, Roppongi, 03-5775-5707. Women-only party, heavily attended by expats along with lots of Japanese women.
• Arch
  B/F Dai-2 Hayakawaya Bld, Shinjuku 2-14-6, Shinjuku-ku, 3352-6297, email. Theme parties, drag divas, underground beats. Sat men only. Women-only party, Diamond Cutter, is every first Fri.
• Kinswomyn
  3/F Daiichi Tenka Bld (see map), 2-15-10 Shinjuku Ni-Chome, 3354-8720. Women-only. Inexpensive drinks. Trendy crowd. Open 8pm-4am except Tue.
• Mars Bar
  3/F 2-15-13 Shinjuku Ni-Chome (see map), 3354-7923.
• Monsoon
  See map. This small bar on 6/F is a funky hang-out for 20-something queers and their friends. Young visitors are welcome.
• Sunny
  5-10-5 Shinjuku Ni-Chome (see map), 5379-8816. Another branch of this bar.
• Tamago
  1/F Nakae Bld (see map), 2-15-13 Shinjuku Ni-Chome, 3351-4838. Women only. Office Ladies go here to be entertained by the hosts--butch women in male drag. Expensive, but unique. Open 9pm-5am.

  OTHER AREAS

• Sunny
  2/F Nakabayashi Tenpo, 2-15-8 Shinjuku-ku, 3356-0368. One of the oldest lesbian bars still around. Expensive, but attentive and amusing staff.

ROPPONGI

• Gold Finger
  Every last Fri of the month at the Roppongi Colosseum Hall, 5485-8588. Tokyo's most furious lesbian confabulation for international spy girls!

OTHER AREAS

• Healing Hands
  Appointments: 080-3503-9484, email. Healing Hands offers a variety of massage from feet to back to full body. With over ten years experience in varied styles of massage, and using oils from all around the world, they create a unique experience for you to renew, regenerate, and relax. In the comfort of your home or the relaxing atmosphere of a hotel room, they will pamper you the way you deserve. Just let them know what your special needs are so that they may tailor a massage just for you. Gay and lesbian-friendly. Utopia Member Discount

SHIBUYA, HARAJUKU
• Las Chicas
  Near Omotesando subway station. Fun restaurant, lively crowd, with many gays and lesbians. Favorite meeting place for activist lesbian gatherings. Reopening in Feb 2008 following renovation.

  SHINJUKU NI-CHOME, SAN-CHOME

• Cocolo
  1/F Daiichi Hayakawaya (see map), 2-14-6 Shinjuku Ni-Chome, 5366-9899. Popular gay and lesbian restaurant and art gallery. Gay-staffed. Reasonable prices. Always busy.

YOKOHAMA (Kanagawa)-- area code (81-45)

Population is 3.5 million (that's 140,000 Utopians).

• Le Charme
  3-27-2 Tokiwacyou, 203 A-Kusute-Jikannai, 663-3270, FAX 252-5853, email. Jazz music and friendly chat. Japanese country style snacks. Customers range in age from 18 to 50 years and come here to meet friends or look for a steady girlfriend. Kind and honest welcome to visiting foreign women. Utopia Member Discount.