Tokyo Life

I checked out Womb in Shibuya on Friday night solo. I got to see Apparat who I thought was pretty good live. I went out around 11:00pm and was packed in with late commuters on the Ginza subway line down to Shibuya. After squeezing myself out I made my way out into the bright lights and crowded streets of Shibuya. Darwin had made a copy on paper of a map that looked like the one below.

This is a pretty typical map in Tokyo as only the very major streets have names. Since the landmarks weren’t enough to help me find the club, I was able to find it after asking a couple of hip teenagers and some policemen.

I entered the first room which served food. For a moment I thought I may be in the wrong place because I saw no other floors. Seeing as the entrance was almost 40 dollars this would have been depressing. Luckily I was in the right place.

I put my stuff in the coat check (in Japan clubs you just rent your own compartment with a few coins like you would at a train station). In this area they also served beer from a vending machine. Since the staff don’t get tips I guess it doesn’t matter if you buy from the vending machine or from an actual person.

Upstairs I was treated to the main room which had excellent sound and an awesome video DJ. Tokyo is known for its video djs who mix images to go along with the music. I have to say its one of the most talented vjs I have ever seen.

The music was so so but I had a few funny experiences over the night. One when I was dancing a Japanese guy wanted to congratulate my enthusiasm by grabbing and vigorously shaking my hand and raising it in the air. The first time this seemed fun, after the third or fourth time it got a little old.

Another image I appreciate is the Japanese dj on the 4th floor who began his set with a humble bow. I found the bow to be a refreshing start to a dj performance.