It’s all well and good visiting Japan and doing the touristy things like visiting shrines, temples, taking pictures of Engrish on sweet wrappers and riding a bullet train. But if like me you like to club it out at home, then you have to do the same in Japan. It’s the law in my eyes. I just had to do it. I needed to know how the Japanese get down.

Western music runs rampant in Japan, as does the influence of it. The majority of clubs my friends and I went to played hip hop and nothing but hip hop. If I were to describe some of the clubs I went to, it would be that they’re too hood for their own good. Going to many of the ‘hip’ clubs in Japan is like having a crash course in hip hop. They play it all. Right back to Dr. Dre and NWA to Lil Wayne and Kanye West. It’s cool for an hour, but after a while you’re literally all gangsta’d out and you just get sick of it. DJ’s in Japan also have this annoying habit of playing a song for all of 10 seconds, before mixing it into something else. The music in these clubs is current though. So if you’re afraid Japan might be behind the times and charts, you needn’t be. And if R&B and Hip-hop isn’t you’re thing, there are clubs and holes in the walls which cater to different genre’s and musical styles. My friends and I did go to a club called Atom that did play more Japanesey music; but it was like listening to an anime theme song being sung warbliciously by an auto-tuned chipmunk over and over. Plus, everybody on the floor looked like they were brain washed. Every single person was para-para-ing in perfect synchronicity. There was no life or emotion, or even the hint of a smile. It wasn’t so much fun to watch as it was scary. The Para-para paradise was more like a hell.

Every club my friends and I went to had at least a couple of foreign people there, but they were boring compared to us. When I’m out in a club, I like to get a bit drunk and just dance. Occasionally like a maniac, but a maniac with rhythm and some style (which declines rapidly as the alcohol intake ramps up) . Because of my friends and I just having fun and making respectful spectacles of ourselves, we attracted a fair bit of attention. We always drew locals in who wanted to hang with us, talk to us, take pictures with us and dance with us. Probably out of fascination of us being westerners who didn’t just stand in a corner looking shifty, trying to hit on every Japanese girl in sight and butcher the Japanese language in the process.

Clubbing in Japan is fun. Something random always happens when you’re out. For instance, one night we ended up in a club (something we did not plan) and we got to see a hot girl dance on a pole and firefight! How’s that for entertainment?! Nights out are far from dull, and there’s something for everyone if you look hard enough. Although you needn’t look that hard.

The brilliant thing about clubs in Japan is that there isn’t that divide and segregation you can often feel when you’re out and about. When you’re on the streets just mooching around as a gaijin, you’re very much an outsider and you’re made very aware of it. But in clubs, it’s a different story. The energy shields on the language barriers comes down, locals are much more welcoming and seem to want to engage with you. Clubs are a really cool way to meet people and mix it up with the locals, as the social confines are broken down within clubs. Plus everybody within the club has something in common: they’re there to dance, have a good time and get a bit pissed. And this is what unifies everybody and breaks down the social barriers. Sure, you get some arse-holes in the clubs. But generally, it’s very easy going. Plus, don’t nothing help break the ice like a bit of Dutch courage and some music.

Every time my friends and I headed out for a good night, there was some encounter or random happening that preceded the club. On our very first night out we were a little bit lost on the outskirts of Shinsaibashi. A drunk salary man walked out of a bar, saw us looking puzzled and asked us what was up. After 10 minutes of hand gestures, butchering the Japanese language to shreds and me running into a couple of hostesses and a man I can only describe as their pimp; he told us he knew the way tot he club we were after, and insisted we follow him there. It’s difficult to say no to a Japanese person, when they pretty much push you into being submissive and letting them help you. We all thought the club would be just down the road; not a 10 minute walk across town, past a back alley full of prostitutes, an ambulance, one shouting drunk salary man, a passed out woman, a vomiting girl and 4-pedestrian crossings away. But he took us right to the place! He even left 2 of his friends at the bar to help us. Needless to say we offered to buy him a drink or two and couldn’t stop bowing in thanks. He was definitely our hero for the night. Not many would trust walking the streets at night with a bunch of gaijin, but he thought nothing of it. I love the man! I don’t know his name, but I love him.

You don’t ever really need to plan around nights out in Japan. There are so many little places to go, every district comes alive at night. Most clubs have no dress codes and sometimes you’ll get a 1 or 2 drink token included in your entry fee. So if you spontaneously want to hit a club and swag a drink, you can do just that.

Clubs we went to: Sam & Dave | Pure | Atom