🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <klmkfpc@fido.asd.sgi.com> you write:
>Anyone know about any gay bars or clubs in 
>Sydney, Australia or
>Tokyo, Japan?
>
>Through fortunes good graces, I will be seeing these two cities in the
>coming weeks.


I can't tell you much about any bars or clubs in particular, but I can
steer you in the right direciton in Tokyo.

The principle "gay district" in Tokyo is Shinjuki ni-chome, which is
an easy walk from Shinjuku Station.  Find your way out the East Entrance
of the station and head east (away from the station) on Shinjuku Dori.
A block or two after you cross Gyoen Dori, slow down and turn left.  The
area of interest is bounded more or less by Shinjuku Dori on the South,
Yasukuni Dori on the North, Gyoen Odori on the West and I-forget-what
on the East.

There are a few of bookstores in the area, such as Books Rose, "Memoir"
(me-mo-wa--ru), and "Lumiere" (ru-mi-e--ru) where one can stop and pick
up a copy of "SABU" or "The ADON", the two most prominent monthly gay
magazines.  (You can also buy these in most regular bookstores.)  They
have many ads in the back for clubs, etc.  Many of the ads have enough
English in them to get an idea of what they're about even if you don't
read any Japanese.  If you can muddle your way through a Japanese-English
dictionary you should be able to decipher them without too much trouble.
Since finding any place by address in Tokyo is a matter of luck and
providence, even for natives, most of the ads have small maps which
will be of some help in finding the place.  I don't remember the street
name, but a block or two off of Shinjuku Dori there is a small park which
seems to be the main outdoor cruising area.  Again, this is a small area,
so if you wander around for 20 minutes you're sure to go past whatever
you're looking for several times.  You should have no trouble telling
when you're near the right area.  The difference in atmosphere between
the megawatt neon hustle of central Shinjuku and the undefinably but
unmistakably gay atmosphere of this area is striking.

By the way, two books I highly recommend for finding your way around are
"The Practical Guide to Japanese Signs", by Tae Moriyama, and "Tokyo: A
Bilingual Atlas".  Both are published by Kodansha.  You can probably get
them in this country at the Kinokunia bookstore in San Francisco or San Jose.
If you walk east on Shinjuku Dori from the JR station you will also walk
past a Kinokunia store (on your left).  Foreign books are on the 6th floor
(7th?... the top, anyway).  The Bilingual Atlas gives all the street names
in Japanese and romaji, has lots of detailed maps, and has a good index.
The "Guide to Japanese Signs" explains the ATM's, JR and subway ticket
machines, and gives lots of useful details about restaurant, taxis, and
so forth, with good explanations of the associated kanji.

Good luck.

Michael Sleator			Voice:		408-748-6339
Kubota Pacific Computer		FAX:		408-748-6301
2630 Walsh Ave.			internet:	sleat@kpc.com
Santa Clara, CA  95051		uucp:		...!uunet!kpc!sleat