can you spot the godzilla? those neon lights alone compelled me to submit this into a contest. but enough of that. after days of peaceful nightwalks, here i ventured into the fierce battle grounds of shinjuku, specifically the kabukicho area. the place is not for the faint of heart, courage is a necessity to navigate this place.
welcome to party town.
finding the exit
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before proceeding further though, it took me 15 minutes just to get out of the great labyrinth of shinjuku station. it was surely easier to escape back then but indoor constructions really changed the whole thing; previous pathways were now walls, and wide open spaces are now covered in white construction walls.
finding a specific exit is very difficult. i was just happy to get out of that giant maze. i was supposed to exit b15, but that was currently closed off due to construction works. here i exited the nearby b16 instead.
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now it is time to find the meeting point. i was to meet my visiting cousin and she had a very simple request. she wanted no lavish restaurants which were catered to foreigners and rich japanese folks. all she wanted was a laid down restaurant that the ordinary citizens frequent. she wanted to understand how the normal folks operate, she wanted to experience the soul of tokyo. that was quite hard to do here in party town kabukicho, the entertainment and "red light" district.
dinner time
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we settled with yakiniku like for dinner. it was mainstream enough and surely there were lots of local folks eating in the shop when we entered. we had sendai beef a variant of wagyu originating in sendai prefecture as the name suggests. and you know what, that beef was just as good, but certainly won't break the bank. it has the typical indicative marbling (fat and lean meat webbing of the cut) of the wagyu and that made the meat seem like to melt in your mouth. it was very good. i am no food expert, and this was very good for the unsophisticated palate.
search for souvenirs
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after long minutes of eating and chatting, we went out and hunted for souvenirs. my cousin will be travelling back to the philippines this saturday, and she wanted to take home some pieces of japan to be shared to people back home. i couldn't blame her, i also do the same. so a few walks and blocks away, we reached the local souvenir shop. she did asked for the best shop for this, the other shop i knew was 30 minutes away nearer to my home.
don quijote was the best shop near kabukicho i think. and yes they really sold lots of stuff. chocolates are usually enough for souvenirs, and japan knew about that clearly. kitkat here in japan are known for their extraordinary flavors from the favorites matcha, strawberry, and cookies and cream, to the straight out weird wasabi. we all know which flavor i would most likely buy.
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kabukicho gets more rowdy as the night deepens; this is what i warned my cousin even before she arrived. she was with her husband and they could sleep like lard, this rowdiness was not a problem to her. but she did asked questions of the many women in costumes with signages "3000 yen for the first 40minutes" lining up the sidewalk. i guess that is how the clubs and bars advertise these days. i was at a loss for words while trying to explain, literally. how do you explain "maid cafes", "cabarets", and "hostess clubs"? at least she hasn't seen the "host club" advertisers.
kabukicho is really a party town, and a "party" town.
as always, AMPING KANUNAY!
all content is by yours truly unless otherwise specified
all photos are taken with a galaxy s23 ultra
This report was published via Actifit app (Android | iOS). Check out the original version here on actifit.io
Height168.0 cm |  | Weight71.7 kg |  | Body Fat% |  |
Waistcm |  | Thighscm |  | Chestcm |  |
