The Other Side of Tokyo Nightlife
APRIL 7, 2023
Matt Klampert
KO SASAKI
story:
photo:
APRIL 7, 2023
Matt Klampert
story:
photo:
KO SASAKI
The Other Side of Tokyo Nightlife
In Tokyo's
“Subcal” Bars, Anything Goes
Would you like to be spanked by a leather-clad bunny while drinking shochu? Ordered to do push-ups by a drill sergeant bartender? Rub elbows with fellow “tet-chan,” or Japanese railway enthusiasts? Come see the other side of Tokyo.
an old-fashioned izakaya (an informal Japanese bar) to drink sake on tatami mats. One might find their way into Golden Gai, a claustrophobic row of bars and clubs in the city’s red-light district, running up a tab at a tourist-trap biker bar.
Though this can make for a memorable night out, it is far from the only way to spend your evenings here. For a real taste of Tokyo nightlife, grab a drink at your neighborhood “subcal bar.”
APRIL 7, 2023
Matt Klampert
story:
photography:
KO SASAKI
by Alex Ehrenreich
April 14, 2023
PLACES
Photography by Ko Sasaki
The term “subcal” is a Japanization of the English word “subculture.” Originally referring to the anti-establishment political and social counterculture of the 1960s and ’70s, over time, the word came to mean something more akin to a hobby. The ’80s and ’90s saw “subcal” gain traction as a buzzword in parallel with the more well-known term “otaku,” a catchall name for nerds of all sorts, particularly those with interests in anime, manga and video games. Once it was clear that marketing to geek culture could be lucrative, specialist magazines, TV programs and venues for the weird and sometimes anti-social began to pop up. These bars became a viable place for many Tokyoites—residents of a city notorious for tiny living spaces and often misunderstood as being cold to strangers—to get together with those of similar interests.
Subcal bars are now spaces for much more than grabbing a drink and wearing a costume. Today, they’re often gathering places for ethnic, political or sexual minorities; as diverse interests became more accepted, so too did people of underrepresented backgrounds in Japan’s once-insular alternative communities. As a result, everyone from salarymen dressed to the nines to latex-clad club kids can be found mingling together at subcal bars.
Of course, costumes and pop culture fandom are not unfamiliar to tourists in Tokyo’s daylight hours. There are plenty of cosplayers whose jobs entail dressing like cute maids, doctors and pirates, and taking pictures with visitors who line bustling streets. But in these interactions, there’s a divide between those being watched and those doing the watching.
Subcal nightlife is different. These bars, by and large, are populated by regulars, though the bargoers would likely describe themselves as anything but regular. No matter the taste, there’s a subcal for everyone—leather fetishists, train enthusiasts, drag performers or those who want to enlist in a fantasy military boot camp for the night. Many of these venues are welcoming to newcomers, even if they aren’t a card-carrying member of that specific subculture. Here are some of the best places to get started, through the eyes of those who frequent them.
“These bars, by and large, are populated by regulars, though the bargoers would likely describe themselves as anything but regular.”
Subcal bars are niche by nature, but many are open to newcomers.
A
fter accompanying enough friends through their first night out in Tokyo, as I have, you’ll start to notice a pattern: The evening usually begins at a posh hotel bar in Shinagawa or Roppongi, where you’ll sample overpriced whisky, before venturing out to