PLACES
"While gay bars in other countries are often larger, we find that the pressure of our precious little spaces forms diamonds. The drag in Tokyo, and in Japan, is incomparable and our stories are so uniquely formed out of our experiences in the scene and in society." —Meringue
Eagle Blue is the home of Dragmania, a weekend drag show and watch party for RuPaul’s Drag Race. “I personally love watching Drag Race while being slightly intoxicated with a bunch of similar-minded people,” says Nattmara, a spooky alternative queen who hosts her own watch parties at Eagle.
Other nights have featured drag shows in memory of the late trans music icon Sophie, performances set to the music of pop idols like Rihanna, or vogue balls spotlighting some of the top drag artists in Japan. Recently, the bar co-produced the highly anticipated Japanese drag show Opulence, one of the biggest in the country.
Australian drag queen Meringue, a frequent performer at the show, who takes on the persona of a glamorous—if slightly deranged—Stepford wife, began her drag career at Eagle. “That [first] night, I had never seen the place so heaving with queerness, queer joy and queer celebration,” she says. “It changed the landscape in its own way.”
The walls of Eagle Blue are decorated in artwork by noted LGBTQ manga artist Jiraiya.
Wax Nostalgic at Tokyo’s Oldest Gamer Bar
8 Bit Café is not your average “barcade.” Since 2005, the owner, who goes by Nawo-san, has been serving creative cocktails based on his childhood memories of playing Nintendo games. Drenched in ’80s nostalgia, the entire place is covered top to bottom in video game merch, action figures and retro memorabilia.
“This place has a lot of my favorite games from when I was growing up, so it felt like being in a secret base of the sort we always dreamed about as kids,” says one of the bar’s regulars, known as Mr. N. “I was really happy that I was able to talk with the owner about the games that inspired the different cocktails.”
The menu includes drinks like the Princess Peach Temptation, a mixture of grenadine, peach liqueur and peach juice; the Donkey Kong, made with Malibu rum and banana juice; and the Critical Hit, a knockout combination of vodka and sweet vermouth. Drinks are reasonably priced, and many of the offerings at 8 Bit are perfect for impromptu multiplayer fun.
3-8-9 Shinjuku, Q Building 5F, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-0022
Eagle Blue is a large and colorful club in the heart of Nichome, which is known as the gay district of Shinjuku. Though nominally a “bear bar”—the walls are decorated in bear-inspired artwork by noted LGBTQ manga artist Jiraiya—it is welcoming to all, regardless of orientation, and hosts one of the most diverse groups of patrons within the district. Upon entering Eagle, guests are bathed in neon blue light, and the motif, which changes frequently, can vary from disco balls and sakura blossoms to cobwebs and spiders.
Disco in Drag at the Friendliest Bear Bar in Tokyo
Casa Verde 1F, 2-11-2 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-0022
Alex Ehrenreich is a writer based in Japan. He has been published in Rue Morgue, The Japan Times, Saveur and others. He speaks English and Japanese.
Wax Nostalgic at Tokyo’s Oldest Gamer Bar
8 Bit Café is not your average “barcade.” Since 2005, the owner, who goes by Nawo-san, has been serving creative cocktails based on his childhood memories of playing Nintendo games. Drenched in ’80s nostalgia, the entire place is covered top to bottom in video game merch, action figures and retro memorabilia.
“This place has a lot of my favorite games from when I was growing up, so it felt like being in a secret base of the sort we always dreamed about as kids,” says one of the bar’s regulars, known as Mr. N. “I was really happy that I was able to talk with the owner about the games that inspired the different cocktails.”
The menu includes drinks like the Princess Peach Temptation, a mixture of grenadine, peach liqueur and peach juice; the Donkey Kong, made with Malibu rum and banana juice; and the Critical Hit, a knockout combination of vodka and sweet vermouth. Drinks are reasonably priced, and many of the offerings at 8 Bit are perfect for impromptu multiplayer fun.
3-8-9 Shinjuku, Q Building 5F, Shinjuku-ku,
Tokyo, 160-0022
Disco in Drag at the Friendliest Bear Bar
in Tokyo
Casa Verde 1F, 2-11-2 Shinjuku,
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-0022
Eagle Blue is a large and colorful club in the heart of Nichome, which is known as the gay district of Shinjuku. Though nominally a “bear bar”—the walls are decorated in bear-inspired artwork by noted LGBTQ manga artist Jiraiya—it is welcoming to all, regardless of orientation, and hosts one of the most diverse groups of patrons within the district. Upon entering Eagle, guests are bathed in neon blue light, and the motif, which changes frequently, can vary from disco balls and sakura blossoms to cobwebs and spiders.
"While gay bars in other countries are often larger, we find that the pressure of our precious little spaces forms diamonds. The drag in Tokyo, and in Japan, is incomparable and our stories are so uniquely formed out of our experiences in the scene and in society." —Meringue