Clubbing in Roppongi, Tokyo

After the sumo tournament, some of the JETs and I decided to spend the rest of the evening in Tokyo, enjoying the night life. Our first stop of the night was dinner at some hole in the wall Jamaican restaurant. Surprisingly, the food was delicious, and even more surprisingly it was rather famous – as evidenced by the wall of pictures with celebrities. Snoop Dogg had frequented this particular establishment at one point. Who would have thought!

A plate of jerk-chicken and carribean rice later, we were back on the streets on a mission for a good time. One of the great things about a night out in Tokyo is that you never know where the night will take you. You just NEVER know. The characters you meet, the places you end up in, the things you witness – the mind reels at the prospect of adventure. On this particular night, we soon found ourselves in a Karaoke bar with some new Japanese friends. Being a foreigner in Japan is akin to having a special social pass. YOU are the ultimate ice breaker. You can walk up to anyone and start a conversation and 9 out of 10 times, it will go great because you are, by principle, different and exotic and cool.

By 11:30pm once the group was sufficiently inebriated, someone came up with the bright idea to take to the streets again and go clubbing. I made known the fact that I had yet to go clubbing in Roppongi, to a chorus of “EHHH??? YOU HAVENT BEEN TO ROPPONGI??”. The matter was settled. We were going to Roppongi.

Roppongi is one of the party districts of Tokyo. People dress to impress, and some of the most beautiful people in the world come out to play in one of the prime party hotspots in the world. Somehow we managed to find ourselves at a swanky club called Vanity on the 30-something floor of a huge skyscraper. This place was just oozing with class, money and pure unadulterated hedonism.

Usually cameras aren`t allowed, but I decided to play the “official photographer” card again. After quickly making friends with the bouncer, I located one of the managers and said “Hey man, I`m taking photos and videos tonight for the club. So-and-so-bouncer guy let me in. We cool?”. “Uhhh…yeah I guess, okay.” was his surprised reply. “Take some good pics ya hear?” “Will do!”

(as usual, make sure it`s set to 720p or 1080p for the best picture quality)

4 hours later, we stumbled back outside into the cool, arid Tokyo air, filled with the smell of expensive perfume, cigarette smoke and gasoline. After a brief meal/breakfast at Mcdonalds, we split up at different stations and began the long journey back home.

I arrived back at my apartment at around 10:30 am and promptly passed out until 8:30 the following evening. Partying in Tokyo really takes it out of you. Yet I wouldn`t have it any other way.