A GATA Guide to bizarre places in tokyo by la carmina
Stepping off the plane when you first land in Tokyo can often feel like you’ve seeped into an absurd dream. A dream that bombards your senses, flooding your mind with endless railway jingles and the rattling of balls in seedy pachinko parlours. But how does one even begin to navigate this overload of stimuli? Enter La Carmina.
La Carmina is an award-winning journalist, author and veritable explorer of the strange. Her résume includes writing credits for esteemed publications such as The New York Times, National Geographic and CNN, and her blog, lacarmina.com, has become one of the internet’s most beloved portals to Japan’s alternative subcultures. With her unique aesthetic style, she has spent the last decade navigating Tokyo’s most obscure goth clubs, theme cafés and hidden corners with a ravenous curiosity that makes most tourists look as though they’ve come to Japan merely for the convenience stores.
GATA recently joined forces with the writer to unpack ten of her favourite spots off the beaten tourist trail—each with just enough spice of horror to satisfy the macabre yearnings of the GATA team. Read on to discover her underground delights that will have you squealing with laughter, shielding your eyes and wondering, “How did someone even come up with this?” A delectable selection of morbid milieu, all through the eyes of someone who effortlessly knows how to navigate the chaos.
Guinea Pig
LEO Kotobuki Building 3F, 2-41-3 Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Nestled deep within Tokyo’s red-light district, Guinea Pig is an underground bar with a bloody disposition. Filled with a nightmarish assortment of shackled baby mannequins, zombie hands climbing the ceiling, and horror film artworks, Guinea Pig has managed to bottle the magic of exploitation horror cinema to a tee. Its owner has even been known to offer “voodoo”-themed cocktails and allow customers to pet their snake. Camp, garish, and bizarre, but undeniably fun nonetheless.
Vanilla Gallery
B2F, Tosei Building, 8-10-7 Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0061
Tucked into the basement of one of Tokyo’s most glamorous districts, this gallery focuses on the more avant-garde and niche corners of the art world. With its typically white washed and minimalist walls, there is an interesting tension between its polished setting and the iconoclastic work that fills the space. Expect body modification by Keroppy Maeda, as well as shibari exhibitions from Yoko/Kaname Ozuma. A must-visit for those drawn to the ero-guro side of Japanese art.
Trick or Treat Bar
Toda Building 2F, 7-16-5 Roppongi, Minato City, Tokyo, 106-0032
A favourite of film directors Tim Burton and Quentin Tarantino, Trick or Treat Bar exists with the sole goal of celebrating every day as if it was Halloween. Bathed in GATA coded red light and filled with enough Gothic memorabilia to have even the Prince of Darkness himself panting with excitement, Trick or Treat Bar is a grotesque oasis in the barren commercial wasteland that is Roppongi.
Haunted Izakaya Akabane Reien
1 Chome-35-8 Akabane, Kita City, Tokyo 115-0045
Located in northern Tokyo’s Akabane district, known for its manga, anime, and TV drama culture, you can find the haunted-house-turned-izakaya: Akabane Reien. Unlike some of the other locations on this list, this altar to horror makes no secret of what occurs within its walls, plastering its exterior with mummified corpses and elaborate Showa-era signage. It’s this kind of blatant disregard to building continuity that makes us wonder if the concept of planning permission ever made it to Japan.
The interior itself is arranged like an occult ceremony. Think graveyard funeral plaques disguised as snack menus, or yūrei-themed paintings adorning the walls. But what really sets this bar apart from the rest is that, much like a haunted house you might find in an amusement park, many of the ornaments can move, jumping out at unsuspecting customers whenever the bartender feels like pulling a certain rope… We think this might be one establishment we definitely don’t want to upset the staff of.
Abilletage
F Harajuku White House, 4 Chome-28-8 Jingumae, Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0001
Opening in Ura-Harajuku in 2023, Abilletage is a corset boutique with a history spanning over a decade. Created by designer Bambi an alumni of Bunka fashion college, the shop focuses on made in Japan corsets that embody the spirit of Victorian opulence. Inspired by the work of William Morris and French military, each piece is crafted by Japanese tailors who individually customise them to each customer. Not simply content with the fashion side of the industry, the shop has also fostered a strong community, hosting “Carnaval du abilletage” a fashion-inspired celebration that features live music and creative collaborations.
MK Studio
KM Building B1, 1-23-6 Hyakunincho 1-chome, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-0073
Shinjuku in many ways is a microcosm for Japan. Hosting the glitz of luxury brand stores while simultaneously being the spiritual home of those that seek debauchery. MK Studio is one of those places that falls firmly in the second camp. A decadent playground filled with S&M devices, and brutalist interiors. It is here that Mistress Maya stages her notorious event, Midnight Mess: the longest running Tokyo goth night that includes rope performances, fetish artistry and hypnotic DJ sets.
Mother Factory
Stage Mizonokuchi, 7 Chome-27-3 Shimosakunobe, Takatsu Ward, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 213-0033
Located on the outskirts of Kawasaki’s Mizonokuchi area, Mother Factory is an art-infused café-bar where the everyday gives way to the bizarre and uncanny. By day, it functions as your prototypical espresso dispenser and laid-back café, but every now and then it fills its walls with an array of provocative art exhibitions. Among its most notorious exhibitions is that of Doooo, an avant-garde artist famed for his flesh body-horror designs, as well as collaborations with Junji Ito. Quirky, bold, and unafraid to break the norm, Mother Factory is giving a compelling reason to stray from the oversaturated tourist spots of Tokyo.
Nanzuka Taken
Room 202B, 2nd Floor, Shibuya Axsh, 2-17-1 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0002
Just a pebble’s toss away from the scramble crossing of Shibuya is Nanzuka Taken, an art-centric bar where matcha-flavoured cocktails meet sci-fi fantasy. This surreal drinking spot blends gallery aesthetics with an experience that feels more like a space-launch installation than a traditional bar. Featuring work by legendary Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama, it’s a fun date spot for all you science fiction nuts.
Vampire Cafe
7F, Rapei Building, 6-7-6 Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0061, Japan
“You dropped a few hundred on a Moi-Même-Moitié dress; you might as well dish out a hundred more at the Vampire Café in Ginza. Blood isn’t on the menu, but it’s splattered all over the glowing red floors. The snug rooms are piped with Baroque music and peppered with crucifixes, spiders, skulls, candelabras, and Dracula’s coffin (sounds like home to any Gothic Lolita). Thick, beaded drapes ensure that any naughty behaviour in the booths won’t make the rounds on the Internet.” — La Carmina
Neo Shinjuku Atsushi Cyberpunk Bar
4F, Sankei Building, 3-3-7 Shinjuku, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 160-0022
“The Collapse has reached Tokyo… in the form of an apocalyptic cyberpunk bar! Theme restaurants and bars continue to thrive in Japan and Neo Shinjuku Atsushi Cyberpunk Bar is no different. Located near Shinjuku San-chōme Station, it’s a science-fiction, cyberpunk world come to life (think Blade Runner and Akira). The bar is designed to look like the crumbling ruins of post-apocalyptic Tokyo and as the Akira quote goes, “You’re just the king of a big pile of garbage!” — La Carmina