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Good Night/Hustlers [Part 1]
お休みなさい・1 章：ハスラーズ
How an attempt to go clubbing in Japan started in a British Pub
"We're only here for two days," Jason said in the crowded common room of the hostel, "and we really want to try clubbing in Japan."
We recruited a young guy from the northern UK, Josh, and a travelling lawyer from Australia, Linda. Together with Jason's friend, we headed to the destination where the local at the front desk had recommended we go: Roppongi.
25 minutes by subway, we arrived at the Roppongi train station. Compared to the rest of Tokyo's business district, there was nothing particularly exciting or unique about the view other than the Eiffel-tower-like Tokyo Tower just down the road from where we were currently standing. Along the road were the usual fluorescent and neon signage of familiar names like "Tokyo Mart" and "Seven & Holdings," which we headed to first before our foray into the Tokyo clubbing scene note 1.
Linda grabs a beef onigiri while the rest grab one of those special-edition Sapporo cans. It's never been made clear (without internet searching) if public consumption of alcohol is allowed. Still, we did observe a salaryman drinking a Suntory Whisky Highball on the subway ride down here, so we popped the tab and chugged the can down right outside the store. This was a slight mistake as Roppongi needed more waste receptacles like the rest of Tokyo note 2. As we walked down the street toward Tokyo Tower, a slightly middle-aged Caucasian man approached us, looked at the beer cans in our hands, and said, "If you want some good beer, head down there - it's the greatest for 'us.'"
Not sure what he meant by 'us,' we thanked the man and headed down the brightly lit stairwell to an awning decorated with the Union Jack. Josh immediately chirped, "It's a British pub, isn't it." If the oak counters at the bar with the decor of an upper-scale Wetherspoon's in Central London weren't a dead giveaway, we probably should have paid more attention to the bar's name: "Hobglobin British Pub."
Unlike a British pub, the place offered 2500 yen for 2 hours of all-you-can-drink. And unlike any Western concept of all-you-can-whatever, it's not a 'eat and drink whatever you want while it takes us an hour to get your order.' "Bottoms up," Jason says to our first drink as the server cheerfully returns with another pitcher of beer from the local craft scene.
"It's strangely familiar," Josh says. "They didn't skimp on anything."
"They even have the usual crowd at the bar," I say, pointing towards the elderly white men sitting with their 'dimple mugs' at hand. I might have said it a little too loud because one of them replies, "We're not just the usual fixtures here, young man," he yells at us as he walks over to our table. "If you guys weren't doing the tourist special, I'd buy you a round on me."
I'm assuming that all-you-can-drink is different from regular fare.
"Surprised none of you are American, or maybe not," he says after asking where we all came from. He introduces himself as Geoff and grabs a seat from the next table. Our waitress quickly delivers his beer from the bar to our table. "And that's why I love it here," he says with a smile to the waitress. She gives a smile as she refills our beer.
Geoff found his current group of friends - all from the U.K. - within a half-year of moving to Tokyo. "I asked someone where to go for a good drink, and they pointed me here to Roppongi," he says. (Linda looks at the rest of us with a smirk.) He continues, "Much of all the non-Japanese ex-pats I've met were from somewhere around here." He points towards his friends at the bar. "They're all for a good drink, those guys."
"Pity the place doesn't seem that crowded," Jason says.
"Nah, you just missed the crowd," Geoff says. "They all come right after work - trains end at midnight, and for some of them, it takes them 1 or 2 hours to get home." I look down at my watch. 10:45PM. He continues, "There are places with crowds of young'uns if you know where to look."
"And do you know these places?" Linda asks.
Geoff laughs. "I'm British, and I frequent this pub. Do you think I'll go anywhere else?"
As we leave to find these elusive establishments, he heads back to his group of friends. "Feel free to come back," one of them yells, "we need some new blood down here."
Eleven PM on a Friday night, and the street seemed relatively dull. People lingered on the street, but it wasn't apparent if anyone had a destination. As we walked, we passed a man handing out cards on the street. "5000 yen for all you can drink," he says as we walk past.
Linda looks at the card. "That's pretty expensive. We just came from a place that was much cheaper than that."
The man continued. "Unlimited all evening. All you can drink. Great titties!"
"That's okay then," Linda says as we continue onward.
The man yells toward us. "It's called Hustlers - you should go there!"
We stopped a few times to ask some people on the street where to go, but no one could recommend a good club. One man pointed towards an establishment across the street but added, "It's a bar, not a club."
"Thanks," Jason says as we begin walking again. "I read that the clubs in Tokyo were good. It's weird that we haven't found one."
At the next intersection, another foreigner approaches us. "All-you-can-drink for 5000 yen. Beautiful titties."
"That sounds strangely familiar," I say.
"Wait, is this place called Hustlers?" Jason asks.
"Hustlers, yes!" the man exclaims. "Unlimited drinks."
We thank the man, and we continue forward. "Do you suppose that's all they're allowed to say," Linda asks us. We laugh as we continue searching for these elusive clubs that Tokyo is supposed to be littered with. Eventually, the golden lights on Tokyo Tower that were once sparkling in the distance are now within range. "What do we do now?"
A foreigner at the corner yells at us. "Hope y'all are having a good night."
Linda shakes her head at the man. "Hey, do you know where we can go clubbing?"
The man looks mildly puzzled. "No, can't say that I do. There are some good bars, though."
"Oh, we might as well go back to that place that guy pointed at," Jason says.
The man continues, "Well if you want a deal, there is a good place you guys could try."
Linda chuckles. "Is the place called Hustlers?" she jokes.
"Yeah," the man says. We all break out in laughter. The man continues, "It's a good price for unlimited drinks, and the women are all beautiful. I can take you guys there."
Linda looks at the rest of us. "Should we just try this place? It seems like fate is telling us to go there."
Jason laughs. "Yeah, why not. There's five of us, so if they try anything weird, we'll leave."
"Can we just look at the place? No purchasing, just looking," Linda asks the man.
"Well," the man hesitates.
"What's wrong with looking. We'll just go to the entrance and see if we like it. The entrance is still public view, right?" Linda clearly has her lawyer skills at her disposal.
"Fine, follow me," the man says. He takes us a block back towards the subway station. Among the fluorescent lights on the sign hanging from the building is a directory pointing out the various establishments. '1F - Dispensary', '2F - Tetsuya Sushi', and so forth. I see at the very top: '8F - Hustlers'.
"All the way up on the eighth floor, huh," I say. "So much for backing out easily."
"If anything happens, we just tackle the guy blocking the elevator," Jason says as he looks at our guide.
Author: Francisco Tenorio
Last Updated: 2024/03/3
Notes:
Japanese convenience store food leaves much to be desired from the usual fare at "Seven-Eleven ."For the equivalent of $4.00, you could get decent quality lunch boxes, sandwiches, and hot meals with more confident levels of freshness (considering that there are lines of people with food in their hands, the turnover rate is much higher than in North America). For a dollar more, you could get an assortment of beer, highballs, coolers, and cheap sake.
[Return to Text]Roads and pathways facilitate transport between Point A and Point B. In other words, 'you should be moving on roads and paths, not stopping .' Since paths were not defined for people to eat or drink, there was a lack of 'Western' fixtures like garbage cans and benches. On one rainy day, I bought an umbrella in Marunouchi. I immediately used the umbrella but couldn't throw away the packaging until I returned to my hotel in Shinjuku - a 25-minute train ride later.
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