4 Shinjuku Gay Bars with a Relaxing Foreign-Friendly Vibe

Cocolo Café

Address:Shinjuku-ku Ni-chome 14-6 Daiichi Hayakawaya Building 1F

Cover charge:None

Cost of drinks:Glass ￥700–800

Best day to visit:Friday–Sunday

Scene:Gay-friendly

Cocolo Cafe is a calm and relaxing restaurant in Ni-chome. Although the restaurant caters mainly to the Tokyo gay community, everyone is welcome; many heterosexual couples visit this restaurant as well. True to its name, a variation on ‘kokoro,’ (the Japanese word for ‘heart and mind,’) this restaurant creates a space that allows customers to be just the way they are no matter what other people might think.

The interior fosters a comforting and carefree atmosphere in which everyone, regardless of gender or sexual preference, can let their hair down comfortably. Eighty percent of the staff in this café are LGBT, and 100% of the music is pop songs. As long as both heart and mind remain open, everybody who walks in the door can find something to relate to here.

At Cocolo Cafe, the menu is just as varied as the clientele. Western-style staples like mushroom pasta happily coexist with Okinawan-style Taco-rice, pictured at right. Taco-rice is one of the restaurant’s most popular items, a coveted dinnertime favorite. The drink menu also features diverse options, such as various herbal and fruit teas, that are highly recommended especially for health-conscious customers. Finally, those hoping to forgo the typical coffee chain store in favor of something a touch more exotic are in luck: Vietnam coffee is their most popular drink.

Finally, whether coming or going, don’t forget to stop by the café entrance, a hub of information listings and event fliers pertaining to goings-on in the Tokyo gay community. Highlights include LGBT club events and announcements about the Rainbow Pride Festival held once a year; there are even notices concerning various smart-phone applications useful to the gay community. Visit Cocolo Cafe—and find out why they have your interests at heart.

Navigating Shinjuku's Gay District: Tips and Tricks to Remember

Getting around Shinjuku Ni-chome is pretty easy with three nearby stations joining several major train routes to Tokyo Metro's Marunouchi line, which runs directly underneath Ni-chome: Shinjuku Station, Shinjuku San-chome Station, and Shinjuku Gyoen-Mae Station. But what awaits you once you after you've made your way to Shinjuku's Gay District may be a little more difficult to navigate. To help you out, check out our 5 tips below for foreigner tourists.

Tip #1: Beware of Charge Fees

Many people are unfamiliar with the charge fee system, so here’s the lowdown: Like many bars throughout Japan, Tokyo gay bars sometimes require that the customer pay an initial fee just for sitting down; that’s before drinks or food! As the system varies depending on each individual bar and situation, check it out before entering, either by talking to a staff member or looking carefully at the signs outside.

Tip #2: Don’t Expect to Find Everything Online

In the Internet age, most people expect that everything is just a screen-touch away—but when it comes to gay bars in Tokyo that is not always the case. In fact, not a few bars don’t even have an online presence, relying instead on word-of-mouth. To find something truly out of the way, you may simply have to ask around—or stumble into it, whichever comes first. That said, while random exploration may be fun, as you’ll see below it’s not always wise.

Tip #3: Subculture Bars Can Be Strict

To paint Ni-chome simply as “the Shinjuku gay district” is to use too large a brush. Beyond gay, lesbian or even transsexual distinctions, the Tokyo gay scene has subcultures of every stripe—from bars for people who like skinny guys (“gari-sen”) old guys (“fuke-sen”) and yes, even hirsute men (“kuma-sen,” or literally, “people who prefer bears.”). While people are generally friendly, these subcultures are taken seriously: If you walk randomly into a bar that caters to a specific preference without either having that preference yourself or fitting that description, keep in mind that you may be denied service or even asked to leave.

You might want to start with more broadly welcoming bars like those mentioned above, move to “gai-sen” bars specifically for people who like foreigners, and go from there.

Tip #4: Keep Your Eyes Open

While Ni-chome is just a simple jaunt from Shinjuku Station, navigating the district itself once you get there is a different matter. Some bars are housed in ordinary-looking office buildings and are therefore not immediately obvious; some are simply tucked away inside nooks and crannies that you’d never think to look into. Still others may be hidden in plain sight, but unnoticed by you because you don’t read Japanese, and all this even when you know the address, which even natives might have difficulty locating! Unless you either bring a GPS-equipped smartphone or are supremely confident in your directional skills, you might want to consider following our last tip.

Tip #5: Bring a Japanese Friend

Many of the problems a Ni-chome tourist might experience—from dealing with charge fees to navigating the gay district and all its many subcultures—can be solved or at least greatly helped by taking a Japanese friend (or friends) along with you. While Tokyo is certainly Japan’s most international city, English is still not as widely spoken as you may expect. Moreover, just being a foreigner or an unknown quantity may literally close doors for you in some places; some of the more exclusive spots require a personal recommendation before admittance.

If all of that sounds daunting, don’t despair—you can start with the less exclusive and foreign-friendly bars above before digging too seriously into the scene. Happy hunting!

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