Jonelle Patrick's Blog, page 28
October 13, 2017
Mobbed By Lemurs At The Exotic Animal Petting Zoo!
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Who can say they never clutched the fence at their local zoo’s lemur exhibit and didn’t long to sneak over the top just for a few minutes (or, okay, in my case, A FEW HOURS) to cavort with those frisky, big-eyed, long-tailed cuties? Admit it – you’ve always secretly wanted to, haven’t you?
Well, now you CAN!
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It only I could be inside with them for just a few…wait, what am I saying, I AM inside with them!
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LIVING THE DREAM
An hour from Tokyo Station by bus is a little private zoo deep in the heart of Chiba prefecture where you can go into the enclosures and pet all kinds of exotic animals. It’s called Sayuri World,* and it did not disappoint!
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In fact, as soon as you step through the door with a telltale pink plastic bucket, it feels like cats are jumping onto your shoulders, but actually WOO HOO it’s LEMURS!
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With their TAILS ( Lemur tails are the best tails in the entire animal kingdom. Except maybe for fox tails. In any case, they’re way up in the winner’s circle)
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The capybaras were also friendly to bucket bearers
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And the giraffes were equal opportunity carrot and banana eaters
There were also llamas, tortoises, deer, peacocks, guinea fowl and bunnies roaming around freely (and not above trying to cadge a snack).
Open: Every day, except closed on Thursdays
Hours: 11:00 – 16:00
Admission: Adults (older than high school) ¥1200, Children (3-18): ¥900, Under 3: free (If you also want to go into the elephant zoo next door and ride the elephants, you can buy a combined ticket for ¥2500. It usually costs ¥2000 to go into the elephant park, so you save ¥300.)
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HOW TO GO TO SAYURI WORLD
• Get yourself to Tokyo Station and go out the Yaesu Central exit.
• You’ll see a bunch of buses waiting in an area right outside at street level, but those are not the buses you’re looking for. Cross the big street that runs in front of the station and you’ll see two bus shelters next to the curb.
• The one you want isn’t the first one that services Hokkaido Line buses, it’s the second one. This is what it looks like.
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• Get in line for #4, the orange line bus. Here’s the schedule.[image error]
As you can see, there aren’t very many buses on that route, so I highly recommend you catch the 10:00 a.m. one. It’ll get you to Sayuri World very close to the 11:00 opening time.
Note: Getting there early is key, because once the animals have been offered snacks by a bunch of other visitors, they tend to retreat to their little houses to digest and aren’t so eager to have their pictures taken with you. Also, going on a weekday is way more fun than going on a weekend, because it can get so busy you have to stand in line to visit the animals. On weekday mornings, it’s great.
• You can use your Suica/PASMO card to ride the bus. It costs ¥1550 one way. Pay with your card when you get off at Ichihara-tsurumae Bus Terminal. (Don’t tap your card on the sensor when you get on, just when you get off.) It’s the second stop on the route, and it’ll take about an hour to get there.
• The walk to Sayuri World from the bus stop is less than one kilometer (about 900 meters, takes about 10-15 minutes) and is gently uphill on the way there.
• When you get there (you’ll know, because it’s clearly marked), pay the admission fee at the reception desk and buy snacks to feed the animals.
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One basket costs ¥500. They will dump the carrots and bananas into a bucket with a lid, so you can carry them around and give them to the animals. I recommend getting a bucket for each person.
There are a few (common sense) rules that the reception desk person will explain in Japanese. Here’s what she’s telling you:
• You may pet the animals if they allow you to, but do not pick them up
• No yelling or running (even children), because it scares the animals
• Do not feed the animals anything but the fruit provided, because it’s bad for their health
• Please watch small children carefully so they don’t provoke the animals.
• When you go into animal enclosures, be sure to close the doors carefully behind you, so the animals don’t escape to the places where they’re not supposed to be.
Also (caveat from moi): Wear clothes that can be washed, because this:
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And I also recommend packing a lunch and/or eating a big breakfast before you go, because Sayuri World is smack in the middle of nowhere. There’s a coffee stand in the park, but there’s really nowhere to eat real food for miles around, so be forewarned!
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But is it all worth it? Yes, yes, YES! I’d say that on a scale of zero to Fox Village and Bunny Island, this rates a solid 9!
*Sayuri World is small and private and entirely supported by ticket sales, donations, and the owner, so it doesn’t have the kind of fancy landscaped habitats we’ve all come to expect at bigger zoos. The animals all looked happy and in good health and well cared-for (water always available, and every enclosure has enrichment structures and a place for the animals to retreat when they’re tired of people), but if you object to animals living in cages (however spacious) this place is not for you.
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When not petting lemurs, Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Tokyo
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The #1 hostboy at Club Nova makes a handsome living, whispering sweet nothings in the ears of women who pay him a fortune for the privilege. But the party’s over when Tokyo Detective Kenji Nakamura is assigned to investigate the death of…read more
October 7, 2017
Obsession, Thy Name Is This Exhibit
Aluminum skulls encrusted with tiny flowers? Yes, please!
Okay, I really want to hate the Mitsui Memorial Museum (because see below) but they keep putting on shows like this.
The idea behind “Amazing Craftsmanship!” is to pair mad Meiji-era woodwork, metalcraft and even (who knew?) embroidery with contemporary artists whose mindbending skillz rival those of the obsessed artists past.
But don’t take my word for it – go see this thing. You will not be disappoint.
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This lobster was made from umpty-kerbillion pieces of carved wood…
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…and it all works, just like a real lobster. (If you want to see more of this guy’s work and his carvings in progress, check out Ryoho Otake’s Facebook page!) This beauty was paired with some equally jaw-dropping silver lobsters made in days of Meiji.
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Cucumbers made of…marble? This is just one of the many pieces by artist of yore Rokuzan Ando. Look at that leaf. It’s so thin, it’s translucent. The guy was that good.
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Clay. Yes, clay. And time. Lots and lots of time. Eriko Inazaki’s porcelain work definitely puts her in the same league as the Meiji Era craftcrazies. (Photo thanks: Keiko Art International)
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And this snake skeleton is made of metal. Haruo Mitsuta also makes insects. You can imagine.
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Somehow my granny did not teach me how to embroider like THIS. Yes, this portrait is pure silk stitchery, and it has to be seen to be believed, because Shoryu’s portrait of a carpenter changes as you shift from right to left.
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Fuyuki Maehara’s half-eaten sanma on a plate is actually carved from cherrywood. Yeah. I was ready to eat the rest too. (Photo thanks: Yokoi Fine Art)
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You’ll never guess. Until you look at Shota Suzuki’s Facebook page and see him making it out of METAL.
I couldn’t include some of my other favorites here because I couldn’t find photos of them online, so if you can’t hop on a train and go see this RIGHT NOW, you’ll just have to take my word for it that the handbag that turns into a snake, the bucket made of carved toads, and the glow-in-the-dark embroidery were totally to die for.
This show is at the Mitsui Memorial Museum until December 3, 2017
Open: 10:00 – 17:00, closed Mondays
Admission: Adults ¥1300
*Ranty bit: So, I kind of understand why museums sometimes don’t allow patrons to take pictures of stuff in exhibitions – often there’s a thing in the art loan contracts that prohibit it (even though DUH they would get a boatload of free publicity when people post them all over the interwebs and say “go see this exhibit if you want to slay your friends with amazement and envy” but, whatever.) Not the museum’s fault. But the Mitsui Museum not only prohibits photo-taking, it forbids taking out your cellphone. WAT? Guards pounce at the first glimpse of a keypad, even if it’s obviously being used to take notes or look up something about the artist. Just thought I would warn you about this, so you can be spared a swift, authoritarian, Japanese knuckle-rapping.
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When not being heinously reprimanded by security guards, Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Tokyo
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When Detective Kenji Nakamura’s phone rings with the news that his mother’s death wasn’t an accident, his life begins to unravel…read more
October 5, 2017
Who Knew There Was A Butterfly Season In Tokyo?
[image error]Went to check on whether the cosmos were blooming yet at Hama-Rikyu Teien garden last week and discovered that the lovely fields of gently nodding multicolored blooms I remembered were looking vastly overgrown and (honestly!) kind of ratty. I was about to stalk away muttering, “Disappointment, thy name is Hama-Rikyu” when the corner of my eye caught a fluttering.
And not just a fluttering, a whole heap of flutterings!
And they weren’t just boring old monarchs and mourning cloaks like I could see back home, they were exotic butterflies I’d never seen before.
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This one is rakishly called a Blue Triangle (or Grapheum sarpedon nipponum if you want to go all Latin on me) and it struck me that the combination of those wings and that flower were one of life’s sublime planet-aligning color moments
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This beauty is the local Swallowtail morph (Papilio xuthus) and it’s called ageha in Japanese, same as the butterfly girls whose natural habitat is Shibuya 109
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And this is an Indian fritillary (Arhynnis hyperbius), sipping a cocktail amid the Tokyo skyscrapers
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The male fritillary is not so showy, but still a treat to see franting about in the orange and green
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And even though the cosmos weren’t looking their best, there were still plenty of pretty moments
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This garden is still a fine place to stroll…
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…especially on a fine fall day.
The cosmos are in bloom right now, until late October, and here’s where to see huge fields of them in & around Tokyo. And if you’d like to visit Hama-Rikyu Teien garden the next time you’re in Tokyo, a map & info on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had.
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Read a novel set in Tokyo…
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A young woman dressed as a Gothic Lolita is found dead in a car with a pair of strangers. But the more Yumi Hata learns about her friend’s death, the more she’s convinced it was murder…read more
September 30, 2017
Roppongi Art Night 2017
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All art, all night long. That’s the idea behind Roppongi Art Night, and although past years have been a bit meh, this year it was totally worth staying out late! These were my favorite bits:
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The Sonic Light Bubble by Australian multimedia design studio ENESS was the best. It’s a giant inflated clear plastic piece with lights that pulsed and flickered to internally generated music.
Stills can’t really do this thing justice, so here’s a one-minute video for your mesmerizing pleasure:
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Poking it was satisfying. You could clearly see the ripples where the reflections changed (although I think everyone who prodded it was sort of hoping it would affect the lights and sound)
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Here’s what the LED units looked like, up close
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Because fox (sorry I forgot to snap the blurb, but I think this was part of the Southeast Asian artist show at the Mori)
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Eight clear pendulams swing back and forth, changing color as they reveal an invisible geometric universe in this sculpture by Ryo Kishi called “dis:play(bias)“
But of course, it’s way better to see it in action:
And finally, this. (It’s called “Suit” by Makoto Egashira)
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Best Xmas card ever. They were letting people dress up in the fuzzy flowered suits and join the fuzzy flowered mannequins for a group shot.
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When not scampering around ogling art all night, Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Tokyo…
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The #1 hostboy at Club Nova makes a handsome living, whispering sweet nothings in the ears of women who pay him a fortune for the privilege. But the party’s over when Tokyo Detective Kenji Nakamura is assigned to investigate the death of…read more
And just for fun, here’s the one-minute video…
September 28, 2017
Square Fruit Balloons
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In the I-totally-don’t-need-this-but-am-strangely-compelled-to-buy-it-anyway category, these square fruit balloons are a quirky modern take on kami fusen, a cheap, Meiji-era toy. Of course, in true ultra-Japanese style, they’re made of paper!
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It was super hard to decide which was my favorite, so I had to buy them all.
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They come flat (for easy packing, in case you’re looking for killer souvenirs to gift back home) and there are two different sets. One has watermelon, apple and kiwi, the other has melon, grapefruit and tomato.
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This is the traditional toy that inspired them. They start out flat, and you blow them up through that little hole. (Thanks to the Uguisu online store for the photos)
If you’ve become remotely infected with the burning desire to buy some square fruit balloons for yourself, they’re sold at the Cibone store in the (otherwise utterly tedious) Ginza Six shopping complex in Tokyo for ¥800 per pack. A map is on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had.
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When not binge-buying utterly useless (yet charming) stuff, Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Tokyo…
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A young woman dressed as a Gothic Lolita is found dead in a car with two strangers. But the more Yumi Hata learns about her friend’s death, the more she’s convinced it was murder…read more
September 26, 2017
Giant Gundam Is BACK!
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The Giant Gundam is finally back!
And it does not disappoint! I was super sad when I heard that the old giant robot outside the DiverCity shopping mall in Odaiba was going away last March, but am happy to report that Gundam 2.0 is bigger, badder and even more entertaining than Gundam 1.0!
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At 65 feet of evil-fighting robo-goodness, not only does it light up like a boss, this one moves!
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From the back you can see its badass glowing jetpack
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And because this one is a Unicorn model, transforming to Destroyer Mode is the main attraction
Here’s a clip of the uni-horn morphing into attack mode bodaciousness:
But it’s not enough for 2.0 to be standing there, looking like it could take on the galaxy with one armored fist tied behind its back – there’s also a sound & light show that goes with it! Eight times a day (at 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 19:30, 20:00, 20:30, 21:00 & 21:30) there’s a five-minute anime episode choreographed with projection mapping, as the giant figure shifts along with the story.
If you’re geographically challenged and can’t quite make it to Tokyo to see for yourself, here’s a short video of one of last night’s performances:
But that’s not all! Amazing though it may seem, if you’re a true model-builder, the seven-story glowing robot will not be the highlight of your night. Because inside the DiverCity mall is a spanking new Gundam Base – the most gigantic Gundam model store on the planet.
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Welcome to Gundam paradise
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This is just the Perfect Grade corner – the store itself goes on and on, with between 2,000 and 3,000 different model kits for sale, including rare and vintage models
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Perfectly constructed Gundams in every series are displayed like the crown jewels…
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…including a big display of one-of-a-kind fanbuilt versions like these
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Every grade of Gundam is lavishly represented, from easiest to hardest…
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…and they even have a workshop where you can spend a few happy hours building the model you just bought
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They provide all the tools, plus a staff member who can help you if you get stuck
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Even if you weren’t a fan before, I bet you’ll go away a convert!
Gundam Base hours: Open every day, 10:00 – 21:00
Giant Gundam showtimes: Daily, at 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 19:30, 20:00, 20:30, 21:00 & 21:30
Admission: Everything is free, including workshop time
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Read a novel set in Tokyo…
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A young woman dressed as a Gothic Lolita is found dead in a car with a pair of strangers. But the more Yumi Hata learns about her friend’s death, the more she’s convinced it was murder…read more
September 22, 2017
The Secret Innards Of The Catbus And Other Shocking Revelations
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It’s not often that I walk through an art show where each piece is more surprising and delightful than the last, but Jason Freeny’s “Plastic Surgeon” exhibit at the Megumi Ogita Gallery really pushed my amusement meter into the red zone!
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You’ll think twice before biting off the head of your next chocolate easter bunny, won’t you?
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Realizing he’s not the cheerful softy he might seem…
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And who knows what’s really going on inside everyone’s favorite plumber…?
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You were expecting creme filling?
I’m resisting the temptation to be Lady Spoiler of Spoilerfell by posting all the goodness here, because you really ought to drop by and see these for yourself. A five-minute walk from Ginza Station will get you all of these, plus Gudetama revealed, what’s really beneath the surface of your favorite scantily-clad anime idol, and much, much more!
Exhibition: Jason Freeny, “Plastic Surgeon”
Where: Megumi Ogita Gallery, 2-16-12 B1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
When: September 15 – October 5, 2017
Hours: 11:00 – 19:00, closed Sundays & Mondays
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When not franting about at art galleries, Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Tokyo
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In the wake of a deadly earthquake, fans erupt in a frenzy of mourning when it’s discovered that their favorite pop star is among the dead. But when Detective Kenji Nakamura is sent to investigate a death at a local shrine, he finds evidence that suggests the impossible: How could the head priest have been murdered by…read more
September 20, 2017
Where To See Magical Red Autumn Lilies In Tokyo
This photo was taken on September 19, 2017 (the season started a few days early this year). Higanbana generally burst into bloom right after the first big rain of mid-September.
These Japanese amaryllis bloom once a year for only a few days, right at the fall equinox. If you move fast, you can still catch the higanbana in their full glory right now! Here’s where:
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KINCHAKUDA near Koma Station
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This magical forest of red spider lilies isn’t a quick jaunt from a stop on the Yamanote Line – you’ll have to journey a little over an hour by train to Koma Station – but it’ll be worth it, don’t you think?
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Paths meandering through fields of lovely knee-high amaryllis just go on and on and on. The first time I came here, I couldn’t believe how big this place is! More than five million bulbs are planted at Kinchakuda.
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The fields wend their way alongside a river lined with trees, which makes the whole experience a blessedly shady one. And even though I was there on a peak tourist day, it didn’t seem at all crowded.
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The reason these gorgeous lilies aren’t quite so widely celebrated as, say, cherry blossoms, is that they have a reputation for being a bit creepy. Higanbana are most often found growing near graveyards – the bulbs are really toxic, so they were planted to keep mice and rats out. So although “higanbana” means “equinox flower,” they’re also known by the ur-Goth name of “Corpse Lily.”
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Which is why – cheerily red though they are – giving a bouquet of these beauties is a bit of a death threat (or at least not the best choice for a “get well” gift!)
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But that’s the last thing you’ll feel strolling through the foresty wonderland. Trust me, this schlep is well worth it, and although there is a short window when the entire place is blooming like this, ones near the entrance bloom just slightly later than the ones farther away, so even if you don’t hit it in the perfect sweet spot, there’s plenty of red goodness for about ten days around peak bloom
Kinchakuda is a little over an hour by train from Shinjuku Station, then a fifteen minute walk from Koma Station. It’s easy to know the fastest route, because there will be a steady stream of eager flower viewers heading that direction.
Open for higanbana viewing: September 16 – October 1
Admission: ¥300
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Kinchakuda is the most spectacular display of higanbana, but you can also find these excellent flowers blooming at various parks in Tokyo:
KORAKUEN GARDEN near Korakuen Station
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Higanbana punctuate the greenery with sparks of red all over Korakuen Garden…
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…but there is always a nice stand of them near the wisteria trellises, reflecting in my favorite meandering stream
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And if you look back toward the famous stone Moon Bridge, you’ll see a naturalized patch of them that’s just achingly beautiful
Hours: 9:00 – 17:00
Open: Every day except Dec 31 – Jan 1
Admission: ¥300
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KYU-SHIBA RIKYU TEIEN GARDEN near Hamamatsucho Station
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Exuberant stands of higanbana burst from the deep green in this little-known stroll garden, right next to Hamamatsucho Station
Hours: 9:00 – 17:00
Open: Every day except Dec 31 – Jan 1
Admission: ¥150
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HAMA-RIKYU TEIEN GARDEN near Shiodome Station
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Casual patches of higanbana pop up delightfully as you meander through this huge park. Bonus: the cosmos field is in bloom at the same time!
Hours: 9:30 – 17:00
Open: Every day except Dec 31 – Jan 1
Admission: ¥300
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Read a novel set in Tokyo…
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When Detective Kenji Nakamura’s phone rings with the news that his mother’s death wasn’t an accident, his life begins to unravel…read more
September 13, 2017
Shiba Dango!
Photo & dango by @england618
Okay, usually biting a dog butt would not be top of my to-do list, but I’d totally make an exception for these so-cute-it-hurts shiba dango! Compared to other takes on this classic heaven-on-a-stick festival snack, these are way more adorbs than mitarashi donuts and run gooey rice ball rings around the inexplicable mitarashi sundae topped with seaweed.
The only sad thing about these is that even though I rampaged through layers upon layers of Japanese sites, looking for where to buy some of them for myself, I had to finally accept that they are one-offs made by @england618 (who has also crafted other painfully adorable rice balls on a stick – check out that Twitter feed!)
Thanks to marionchan’s blog and grapee.jp for the heads-up on these beauties!
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Read a novel set in Tokyo…
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A young woman dressed as a Gothic Lolita is found dead in a car with a pair of strangers. But the more Yumi Hata learns about her friend’s death, the more she’s convinced it was murder…read more
August 30, 2017
Let’s Go To The Crowdfunded Host Club!
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Okay, is this a book lover’s ultimate fantasy, or what? A romantic read, dished up by a handsome young man with a talent for whispering sweet nothings in your ear while plying you with champagne?
The “Kabukicho Book Center” – a brand new crowdfunding idea by the venerable Smappa! host club group – promises to deliver all the host club goodies with the romantic page-turner of your choice! This love-themed “bookstore” offers no fewer than fifteen doki-doki funding tiers (from about $30 to $8,000!), with progressively more heart-pounding rewards – from a single romance novel lovingly signed by one of the host “clerks” (which also gets you past the doorman and entitles you to unlimited host ogling and fantasizing), all the way up to a host-led tour of Tokyo or the party of your dreams, complete with champagne tower and hostly attention galore.
But here’s the big draw for us non-Japanese types: if you’ve always wanted to quaff a glass of bubbly with flirty, bad-boy-rock-star look-alikes, but have been stymied in your attempts to get yourself in the door of a regular host club, this could be your big chance! Make a pledge through this crowdfunding site and you’re IN.*
The site is only in Japanese, but here’s all the info!
For ￥3,000 you get…
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• Entry to the club (along with a little hostly attention from the “clerks”) plus a romantic paperback, with a card lovingly signed by one of the host club “clerks”
For￥5,000 you get…
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• Club entry and a keepsake card penned with a romantic message from one of the distinctly hotter-than-usual “clerks” and 11 tickets that can be exchanged for bookstore entry and coffee (hot or iced) at the store.
For￥10,000 you get…
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• An hour with one of the hosts, a soft drink and a glass of wine (unless you’re a minor, then sorry, no wine for you! Gotta settle for two soft drinks).
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• Hostly book delivery service – you pick up your six tickets at the store, and a host will accompany you back to Shinjuku (or Shinjuku-Sanchome) Station, carrying your books respectfully with both hands.
For￥20,000 you get…
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• A ticket to the opening reception on Friday, October 6, 2017, from 7:00 – 20:00. You can bring one guest, and it includes party drinks and snacks.
For￥30,000 you get…
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• An exclusive host bookstore clerk apron like the ones worn by staff members, which entitles you to become an insider and come once a month to the club with a guest.
For￥50,000 you get…
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• An assortment of books on love, personally selected and inscribed by host bookstore partner and hipster coffeespot entrepreneur Kusanagi Yohei
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• A bottle of wine and a romantic paperback, selected and inscribed by Smappa! Group manager Masaki Tezuka
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• A romantic library of books crafted just for you by host bookstore manager Yasuhira Yanagishi, who will choose them after consulting with you about your deepest desires.
For￥80,000 you get…
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• A four-hour visit to one of the regular Smappa! host clubs, where you’ll be entertained by a host (including karaoke, if that’s your thing) and you’re allowed to take as many pictures as you like. (Weirdly, food and drink is not included, but you can BYO if you arrange it with them in advance WAT)
For￥100,000 you get…
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• The Business Trip Champagne Call – you and four friends can enjoy two hours at one of the Tokyo Smappa! clubs, being entertained by the hosts (although on top of the thousand bucks, you have to pay for alcohol/champagne tower set-up/anything the hosts eat while entertaining you – I suspect that the add-on costs for this one could really deliver that authentic host club experience by adding up fast!)
For￥300,000 you get…
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• The Champagne Tower of Luv! Host a party for up to 30 people for one hour at one of the Smappa! Group clubs, complete with champagne tower. In a rare parting of the curtain, men are allowed to attend this event as your guests.
For￥500,000 you get…
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• The Tokyo Love Tour. (I’m sorry, can I just say that again? TOKYO LOVE TOUR) Recommended for groups of women coming to Tokyo for the very first time, ten hosts will show you and nine lady friends around town (itinerary to be worked out with the club secretary in advance). It looks like you have to pay for transportation, food, and drinks on top of the price, however. OUCH.
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• You and up to 29 guests can take over one of the Tokyo Smappa! clubs for up to three hours for an all-you-can drink partytime. Twenty hosts will be on hand to entertain you, with unlimited beer and shōchū. (Men are allowed as guests, and any drink orders beyond the included beer and shōchū are added on top.)
For￥800,000 you get…
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• You and up to 29 guests take over a Smappa! club for three hours, complete with champagne tower, champagne call, unlimited beer, shōchū and wine (and, of course, hosts!) Men are allowed as guests.
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This venture is a collaboration between Tezuka Maki (who heads up the very successful Smappa! host club group), Kusanagi Yohei (president of Tokyo Pistol Co., Ltd., which is a conglomerate of businesses that include cafes and event spaces), and Yagishita Kyōhei (who opened a bookstore in fashionable Kagurazaka after a career in the publishing industry). According to their statements on the crowdfunding site, they want to introduce both host clubs and bookstores to people who don’t usually visit them.
Sounds like an excellent investment to me!
If you’d like to try it and you’re going to be in Tokyo between now and March 2018, scroll down for a step-by-step guide to navigating the Japanese-only crowdfunding website.
* You’ll need to be able to speak Japanese (or the hosts won’t be able to entertain you), and read it well enough to navigate the crowdfunding site. They also reserve the right to refuse your money, which (if you have a foreign name) seems a distinct possibility with the more expensive reward levels. Those involve serious back and forth (in Japanese) with management to set up parties/tours, and the Smappa! management might not want to risk allowing a club to be be taken over by thirty guests who may not understand the rules and/or speak Japanese.
General disclaimers from the site: All of the rewards have to be used before March 31, 2018. You aren’t allowed to choose which host entertains you or which books you get, scheduling your event/visit has to be worked out with the club management in advance (and there are definitely blackout & vacation dates you’ve got to work around), anything outside the alcohol brands and snacks included in each particular package is charged on top of what you already paid, and except for the party packages, it’s ladies only. Also, the Smappa! Group has clubs all over Japan, but this thing is only in Tokyo.
So what do you think? Ready to try it? Here’s how:
• Nip over to the Kabukicho Book Center crowdfunding site
• Scroll down the right hand sidebar of funding options and click on the one you want. This piece of information under the title that looks like this: 残り48個 tells you how many units of that particular option are still available. (In the case of the ones that allow you to bring guests, each unit is for the buyer plus their guests. For example, if the option for a champagne tower party with 30 guests reads “残り10個,” that means ten people can pay that funding level amount and each of those can have a party with 30 guests. Like that.)
• At the bottom, choose from the payment options:
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From left to right, the buttons read: Credit card, convenience store pick-up, bank transfer, online bank transfer. Unless you live in Tokyo and want to transfer money to them from your Japanese bank account (foreign bank accounts can’t be used), choose credit card or convenience store. If you choose the “convenience store” option, you’ll be given a reservation number and you take that to your nearest conbini, give the cashier the number and pay, and they’ll print out your ticket.
Here are the screens you’ll see as you work your way through the credit card option:
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The easiest way to get past this screen is to sign in via the social media apps on the left (just click). If you don’t want to do that, you’ll have to enter an email address (then type it again in the next box), a user name (Western alphabet OK) and a password (then type the password again).
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If you sign in via an app, you’ have to click the blue button to get past this screen
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The only tricky part of this is that you’ll have to enter your name in katakana, so be sure your computer is set up with a Japanese language option.
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This just confirms the funding level and reward description you picked. There’s a potential glitch here (one that I’ve encountered as a foreigner on other Japanese ticket websites) – see that little blue box near the bottom on the left, before the credit cards? Next to it is your name, written in katakana. Sometimes when you push the final button after entering your credit card number, it’s rejected because the name on your actual credit card account (written in the Western alphabet) doesn’t match the one you just entered in katakana. I quit before actually pushing the button to pay money, so I don’t know if that’s the case on this site or not. If you DO get rejected, go back and try the convenience store option, then pick up your tickets when you get to Tokyo.
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I didn’t actually go beyond this screen, so I’m not sure exactly what kind of confirmation you get, but if it’s like other Japanese online ticket sites I’ve used, I suspect you get either a reservation number that you give at the door, or a printable ticket.
Good luck, and have a blast!
All photos from the Makuake crowdfunding site.
I write novels set in Tokyo, and the second one takes place in the host club world, so I spent quite a bit of time in them, doing book research. If you’re curious about what it’s like to go to a host club, here are answers to the TOP TEN QUESTIONS ABOUT HOST CLUBS:
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Why do hosts dress like that? Everything you always wanted to know about host fashion.
A Day In The Life: What’s it like to be a host?
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If you can’t make it to Tokyo right away, you can always meet the hosts whose lives unfold behind the closed doors of Club Nova in Fallen Angel…
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The #1 hostboy at Club Nova makes a handsome living, whispering sweet nothings in the ears of women who pay him a fortune for the privilege. But the party’s over when…read more
Watch the Fallen Angel book trailer (1:08)
