Tokyo Club Scene: Large Venues
by spinshellStory by by James Coulson
Thanks to plate tectonics, Tokyo lies equidistant of America and Europe. For us here in Japan this means we are recipients to regular shipments of the best international DJs from around the world. As many of us already know, someone can always be found somewhere spinning the wheels of steel alongside Japan’s own legion of talent, in ground-shaking venues so good it borders on otaku…but in a good way! The following are some such locations that regularly host the best of these East-meets-West DJ events, yielding dangerously enjoyable nights of pure club magic.
AgeHa is Asia’s biggest club. With four halls, a swimming pool, a garden terrace to dance on while the sun rises over Tokyo Bay, food stalls and even a free bus service to and from Shinkiba station, this Odaiba behemoth is almost too good to be true. Though the location may seem off the beaten track, the main dance arena alone is worth the trip—resembling an otherworldly space station, this hall boasts a 2,000-plus capacity and a skeleton-shattering sound system to match. The best of both homegrown and foreign DJs frequent Ageha as main acts. Nights to look out for are the residency of Kaoru Inoue and his organic, funk-filled Seeds and Ground label, as well as the acclaimed Clash28 series that has featured talents such as Latin house authority Louis Vega.
Photo: Courtesy of Eric Yap
Photo: Courtesy of Wataru Umeda
Spacelab Yellow is a legendary techno club tucked away on a residential corner of Nishi Azabu. With a subterranean main floor (not one, not two, but three stories down), the atmosphere is moody…peak-time…pure escapism. Championing the latest acts in European minimal house and techno, headliners have included Pokerflat head honcho Steve Bug, multi-talented artist Ellen Allien, and Japan’s own irrepressible Fumiya Tanaka, whose hypnotic bleeps and clicks marry well with Yellow’s dark and hallowed halls. Luckily the darkness also allows for us to throw
some serious, sans-rhythm shapes…without the embarrassment of being noticed too much!
SuperDeluxe, a cavernous hideaway in Nishi Azabu, hosts a wide spectrum of events. But whatever the occasion, SuperDeluxe is known for the eccentric and diverse crowd that it attracts, so just turning up to be surprised is recommended. Unlike major house and techno clubs, SuperDeluxe provides foundation to the alternative Tokyo music and events scene by featuring a mish-mash of upcoming, established and underground performance arts, screenings, lectures, DJs, VJs and more. The venue is basically one big room with an impressive sound system, where the walls double as projection screens. The interior emanates the vibe of gritty New York or East London hangouts, and SuperDeluxe is a watering hole for all cultures and characters.
Womb is a legendary musical institution, and just ten minutes walk from Shibuya’s ‘Hachiko’. A nausea-inducing glass floor of its top floors allows visitors to peer down on the dance floor carnage below. But perhaps more importantly, Womb has a huuuuuge disco ball! Never failing to attract a diverse and eclectic crowd, the policy of frequently booking genre-defining acts such as Ibiza mentalist Sven Vath, minimal ringleader Richie Hawtin and Detroit legend Jeff Mills (for special audio/visual concepts, and sometimes for up to a month at a time), make Womb one of Tokyo’s most forward-thinking music venues.
Photo: Courtesy of Wataru Umeda
Unit, hiding in the epicenter between uber-cool Daikanyama, Ebisu and Nakameguro, serves up something for everyone, from live, instrumental nights to club sets in its three areas, Unice, Unit and Saloon. Comfortably intimate but not a small venue, gigs and DJ sets are lively and atmospheric without the fear of losing your mates in swarms of vastness for the next five hours. Huge, convex speakers loom large over the dance floor and provide ample wattage for the varied range of underground international and Japanese punk, trip-hop, rock and cross genre bands, as well as big name house, techno and drum & bass DJs. A recent highlight was a DJ set from veteran Daniel Bell, and more so female techno prodigy Akiko Kiyama, who delivered a deep and low slung evening, chill enough to chat over a few bottles of cold beer until the crack of dawn.
Photo: Courtesy of Nobu Eriksen
Photo: Courtesy of Wataru Umeda
***
The high levels of hygiene, safety and security in Tokyo’s clubs place Japan at the top in customer satisfaction. What is widely known as ‘club scum phenomena’ in most European and American clubs (a thick, black, congealing paste made of beer, sweat, spit, and sometimes blood that attacks the clothes of innocent dancers) does not exist here. Large venues with lockers and a ban of drinks and tobacco on dance floors take Tokyo a clean step away from the seedier image of life after dark. Factor in the well-behaved, musically well-educated crowd who, for the most part, just want to have a good time, Japan is prime location to see and appreciate some of the world’s biggest DJ’s. So get your dancing shoes on, tonight!
About the writer: James Coulson works at Metropolis magazine, and is a freelance writer, music lover and vinyl collector.
Do you have information about living in Japan we should know? We pay for your words of wisdom! Pitch us your ideas: production[at]spinshell[dot]tv
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Tags: Ageha, Azabu, clubs, Daikanyama, going out, Shibuya, Shinkiba, SuperDeluxe, Tokyo, Unit, Womb, Yellow
March 31st, 2008 at 10:19
WOW! your site rocks! thank you very much for the information!
October 11th, 2008 at 18:43
Been looking for clubs in Tokyo and your site is perfect!
Thanks!
November 2nd, 2008 at 07:21
If you are not a fluent Japanese speaker can still attend these venues?
November 2nd, 2008 at 21:30
Thanks Inbal!
Christina, thanks for reading! Sure you can attend any of these venues even if you are not a fluent Japanese speaker. SuperDeluxe even has a bilingual website and most of the other ones have some English at the venues themselves. Hope this helps, if you have more questions let us know.
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