WOMB!
I ended up going to Womb last night and had such a crazy time, I felt that I really needed to share the whole experience. Love Japanese clubs.
Two of my friends and I decided that we needed to go out because we sick of hanging out in the dorm and it had actually stopped raining for the first time in ages. The only thing about going out is that it is truly a whole night event. First of all, we have a midnight curfew, so if you are not going to be back before midnight you have to fill out this form and then you can't really get back until the dorm opens up again around 6:30. Secondly, trains stop running from about midnight-5 am so you are stuck wherever you are until the trains start up again. Therefore, most clubs in Tokyo are late night clubs that really get going around 1 am and close around 5 or so.
So, we decided to go to one of the many clubs in Shibuya because there is so much to do there (that is open all night) so if we got sick of the club we could do something else (go to karaoke, get food, go to an internet cafe). After researching for a bit we decided on Womb. This is one of the most famous clubs in Shibuya for its great sound system and amazing light show.
So we got off the train in Shibuya around 11:30 and set off the find the club. I had a fairly good idea where it was but Tokyo streets are very small, winding, and confusing. So we found the street where I though it was on, but we couldn't find it. We found about 3 other clubs though that we could possibly go to if we couldn't find Womb. We actually were walking next to these two other Americans for a while who we started talking to. One of them was extremely attractive as well. Unfortunately they were going to Harlem (another club) instead. We stopped outside Harlem for a bit trying to figure out where exactly Womb was. This Japanese guy standing outside of Harlem came up to us and started talking to us about his private party in Harlem. He kept telling us that he would put our names on the guest list and that we could get in for free. So I gave him my name even though we had no intention of going to this creepy guys private party. But he did tell us where Womb was so he was helpful in that manner.
Finally, after wandering around love hotel hill for a while, we found the entrance to Womb. Luckily my International Student ID Card with my wrong birth date on it worked and I was able to get in (the drinking age and clubbing age is 20). The cover charge to get into the club was $40 but I must say that it was definitely worth it. We shoved all of our stuff in lockers and then went to the lounge on the first floor. They have two areas in this club. There is lounge area with a bar and DJ that has seats and places to chill. They were also playing Star Wars on this huge screen the whole time. So we got some tequila shots to get the night going. When my friend Jennifer and I were chilling at the bar waiting for our other friend, these two Japanese guys started talking to us. I was actually really surprised because most of time Japanese guys will not try to hit on western girls in Shibuya clubs. That usually happens in Roppongi which is westerner central. Unfortunately they were not all the attractive, but we talked to them for a bit and then went upstairs to check out the main dance floor.
The main dancing area was INSANE! It was a huge room with a ceiling 3 stories high. You couldn't really see that much though because it was really dark and smoky (both from cigarettes and smoke machines). And then there was the lights. I have never been to a rave, but I imagine that the lighting here was like the lighting at a rave. Insane strobe lighting and lasers. Here is a picture that kind of shows what it feels like, but it is one of those things that you really have to experience to understand: http://static.flickr.com/43/81523160_c1bb467d84.jpg. The music was also intense techno/trance/house which just added to the whole rave feeling. Being in these lights made you feel like you are incredibly drunk or high. We decided that it would be so hilarious to come here sometime high. That must be surreal. One other random side note: I am not sure if you have ever seen the movie Babel but Womb was featured in that movie. Here is a clip from that scene if you are curious to see what it looks like: http://youtube.com/watch?v=VRHIg29wNVw&feature=related
When Japanese people dance at a club it is totally different from the US. They all face the DJ and just kind of dance on their own. And guys actually come to clubs to dance, not just try to pick up girls. We did get some funny encounters with guys though. When we first got on the dance floor these two guys dancing in front of us turned around and kind of danced in front of us for a bit and then went back to facing the DJ. If guys here find you attractive or something they will do one little thing to let you know it and then continue on with their business. One example was this kind of funny looking guy who was wearing a bow tie. We were kind of making fun of him and then he came up to my friend Jennifer and told her that she was beautiful and then went off again. Another guy who was walking by me to get off the dance floor just kind of patted my lower back/butt as he walked buy. Then there was this other guy who came up to talk to me who I couldn't hear at all. I think that he was asking if he could buy me a drink but the music was just so loud that I couldn't tell. But then he just went on his way. It is nice not having to worry about guys harassing you for long periods of time though.
So we danced for a while and they went back down to the lounge to sit for a bit and get some more drinks. There was this weird british guy who was getting really annoying so we went up to dance so more. We danced for quite a while until the lighting was starting to get to the friends I was with. There was a time when they had a minute or two of intense strobe lights which I thought was great, but I could see how it would get to them. By this time it was around 4:25 so we chilled in the lounge for a bit and then decided to leave around 4:45. When we were leaving there were these guys standing right in front of our locker so we ended up having to talk to them for a bit trying to get them to move away from our locker. They were pretty funny though. Finally when we left Womb it was already 5 am and the sun was up. We were all starving so hit up at 24 hour Yoshinoya (rice bowl fast food place, really really good food). We actually ran into one other funny guy when we were just standing and talking on the street. He was quite drunk so his Japanese was really hard to understand. He kept asking where we were going and we kept saying "kaeru". Then he kept being like "me too, kaeru" and would kind of follow us. So we had to emphasize to him that we were going to our home and he was going to go to his home. We managed to lose him after a little while though. We managed to get on a 5:45 train back to Baraki Nakayama.
We ended up getting back to our dorm around 6:45. I smelt all smoky from the club and probably should of taken a shower at that point but I was so exhausted that I just collapsed into bed and slept until 4:30 pm. Now my sleep schedule is going to get all screwed up, but it was totally worth it. I could definitely go to a club in Tokyo ever weekend, it was so much fun. Fantastic fantastic night. Now I actually have to study for the test I have tomorrow...Oh, and find food at some point. I hate how my dorm doesn't feed us on Sundays.
Seriously though, everyone needs to experience this at some point in their life. Great great club.
Two of my friends and I decided that we needed to go out because we sick of hanging out in the dorm and it had actually stopped raining for the first time in ages. The only thing about going out is that it is truly a whole night event. First of all, we have a midnight curfew, so if you are not going to be back before midnight you have to fill out this form and then you can't really get back until the dorm opens up again around 6:30. Secondly, trains stop running from about midnight-5 am so you are stuck wherever you are until the trains start up again. Therefore, most clubs in Tokyo are late night clubs that really get going around 1 am and close around 5 or so.
So, we decided to go to one of the many clubs in Shibuya because there is so much to do there (that is open all night) so if we got sick of the club we could do something else (go to karaoke, get food, go to an internet cafe). After researching for a bit we decided on Womb. This is one of the most famous clubs in Shibuya for its great sound system and amazing light show.
So we got off the train in Shibuya around 11:30 and set off the find the club. I had a fairly good idea where it was but Tokyo streets are very small, winding, and confusing. So we found the street where I though it was on, but we couldn't find it. We found about 3 other clubs though that we could possibly go to if we couldn't find Womb. We actually were walking next to these two other Americans for a while who we started talking to. One of them was extremely attractive as well. Unfortunately they were going to Harlem (another club) instead. We stopped outside Harlem for a bit trying to figure out where exactly Womb was. This Japanese guy standing outside of Harlem came up to us and started talking to us about his private party in Harlem. He kept telling us that he would put our names on the guest list and that we could get in for free. So I gave him my name even though we had no intention of going to this creepy guys private party. But he did tell us where Womb was so he was helpful in that manner.
Finally, after wandering around love hotel hill for a while, we found the entrance to Womb. Luckily my International Student ID Card with my wrong birth date on it worked and I was able to get in (the drinking age and clubbing age is 20). The cover charge to get into the club was $40 but I must say that it was definitely worth it. We shoved all of our stuff in lockers and then went to the lounge on the first floor. They have two areas in this club. There is lounge area with a bar and DJ that has seats and places to chill. They were also playing Star Wars on this huge screen the whole time. So we got some tequila shots to get the night going. When my friend Jennifer and I were chilling at the bar waiting for our other friend, these two Japanese guys started talking to us. I was actually really surprised because most of time Japanese guys will not try to hit on western girls in Shibuya clubs. That usually happens in Roppongi which is westerner central. Unfortunately they were not all the attractive, but we talked to them for a bit and then went upstairs to check out the main dance floor.
The main dancing area was INSANE! It was a huge room with a ceiling 3 stories high. You couldn't really see that much though because it was really dark and smoky (both from cigarettes and smoke machines). And then there was the lights. I have never been to a rave, but I imagine that the lighting here was like the lighting at a rave. Insane strobe lighting and lasers. Here is a picture that kind of shows what it feels like, but it is one of those things that you really have to experience to understand: http://static.flickr.com/43/81523160_c1bb467d84.jpg. The music was also intense techno/trance/house which just added to the whole rave feeling. Being in these lights made you feel like you are incredibly drunk or high. We decided that it would be so hilarious to come here sometime high. That must be surreal. One other random side note: I am not sure if you have ever seen the movie Babel but Womb was featured in that movie. Here is a clip from that scene if you are curious to see what it looks like: http://youtube.com/watch?v=VRHIg29wNVw&feature=related
When Japanese people dance at a club it is totally different from the US. They all face the DJ and just kind of dance on their own. And guys actually come to clubs to dance, not just try to pick up girls. We did get some funny encounters with guys though. When we first got on the dance floor these two guys dancing in front of us turned around and kind of danced in front of us for a bit and then went back to facing the DJ. If guys here find you attractive or something they will do one little thing to let you know it and then continue on with their business. One example was this kind of funny looking guy who was wearing a bow tie. We were kind of making fun of him and then he came up to my friend Jennifer and told her that she was beautiful and then went off again. Another guy who was walking by me to get off the dance floor just kind of patted my lower back/butt as he walked buy. Then there was this other guy who came up to talk to me who I couldn't hear at all. I think that he was asking if he could buy me a drink but the music was just so loud that I couldn't tell. But then he just went on his way. It is nice not having to worry about guys harassing you for long periods of time though.
So we danced for a while and they went back down to the lounge to sit for a bit and get some more drinks. There was this weird british guy who was getting really annoying so we went up to dance so more. We danced for quite a while until the lighting was starting to get to the friends I was with. There was a time when they had a minute or two of intense strobe lights which I thought was great, but I could see how it would get to them. By this time it was around 4:25 so we chilled in the lounge for a bit and then decided to leave around 4:45. When we were leaving there were these guys standing right in front of our locker so we ended up having to talk to them for a bit trying to get them to move away from our locker. They were pretty funny though. Finally when we left Womb it was already 5 am and the sun was up. We were all starving so hit up at 24 hour Yoshinoya (rice bowl fast food place, really really good food). We actually ran into one other funny guy when we were just standing and talking on the street. He was quite drunk so his Japanese was really hard to understand. He kept asking where we were going and we kept saying "kaeru". Then he kept being like "me too, kaeru" and would kind of follow us. So we had to emphasize to him that we were going to our home and he was going to go to his home. We managed to lose him after a little while though. We managed to get on a 5:45 train back to Baraki Nakayama.
We ended up getting back to our dorm around 6:45. I smelt all smoky from the club and probably should of taken a shower at that point but I was so exhausted that I just collapsed into bed and slept until 4:30 pm. Now my sleep schedule is going to get all screwed up, but it was totally worth it. I could definitely go to a club in Tokyo ever weekend, it was so much fun. Fantastic fantastic night. Now I actually have to study for the test I have tomorrow...Oh, and find food at some point. I hate how my dorm doesn't feed us on Sundays.
Seriously though, everyone needs to experience this at some point in their life. Great great club.