Photoblog by @runrudy
The first time I visited Japan, I was in my twenties. I remember asking my Japanese co-worker about which sites to see. She told me adamantly, "Just don't go to Kabukichō! It's dangerous, full of bars, prostitutes, it's dirty and the Yakuza (gangsters) run it." I was like, "Damn, girl. That is exactly the first place I want to go now." She was pretty upset at my response. Guess what place we went to first? Yup, Kabukichō.
These are images of Kabukichō taken during my last trip.
Kabukichō is a street in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. It is full of bars, eateries, shops, video game arcades, karaoke rooms, strip joints, and pachinko parlors. There is a lot to do in that area and a hotspot of activity.
There is a mix of young adults and Japanese salary/business men that hang out there. It is standard practice for Japanese salary men to drink after work with coworkers or bosses. The legal drinking age in Japan is twenty but there is a lot of underage drinking going on. I guess money rules. So if you got it, they will serve. During the evenings it turns into an area full of debauchery. It feels like a mix of Vegas, Times Square and Tokyo combined.
I pre-planned a few weeks before the trip, the final image at the bottom of this post. I had wanted to stand in the middle of the street and do a long exposure. Capturing car light streaks flying around me. This Google map image marks the spot where I had planned to stand and the direction to shoot.
If you look from the other side, there is a sign on the rail that I am pretty sure says, "Don't stand here you dumbass tourist!"
I was alone and didn't want to get myself in trouble breaking any laws. The wifie and kids were back at the hotel sleeping.
As I tried to figure out the situation, a Japanese dude startled me and tried to speak to me in Japanese. I took him for a Yakuza gangster or henchman because he was wearing a suit with a silk unbuttoned shirt.
Totally lost in translation, I couldn't understand exactly what he was saying. I thought he was trying to tell me that I couldn't take pictures of this area and to get steppin'. I got it, he is running his shady business and didn't want any tourist incriminating his customers. I was like no problem, "Sumimasen." Which means excuse me or I'm sorry.
As I turned around to walk away, he finally said probably the only English sentence he knows, "Want to sex girl?" I started to f*ckin crack up. He started to smile and then I knew I wasn't going to get in trouble for simply jay walking in that area.
I politely declined, then went out into the middle of the street and got to work.
Here is the final payoff image.
It was well worth planning and I was happy not to get hurt during the execution.
Thanks for reading. If you liked this:
Upvote / ReSteem to support my work.
Thank you in advance,
Rudy
All images © 2016 Rudy Gonzales. All rights reserved.