Welcome to The TORA Nightlife Experience. TORA is Talia, Ovid, Roman and Abby - a group of University of Calgary students, studying at Senshu University in Tokyo, dedicated to the exploration and exploitation of Tokyo's nightlife. (sidenote, unknown to us at the time of our group name choice - トラ or とら - in Japanese has three meanings; tiger, drunk person, and trouble), we really like this...).
We are now in the process of putting together a game plan for our JPNS 309 Culture Project, for which we have chosen to study nightlife in Tokyo. Our goal is to have a broad unregulated view of what Tokyo's nightlife has to offer. This means that nothing is off limits and we plan to exploit it all; Pachinko Parlors, Nomi Hodai, Hostess Clubs, Karaoke, Concerts, Night Clubs... We want to know Tokyo's biggest attractions, and best kept secrets, where to sip on a glass of wine, and where to dance until sun-up.
In order to be efficient, we have begun to set up a game plan. The following is not an exclusive list of where we plan to go and what we plan to do, just a guideline and timeline of our planned documentation. Through our extensive research we have decided that Western Tokyo holds most of the night time happenings. We have therefore broken up the Western portion of the city into 4 areas of exploration, one area for each week that we are in Tokyo; Rappongi; Shinjuku; Shibuya, Harajuku & Aoyama; and Ebisu & Daikanyama. Each of these areas has their own appeal and offer a unique setting.
Our aim is to explore as many different types of entertainment as possible, both those native to Japan and those found globally; nightclubs, karaoke, pachinko parlors, nomi hodai, 24 hour convenience stores, hostess clubs, maid cafe's, and anything else we can get our hands on. Documentation through photo, video, interview, and first hand experience will be made!
We understand that we cannot fully grasp the extent of what is to be found until we are "in the field", so for the moment this is simply a scaffolding for our month-long stay in Tokyo. Every week we will split into groups of two amongst ourselves and bring to you a unique view of of the area and activities we have been amongst. This blog will be updated frequently so that all of our followers can stay in the loop on where we are and what we're doing.
The finished product will be a "best of" guide to Tokyo's nightlife, and we hope that all our hard work will benefit those who follow in our footsteps.
We have posted these maps to allow our readers to have a visual of where we will be going. The Senshu campus is located West of the map on the Odakyu Line, a fifteen minute walk from the Mukogaoka-Yuen Station.
Comments, questions and suggestions are welcome, and we look forward to bringing you Tokyo's best!
