Entertainment Districts

Every city in Japan, big or small, has got at least one area which guide books are most likely to name entertainment district. In some cities, those districts are located in the enclaves to which prostitution was limited in the Edo period. Others don't have a such an old history. Although an ample number of restaurants and bars is to be found there, the "entertainment" feature belongs somewhere else.

The most typical establishment in entertainment districts is the SNAKKU (see detailed explanation in the THINGS part), where women "entertain" the customers by drinking (the booze the customer pays for), chatting, singing karaoke duets, dancing etc. Prostitution became illegal in Japan in 1946, but like anywhere else, it has not become extinct and continues to exist in the seedier parts on the fringes of most entertainment districts.

A typical evening in one of the entertainment districts would start with a meal in one of the many restaurants there, to be followed by drinking in one or more SNAKKU. Sometimes a late bite in another restaurant will conclude the evening. Restaurants and bars in such areas tend to stay open till the early hours of the morning, catering in many cases to hostesses who go there after work, many times with their patrons. There is also a variety of shops selling flashy clothes, accessories, flowers etc. to the hostesses, mostly courtesy of the patrons.

In western cities, restaurants bars discos etc. tend to be on the street level, where they can be easily found by people passing by. Due to land scarcity in Japan's urban areas, the arrangement here is very different. Most of the establishments in entertainment districts are in buildings which don't look very big, but contain many tens of places. It is basically impossible to find them unless someone who knows the way leads you to the door.

Osaka's two main entertainment districts, SHINCHI and MINAMI, are quite different in their characteristics, with the former catering mostly to company executives who entertain their business associates there, and the latter seeing younger clientele.

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