Alistair Sutton visits Japan and peeks under the collective kimono to see what lies beneath for queer travellers.

What strikes you first about Japan is the mixture of pop culture and layers of traditional culture going back many centuries. The capital Tokyo was extensively rebuilt after the Second World War although the Emperor’s Palace and gardens remained intact. I stayed in Shinjuku which is very exciting and busy, but expensive.  You can still eat affordably if you hunt around; railway stations, for instance, offer cheaper food.

Shinjuku is also the gay hub of Tokyo with the world’s highest concentration of gay bars, mostly very small and intimate, which may or may not work for you. In lieu of gay hotels and the straight ‘love hotels’ (where straights hire themed rooms for some privacy), gay saunas operate as over-night stopovers as well as providing cruising opportunities. You park your clothes in a coin operated locker and after getting off (hopefully), guys sleep on mats in a communal room. The urban scene at least is very sexualised in terms of depicting bodies and fashion. Homosexuality in Japan is not illegal although public sex of any kind is.

Check out Electrictown (Akihabara), where you can purchase a range of electronics duty free for the inner geek and see the themed ‘maids cafes’ where the staff dress in costume. Very camp – in a distinctly Japanese way. I also found the animation museum (the Ghibli) fascinating and well worth a visit. A ride up the Tokyo Metro Building is free and gives you fantastic views of the city, although I didn’t venture out onto the scary glass floored viewing platforms. There is even a Disneyland at Urayasu, 25 minutes from Tokyo Station and the first Disneyland built outside the USA.

I recommend you spend some time in Kyoto, which used to be the capital and was largely untouched by bombing during the war in consideration of its heritage and architecture. Get a seven day Japan Rail Pass (the shortest you can buy and good value) which will get you around Tokyo and on to Kyoto, but make sure you buy the pass online before leaving Australia.  

Kyoto is famous for its temples, like the Golden Pavilion, and its gardens. Although I was disappointed by the rock garden (the Ryoan-ji) which seemed to me just a bunch of raked stones (OK, I know I’m a philistine). In the Gion District I stayed in a traditional ryokan (or inn) which featured segregated bathing. I checked out the guys, without being obvious about it. Mostly in their mid twenties – some were circumcised but most weren’t. They were horsing around without covering their genitals (which I’d heard you were supposed to do) and since they weren’t worried, neither was I. I toweled down and grinned at the other blokes as we donned our yukatas (robes) and then went upstairs to my room, alone.

USEFUL WEBSITES

www.globalgayz.com/country/Japan/JPN

www.japanvisitor.com

www.japanrail.com/JR_japanrailpass.html

Images by Michael and Pam Fisher