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Offered languages
- English
Have you ever walked through Shinjuku Ni-chome and wondered how one small neighborhood became home to one of the world's densest clusters of gay bars? This 90-minute walk isn't a bar crawl. It's the story of one street's four hundred years, told stop by stop.
Start at the Okido Gate, the entrance to Naito Shinjuku, an Edo-era post town whose pleasure quarter stood on this very ground. At Joukaku-ji and Taisou-ji, learn how Edo-period Japan viewed sexuality, including love between men, very differently from today.
At the Ni-chome intersection, the story turns: in 1958, a new anti-prostitution law shut the red-light district overnight, and a new community moved into the empty buildings left behind. Walk down Naka-dori, pass Community Center akta, born from the HIV/AIDS crisis, and end with the street's latest chapter: a 2022 partnership registry and a 2024 court ruling on marriage equality.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
Meet your guide right outside Exit 1 of Shinjuku Gyoenmae Station (Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line — the only line serving this station). Exit 1 faces Shinjuku Gyoen and Shinjuku-dori; as you come up the stairs, your guide will be waiting on the street level holding a small sign with the tour name.
Itinerary
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1Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
Meet your local guide at Shinjuku Gyoenmae Station and start at the Okido Gate, the entrance to Naito Shinjuku, the Edo-era post town whose licensed pleasure quarter once stood on this exact ground. Your guide sets the scene for four hundred years of history on one street.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
2
Visit the two temples that quietly received the women who worked and died in the Edo-era pleasure quarter. Learn how Edo-period Japan treated sexuality, including relationships between men, very differently from how it's often remembered today.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
3Shinjuku 2 Chome Gay Town
At the Ni-chome intersection, the story turns: in 1958, Japan's new anti-prostitution law shut the red-light district down overnight, and a new community moved into the empty buildings left behind. Walk down Naka-dori and Shin-Chidori-gai to see how a single legal change created one of the densest concentrations of gay bars in the world.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
4
Pass the community center opened in 2003 as the neighborhood's own response to the HIV/AIDS crisis (viewed from outside only). The walk ends near Shinjuku-sanchome Station with the street's latest chapter: a 2022 same-sex partnership registry and a 2024 high court ruling on marriage equality.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
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Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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