There’s a farewell party, entitled “Have a nice flight!”, for the recently deceased Japanese porn super star Koh Masaki on Tuesday at a Ni Chome club called Aisotope. It’s from 6 pm to midnight, and there’s a 1,000 flower donation entry fee. Here’s the site information in Japanese:
http://www.aisotope.net/schedule/0217.html
真崎航 お別れ会
Have a nice flight! 〜真崎航 お別れ会〜 【日時】2013年6月4日（火）18時〜24時【会場】@AiSOTOPE_LOUNGE（新宿区新宿2-12-16 セントフォービル1F）【料金】献花の御花代として￥1,000頂戴します。ドリンクは別途お求め下さい。
Here’s the poster for next Sunday’s Shinjuku Ni Chome festival. It’s kind of ridiculous that I couldn’t find a larger image online. Although brief, from 3 pm to 6 pm, this bar-organized festival combines day-time socializing, some rituals including lesbian shrine-carrying, and an excuse to stroll around in your yukata. Who’s coming?
On the day I got my new digital camera, I saw Koh Masaki, Japan’s most famous gay adult movie star, being interviewed by two drag queens “live” at Alamas Cafe in Shinjuku Ni Chome. Immediately the camera purchase seemed like a good idea ; )
On the sidewalk, I chatted with other fans of his body of work. Whether natural or enhanced, Koh has several unique talents.
The Rainbow Festival (レインボー祭り) will be held this Sunday, August 14, from 3.3o to 6 pm in Ni-chome. Last year was fun: lesbian omikoshi, men in fundoshi, and lots of yukata and daytime socializing. Tokyo’s gay district is almost always deserted during the day, so this is a special event. Who’s coming?
Disgraced and barely repentant kabuki actor Ebizo still has some promotional activities. I found him in Ni-chome selling bottled tea at a vending machine. I love how Japanese consumer products still use famous actors and celebrities in Japanese costume in wood houses or by bamboo forests. Very nostalgic and sexy!
This Little Taiko Boy somehow turns an Xmas song into a very sexy video with an HIV prevention message. Almost makes Xmas bearable. Sorry but Vimeo does not embed on WordPress.com blogs. Worth clicking.
Ni-chome, Tokyo’s gay bar district in Shinjuku, hosted a summer festival, or omatsuri, the day after the Tokyo Pride Parade two weekends ago. Lots of color: traditional omikoshi, or portable shrine carrying; drag and summer yukatas; foreigners looking Japanese and Japanese looking foreign; some youths who look alien in their highly processed hair; an odd World War II cosplay (even more bizarre since the date was August 15, which marks Japan’s surrender); and a variety of frozen ice, giant sausages on sticks, and plenty of beer in cans.
I had a fantastic time at the Tokyo Pride Parade on Saturday. Despite the August heat and humidity, the atmosphere, costumes, and Okinawan music were joyous. The hubb and two good friends joined me and about 10,000 people in Yoyogi and then marching through Shibuya and Meiji Jingu Mae.
I don’t have time to sort through all the photos (and several videos), but I want to post my favorite photo today. There were about eight middle-aged Pokemon wearing furry but revealing outfits.
I hope that these adult Pokemon prompted some awkward child-parent questions during the parade! Here they are lined up for canned beer.
If you’re in Tokyo, you can check out the “gay matsuri” festival from 4 pm to 7 pm on Sunday in Ni-chome. It’s a street fair organized by the bar owners, with promises of a portable shrine carried by lesbians, music and performances.
I will end this 3 part series on the Shinjuku omatsuri with this image of an omikoshi (portable shrine) being marched through Ni-chome. It was a fun crowd, part gay, part old-timer, part gay old-timer! I love how this ordinary street is transformed by mystical spirits and a sense of community and common purpose.
Just to keep on topic with Tokyo Moe, there was one ikemen photo I captured of the shrine. The husband saw the photo, and said, “he’s handsome.” Dunhh! I know!
In addition to endless thass, there was endless yankii fashion at the omatsuri. No doubt this festival was extra riche in eye candy because the shrine is almost equidistant from Kabukicho, Golden Gai, and Ni-chome. According to Donald Richie, this old shrine was famous in the post-war years for being a place where truckers met trannies.
The above photo captures the absolute best of yankii fashion. The boys with their teased, damaged, and plastered helmet hair, and boots-in. The girl with piled high hair, looking both 50s in her leather jacket, 60s and 80s in her curvaceous fishnets. The best part is that all are eating food on a stick: two are eating pickled cukes and one an ice-cream.
In the photo below, they seem to have realized they captured a new fan. And I love how the more traditional fellow does a double-take, perhaps more startled by the foreigner’s interest than the archetypical fashion participating in this thousands year old religion. You can also see the girl’s shoes and her amazing legs much better!
Trust me, there were more big-haired boys than I could possible capture with my simple camera. Here’s one more. I am looking forward to the start of summer.
Tokyo Moe 