The Gay Gaijin in Nagoya

first, an observation about Nagoya. as i mentioned, this city was greatly destroyed in WW2, and has since grown into a futuristic expanse of steel, glass, lights and vastly modern architecture. jaw-droppingly so. downtown nagoya after sunset is a sight to behold. it seems even more futuristic than tokyo, if that is possible. tall spires, birds nest lattice work on buildings, sweeping archways, ferris wheels affixed to buildings, fluorescent and neon lights illuminating fountains and side streets. i have never seen such a sight before. just walking the streets (with a few beers in my system and an ipod on) made for a fantastic night (bounding the streets, in freestyle walking form, while rockin' some widespread panic makes aaron a happy boy).

i went to the gay nightlife. an internet search brought up three gay bars. i went to the one with a website and a map - Shu. walking in, i found a small bar with 8 seats and one table off to the side. behind the bar was a tall thin man, maybe 45, and a shorter, older man (60?) who was a spitting image of Mr Miyagi. miyagi spoke english, so he and i chatted about my travels in japan, climbing my fuji, sumo, etc. i had a nice snack of ham and kiwi (traditional japanese bars demand a "cover" but isn't so much an entry fee as a prepay for a variety of tapas/snacks) and a few beers while we chatted. while i was there, two other men came in, both older and both fruity as can be. very cute. i asked miyagi about the 2 other gay bars i found and he said "you used internet, huh." "well, yes." "in truth, there are about 50 gay bars in nagoya." to back this up, he gave me a map with every one referenced. now, many of them aren't necessarily gaijin friendly, and many have no english speakers. i got miyagi's recommendations as to where to head, said my goodbyes, and hit the streets again.

twenty minutes later, in the heart of the gay/red light district, i ended up at Undivide. now, a side note about japan. the cities are 3-dimensional. that is to say, they go horizontal, vertical AND up. bars and restaurants can be anywhere. for example, i had dinner on the 10th floor of a building with clothes stores and an arcade. shu was on the 2nd floor of a 5 story building with bars on each floor. undivide was on the 4th floor of a building that apparently had apartments in it. anyway, the "crowd" here was younger - that is to say the bartender and two others at the bar. the bar itself was still very small, but very cute. music videos were on the tv, and some porn mags were on the corner of the bar. i had some beer and snacks of rice cakes. the bartender, Takash (adorable), hardly spoke english. i was trying to use my map to have him show me where else to go in town, when his friend Masa came in, who spoke english. the two of them showed me some bars to try and made some phone calls to see if the english speaking bartenders were working that night. unfortunately, the top choices were all closed (on a wednesday, nagoya isn't hopping).

so we chatted, and i learned that tattoos are indeed the sign of the yakuza clan, though at present, more of the young generation are getting them. i learned that the top 2 sumo wrestlers right now are mongolian. i learned that nagoya's nightlife and party life is quite big, but not really available to a non-japanese speaking gaijin (i need to learn this language!). i learned that japanese gays are all about types - when i asked what bar i should go to, masa asked "what's your type?" i didn't really know how to respond - i said i like my age, fit, good looking. he told me that the bars in japan are generally far more compartmentalized - there are mature bars, muscle bars, chub chaser bars, girly bars, young guy bars - i guess this exists in nyc, but not to the extent i feel it does in japan. japanese gays are slow to approach gaijin in general (a little unfortunate, as i have carnal ideas going on with just about every japanese i see), but even more so if you aren't their "type." now, i told masa and takash that i wan't really looking for sex - just conversation and good times. this opened my options a little, but i guess the assumption is that gaijin coming to japan have a one-track mind. not saying that i don't, but i enjoy conversation as much as anyone. so, after some chat time, i got my picture with them, and headed out.

after some wandering of gaytown, finding out that all the bars i wanted to go to were closed, i hit up a bar near the hotel for another drink or two, took a shower, and went to bed. a big day coming up - off to kyoto!