learn more: tokyorealtime.com
produced by
MAX HODGES
tokyorealtime.com
motion graphics
RALF BÄHREN
visuaheli.com/
music ‘Kabukicho Human Zoo’
STEVEN SCHULTZ
hellodamage.com
photography
MAX HODGES
maximalism.maxhodges.com/
You can download the full song file here:
The authorities are cleaning up Tokyo’s red light district for the city’s 2016 Olympic bid. But a new audio tour seeks to dispel stereotypes about the area
As I recently reported, Tokyo’s authorities have stepped up their campaign to turn Japan’s biggest red-light district, Kabukicho, into somewhere visitors can take the children without corrupting them for good. With Japan eager to host the 2016 Olympics and the city’s governor keen to clean away sleaze and crime, the ramshackle collection of ageing buildings housing bars and clubs catering to every sexual proclivity is in the authorities’ firing line.
But Kabukicho is an asault on the senses that no visitor to Tokyo should miss and, thankfully, for older tourists curious about the underbelly of one of the world’s major cities, the big clean-up is encountering fierce resistance from the locals.
To help visitors find their way around the maze of narrow streets occupying a tiny, but expensive, chunk of prime Tokyo real estate, Max Hodges, the American expat founder of White Rabbit Press, spent more than a year trawling every inch of Kabukicho to produce an audio package he describes as “a museum guide, only outdoors”.
“Kabukicho’s one of the most fascinating parts of Tokyo,” Hodges says on the website. “It has an interesting history and the most diverse kinds of places, and there are a lot of real characters in the area. You see a lot of hysterical stuff here … It’s almost a carnival-like atmosphere.” Read the rest of this entry »
Thursday 23rd October, 04:36 AM JST
Here’s a new way to get around Shinjuku. White Rabbit Press has launched Tokyo Realtime Kabukicho, an audio tour that interweaves narration and interviews within a soundscape of lo¬cation ambience and music while navigating real-world spaces. In the Kabukicho tour, listeners go on a night stroll through the famous red light district of Shinjuku.
As you weave through the streets of countless bars, strip joints, love hotels, and eateries, you hear about the area’s colorful personalities and history, soak in the local ambience, and get insights into the real action behind those doors marked “Japanese Only.”
The 65-minute tour includes a CD with mp3 audio, area map (printed on durable, waterproof paper), and a booklet of area photography. Listeners simply transfer the audio program to any portable mp3 player, go to the starting point on the included map and press play. The tour features interviews with local experts and personalities, including Lee Xiao Mu, a noted writer and Kabu¬kicho guide, as well as renowned Japanese bondage artist Osada Steve.
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TRAVELOUGE
The one place in Tokyo we normally wouldn’t want to be at 3am is Kabukicho. But one local company is doing its part to make this notorious Shinjuku neighborhood a little more approachable. White Rabbit Press’ Tokyo Realtime Kabukicho (www.tokyorealtime.com) is the first in a series of audio tours of the city. The package retails for US$25 through the website and includes a map, a photo book and an hour-long MP3 that interweaves narration and interviews with sounds recorded in the area. As the listener weaves through the streets filled with bars, strip joints, love hotels and 24-hour restaurants, the guide speaks about the area’s colorful personalities and history, and offers insight into what’s happening behind those doors marked “Japanese Only.” Interviewees include veteran Kabukicho tour guide Lee Xiao Mu (www.leexiaomu.com) and renowned Japanese bondage artist Steve Osada (www.osadasteve.com).
BUY NOW at www.tokyorealtime.com