TOKYO DECADANCE BAR, CHRISTON CAFE SHINJUKU. DJ SISEN, ABSINTHE, DRAG QUEEN PERFORMANCES JAPAN.
“Sometimes you want to go / Where everybody knows your name / And they’re always glad you came.”
Where Adrien greets you with bonjour, Selia sings opera and DJ SiSEN pours you absinthe. It’s not a dream, my friends. There’s now a watering hole above Christon Cafe Shinjuku where Tokyo’s eccentric creatures congregate every night. Cheers — or rather, kampai — to Decadance Bar!
On the left is Adrien le Danois, organizer of cyber-fabulous party Tokyo Decadance. He opened Decadance Bar not long ago, and already, it’s a success with plans for expansion. The venue often holds theme events, such as Chinese “Chi-Night,” where you could eat dumplings and try on “cheung-sam” dresses.
Beginning at 6pm every night, you can even order fresh-cooked food. No matter what day of the week, you’re sure to find bizarre shenanigans going on. Such as frantic hula hooping and G-suS’s disgusting chocolate cocktail.
Since Decadance Bar is in Kabuki-cho (East Shinjuku), it’s close to everything and a great place to pop in for a drink. We went to our favorite cheap eatery, Hibari Sushi, before Decabar’s French theme night.
Hat: Emily Temple Cute
Skull and chain bracelet: Bodyline
Panda ring: Outlet, from Ikebukuro’s Studio Alta
Miffy mirror: from a Japanese dollar store
Tank top: Closet Child Ikebukuro
(For links and maps to these stores, check out my Tokyo Store Guide.)
Maria is the Food Wars winner! We oohed and ahhed over her Jane Marple dress, which has a Red Riding Hood and Wolf print. At Decadance Bar, we saw girls in Fairy Kei outfits and Rococo hats.
The Cheers analogy is an apt one: you’ll always run into eerie, alternative friends and have a memorable time. Adrien is here every night; DJ SiSEN and G-suS work at the bar several times a week, and so do Coco and Kengo/Porco.
The Tokyo Decadance team did a great job with decorating the nook with cyber dripping paint, stuffed toys, and… a giant phallus?
At the French theme night, Selia brought down the house with a Marseilles song and flag-waving.
If you’re in Shinjuku and looking for a friendly but oddball place to drink, come to Tokyo Decadance Bar. It’s on the 9th floor of Oriental Wave Building; go to Christon Cafe on the 8th floor and walk up the stairs. (Maps and more here.)
Is there a bar that you consider your home, like in the TV show Cheers? What’s it like?
Japanese Word of the Day: 夜想曲 Yasoukyoku = Nocturne
Song of the Day: Eisenfunk – Pong
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LA CARMINA
27 Comments
This place looks so fun ! Love the hula hooping :)
I’m a fan of hula hooping – it’s great exercise. :D
Always wanted to visit Christon, now it shall be both!
definately great outfits! love it all<3
sugoi! Great outfits
I love it! – I mean I’ve never been there…but – from just the description I truly do get the sense that it is the kind of place where you meet friends, friends of friends, stare eccentricity in the eye, and come back home at the end of the day saying to yourself: “Wow……………….WHAT a day!”It certainly sounds like the place where you won’t even know how much time has passed. What I love about it, is how it incorporates different themes for each days and celebrates a bit of culture that may have been well in the past. Even if it’s as little as traditional clothing of China or the Baroque period in France – it’s still nice. That’s just my personal little philosophy at least: to keep the beauty of traditional cultures alive. Now of course…I’m talking about “beauties” – not barbaric things like uhh…the guillotine – although then again…that would be kind of creepy…and scary – huh…not a bad idea. But seriously in all honesty, I just like to see traditional clothing and other traditional aspects of culture being somewhat forgotten. For example when I was in India – everything felt so…WESTERN. And everyone just wanted to be/act like a westerner. “Going to mall” – a must. “Talking unbelievably loud and saying phrases like ‘OH MY GOD!!!’ ” – another must. I mean…really? Fortunately I was still able to see some beauty of the culture, there are still some people who wear traditional clothing instead of jeans and tank tops, go to the regular street market instead of the mall. It’s just nice you know.But I also find a lot of beauty in those who can blend modern fashion with some aspects from a previous culture. I guess that’s why I like gothic lolita fashion so much haha. I would name a bar…if I could. I don’t drink so…^o^. BUT even though it’s not a bar…and far from a bar…I find that one iced tea place to be my Cheers – Quickly’s! I love it there…I would love to hear Selia sing sometime.
Sigh yeah… it’s everywhere in Japan too, the desire to be (or look like) a Westerner (via clothing, dyed hair, makeup, even surgery…) >_ <
Selia is amazing. I'll post a video of Selia's performance soon.
That’s an interesting point about culture. I cannot comment on India, but as far as Japan goes, I think a lot of the popularity of subculture has a lot less to do with preservation of old cultures and lot more with reaction *against* it. I personally like it though. The perpetual time flux that this country finds itself in tends to put me in a philosophical state of mind. Shinto temple? Ehh..okay, that’s nice. Akihabara maid with Visual Kei rocker praying at said temple? Well, now we’re talkin’
On topic, definitely need to hit up that bar sometime. I visited Tokyo Decadance last week and had my mind irreparably blown.
Hell yeah! Have you seen the photos of the Shinto Bunny Maid cafe? It’s now closed..
http://lacarmina.com/2009/10/akihabara-shinto-bunny-maid-cafe-andrew-zimmerns-bizarre-world-tv-show-filming-production-maru-music-cosplay-contest-an-cafe-new-visual-kei-cd/
I like the reaction/rebel kind of movement against it as well. Just I wish it would incorporate more stuff here and then. For example groups like Yoshida Kyodai or Rin’, they use classical Japanese instruments and still have a sort of Rock/Pop feel to it. It’s pretty cool!
I want to go *__*
Holy hell, what a post <3
Hell indeed. ;)
Hey! That sounds so cool!
It is, and every night of the week… O_O;;;!
HAHAA! maria!! how many sushi-plates did she have?
deca-bar is really neat,and they have special drink and food offers too ;)
Maria is the fish-face champion :)
Yeahh the sesame oil dumplings were delicious!
*sighs* I remember back when I was like 14 there use to be this place called sumshee’s and during the day it was a gay coffee shop and during the night on sundays it was the only all ages goth night with Kynt and Vyxsin b4 they got all famous. I use to love it there friends, drama, and music was always fun. Than it got shut down, the last time I went into that area the building was torn down.
Awww! I love Kynt and Vyxsin… I miss having slumber parties with them! :)
Wish i was there to experience that too.
wow La Carmina your so pretty!
I need to go to that bar!! whwuw!
It’s a must-visit.
Dear la Carmina I love your floral Beret. It’s so adorable!!
Sushi is so delicious:)
Aww thank you! It fits well, for once (hats are always too small for me).
Good design. That sounds so cool!
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