I wouldn’t harp on too much on safety, as Depachi was always way more of a Japanese-style underground BDSM/kink/fetish event, where safety came a distant second to anything-goes WTFness (whether that’s a good thing, is up to anyone to decide for themselves). But even on that count, I think anyone going looking for the extreme Tokyo kink scene of the 2000s, would be sorely disappointed: nowadays, it is a very tame fetish fashion show with the odd BDSM performance thrown in (only a notch up from show events like Torture Garden).

I personally really like the door policy choice of accepting anyone, but giving a strong financial incentive to people actively dressing up. Never felt like they were particularly judgy on “lack of effort” (if anything, there was a point where a few too many punters seemed to get away with a few cheap Donki accessories thrown on). Regardless, it has very clearly become ~80% tourists (either the travelling kind, or the voyeur kind), with the remaining fraction made up of pros, and the odd old-timers. I think the vast majority of the local BDSM scene has long moved to other venues and events.

tl;dr: its notoriety, easy door policy, and friendliness to non-Jp-speakers, make it a good option for tourists looking to spend a somewhat entertaining night surrounded by people in fetish gear. For anyone looking for a real BDSM event, there’s a plethora of better ones to choose from.