New location run by the owner of the now-defunct Bliss Out happening bar. Quite welcoming and very foreigner-friendly, but as a result: packed with foreigners/tourists.
The space
Fairly small (and generally at capacity), but acceptable by Tokyo Happening Bar standards:
- one main room geared at socialising, with a few benches and tables. No bar: self-service fridge with soft and mixers, with self-service kegs of whisky and shochu. Other cocktails upon demand (charged extra).
- single restroom (often a queue) and single shower (need to ask for towels).
- play area that fits about 3 couples (+ 1 one more couple behind a privacy curtain), with small cabins on the side for people to peep from (play area is reserved for people with play partners, peepholes are open to all).
The crowd
As a result of its very permissive policy toward foreigners (English OK, and only Japanese residents are required to present a health insurrance card), the place is generally packed with ~60-70% male western tourists, with 3-5 couples (often foreigners or mixed), and, on rare occasions 1 or 2 lone single women. (Single) men will tend to swarm every woman (single or accompanied) to strike conversations in the hope of getting lucky. Depending on your goals for the night, and tolerance for very shitty attempts at smalltalk, this may or may not be appealing.
Restrictions on the play area, mean that it is often much quieter than the socialising area, and while you may need to explicitly turn down random punters asking if they can join, spectators will generally be respectful and keep to their peeping holes.
The vibe
The two managers (veterans of the happ bar scene) are friendly and easy-going with rules on where and who people can play with (unlike some of the more formal places). An extra female staff is there on weekend, doing her best to help couples/women feel a little more at ease with the sausage fest vibe. None of them speak much English, but are generally happy to try and communicate via Google Translate.
The strong touristy lean of the crowd works as a curse and a (small) blessing: lots of younger men, presumably on their first ever such outing, somewhat guarded, and generally not too pushy. On the other hand, the rubbernecker vibe can be a bit of a mood-killer.
Note that the bar will close by midnight sharp on busy days, and often earlier on weekdays. Basically no point showing up there after 11pm.