After the quietness of Nagasaki we went in search of the nightlife Hiroshima has to offer. It’s a nightlife of food and drink and every type of adult ‘other services’. High-end designer shops and restaurants sit adjacent to street stalls and sexshops. It’s visually a strange combination.
The red light district is different here to other cities we have seen, it’s amalgamated into the eating and drinking area. During the daytime the place is almost deserted but at night it comes alive with crowds looking for fun, food and drink. Layer upon layer of multiple floors lit with Neon signs and taxis ferrying people back and forth are everywhere.
Everything you need for you evening’s entertainment is on the main drag, even a milk parlour.
The narrow backstreets are very dark and home to the really seediest looking parlours.
The images are concerning, photographs of really young women are pasted outside the shops with price lists and offers. Touts stand in the doorways actively go out and rein in customers. Girls are transported to and fro in taxis.
Prostitution is open business here in Japan.
We being jazz fans we ventured into a bar it was called the ‘Charles Mingus Jazz Bar - With Taped Music’. A tiny green velour room with 4 empty stools left at a bar. The hostess lunged at us with a laminated sign informing us 4000 yen entrance fee, drinks on top. We left the two guests to enjoy their own company.
Next on our tour we are leaving the mainland for Shikoku Island.