Kabukicho is Tokyo's infamous entertainment district and suburb of sleaze. A heavily populated square of sleepless activity northeast of Shinjuku Station, it is home to a haphazard mix of movie theaters, hostess bars, strip clubs, and seedy nightclubs. An illicit atmosphere permeates the air.
Toward the back entrance of the garishly neon-lit Kabukicho area, nestled between love hotels, host bars, and the predominantly Korean district of Shin Okubo, sits the Japan Social Minority Center, an NPO rescue center run by philanthropist, author, and public speaker Hidemori Gen.
The center caters to those on the run and those in trouble who don't know where to go, whom to turn to. The Japan Social Minority Center, staffed by three, is also dubbed a kakekomidera after the temples that used to shelter runaway women in the Edo Period. The center also provides advice for people in seemingly desperate situations.