Shinkukan is a DJ bar and lounge that has slipped quietly into a curious niche in Tokyo's nightscape. Operating like a ninja, with stealth and under the cloak of darkness, it stole into a small basement in a quiet semi-residential area on the Jingumae side of Omotesando. It's not the greatest location for a nightclub, but it has survived -- for eight years already.

Shinkukan means "vacuum tube" in Japanese, like the ones used in old analog amplifiers, which heated up and glowed when ready to play. The name adds a hippylike touch to this arty reggae club -- the niche that Shinkukan now occupies. At first it was devoted almost exclusively to reggae, but now it's only on Saturdays. And every week it fills with an inner circle of Shinkukan patrons.

It's a difficult size. Not during the week when it opens as a lounge, but on Friday and Saturday when it switches to club time. Fridays feature disco, Latin, funk and rare-groove events, which -- in that order -- are held regularly each month on the first through fourth Fridays. Saturdays come in various shades of reggae, from roots through dancehall, with the latter boasting the most hardcore following among the club's faithful. But only on the fourth Saturday each month will you find Papa-ryuta in the pulpit perpetuating Shinkukan's ragga-party-muffin style with MC Sick and crew hand-jiving the mike.

It's a difficult shape -- a long corridor lined by a bar and rows of high tables and booths, which lead to a dead end on the dance floor. When it starts to fill up, sliding and sideling between fellow clubbers is mandatory. But it's a friendly crowd that you will find yourself rubbing up against, especially when Papa spins. It is a reggae event after all.

And everyone is geared up (or should I say down?) for a relaxed night, alternating between swaying in front of a pounding bass speaker and chilling out at the bar over a few beers. It feels a bit like a family picnic -- I've even seen the odd graying dreadlock in the midst and met more than a few mothers with their children in tow.

So, it seems, neither size nor shape have really been a big problem for Shinkukan. It warmed up a long time ago and it is still glowing strong . . .