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.