When Matt Nieman and Greg Natali were kids growing up in Philadelphia, neither one of them could have imagined that they would end up living and running nightclubs in Tokyo.
Matt's younger brother, Mike, was the one who led the way. He came to Tokyo to study Japanese at Sophia University and, during his stay, had suggested to his best friend Greg and brother Matt that they visit and all three cycle from Hokkaido down to Tokyo. Which they did. And though Mike was forced to drop out due to a broken collarbone, Matt and Greg continued the journey and, in the process, became best friends themselves and fell in love with Japan.
"We were on a tight budget -- being students," remembers Greg. "But everybody we met along the way was so hospitable and friendly that it ended up being a fantastic trip."