Shinjuku Ni-chome is still alive and thriving as the headquarters for Tokyo's gay bar scene. Unlike other party centers in Tokyo, I wouldn't say much has changed of late in the Chome, as the area is usually called by those who frequent it. No one ever calls it Shinjuku Ni-chome because that would be too much of a bust -- at work or out with coworkers.
I am not a gay man, but for my first dozen years in Tokyo, I lived a 15-minute stagger from the Chome, so I've done my share of prowling its streets. While most of the bars here are user-friendly for women, some, like old stalwart GB's, still has a men-only policy. Others, like Arty Farty, have more or less dropped it. And classics, such as Fuji, have always allowed women.
It had been ages since I've been back to my old 'hood, but when my gay friends started talking about a new place called Papi Chulos, I decided it was time to return. Even the name sounds like fun -- and that's exactly why the master, Masa, chose it.