Teenage boys with long dyed hair and guitar cases saunter into the lounge, passing a group of high school students playing mah-jongg. By 5 p.m., teenagers have taken over this "jidokan," or children's center, in Suginami Ward, Tokyo.
Unlike regular jidokan, which provide elementary school students and kids even younger with a place to play and read, Yu Suginami has become a popular evening meeting place for the ward's teen population.
The reason is simple. The facility, run by Suginami Ward, has almost everything teenagers want: music recording studios, regulation-size basketball courts, video games, you name it.