Seen and Unseen

Don't you hate it when you post about something, and then a week later, it gets coverage from a bigger website? Not that I think CNN bit me or anything, since Dog isn't "hidden" or even that obscure. Mostly I'm just angry with myself for having a post in common with people who call their site "Unseen Asia" and then produce lists of UNESCO sites. You want to talk about off the beaten track? Let me tell you about Cafe Creep.

Kabukicho is the shady entertainment section of Shinjuku, famous for host and hostess bars and really for sex work in general. Everything is loud and bright and open 24 hours, everyone is furtively fulfilling some private need. If I catch the train right after my last class, I can get there by 5:30 to watch the place come alive. My favorite place to do that is Cafe Creep.

An excellent place to watch unseen—wait, hold up, what's that in the bottom corner?

Oh get over yourself, Purseman. This isn't about you.

In a neighborhood that piles on the lights and glitter, Cafe Creep stands out for its almost agressive plainness. An unobtrusive beige sign marks a flight of stairs leading up into a mildly dirty shop, scuffed tables, worn-out velvet, a funny powder smell in the air. The coffee is bad and expensive, but the view from the big picture windows is worth it. Last time I was there, I watched a young host help a screamingly drunk customer into a taxi at three in the afternoon.

The regulars of the cafe are at least as interesting. There's a fat man who eats alone in silence and gets the waiters' attention by banging a meaty fist on the table, a girl my age who I think is French and I know is a hostess, and a wizened old man who is sometimes joined by a young thug or two.The other day a bleach-blond hostess type and a much-older man came in to touch on each other like they were at a middle school dance. When they left, coffee gone cold unmolested, he carried her designer purse and took her by the arm with the same air of ownership.

I'm not giving you directions to Cafe Creep. If you can't find it yourself, you wouldn't appreciate it, anyway. If you do find it, say hi. I'll buy you coffee.