Gay Osaka - Suggestions Please

I am going to Osaka over Labor Day weekend. I will be there Sa/Su/Mo nights.

Any first-hand info on the gay scene there? Never been to Japan so general info on gay life would be welcomed as well.

Thank you!

I've never been to Osaka (other than the train stations and KIX and Itami airports), but I lived in Tokyo for the better part of my life. Hate to break this to you, but Japan is very homophobic. As one of my Japanese friends told some of my gay and lesbian friends, "there are no gay people in Japan." Uh, yeah, right. And I was standing near this exchange too.

Anyway, I'm sure there are some districts in Osaka that have gay establishments. Others may know more about where to go in Osaka. Hope this helps.

Osaka can be quite amusing. Area around Doyama-cho. Check out www.utopia-asia.com which has xcellent up-to-date information.

Have a great time !!

Bumping this, I'm going to be going to Osaka for a week, anyone have any suggestions?

Osaka was my stomping grounds for a while. I loved it.

Most of the gay life is in kita, near the Hankyu railway station, as is most of the Osaka nightlife.

Yuji owns the most gaijin-friendly bar in town, BarButch
http://www.barbutch.com/. You'll be very popular there.

You'll meet enough people there who will take you from bar to bar. Many people are very friendly but very shy, so don't be afraid to make the first move. Plus there'll be enough gaijins there to fill you in.

As in most gay bars in Japan, the places are tiny but intimate. Fine-tune your best rendition of "Moon River"

Thanks.

I arrive Saturday afternoon, and I will be doing stuff I'm sure the whole week, I was going to leave the last weekend Friday/Saturday night to do my own thing in Osaka before flying home.

I was in Osaka around three weeks ago. Didn't go to any gay bars so I cannot really talk about it. However, I did go to a couple of them in Tokyo and they were quite tiny, even the night club and most of them do not allow foreigners. So in the places where I was we were almost 90% of us foreigners. I guess most of them were living there.

anyone else?

http://plaza8.mbn.or.jp/~climb/index-e.html

http://www.utopia-asia.com/japnosak.htm

http://www.geocities.com/bjcjapan/japan.html

also with more info on osaka

http://www.barbutch.com/framee.html

Perhaps this is too late catwood, but since few of the respondants seem to know Osaka well, I can report that in my two long visits, Osaka was surprisingly good fun -- it is much more old-fashioned than Tokyo, and people, gays included, are friendlier, warmer, and louder (like the midwest vs. New York -- and I lived in both). Utopia and the other sites given in posts list bars, the two I like are in 8-23 Doyama-cho, especially Live Physique.
On the other hand, Tokyo has those wild saunas and boxes...

All suggestions are welcome. I don't fly there until July 16th!

Wow - my first message on FlyerTalk. Anyway, I lived in Japan for a bit and still have friends there. Here's the advice of a 12-year Osaka resident:

Butch: hardly worth the trouble, few customers these days. But Yuji is still cute and he can speak fair English, and he likes foreigners...

Physique is quiet popular with tourists. All the gai-sen boys who have done everyone in Kansai go there to pick up fresh meat. Again, bartender Hideki is rumored to do more than serve drinks to some customers. The toilet is a disgrace, so go before you go!

Village, the largest gay bar in Japan. Well worth a trip, but first drink and some chocolate is 1000 yen, a bit pricy these days.

Bacchus is a friendly neighborhood bar, the master grew up in Canada and is fluent, and the drinks are only 500 yen. A good place to start an evening or get your barrings, although a bit hard to find, a 3rd floor walk-up.

La Pu is popular with the ladies, but guys go there too. Cozy, but sometimes too much Karaoke.

Frienz is new and owned by an insane Australian named Paul Sully. It should be avoided at all costs. Rumor has it that the bar attracts 14 year olds and rent boys with bad hair. Paul had to open his own bar, as he was banned from most other places in Osaka.

You should be able to find a map and directions on the net. Osaka is a great city with excellent connections to Kyoto and Nara - two areas worth exploring. It's going to be H O T and sticky in July, but you should have fun!

I still don't have a conclusive response to this question:

Where can I stay cheaply that's near the "gay area" in Osaka?

Since i will be doing a lot of sight seeing before i think i'm going to do arrive saturday morning, then leave sunday night in Osaka.

Chris

On a spur of the moment decision, I decided to head to Osaka tomorrow for a couple nights. Guess it beats staying in Columbus all weekend

I think I'll check out Bar Butch and Bacchus.

Anyone in town in the next few days want to meet up for drinks or going out together? I'll be at the Hyatt.

Gene