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There isn’t a lot of bowing in London’s gay bars these days, probably
not since the eighteenth century molly houses. This is part of the charm
of T*K*O, a new “gay night from Tokyo” at the Site Bar. This Sunday
evening gathering has grown out of a Soho-based social group for gay
Japanese, and is becoming an alternative to other venues where oriental
Londoners and, in that creepy phrase, “their admirers” traditionally meet
and socialise. The result is that T*K*O is a bit cooler, a bit less
cruisey and, well, more Japanese than any of them.
DJ S*h*a*m plays Tokyo pop and the latest Japanese remixes of Kylie.
The good-looking and immaculately-dressed crowd is quietly alternative and
mostly Japanese, with that punky yet well-scrubbed thing going on that
young Japanese guys do so well. Gay Japanese men often describe themselves
by the type of guy they go for: foreign (gai-sen), fat (debu-sen), older
(fuke-sen), and there are just enough of each to make sure no-one has to
go home empty handed. The crowd did thin out fairly early, which makes me
think that although T*K*O is mischievously scheduled against the Long Yang
Club’s Sunday disco at Thai Square, there will be plenty of two-way
traffic.
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T*K*O: A Gay Night
from Tokyo Sundays at the Site Bar
