On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, Dr Thomas Baudinette talks about Shinjuku’s Ni-chome district and Japanese media as it relates to queer individuals/gay men in Japan. About Dr. Thomas Baudinette Dr. Thomas Baudinette is Senior Lecturer in Japanese and International Studies in the Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Languages and Literatures at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. He …

One day Aya decided to start a bar. It ended up being one of the best decisions of her life. Aya is the owner of Urue, a lesbian bar located in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district. She’s a talkative and cheerful person who seems to truly enjoy what she does. However, this wasn’t always the case. For many years Aya dealt with …