Roppongi is the area that caters to Westerners, called gaijin, who start to flood the area at about 6:00pm each night. Because many of Tokyoís clubs are only interested in welcoming Westerners that are introduced by a local Japanese patron, this special area of the city has been set up for Westerners to party at. Of course youíll have to put up with the doormen calling out to you, trying to set you up on ìdates' or ladies who offer massages, since the area has it's seedy side.

Roppongi Pit Inn

For a live jazz bar, that favors fusion, this place is tops. Many famous musicians perform here. There are no frills and the crowd is young, mostly under 30. To get in the cover charge is about $30 and includes one drink. Opens daily at 6:30 pm with shows starting at 7:30 pm.

Velfarre

For a younger crowd, this dance club has a huge dance floor and cheerful crowds. The music is fast and loud, and might be anything from pop, retro, techno, hard house and Eurobeat. With big name DJ's, incredible lighting, strobe and laster lights, this is a great place to party. The drinks are expensive and stingy, using less alcohol than youíd usually expect. The cover charge does include two drinks though. The dress is trendy but casual. This is one of the popular places to spend the night. The hours are Thursday to Sunday, 7pm to 1 am.

Hard Rock Cafe, Tokyo

This is a great place to relax if you are a Westerner. You may already know the drill, if youíve been to any of the Hard Rock Cafe ís located in many big cities throughout the world. The food is American, where French fries and fried onions may be hard to come by in other Tokyo venues. Hard Rock Cafe is also a museum of rock and roll memorabilia, and in Tokyo some of the items you can see are a gold lame braided necklace Jimi Hendrix wore, Prince's stage suit with bolero style jacket, Randy Jacksonís signed Victory tour jacket, a bowling shirt of Freddie Mercury of Queen, and a black pleather suit worn by Black Sabbath members in 1985.