Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2009

Forget what you’ve heard about Kabukicho cleaning up its act. If a recent issue of Spa! magazine is to be believed, things around the ’hood are as bad as ever… if not worse. A four-page photo spread entitled “The Slumification of Kabukicho” depicts brawls, arrests, and prostitutes plying their trade right round the corner from the local koban. Most charming of all is a shot of skinny university students in their underpants performing the time-honored ritual of shimmying up the lampposts outside the (now-defunct) Koma Theater. “The big clean-up [six years ago] was just an act,” says photographer Hajime Kiyohira, a regular visitor to this part of town. Judging by the evidence on show here, we’re inclined to agree.