First time to Japan: female solo travelling

Hi everyone,

Is the Kabuchiko area indicated for a female travelling solo? I found a nice Apa hotel there, next to the golden gai , but I read that that area is not recommended for women travelling alone.
I wanted to be in Shinjuku so this is the reason I wanted to choose that hotel. I have been suggested to stay in Asakusa area or Akasaka.
Also, I will be travelling with Air China, any feedback about it? Is it true they don�ft allow you to use the phone during the flight, not even in flight mode?
Thank you

Hi. I would say that the whole Kabukicho reputation is slightly overblown. You don't need to worry about being in the middle of danger everywhere.

Yes, it's a bit of a seedy area in that there are plenty of hostess clubs and mizu shoubai (water business - drinking and sex industry) establishments so if you're quite prudish about such things, you may be uncomfortable, but I honestly feel a single foreign woman could walk the streets there at night and not have to worry about persoinal safety.

When I first went drinking in Golden Gai in the early 90s, it was very rare to see a foreigner there but nowadays they're everywhere in the area and many bars have English speaking staff and English menus.

If you like nightlife and bright lights, I think near Kabukicho would be fun for you but if you don't like that kind of thing and are also concerned about staying near a sex industry area, then somewhere quieter like Asakusa or Akasaka might be better.

I have no idea about Air China!

I stayed once in a hotel also close to Golden Gai and had no issue with the neighbourhood. Yes, it is what it is. There are sex workers around and men trying to attract other men into their clubs. But it's not a dangerous area to be around as a single women at night or in the early morning.

I would question though if you need to stay at a APA hotel, as the hotel owner is well known for her extreme rightwing opinions. I personally since I know this, do never book APA hotels in order not to support her.

For AirChina, I also don't know, but did you check their web page?

My first time to Japan is also solo travelling. I've never stayed in Kabukicho, but I've stayed at few places around clubs, drinking place, and love hotels.

I had few encounters with lively yet drunk salarymen. While they didn't mean harm, they became increasingly "friendly" upon knowing I'm a foreigner (and alone). One encounter was at a quiet alley in front of a restaurant. Two salarymen opened a chatty conversation which I couldn't escape, especially because they were polite. The lady manager handled them really well and they left. So, avoid quiet alley, no matter how intriguing it looks. Look for advise on how to handle an encounter with drunk state without agitating them.

I've stayed at Airbnb at some alley at the back of Nishi Shinjuku station. At night it's almost dead quiet, only to realize there are plenty of host clubs nearby. Around 3am or 6am there were usually people passing by with loud voice, not quarrelling, seems like coming back drunk and lively. So, better return to hotel before midnight.

It seems the livelier area targets more men than women, or perhaps because I was dressed in sporty outfit that was not convincing enough :)

On Air China, I've flown on a domestic route which told me to turn off the phone upon seeing me listening to music, so I'm not sure if it's the earphone being banned, or just the phone to turn off, or both.

Thank you all so much!
I do not drink so bare and so are not of my interest, I only wanted so stay in an aerea that wasn�ft dead after dinner time.
I will have a look at booking and then decide.