“Sometimes you want to go / Where everybody knows your name / And they’re always glad you came.”

Where Adrien greets you with bonjour, Selia sings opera and DJ SiSEN pours you absinthe. It’s not a dream, my friends. There’s now a watering hole above Christon Cafe Shinjuku where Tokyo’s eccentric creatures congregate every night. Cheers — or rather, kampai — to Decadance Bar!

On the left is Adrien le Danois, organizer of cyber-fabulous party Tokyo Decadance. He opened Decadance Bar not long ago, and already, it’s a success with plans for expansion. The venue often holds theme events, such as Chinese “Chi-Night,” where you could eat dumplings and try on “cheung-sam” dresses.

Beginning at 6pm every night, you can even order fresh-cooked food. No matter what day of the week, you’re sure to find bizarre shenanigans going on. Such as frantic hula hooping and G-suS’s disgusting chocolate cocktail.

Since Decadance Bar is in Kabuki-cho (East Shinjuku), it’s close to everything and a great place to pop in for a drink. We went to our favorite cheap eatery, Hibari Sushi, before Decabar’s French theme night.

Hat: Emily Temple Cute
Skull and chain bracelet: Bodyline
Panda ring: Outlet, from Ikebukuro’s Studio Alta
Miffy mirror: from a Japanese dollar store
Tank top: Closet Child Ikebukuro
(For links and maps to these stores, check out my Tokyo Store Guide.)

Maria is the Food Wars winner! We oohed and ahhed over her Jane Marple dress, which has a Red Riding Hood and Wolf print. At Decadance Bar, we saw girls in Fairy Kei outfits and Rococo hats.

The Cheers analogy is an apt one: you’ll always run into eerie, alternative friends and have a memorable time. Adrien is here every night; DJ SiSEN and G-suS work at the bar several times a week, and so do Coco and Kengo/Porco.

The Tokyo Decadance team did a great job with decorating the nook with cyber dripping paint, stuffed toys, and… a giant phallus?

At the French theme night, Selia brought down the house with a Marseilles song and flag-waving.

If you’re in Shinjuku and looking for a friendly but oddball place to drink, come to Tokyo Decadance Bar. It’s on the 9th floor of Oriental Wave Building; go to Christon Cafe on the 8th floor and walk up the stairs. (Maps and more here.)

Is there a bar that you consider your home, like in the TV show Cheers? What’s it like?

Japanese Word of the Day: 夜想曲 Yasoukyoku = Nocturne
Song of the Day: Eisenfunk – Pong