Hello Tokyo

The foreign chaos that is Tongren Lu has recently reached out to a country a little closer to our shores. Shanghai's first Japanese dance club officially opened last weekend, and it has nothing to do with KTV xiaojies or all-you-can-drink sake (actually, there is no sake at all). After Shanghaiist detoured from the noisy Tongren Lu to the back door of Block 60 -- not too Japanesey sounding, we know -- we were immediately challenged by a dilemma. There were two identical doors standing in front of us. Luckily, we made the right choice ... otherwise we might have ended up in Kyoto. We were bewildered by the first floor of Block 60 for a while, the mirrors and the intricate lattice work in front of them made us feel like we were in a massive kaleidoscope. Maybe that's what things are like in Kyoto? Most patrons were either Japanese or Chinese.

Though the club claimed they opened business to everyone in Shanghai, finding out the back door is the main entrance probably isn't exactly common knowledge yet. Shanghaiist was disappointed after exploring upstairs, the second and third floors are similar, but the third floor has more of a VIP vibe with the fur seats and the deafening techno music reminiscent of Rojam, where teenagers shake their heads like there is no tomorrow. (Seriously, if you keep shaking your heads, there will be no tomorrow! OK, we just sounded a lot like our mom. We'll stop now.) The only amusement up there were the flapper/S&M girls (think Natalie Portman in Closer meets Alias) walking around in their feathers and fishnets -- they were very polite and always smiling.

Also interesting was the co-ed bathroom, about eight stalls that the sexes share. Each stall is equipped with its own sink. Note to future patrons: Dry your hands before grabbing the door knob. No one likes to handle a damp doorknob. We wish the person who used the loo before us followed this rule. Yuck.

Block 60, 60 Tongren Lu, near Yan'an Lu (铜仁路60号，近延安路). Tel: 6289 4538. Beers RMB 40, cocktails RMB 40-50. No sake. We have it on good authority that tonight Block 60 will feature a transvestite song and dance show starting at 9 pm!