ABSTRACT
Ropongi, Tokyo, provides a further peek into the future of urban spaces of consumption and pleasure. Located close to the centre of globalised Tokyo, Ropongi is an extraordinary fusion of rampant Japanese consumerism, technological innovation, Western youth cultures and hedonist expression. Consequently, it has become a late modern playground – not just for the Japanese, but for ‘ex-pats’ and tourists from Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. Unassuming by day (Ropongi resembles any downtown commercial area during business hours), by night it comes alive as thousands of (predominantly) young people flock to the area to take part in the licentious club and bar scene,61 indulge in the various sub rosa sexual services on offer, consume at the flagship premises of large chain-stores and leisure merchants, and enjoy the latest in arcade technology and hyperreal computer-mediated simulation – for Ropongi also represents the cutting edge of digital gaming and youth-orientated electronic technology.
