Is Golden-gai burning?

[Taro Toporific]

Fire damages buildings in Golden-gai on Tuesday
Tokyo Reporter 2016-April-12
TOKYO (TR)---Fire broke out on Tuesday afternoon in the historic eating and drinking district of Golden Gai in Shinjuku Ward, reports NHK (April 12).
At approximately 1:20 p.m., fire was reported being seen emerging from the collection of two- and three- floor wood structures in the area, located in the Kabukicho red-light district. Soon after, about 37 trucks from the Tokyo Fire Department responded to the scene to extinguish the blaze.
As of 3:00 p.m., the fire had covered approximately 475 square meters of space over four buildings...more...

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[wuchan]

I have been wondering when this was going to start.

The government wants to build a big condo/office thing there to try to clean up the neighborhood. I figured the locals would burn it to the ground first to get insurance money and government money.

[matsuki]

I think it started awhile ago...this is not the first arson in Kabukicho in recent years.

[yanpa]

Or it could just be ramshackle densely-packed wood-centric structures with an orientation towards food-preparation and which would be condemned in the real world as unsafe firetraps catching fire.

[Coligny]

Or it could just be ramshackle densely-packed wood-centric structures with an orientation towards food-preparation and which would be condemned in the real world as unsafe firetraps catching fire.

Never waste a good conspiramacy theery...

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[canman]

Does Gomigirl and her brother still have their bar there? I hope it was not affected by the fire.

[Takechanpoo]

just reduce them all to ashes. its a symbol of asian disorder among tokyo. its also the last thing i like
and reconstruct it like this.

court.jpg

[wagyl]

Does Gomigirl and her brother still have their bar there? I hope it was not affected by the fire.

Twitter stalking suggests that they do. Twitter stalking suggests that it is not.

[Samurai_Jerk]

just reduce them all to ashes. its a symbol of asian disorder among tokyo. its also the last thing i like
and reconstruct it like this.

court.jpg

Boring and sterile much like you.

[wagyl]

Does Gomigirl and her brother still have their bar there? I hope it was not affected by the fire.

Twitter stalking suggests that they do. Twitter stalking suggests that it is not.

Update: GG's twitter feed suggests that it is not, but Mulboyne refers to a friend's bar being caught in the fire. Either Mulboyne has heaps of friends (likely), or GG is too distracted to publicise all details (equally likely).

[Coligny]

just reduce them all to ashes. its a symbol of asian disorder...

Symbol...

ashes...

ON IT...

fzz2.jpg

Burning titty bars have nothing on that one...

[dimwit]

I remember Taro showing me Gomi's bar and while the place was quite homey, but I kept on thinking that the place was not somewhere I would want to be if a fire broke out. Anyway, it is fortunate that it happened in the middle of the day -God knows what the casualty count would have been had it occurred on a Friday night.

Or it could just be ramshackle densely-packed wood-centric structures with an orientation towards food-preparation and which would be condemned in the real world as unsafe firetraps catching fire.

You can add on the fact that the antique electrical wiring throughout the area has been chewed away by rats or corroded by pigeon shit/crows nests.

[yanpa]

Oh, and general accessibility issues - I wandered past out of curiosity about 4pm as I was in the area, still a couple of pumps active, all being fed from standpipes on the surrounding proper roads, at least one was threaded through the narrow gap between a couple of shacks. Also gives a good idea what the post-quake firestorm will be like in all those residential areas packed with densely-built Showa shacks.

[matsuki]

Haven't been there in awhile but the Donkii store there is a deathtrap waiting to happen...be it fire, flooding, or earthquake.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

From the telly, it's not the Gomi bar.
I went to the place that burned back in the '90s and spent most of the night in a drunken mist while trying to seduce the 60-something mama-san. She wanted nothing of it, despite offers of payment, even though others had directed me to her as she was famous for dispensing handies as one of her services. Story of my life, really!
I am such a stud!!!

[Taro Toporific]

Haven't been there in awhile but the Donkii store there is a deathtrap waiting to happen...be it fire, flooding, or earthquake.

The Shinkuju Donkii store near Golden-gai is deathtrap waiting to happen...be it fire, flooding, earthquake, or CHINESE HOARDS.

chinese-tourists-haul-their-shopping-in-shinjuku.jpg

[Coligny]

Haven't been there in awhile but the Donkii store there is a deathtrap waiting to happen...be it fire, flooding, or earthquake.

The Shinkuju Donkii store near Golden-gai is deathtrap waiting to happen...be it fire, flooding, earthquake, or CHINESE HOARDS.

chinese-tourists-haul-their-shopping-in-shinjuku.jpg

They can't get enough of their Made in China shit ?

intredasting...

[Taro Toporific]

Arson suspect arrested in follow-up to Golden-gai blaze
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN April 13, 2016 at 16:30 JST
A midday fire on April 12 in the popular Goldengai entertainment district in Tokyo, packed with many small bars in old wooden buildings, may have been deliberately set, police said.
On April 13, the Tokyo metropolitan police department arrested a 66-year-old man on suspicion of breaking into and entering the building where the fire started...more...

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Click to view video.

[yanpa]

Any news on what shadowy yakuza-backed real estate organisation was blackmailing him into being the fall guy for this redevelopment project?

[yanpa]

Anyway I wandered through there earlier this evening, no time or inclination to take a detailed look but the place was heaving, though I guess its long term survival will probably be as a tourist trap.