When people talk about Tokyo’s nightlife, Shinjuku often comes up as a place of neon lights, entertainment, and hidden subcultures. Among these stories, one place gained an infamous reputation: Okubo Park, often nicknamed the “tachinbo kōen” (literally, “standing girls park”). For years, this public park in the heart of Kabukicho was known as a gathering point for women engaging in street-based sex work. But in recent years, the park has changed dramatically, and many who knew its past may wonder—what exactly happened to it, and where did those women go?

The Origins of Okubo Park’s Reputation

Okubo Park is located just a few steps away from the bustling neon-filled streets of Kabukicho, Japan’s largest red-light district. In the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s, it became widely known as a hotspot where women—often referred to as tachinbo (standing girls)—would wait for customers.

Unlike regulated establishments inside Kabukicho, the park offered something different: direct solicitation without the mediation of clubs or agencies. Men who walked through the area were frequently approached with offers, sometimes in Japanese, sometimes in broken English or Chinese, reflecting the increasingly international makeup of the women working there.

The park’s notoriety spread quickly through word of mouth, online forums, and even TV specials. By the mid-2000s, it was no longer just a local curiosity—it had become a symbol of Tokyo’s underground economy.

Why Did Street Workers Gather Here?

Several factors made Okubo Park a natural gathering spot for sex workers:

  • Location within Kabukicho: The park sat at the edge of Tokyo’s most famous entertainment district, where nightlife thrived and demand for sex-related services was high.
  • Open and accessible space: Unlike private clubs, the park was a free and visible location. Clients did not need to enter a building or navigate complicated systems.
  • Lack of regulation in public space: While Japan has strict laws regulating the sex industry, enforcement often focused on businesses rather than individuals on the street. This created a gray zone where solicitation in public spaces was overlooked for years.
  • Community among workers: The park provided safety in numbers. Women felt less vulnerable when waiting in a group rather than standing alone on hidden side streets.

In many ways, Okubo Park’s transformation into a “tachinbo park” was not accidental—it was the product of urban geography, legal loopholes, and market demand.

The Changing Face of Okubo Park

By the mid-2010s, however, change began to sweep through the area. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Shinjuku Ward authorities intensified their efforts to “clean up” Kabukicho, especially in preparation for large international events such as the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Measures included:

  • Increased police patrols 👮‍♂️
  • Surveillance cameras installed around the park
  • Park renovations that made loitering less comfortable
  • Crackdowns on solicitation with more active enforcement

As a result, the once-familiar sight of women lining the park’s pathways began to disappear.

Today, Okubo Park has been rebranded as a community space with greenery, a stage for public events, and even family-friendly activities. Tourists who visit now may find it hard to believe that only a decade ago, the same place symbolized Tokyo’s street-based sex work scene.

Where Did the Women Go?

The disappearance of the tachinbo from Okubo Park does not mean the demand—or the women themselves—vanished. Instead, the dynamics shifted.

  • Relocation to side streets: Some women moved away from the park to less conspicuous alleys in Kabukicho or nearby neighborhoods.
  • Shift to online platforms 📱: With the rise of dating apps, social media, and online message boards, direct solicitation migrated from physical spaces to digital ones.
  • Underground establishments: Others were absorbed into small “delivery health” (deriheru) services, where sex work is disguised as escort or massage services.
  • Return to home countries: Many women in Okubo Park were foreign nationals, particularly from China and Southeast Asia. Stricter immigration enforcement and reduced opportunities pushed some to leave Japan altogether.

Rather than eliminating the sex trade, the crackdown simply changed its form—from visible in a park to more hidden in private or digital spaces.

Why This Story Matters

The story of Okubo Park raises important questions about how cities manage “undesirable” activities.

  • Urban renewal vs. displacement: Efforts to beautify and sanitize public spaces often push marginalized communities out of sight, but rarely address the root causes of why people end up there.
  • Visibility and safety: While street-based sex work is risky, its visibility in a public park created at least some measure of collective safety. Driving it underground may have made conditions more dangerous.
  • Changing face of Kabukicho: The district has been reinventing itself—from being associated with crime and vice to being marketed as a tourist-friendly entertainment zone. Yet, the shadows of its past still linger.

Looking Ahead

Okubo Park today no longer resembles the “tachinbo park” of the past. Instead, it stands as a case study in how urban space, policy, and social issues intersect. For some, its transformation is a success story of urban revitalization. For others, it is a reminder that erasing visibility does not erase reality.

The women who once stood there—whether they found new forms of work, moved elsewhere, or vanished from public view—remain part of Tokyo’s hidden social history. And the park, though now filled with families and tourists, carries an invisible memory of a different era in Shinjuku’s nightlife