Dōyamachō () is a district in the Umeda area of Osaka, Japan. It is close to the JR Osaka and Umeda Station, many restaurants, bars, izakaya, karaoke, massage parlors, host clubs, hotels, and shops concentrate in the area. Many salarymen, OL (office ladies) and students stop by Dōyamachō to have fun in the evening before they go back home. It is one of the largest entertainment districts in Japan. Dōyamachō has attracted a gay scene at a smaller scale than Shinjuku ni-chōme in Tokyo. Location Dōyamachō is about 500m east from JR Osaka Station and 300m east from Hankyu, Hanshin and Subway Umeda station. The area is called "Kita" or north of Osaka, and best known as a party town. There are three main streets in Doyama-Cho; Hankyu Higashi Dori Shotengai (Hankyu's Eastside Mall), Hankyu Higashi Naka Dori (Hankyu's Eastside Central Mall)and Park Avenue Doyama. There are a lot of business offices and business hotels in south side of Doyama-Cho. North side of Doyama-Cho started becoming a gay community in last 20–30 years. History There were many luxury Japanese restaurants, sushi places, cabaret and jazz clubs targeting high-end business customers until the Japanese bubble economy burst of the early 1990s. However, since the real estate bubble crashed and many business headquarters have moved to Tokyo area, Osaka's economy lost its momentum. Many high-end bars or restaurants could not keep their business. Many usual restaurants, izakaya, pubs or adult entertainment businesses started their business to target general salary-man, OLs or students. Recently, many tourists from foreign countries visit Dōyamachō which is introduced as an entertainment district in many travel guide books. Dōyamachō also attracted gay communities. "Hokuou-Kan", one of the most popular sauna places, became very popular, and because of its convenient location, Dōyamachō became a hub of gay community in West Japan. However, unlike in Western gay towns, the gay community does not want to interact with the general public and the neighborhood association still hesitates to mark Dōyamachō as a gay friendly community. Characteristics Besides bars, the area is also home to restaurants and cafes, shops, saunas, hotels, "host bars or clubs" (bars where patrons can meet hustlers), massage parlours, and brothels of varying sizes and legality. Establishments vary in size, but many are limited to ten or fewer seats. Much like in Tokyo, bars here are usually themed towards "types" - bears, salarymen, young guys etc. Many of