The one time I went clubbing...

¥3,500 (app. S$55) for members and ¥4,000 (app. S$63) for others.

I've never paid so much cover charge in my short but party-excessive life. Drinks are cheap, however: ¥600 (app. S$9) for a good house red, ¥700 (S$11) for a gin-something. The cocktails don't pack in much alcohol. But I've heard it's plenty strong for the Japanese.

We got to AIR round about 12-ish, at the edge of residential Daikanyama, a 15-min walk from Shibuya Station (25-min if you're on killer heels). This cavernous club sits in a basement under Frames, a chic little restaurant that serves a mish-mash of pasta, waffles, cocktails and get this – nasi goreng.

It was the second night of AIR's 8th Anniversary celebrations with Guest DJ Theo Parrish spinning all night. The DJ warmed up the house with muted beats. Once in awhile he would drive a infectious pulse into his sound, drawing coos of appreciation from the crowd. By 4am, old school hip hop found its way into the mix and the music was speeding towards an ecstatic climax.

The crowd was really packing it in by now. The dance floor was superheated with body heat. Sweat saturated the air. It was time to leave.