> I mean, I get it, these aren’t places foreigners should be going, but their forbidden nature always raises eyebrows.

Snack bars aren't anything forbidden or erotic, they're bars where women are employed to speak to the customers and entertain them (again, not in an erotic way), that's it. I live in a suburb with lots of them around, it's not some kind of red light district filled with brothels, they're just bars I pass that usually have badly sung karaoke blasting out.

I also don't understand the replies you're getting as they seem to have run with this misconception, I can't be sure these people have even visited Japan!

I made friends with some Yakuza while I was there, and after awhile I would get invited to some of these places sometimes. You REALLY need to be careful hanging around them though, and don't get dragged into their shit. They usually keep that separate, but it's not guaranteed.

Also, you're expected to be on your BEST behaviour. DO NOT EMBARRASS PEOPLE, because the responsible person will suffer for it (not you, but please, don't be a dick).

Actually, if you want to get a peek at what the underbelly looks like (with a lot of creative license of course), check out "The Naked Director". It was quite refreshing compared to the regular pablum of Japanese television.

True, I could imagine snacks to be among the places where you have problems going as a foreigner. It probably just depends on the owner.

I haven't been to many, so I can't really speak to that. I tried a few times and had no trouble getting in, but I was with Japanese friends. May have been a different story if I had been alone.

The ones in resort towns seem to always have “no foreigners” signs in English…I guess to avoid having any awkward denials at all. Seems perfectly legal to not serve foreigners, in any case.

I get away with it by saying I'm Hafu, and then asking if it's for me. Once you ask, and you are fluent in Japanese enough, they don't care.

This is not to say there is no racism in Japan, but for resorts it's most likely they don't have the capacity to help in English/Foreign Language.

If it's some seedy thing, like a cheap/seedy bar, karaoke, J/KTV or sexual services then it's both, no English and they want discretion.

I haven't really seen many of those signs in Tokyo. I could imagine that in resort towns they want to keep tourists out? Having tourists who don't understand what those places is asking for trouble I guess.

I’m sure the snack bars cater to Japanese tourists, these are resort towns and the snack bars line the main tourist streets. But the fact that they also attract a few foreign tourists (because we also enjoy onsens) they need the signs.