⛩️ Old Japantown
“The ghosts of the past are literally under your feet. And they’re not the only things down there.”
Old Japantown is what remains of Night City’s original Japanese cultural center—a ghost district devastated by the 4th Corporate War. Once an exciting link to the Pacific Rim, it fell into chaos and disrepair. Most residents fled to Kabuki in Watson or the new Japantown in Westbrook. What’s left is ruins, gangs, and memories.
📋 Overview
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Zone Type | Combat Zone |
| Threat Rating | Combat (extremely dangerous) |
| Location | Between Watson and Westbrook |
| Dominant Gangs | Tyger Claws (nominal), Iron Sights, Scavvers |
| Status | Abandoned, gang-controlled, dangerous |
| Notable NPCs | Recluse, Mrs. Suzuki, The Gentleman |
📜 History
The Original Vision
When Night City was founded, Japantown was designed as “an exciting Japanese cultural center and link to the Pacific Rim.” The Asian districts—Japantown and Little China—were distinctly different, reflecting individual cultural styles. Japantown featured traditional architecture, shrine gates, paper lanterns, and authentic restaurants alongside modern businesses serving the Pacific Rim trade.
The Fall
During the 4th Corporate War, Old Japantown was caught in the crossfire. The fighting was brutal. Buildings burned. Infrastructure collapsed. The residents fled—some to Kabuki in Watson, others to the new Japantown forming in Westbrook.
The Combat Zone
Now it’s a Combat Zone—technically Tyger Claw territory, but contested. The Iron Sights have pushed the Red Chrome Legion out of Old Japantown into south Little China in recent fighting. Smaller gangs, scavengers, and the desperate fill the gaps.
🏚️ The District Today
What’s Left
| Feature | Status |
|---|---|
| Temples | Burned, collapsed, occasionally squatted |
| Storefronts | Looted, used as gang hideouts |
| Apartments | Some inhabited by desperate holdouts |
| Streets | Dark, debris-filled, dangerous |
| Infrastructure | No power, no water, no services |
🗺️ Notable Locations
Crisis Medical Center
A no-questions-asked medical center supplied with the most advanced technology. Frequented by Edgerunners, Solos, and boosters alike.
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Services | Full medical, no questions asked |
| Status | Neutral ground for all factions |
| Clientele | Edgerunners, Solos, boosters, anyone with eddies |
| Security | Enforced neutrality—violence means permanent ban |
Neutral Ground
Crisis Medical is one of the few true neutral zones in Night City. All factions respect this—breaking the peace here means no faction doctor will ever treat you again.
Highcourt Plaza Hotel
A decidedly classy and well-defended hotel nestled between Old Japantown and Little China. An art deco diamond in the rough.
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Style | 1920s art deco, glass elevators |
| Service | Excellent, professional staff |
| Security | Well-defended, professional guards |
| Notable Resident | The Gentleman (loan shark) |
| Access | Anyone with eddies, but watched carefully |
The Gentleman
A loan shark operating from the Highcourt Plaza. Tall, expensive 1890s suits, offers real cheese and Pinot Grigio. When you owe him money, he sends polite invitations to “discuss terms.”
Kaifū Corner
An abandoned shopping mall that served as a community hub before the War. Now home to Recluse, a mysterious Netrunner who uses it as a base of operations.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Before | Community shopping center |
| Now | Recluse’s fortified base |
| Access | Don’t go unless you need a Netrunner—or trouble |
| Defenses | Expensive covert defenses, complex NET Architectures |
Mrs. Suzuki’s Gourmet Bodega
A clean, well-lit bodega snuggled in the heart of Old Japantown’s original community. Near the door, a little plastic statuette of a calico cat waves its paw.
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Location | Near Crisis Medical Center |
| Specialty | Japanese food, cooking ingredients, Shroomer-grown lichen desserts |
| Status | Family business, third generation |
| Night Market | Monthly pop-up in shuttered big-box stores |
| Connection | Only topside seller of Shroomer food |
The Burned Temple
A Shinto shrine that was torched during the fighting. Some say it’s cursed. Others say it’s a good place to hide. Squatters sometimes camp here.
Underground Tunnels
Old Japantown has extensive tunnels—maintenance corridors, basements, and passages that connect to Kabuki. Scavvers use these to move unseen. So do worse things.
The Buried City
Parts of the district were literally buried during post-War reconstruction:
- Old streets now underground
- Collapsed buildings became foundations for new construction
- Valuable pre-War tech hidden in the debris
- Ghost stories about those who died down there
👥 Who’s Here
Tyger Claws (Nominal Control)
The Claws claim Old Japantown as part of their territory, but they mostly care about:
- Specific valuable buildings
- Passages to their actual territory
- Making sure rivals don’t establish a foothold
Iron Sights
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Territory | Northern Old Japantown sector |
| Recent Action | Pushed Red Chrome Legion out to Little China |
| Threat | Heavily armed, organized, expansionist |
Scavvers
Desperate scavengers picking through ruins:
- Looking for pre-War tech
- Will attack if they outnumber you
- Know the tunnels better than anyone
Holdouts
Some residents never left:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Mrs. Suzuki | Maintains family bodega out of sentiment |
| The Elderly | Too stubborn to abandon homes their families built |
| The Poor | Nowhere else to go |
| The Hiding | Running from something worse |
Recluse
“Everyone in the Combat Zone knows you don’t go into the old Kaifū Corner shopping complex unless you’re looking for trouble or you need a top-tier Netrunner.”
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Location | Kaifū Corner shopping complex |
| Specialty | NET cracking—“no matter how airtight” |
| Contact | Never meets in person; clients meet in her NET Architecture lobby |
| Icon | Tremendous brown recluse spider with an icy voice |
| Cost | Big time cash only |
| Rumored Origins | Ex-Netwatch agent hiding from employers; an A.I.; a Net Ghost in the Old NET |
If You Need the NET Cracked
Recluse is the best—and she knows it. Her NET Architectures are complex enough that most Edgerunners could only dream of acquiring them. But she only takes clients who can pay.
🌆 Atmosphere
Day
- Eerily quiet
- Empty streets, broken buildings
- Occasional scavver movement
- Stray animals, rats
- Sunlight filtering through ruined roofs
- Mrs. Suzuki’s lucky cat waving
Night
Don’t come here at night unless you have to.
- Complete darkness (no power grid)
- Gang activity peaks
- Sounds carry—gunfire, screams
- Things move in the tunnels
- The Highcourt Plaza glows like a diamond
😄 What You See
🎲 GM Resources
Why Come Here?
| Purpose | Hook |
|---|---|
| Find Recluse | Need a Netrunner no one else can find |
| Medical emergency | Crisis Medical is neutral ground |
| Loan shark problems | The Gentleman wants a meeting |
| Scavenging | Pre-War tech lost in the ruins |
| Hidden passage | Tunnels connect to other districts |
| Hiding | Nobody looks for you in a Combat Zone |
| Chase | Target fled here—now you follow |
| Rescue | Someone’s been taken; they’re being held here |
| Night Market | Mrs. Suzuki’s monthly pop-up |
Environmental Hazards
| Hazard | Effect |
|---|---|
| Unstable buildings | Collapse risk, Difficult terrain |
| No lights | Darkness penalties without gear |
| Tunnel flooding | Some passages fill with water |
| Rats | Disease risk, noise gives you away |
| Trapped areas | Scavvers protect their caches |
🔗 Related Topics
- Japantown — The thriving new district in Westbrook
- Tyger Claws — Nominal controllers
- Iron Sights — Northern sector controllers
- Kabuki — Where most refugees went
- Little China — Neighboring Combat Zone
- Combat Zones — The bigger picture
- Recluse — The Netrunner who lives here
(Source: Cyberpunk RED Core Rulebook, pp. 299, 306-307, 312; Tales of the Red: Hope Reborn)