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May 23 is Kissing Day in Japan, apparently. If you didn’t know that, don’t worry – chances are no one in Japan knows either. But May 23 is the anniversary of the release of Hatachi no Seishun, the 1946 movie celebrated as the first Japanese film to feature a kiss scene, and someone decided to declare that date as kisu no hi (キスの日), a date for romantic first encounters and anything-goes puckering up.

And a nightclub in Tokyo is offering couples the chance to experience that famous kiss scene for themselves, by, er, kissing each side of an acrylic “window”!

Koi Nobori is essentially a singles party with some extra kissing-related rules. Each attendee receives one glow band on entry. When they find someone they want to kiss, they offer them the glow band.

▼ The romance! The magic!

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If accepted, the happy couple can make their way to the kissing booth, where they can exchange the glow band for the experience of kissing through a piece of clear acrylic.

▼ You only get one turn in the kissing booth, so choose carefully…

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The acrylic sheet trick is a homage to the kissing scene from Hatachi no Seishun (‘Twenty-year-old youth’), in which the lovers smooch on either side of a window.

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You can watch Koi Nobori’s promotion vid for the event below.

▼ Warning: Prepare to be underwhelmed.

We’re still not sure what the point of the acrylic sheet is. Perhaps it’s to protect from any nasty diseases the stranger you just met in the club might be carrying? Or to allow you to keep your distance from someone you don’t really want to kiss? That’s not too romantic a prospect though, really…

Event details
Koi Nobori @ Edition Aoyama, Tokyo
Saturday, May 23rd, 7pm-9:30pm
Admission: men 5,500 yen, women 3,000 yen

Sources: 3 pieceNetLab
Featured image: YouTube