Fire at Susukino’s Iconic “Bunny Girl Bar” Highlights Entertainment Districts’ Link to Blazes

On social media: “Let’s do something fun!”

At 3:18 PM on November 26, an explosion erupted in a girls’ bar located in a mixed-use building in Sapporo’s Susukino district, engulfing the building in flames. A 41-year-old man inside the establishment was critically injured and left unconscious, while three others—a man in his 30s, a man in his 50s, and a female employee in her 20s—suffered severe burns and were hospitalized. The number of injured later increased to five.

The unconscious 41-year-old man was reportedly disguised as a worker, wearing coveralls, a hat, and a mask. He brought a bucket filled with what appeared to be gasoline into the bar, scattered the liquid, and ignited it with a lighter.

This man is believed to have been in a relationship with the injured female employee. Following a breakup dispute, she had sought police help on November 7 and subsequently fled to a relative’s home. Although police verbally warned the man, he continued to harass her through persistent messages on LINE and livestreams hinting at self-harm. Just before the fire, he posted on social media, saying, “I’m going to do something fun,” suggesting his intent.

The incident occurred in a busy area of Susukino, about 100 meters south of the iconic Nikka Whisky neon sign at the district’s main intersection. The building, a narrow six-story structure with a basement, housed bars and adult service guides. The second and third floors, where the fire is believed to have started, were home to a girls’ bar known for its bunny girl cosplay theme.

The Relationship Between Entertainment Areas and Fires

In the social dining and entertainment industry, specialized bunny girl cosplay establishments began to increase in the latter half of the Heisei era. Due to the sexy yet luxurious image of the costumes, which evoke a VIP appeal, they remain popular nationwide. Bunny girl outfits suit only women with excellent figures, naturally resulting in a staff composed solely of attractive women.

The bunny girl girls’ bar involved in this incident was the Ekimae-dori Main Store of the “Million” group, which operates five locations in Sapporo. Known as the most famous in Sapporo, it is a landmark girls’ bar representing Susukino. Its sister stores, “Minami 4-Jo-dori Store” and “5-Jo-dori Store,” are iconic for their glass-fronted designs, which allow passersby to view the bunny girls’ sexy appearances from the street.

I visited the “Million 5-Jo-dori Store” one evening in June 2015. A young woman in a bunny girl outfit came out to the sidewalk to see off an elderly male customer, and her overly sexy appearance caught my eye. At the same time, I realized how much of a promotional impact the visible bunny outfits had and thought, “No wonder it’s so popular.”

Following the rise of “Million,” similar “bunny & glass-front” establishments appeared and disappeared across the country. A store near the north exit of Ikebukuro Station was raided in February 2023. The reason for the raid was suspicion of allowing female employees to entertain customers without the necessary adult entertainment business permits.

Three days after the fire in Susukino, a building fire also occurred in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, on November 29. Fires have long been common in entertainment districts. Factors include old buildings, insufficient fire safety equipment, and careless disposal of flammable waste or cigarettes. The building in Susukino where the fire occurred lacked outdoor stairs, leaving only one indoor staircase for evacuation, which was flagged as a critical issue. The Kabukicho building fire in September 2001 resulted in 44 deaths due to inadequate evacuation routes, and the Omiya adult entertainment building fire in December 2017, which killed five, highlighted the problem of aging establishments that cannot be rebuilt.

However, the most symbolic aspect of this fire is that it appears to have stemmed from a personal conflict between a man and a woman. A customer, driven to despair, setting a store on fire out of revenge or grudge against a woman is something that should never happen. It goes without saying that it is necessary to combine strengthening fire prevention and disaster management systems in buildings (hardware measures) with creating spaces for isolated individuals to reduce crimes of despair and eliminate expansive suicides that harm others (software measures).