Rainbow 2, long regarded as one of Nana Plaza’s cornerstone go-go bars, is roaring back to classic form under its new management, debuting a fresh lineup of dancers that recalls its glory days.
Rainbow 2’s Storied Legacy
Rainbow 1 and 2 were Nana Plaza’s flagship bar for decades. And even though No. 2 was slightly smaller and less famous than Rainbow 1, Japanese customers flocked to its location in the back corner of Nana’s ground floor.
The attraction was clear: the bar’s dancers were slim, black-haired, largely free of tattoos, and often newcomers to the industry.
“The Rainbow bars were something else back in the day,” recalled Stickman Bangkok this week. “My first memories are that they were the first bars I was familiar with where ladies did themselves up in a way to attract the Japanese guys. It wasn’t full on with the blonde hair and completely overdone eye makeup that followed though.”
The combination of youthful dancers and attentive Japanese regulars gave Rainbow 2 cult status. Hidden camera videos from the crowded stage, still available on YouTube, fed that reputation.
Inside, the bar was rarely quiet. At peak times, as many as 100 girls cycled through three dance shifts, with the stage so crowded that dancers often shuffled in place while waiting to accost customers between rotations.
By the mid-2000s, the second Rainbow was firmly established as one of the Plaza’s busiest bars. Customers came early to secure time with their favorite dancers, knowing they wouldn’t be around long.
Decline and Drastic Change
But the bar’s fortunes shifted after the family that owned the four Rainbow bars sold their stakes during the Covid years.
The Rainbow Group had once been a family operation, with a sister running Rainbow 2 and 4 and her brother in charge of 1 and 3. But when they sold out to the partners who started Rainbow 5 (originally known as Twister), the formula that made Rainbow 1 and 2 famous was abandoned.
In a move that shocked longtime patrons, both Rainbow 1 and 2 were turned into ladyboy bars. Rainbow 1, historically the first go-go bar in Nana Plaza, was closed, relocated to the back corner next to R2, and merged.
The experiment proved deeply unpopular. The slim, Japanese-style dancers were replaced with performers far removed from the bar’s traditional image, and Japanese regulars drifted elsewhere.
Even after Rainbow 2 returned to employing women, its lineup fell short of expectations. Many customers noted the dancers were heavier, tattooed and out of step with the bar’s historic appeal. With its once-loyal Japanese clientele gone, Rainbow 2 languished in obscurity, overshadowed by more consistent venues.
Return to Form
That changed in 2025, when new management took control. Unlike the speedy reopening of Rainbow 1 as a show bar earlier this year, Rainbow 2’s relaunch was delayed by several months. The extra time was spent recruiting and training a lineup designed to bring the bar back to its roots.
By July, Rainbow 2 was once again showcasing the type of dancers that made it famous: young, slim, largely tattoo-free women who fit the Japanese standard that had defined its past.
The difference was immediately noticeable as these photos from Digital a-Go-Go taken in late August attest to. The dancers exude the same youthful energy that made Rainbow 2 a cult favorite two decades ago.
Word spread quickly among customers that the “old Rainbow 2” was back. Regulars who once wrote the bar off are returning, and new visitors are discovering why the Rainbow brand had once been synonymous with Nana Plaza itself.
Revival
Rainbow 2’s revival is particularly significant in the context of the broader Rainbow group. While Rainbow 1 has been reinvented as a show bar with choreographed performances, Rainbow 2 is again playing to its strengths: a packed lineup of slim beauties and the buzz of an always-crowded stage.
For many longtime observers of Bangkok nightlife, Rainbow 2’s comeback is a reminder of how quickly fortunes can change in Nana Plaza. From its heights as a Japanese magnet, to its decline under Covid-era changes, to its rebirth under 2025 management, the bar has lived through nearly every transformation possible.
Now, with its stage once again filled with slim, young dancers and its reputation rebounding, Rainbow 2 looks ready to reclaim its place as one of the Plaza’s cornerstone attractions.
