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Tour of Asakusa

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo can be crudely described as a metropolis of soaring and undulating concrete collectively illuminated by a glow of garish neon. Yet bordering the Sumida River in the east is the Asakusa district, which adheres to many of those characteristics but also retains certain cultural elements of life back in the Edo Period (1615 – 1868).

Tourists and locals will often flock to the area’s temples and shrines, which create a lively atmosphere around the New Year’s holidays, a prelude to the various festivals and carnivals held throughout the year.

It was once Japan’s version of Vaudeville, with one district having offered many performance theaters, a legacy that still lingers today.

Ladies in kimono shuffling through Asakusa’s narrow alleys is not an unusual site as it is one of Tokyo’s six remaining hanamachi, literally “flower town,” a reference to the locales in which customers can be entertained by a geisha.
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Pairity for charity: Tokyo porn channel raises funds for AIDS

TOKYO (TR) – Very few company presidents could sit in a conference room and casually explain why he will later this month allow the general public to enter his corporate headquarters and fondle the breasts of a selection of the female staff for a modest donation to charity. Yet Tsuyoshi Shiba, chief of provocative porn channel Paradise TV, is indeed one of them.

“By simply broadcasting our programs, that is one way to interact with society,” says the soft-spoken 60-year-old from beneath a billowing mane of dark hair. “But we wanted a more direct interaction with our viewers so that we can better distinguish ourselves.”

The use of “direct” might be the understatement of the year.

Over the last weekend of August, viewers are invited to the Shinjuku studio of Paradise TV, which will be broadcasting live on its satellite provider Sky PerfecTV!, to grasp the exposed chests of five of the female staffers who anchor the channel’s naked news programs — and yes, the segments are exactly as revealing as the name implies — for a suggested donation of 1,000 yen that goes to the prevention of AIDS, a condition that continues to be a worsening problem in Japan. Read the story »

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AV actress Reiko Yamaguchi matures into bar mama in Kabukicho

G-cup AV actress Reiko Yamaguchi has spent much of her career playing “mature” leading ladies. Yet ten years after her debut she finds herself as a full bar mama-san at a snack in Tokyo’s entertainment district of Kabukicho.

“Since I have experience as a hostess and I also wanted to create a venue for interaction with my fans, I decided to open this bar,” says the AV veteran to evening tabloid Nikkan Gendai (July 12) about her club called Bar Naked, which opened in April. “With me working ‘naked’ on a regular basis, I came up with this name because I wanted to expose the other side of me.”

The bar has 15 seats behind the counter. Entry fees start at 60 minutes for 2,500 yen. Sparkling wine (Cafe de Paris) can be purchased for 3,000 yen, and the actress, who has starred in roughly 500 adult video features, will sandwich the bottle between her 98-centimeter breasts as a no-charge extra before pouring. On Friday and Saturday nights part-time girls also serve. Read the story »

Japan’s first SM-themed soapland comes to Kobe

As a keen observer of perversions, fetishes and assorted erotica, evening tabloid Nikkan Gendai (June 29) believes it has uncovered Japan’s first club that combines soapland and SM services.

Kobe R&B opened in Hyogo Prefecture in May. Individual rooms are outfitted in red and black furnishings and offer the prospect of limb shackling to the ceiling or bed. Various vibrators and electric stimulation devices are provided for the S and M courses.

A sukebe isu (or “lecher chair”), a specially fabricated seat that enables easy access to a customer’s privates, is also at the ready for the culmination soap-down service. Read the story »

Models and stewardesses become tour bus babes

Staffing and training corporation Wellcom has started a tour service employing roughly 300 ladies called Bibus, which supplies sightseeing buses with female guides who used to be flight attendants and models. The company tells Shukan Asahi Geino (July 1) that the impetus for the program was the advanced ages of many existing guides.

A member of the company’s public relations department explains: “We originally had the service Bishoku (jobs employing beautiful women) in which former flight attendants and models went through training to become receptionists and secretaries. Then we heard about the aging issue with bus tour guides.”

The Bibus program, whose name is an amalgamation of bijin (美人) (beautiful woman) and bus (バス), began taking applications in October, 2009 and kicked off services in May of this year. On a busy day, up to 40 buses will be staffed by Bibus babes.

It is not just the customers who are benefiting, Shukan Asahi Geino assures. “Needless to say, a ‘thank you’ from clients is nice,” guide Fuyuko Tajima tells the tabloid. “Moreover, kids telling us ‘See you later’ or ‘I am back!’ will relieve any fatigue we may have.” (K.N.)

Sports tabloid Daily Sports to offer digital edition

The newspaper industry in Japan appears to be readying itself for the electronic era . Tabloid Daily Sports reported last week that it would begin a special digital newspaper service today.

The sports paper said that most Japanese newspapers rely on advertising for revenue, a contrast to the U.S. model that is based on subscription fees. However, the global wave of readers accessing written publications online is forcing Japanese newspaper companies to make a move before it is too late.

A part of the Kobe Shimbun group, the paper is known for its extensive coverage of the Hanshin Tigers. This new service, in which readers will be charged 1,890 yen per month, coincides with the commencement of spring training activities for all 12 professional ball clubs. The content of the digital edition will duplicate that of the conventional paper.

The paper is offering a one-month trial period that is accessible at this link. Use the following access information. ユーザーID: “dailysports” and パスワード Password – “denshi” (K.N.)