Love hotels becoming the last refuge of a temp-help worker

For the past several years, the term nanmin (refugee) has increasingly been applied as a suffix to the temporary habitats of young people down on their luck. First there were the net cafe nanmin, who occupy tiny two-mat rooms in Internet cafes; next came manki nanmin, who sleep in cubicles provided by all-night manga kissa (coffee shops with comic books for rent). There are even makku nanmin, who doze with their heads on the counters or tables of McDonald’s fast-food outlets.

And now it seems there are “love hotel nanmin.” Actually for some time already, runaway girls in their teens could be seen loitering on the streets around love hotels in search of a man to provide them with accommodations for the night. But more recently, Nikkan Gendai (Jan. 31) reports, a new phenomenon has developed in which the runaway teens have been joined by women from their mid-20s to mid-30s. Read more

Plain Janes out in the cold as sex businesses attract beauties

Nikkan Gendai (Jan. 29) reports that a 34-year-old woman residing in Tokyo’s residential Setagaya Ward was recently arrested for sneaking into her neighbor’s apartment — not to steal but ostensibly to recharge her cell phone battery. When the neighbor returned home unexpectedly, the intruder stabbed her with a kitchen knife.

Following her apprehension, the culprit, who had been employed as a sex industry worker, told investigators she was in dire economic straits.

“More temp-help workers laid off due to the recession are moving into the sex industry,” says reporter Yukio Kamimura. “Operators have become much more discriminating, weeding out homely women at job interviews, and now you’re finding more attractive women working there. Good-looking dames are necessary to bring back repeat customers.”

Kamimura adds that some massage places have even been adding forbidden pleasures in the form of honban (the real thing, i.e., coitus) at no extra charge, and places that previously drew the line at sumata (ejaculating through penile stimulation by rubbing against the woman’s external labia) are now encouraging the gals to permit full penetration. Read more

Valentine’s Day running in reverse

The Japanese woman’s time-honored role of giving chocolate goodies to her true love and other not-so-trues each February 14th is shifting, reports Nikkan Gendai (Jan. 22).

The distribution of inconsequential giri choco, or obligation chocolate, that a female usually passes on to friends or co-workers with zero emotional interest, might actually see a rise this Valentine’s Day. A survey conducted by department store Printemps Ginza reported that women on average will spend 1,172 yen out of sheer duty, an increase of 143 yen over the year before.

The daily asks how this can be possible given the harsh economic climate. One office lady in her 30s explains: “Because of restructurings and firings nowadays, it is good to flatter the boss.” Read more

Commando undies for Valentine’s Day

Looking for that perfect Valentine’s Day gift? Certainly lingerie company Embelline has come up with a unique option for those wishing to mix love and war. Love Pan (ラブパン) is an undergarment for men and women available in three versions (pink and green camouflage and yellow). The yellow undies are simply decorated with colored marbles but the fatigue variations are composed of silhouettes of couples engaged in a variety of sexual positions with the English exclamations “Yes!!” and “Oh!!” splashed across the front and back. Yet with a hefty price tag of 5,500 yen (for a pair), other utterances might more quickly come to mind. Embelline’s Web page says that it expects to sell 1,000 pairs of these “sexy” and “cute” garments. For lonely hearts, singles can as well be purchased for 2,800 yen.

No one can Tengu like you do

To anyone who can make out the top line of an eye chart, the resemblance between the enormous schnozzle that pokes out from traditional masks of Tengu (Japanese goblins) and a male reproductive organ in its tumescent state is unmistakable.

In olden times, the notion of being penetrated by a shiny red shaft of such monstrous proportions may have been terrifying enough to drive some more impressionable young females to a lifetime of chastity in ama dera (Buddhist convents).

But that was then, and this is now, when modern gals take a much more tolerant view of the Tengu’s bulging beak. Shukan Bunshun (Jan. 29) features this excerpt from the February issue of Ai no Taken Special Deluxe published by Takeshobo. Read more

Tower of girl power at 30

TOKYO (TR) – In any panoramic photograph of Shibuya’s always busy crossing, a structure likely positioned prominently in the background will be the part-wedge-shaped, part-cylindrical Shibuya 109 building. The teen district of Shibuya is continually in flux, with trends and stores coming and going by the week, but the outer silver sheen and bright-red “Shibuya 109″ script that characterizes this landmark has endured, with this year marking its 30th anniversary.

“The crowd pours from Shibuya Station and moves outward in many directions,” says architect Minoru Takeyama during an interview at a coffee shop across the street from his creation. “The 109 building is at a corner of a major intersection. The idea is for the flow from the station to move around the curve of the cylinder.”

But each day thousands of young female pedestrians, in fact, step inside to peruse its 10 floors of clothing boutiques and restaurants, a phenomena so pronounced that this structure has become a launching pad for teen fashion. Read more

Defloration goes for a song, and it ain’t ‘Sakura, Sakura’

Japanese were taken aback recently by news reports that a 22-year-old American female had offered her virginity on eBay for the equivalent of 330 million yen.

The woman’s objective in peddling her pudenda was to pay off her student loans. And, at that price, probably purchase a Lamborghini in which to drive to the bank.

Nikkan Gendai (Jan. 22), which only one day before had reported on nerdy men grabbing up an illustrated book giving instructions on how to make out with girls, now shifts its attention to teenagers eager to market their unruptured hymens to the highest bidder.

“From ancient times, humanity engaged in the practice of offering virgins to the deities as sacrificial objects,” says Meiji University professor Osamu Seki. “That was because they represented a holy spirit undefiled by sex. Today’s otaku who get turned by Lolita types in animated cartoons are basically moved by the same principle.” Read more

Cherry boys clamor for instruction manual

Years ago, a man who had attained age 20 without having had sex was contemptuously referred to as “yarahata,” a composite of yaranai (not to do) and hatachi (20 years old). But these days, Nikkan Gendai (Jan. 21) reports, plenty of fellows have already hit 30 and still never gone all the way.

Maybe these fellows should bone up on the 105-page comic book from Ichijinsha titled “Sanjissai no Hoken Taiiku” (Health Education and Physical Education for Men in Their 30s). Since going on sale last December, the title has been enjoying strong sales, making it to the bestseller list (No. 25) of the Japanese subsidiary of Amazon.com. Read more

Beware of ‘Ugly Betty’

If you wanna be happy
For the rest of your life,
Never make a pretty woman your wife,
So from my personal point of view,
Get an ugly girl to marry you.

So went the lyrics of Jimmy Soul’s 1963 No. 1 smash single, “If You Wanna Be Happy.” The song was adopted from a calypso number “Ugly Woman” issued earlier the same year.

“An ugly woman cooks her meals on time,” the vocalist exhorts. “She’ll always give you peace of mind.”

But don’t be fooled, writes columnist Manabu Fujimura in Nikkan Gendai (Jan. 14). And more’s the point, an office affair with an ugly gal can get you in plenty of hot water. Read more

Fan club for Yousui of Warhead is born in Koenji

Gabba, guitarist from the legendary punk band Chaos UK, has been spending time in Koenji, Tokyo with his video camera. The clip below features backstage footage of the unfortunate encounter of the forehead of Yousui, the bass player of the hardcore band Warhead, with a steel ball mounted on the end of a spring. Result: A big headache indeed. At left is a scan of one of Warhead’s better known 7″ singles, “Cry of Truth” (1991) – no doubt happier times.
Yousui Fan Club

Next Page »