February 2009

One pricey bowl of soup noodles

By CJ • February 28, 2009

A bowl of noodles at a typical Tokyo ramen joint is cheap — usually around 800 yen — and served in a convenient location. Fujimaki Gekijo, situated between Nakameguro and Yutenji in Meguro Ward, is neither. And the owner and chef, Shoichi Fujimaki, would have it no other way.

Long-running Tokyo cabaret to shut

By CJ • February 27, 2009

TOKYO – The cabaret Kabukicho Club Heights will close its doors this Friday, leveling another blow upon Japan’s most vibrant red-light district of Kabukicho.
The …

Gals from the sticks come to Kanto, turn tricks

By Kazutaka Shimanaka • February 27, 2009

“I come to Yokohama and work for a week to 10 days out of every month,” the 22-year-old woman, who goes by the professional …

Innovative ‘Hole Warmer’ keeps cold cooze cozy

By Kazutaka Shimanaka • February 25, 2009

In the realm of the senses, female frigidity is a recurrent concern. But Nikkan Gendai (Feb. 25) finds sympathy with those who rely on adult sex aids for their love life — which is often accompanied by a completely different type of frigidity.

Workplace washouts seek humiliation at the hands (and feet) of domineering damsels

By CJ • February 24, 2009

The story of a male tennis coach, arrested two weeks ago in the city of Saitama after arranging for a high school girl he met on a Web dating site to watch him masturbate inside his car for a fee of 10,000 yen, might at first seem a bit odd. But according to a report in Nikkan Gendai (Feb. 18), this behavior instead simply reflects a growing response to the presently tough times.

Beppu bathhouse gives dirty old men the VIP treatment

By Kazutaka Shimanaka • February 24, 2009

Keeping sex services running in the world’s most rapidly aging society presents a daunting challenge. So you’ve got to hand it to Pink House, a soapland (erotic bathhouse) in the hot springs town of Beppu, Oita prefecture.