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High-end Tokyo sex shops meeting firm demand

Shukan Post Aug. 2
Shukan Post Aug. 2

A marketing employee in Tokyo who has been involved in the operation of fuzoku (commercial sex) clubs for the past 10 years tells weekly tabloid Shukan Post (Aug. 2) that a bi-polarization has unfolded within Japan’s adult-entertainment industry.

Soapland bathhouses and “delivery health” (or deri heru) escort services are seeing firm demand at both the low and top ends, says the source.

“It is especially true at the top-class places now with ‘Abenomics,'” he says, referring to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s pledge to raise government spending in an effort to boost prices. “There are a lot of older customers. Guys over the age of 60 are not rare.”

Accordingly, high-end shops offering premiere female talent have been opening to meet demand.

The magazine defines an upper-echelon soapland to be one that charges 100,000 yen, while the benchmark for an elite deri heru operation is 50,000 yen.

Shukan Post’s reporter makes a reservation at deri heru club Kojimachi Premiere, whose basic course begins at 60,000 yen for the first 90 minutes. The club requires new customers to undergo an interview process in order to obtain a membership, a feature that is considered unusual in the industry.

At a love hotel, the reporter is met by a staff member of Kojimachi Premiere. The representative asks the writer’s name, age, and occupation. He is also told that honban (full sex) is prohibited. (Deri heru services typically consist of blow-jobs and various other non-coital activities.)

A person in the industry says that such a screening process is an attempt to ensure “gentlemanly” behavior. “Providing a sense of security results in the recruitment of high-quality working women,” says the insider.

After the interview finishes, a tall female employee — a picture of elegance and refinement in a black one-piece dress — then enters the room. The reporter describes her as resembling actress Ryoko Yonekura. She is 28 years old, a former cabin attendant who now studies flower arrangement.

She tells the reporter that during her interview to work at the club she was asked about her academic background and her parents. The club subsequently trained her in all matters relating to decorum.

“From my speech to my movements — it is all as dictated by the mama-san,” she says.

As an example, she explains how to inform a customer that time is running short. “Instead of making a direct announcement, I’ll suggest that we move on to taking a shower,” she says. “In other words, gently encourage him to rise from the bed.”

Shukan Post says that Tokyo’s premiere deri heru establishment (which is not named) charges 200,000 yen for two hours, though that figure can reach one million yen if special ladies are recruited from model or talent agencies.

An employee at the operation stresses the importance of the female personnel, saying that only top girls from hostess clubs in the Roppongi and Ginza entertainment areas are eligible for employment.

“There are many competitors out there but nobody can say that one particular technique distinguishes them from other shops,” says the employee. “In the end, it is about the quality of the women. That’s what is most important.”

Source: “Chokokyu fuzokuten ‘2jikand 100manen’ no nazo,” Shukan Post (Aug. 2, pages 163-164)