Reporn: Ueno Okura Theater raises new ‘pink’ curtain

TOKYO (TR) – Given their unseemly reputation, a porn theater boasting of high-quality interiors and modern fixtures is equally as improbable as 15 minutes passing on the screen without bare flesh hitting the tatami.

Yet that is the case following last month’s opening of the replacement to the rundown, all-night Ueno Okura Theater, which enjoyed a near half-century period as Japan’s most highly regarded home for pinku eiga, or pink films, a form of soft-core pornography.

Located near Ueno Park in Taito Ward, a dozen yards from the original, the three-screen theater offers 40-inch promo monitors in the lobbies, brightly lit hallways and plush seats — all an attempt to attract younger clientele, and more women. Read more

Tokyo’s ‘pink’ Ueno Okura Theater goes out in style

(Photo by Tokyo Reporter, July 31, 2010) Read more

Porn again: Historic Tokyo ‘pink’ theater upgrades, seeks female audience

TOKYO (TR) – The Kabuki-za theater in Ginza is not the only notable Tokyo structure dating back to the 1950s that has shut its doors this year.

With large illuminated lettering affixed to its pasty white facade proclaiming “Adult Movies,” the all-night Ueno Okura Theater, located in Taito Ward close to Shinobazu Pond and at the edge of Ueno Park, has been entertaining fans of erotic cinema for nearly five decades.

The two-screen building, however, closed Saturday due to safety concerns and aesthetic problems resulting from its aged interiors. But the theater widely regarded as Japan’s top outlet for soft-core “pink” pornographic films will continue inside a new complex across the alley and begin targeting a different type of cinemagoer: women.

“Female customers can’t typically come to this kind of place because they feel embarrassed,” says the theater’s bespectacled general manager, Hidekazu Saito. “But we want them to come without hesitation.” Read more

Saori Hara, Maria Ozawa and Shelly Fujii shine at 2010 porn awards

TOKYO (TR) – The last few months have been a whirlwind of activity for adult video (AV) starlet Saori Hara.

Just prior to being served papers in January for an “indecent” appearance in the photo book “No Nude by Kishin 1 20XX Tokyo,” Hara released her memoir “My Real Name is Mai Kato: Why I became an AV Girl.”

But certainly most memorable was her crowning last month as Best Actress at the Sky PerfecTV! Adult Broadcasting Awards. “I am so surprised to have received this wonderful award,” beamed the 22-year-old, attired in a low-cut light purple dress during the ceremony that took place at a theater in the love hotel area of Tokyo’s Shibuya district.

Now in its sixth year, the somewhat tongue-in-cheek event was a mix of accolades and entertainment that featured many of the hottest stars performing regularly in bondage and fetish roles on programming carried by satellite broadcaster Sky PerfecTV! Read more

Paradise TV wins Best Production in HD at 2010 porn awards

(Photo by Tokyo Reporter, March 24, 2010) Read more