TOKYO (TR) – While Japan’s general public laments a sluggish economy, money is still flowing freely at the apex of the nation’s red-light districts.
At the very top of the adult entertainment pyramid, elite sex workers continue to rake in massive sums from deep-pocketed clients, completely untouched by the recession, reports Maidonanews.jp (June 7).
For example, there is “Nanako” (a pseudonym), a 51-year-old veteran cast member at a high-end soapland bathhouse. Decades into her career, she continues to dominate her shop’s popularity rankings, boasting a staggering monthly income of 2.5 to 3 million yen.
To maintain her elite status, Nanako refuses to take public transportation. She commutes strictly by taxi, dropping 5,000 yen round-trip daily to get to the shop.
“Back in my day, it was a given for a soapland girl to commute by taxi. If you worked at a luxury club, you earned enough to ride one every day,” Nanako said. “I still have those habits. I don’t use trains because I need to maintain my self-awareness as a ‘high-class woman.'”
Premium lingerie sets
The door-to-door taxi commute also serves a highly practical purpose in the nightlife industry: thwarting stalkers and preventing her real identity from being exposed to the public.
Her commitment to the illusion of luxury extends deeply into her wardrobe. Nanako insists on wearing branded dresses costing around 30,000 yen, entirely shunning cheap fabrics. Underneath, she wears premium lingerie sets costing no less than 20,000 yen, keeping a massive stockpile in her locker so she can change outfits to suit the specific fetishes of each client.
“Some girls wear cheap dresses that just look expensive, but our customers are used to playing at high-end clubs. They have a discerning eye,” she explained. “People laugh and say, ‘You’re just going to take it off anyway,’ but it is our duty to pay attention to the absolute finest details to create an extraordinary experience.”
“Two wheel” course
Who is footing the bill for this lavish lifestyle?
While Nanako admits the era of “whales” completely buying out a girl’s schedule for multi-day private vacations has largely faded, extreme spending remains alive and well in the form of “multi-wheel” harem courses.
A standard 120-minute session at her luxury soapland costs about 60,000 yen. However, clients frequently request a “two-wheel” course — meaning two women serve one man — instantly doubling the bill to 120,000 yen. From there, deep-pocketed customers regularly escalate to “three-wheel” or “four-wheel” sessions, sometimes booking them for double (four hours) or triple (six hours) the time.
“I recently had a booking with a younger guy in his 30s who requested a three-wheel course,” Nanako revealed. “You can’t deny that the overall number of these big spenders has dropped, but they are still out there.”
For this veteran nightlife survivor, outlasting Japan’s economic slump comes down to pure hustle. “How you catch these high-rollers, how you meet them, and how you keep them coming back is entirely up to your own ability.”
