We are avoiding beaches and public pools right now, given the ongoing coronavirus infection rate, but that doesn't mean we aren't thinking about swimsuits.
Far from it, they are one of the highlights of any summer in Japan.
And to show just how far things have come, we wanted to share with you an image from 1966 (Showa 41), which we spotted shared on Twitter.
It's an advertisement for "beach-ready" ladies in their colorful swimsuits. "Which is your pattern?" the main copy asks.
All the women model different styles of swimwear, each aimed at a respective kind of personality (from the ...
In a bid to contain the second wave of the coronavirus around Japan, people are now being encouraged to have "online nomikai" (drinking parties) rather than meeting in person for food and booze at the usual izakaya or restaurant.
Thankfully, technology now makes this possible, though the idea has a fatal flaw. One of the major appeals of a nomikai is that it gives you the chance to hook up with that friend of a friend who tags along, or that cutie at the next table. Zoom is great but it removes that from the equation, hence dating will really suffer in these coronavirus times.
How can you ...
Oh, to be single again. But one expert has recently warned of the perils of dating and even kissing in the age of the coronavirus.
While a lot of the attention has focused somewhat disproportionately on hostess and hostess clubs, the coronavirus pandemic has also massively impacted nightclubs, bars, and live music venues. With the nightlife industry on the verge of collapse, this is not just a loss in terms of cool places to go and hang out -- it also affects how people date and woo a partner.
If you can't go to a karaoke booth with your date, where can you get some smooching done in ...
ASMR is one of those things that some people just don't get. It is, let's be honest, for a certain type of person or mindset.
But there is ASMR and then there's ASMR. And then there's Japanese ASMR.
Which means at times intersecting with some very strange fetishes. But how about an audio-sensory frisson from flatulence?
A dojinshi circle, Inoshikachokan (いのしかちょう館), has released an hour-long audio file of a voice actress farting.
Created by Uribou (うりぼう) and with illustrations by Yamato (Daikon), the seiyu Kotori Hino's (日乃ことり) novel contribution to the ...
In a further sign that hosts and hostesses are skillfully trying to reframe the media narrative that has demonized their trade as hotspots for spreading coronavirus infections in Tokyo, the city's metropolitan government has released educational videos on COVID-19 that see two hosts and a hostess ask doctors questions.
After host clubs began cooperating with the Shinjuku government to initiate testing for employees and stem the spread in Kabukicho (and the demonization in the media), and the government started handing out cash payments to clubs that agree to close and to individual hosts and ...
What's the best way to provide sex education for youngsters? At school? Through parents? From their peers? By encouraging them to do research online?
It's pretty well known that sex ed in schools in Japan is somewhat lacking, and you certainly won't learn about contraception or consent from Japanese porn or TV shows.
Well, a nonprofit has come up with a solution, of sorts: toilet paper!
The Sowledge (yes, "sow knowledge") project seeks to teach kids about sex, sexual consent, abuse, and male and female anatomy by printing messages on toilet paper.
So when these young Japanese ...
A doctor at a Tokyo hospital has been founding guilty of indecent assault by the Tokyo High Court. He is convicted of licking the breast of a female surgery immediately after she had undergone surgery in 2016.
The case is complicated, though, since the 44-year-old doctor was originally found innocent in February 2019. The Tokyo High Court overturned that verdict and handed down a two-year prison sentence instead.
The case hinged on whether or not a patient who had just received general anesthetic could reliably recount incidents straight after surgery. What she saw as the doctor licking her ...
Tokyo is experiencing a second wave of coronavirus infections, with upwards of 200+ infections announced per day. Almost all of these, so far, are younger people able to cope with symptoms and the pressure of the city's health facilities is currently minimal. Let's hope that this situation does not worsen.
As we have continued to write on these pages, much of the blame for clusters has focused -- we think, overly and unfairly so -- on the mizu shobai "water trade" world of nighttime entertainment, particularly host and hostess clubs, which have been almost demonized by the mainstream media ...
Hostess clubs are really suffering in the new normal that is living with the coronavirus.
People are understandably wary of spending prolonged periods inside small bars and clubs running up a hefty drinks tab -- even when the company of beautiful women is included. Given the proximity required for the experience, face masks -- even ones specifically designed for hostesses -- are not likely to reassure moneyed clients.
Host clubs have particularly faced media scrutiny as the cause of several coronavirus infection clusters, though are now working with the Shinjuku government to increase ...
While we tend to concern ourselves chiefly on these digital pages with the goings-on of the Japanese female, we are not blind to the charms and amusements of her male counterpart.
Indeed, we take delight in a real gem like this.
Recently discovered and shared in a series of photos on Twitter by Joshua Hunt, the now-defunct street fashion magazine Relax did a spread on "men who love their underwear" inside an issue in 1997.
The article title translates roughly as: "Street Corner Underwear Attack in Harajuku: Guys So Proud of Their Underwear That They Can Show People."
Ah, the cheeky 1990s. ...
