When you've been at this game as long as us, you start to see patterns and cycles in the mainstream media's reporting about Japan -- including by the Japanese media itself.
Perennially, we spot articles about sexless Japan based on a new survey with minimal data. Sometimes even the same content reappears, slightly rejigged for a fresh article.
In 2017, we reported on the private sex museum run by a photographer from his own home.
Yoshitaka Hyodo's extraordinary museum in Yashio, Saitama, is still around and going strong. It has received the latest boost to its publicity with a recent ...
Photographer and love doll super fan Yoshitaka Hyodo has converted his private house into a personal hihokan-style sex museum.
Located in Yashio City on the border between Saitama and Tokyo, Hyodo has even opened up his house to the public for Golden Week. If you want to visit, it is open from April 30th to May 5th. Reservations are required, though, so check his blog for more details. Admission is ¥1,000, but apparently free for people with sex dolls. Photography is allowed for non-commercial purposes.
This is the fourth time he has opened up his collection across two floors ...
Anyone interested in Japanese sex dolls, love hotels and sex museums (hihokan) should check out this upcoming exhibition by photographer Kyoichi Tsuzuki.
Kyoichi Tsuzuki is famous for his photo-books that examine the seedier elements of Japan, such as Tokyo Right Half, Love Hotel: Satellite of Love, and Hihokan. His most popular book is perhaps Tokyo Style and his counter-guide book "roadside" series that showcases unusual sights found while travelling.
From June 11th to July 31st, Tsuzuki's work on erotic Japan will be presented at the event space Atsukobarouh Arts Drinks Talk in ...
The Kinugawa Hihokan (sex museum) sadly closed in December last year, making Atami Hihokan apparently the last remaining old hihokan.
While there isn't enough interest to keep these museums in business, there are still people who like the exhibits... so much so that they steal them.
It has been reported that up to seven mannequins have been stolen from the Kinugawa Hihokan premises in Tochigi.
The exhibits were made in the early 1980's and are real collector's items for their curiosity and artistic value, let alone any titillation they may also provide.
There's not much ...
Hihokan (literally "secret treasure hall") are Japan's sex museums, a wealth of postwar kitsch that fester around the country.
Now Atami Hihokan, one of the most famous of them all, has apparently achieved the dubious honor of being the last remaining sex museum. Like a lot of regional facilities in Japan, the effects of a changing economy, cheaper overseas travel and depopulation have meant that the countryside is full of rotting and rusting theme parks and museums. The Hihokan have sadly not escaped this fate.
Image of Beppu Hihokan via Hakkaku Culture
The Hihokan (sometimes spelt ...
