Soaplands in Yoshiwara booming thanks to Abenomics

Forget Toyota and Sony, the real beneficiaries of Abenomics and the boost to the economy Japan is receiving (at least in spirit) is Yoshiwara, the old red light district near the Tokyo Sky Tree and still active centuries after it first became a licensed sex area.

Of course, these days prostitution is officially outlawed (thanks to the US occupation for that) but the true Yoshiwara experience can still be enjoyed in the soaplands, where you get a bubbly rub-down followed by other kinds of services.

The increase in tourists to the nearby Sky Tree is having a knock-on effect on the district’s profits, a tabloid publication has reported, plus takings jump on the 15th of every month when pensions are paid and the seniors head out to have fun, their wallets bulging with government-issued cash. Whereas some fuzoku (sex service) places in Ikebukuro turn away geriatrics looking to get laid, Yoshiwara has no such qualms.

“A lot of them fortify themselves beforehand with ED medication, which sells for about 2,000 yen a pop,” said a manager at one Yoshiwara establishment. “A customer in his eighties boasted, ‘I do it twice a month, once here and once with my wife.’”

Yoshiwara establishments charge as little as 10,000 yen, though you will likely not be able to go the whole way every time.

And it’s not just seniors or Sky Tree tourists, either. The Chinese are enjoying themselves in Yoshiwara, delighted with the quality of Japanese brothels that make their own seem tame and boring in comparison.

However, there have apparently been the usual culture clashes.

There have been complaints from proprietors about customers using the lavatory in a dirty way, plus some Chinese take it personally when the girl isn’t as “hot” as the picture — believing that they are being cheated.

Plus some of the older guys like to bring up the contested Senkaku islands as well, hoping to enjoy the girls in political discussions before getting their blow job. I guess that’s called getting your money’s worth.

Read more on Japan Today.