- Joined
- Nov 30, 2012
- Messages
- 445
- Reaction score
- 826
Kanazuen in Gifu prefecture is one of Japan's famous large soap districts. I've picked up some information from a lady working there and decided to share them as there is only sparse information in English on the net.
First, apparently the Kanazuen Soap Association forbids the entry of foreigners, some of the cheap shops do not belong to the association and may take foreign customers ("Birthday" for example). This ban of foreigners exists since the 80s, during the AIDS crisis.
Access is very easy though, just accross the street after exiting Gifu station towards the south.
The whole district looks very rundown, worse than Ogoto. The number of shops has been decreasing for years, and recently the Gifu police has started "investigations" which resulted in some shops going out of business. The driving force behind this is the local member of parliament, Noda Seiko, who would like to see the land occupied by the soaplands put to different use. It's just a few minutes on foot from Gifu station after all.
So, this has become a vicious circle. The police starts "investigating", shops start to close. Customers and ladies are afraid of the police, less customers result in less revenue for the ladies, the good foam princesses can't make enough money anymore and look for different places. So the overall quality of ladies decreases, the risk of hitting a service jirai becomes more likely and customers who once hit a jirai also stay away. The shops don't invest in refurbishment any more as they don't know for how long they can stay in business so the buildings and the interior keep getting older. Maybe another ten years an Kanazuen will be gone.
First, apparently the Kanazuen Soap Association forbids the entry of foreigners, some of the cheap shops do not belong to the association and may take foreign customers ("Birthday" for example). This ban of foreigners exists since the 80s, during the AIDS crisis.
Access is very easy though, just accross the street after exiting Gifu station towards the south.
The whole district looks very rundown, worse than Ogoto. The number of shops has been decreasing for years, and recently the Gifu police has started "investigations" which resulted in some shops going out of business. The driving force behind this is the local member of parliament, Noda Seiko, who would like to see the land occupied by the soaplands put to different use. It's just a few minutes on foot from Gifu station after all.
So, this has become a vicious circle. The police starts "investigating", shops start to close. Customers and ladies are afraid of the police, less customers result in less revenue for the ladies, the good foam princesses can't make enough money anymore and look for different places. So the overall quality of ladies decreases, the risk of hitting a service jirai becomes more likely and customers who once hit a jirai also stay away. The shops don't invest in refurbishment any more as they don't know for how long they can stay in business so the buildings and the interior keep getting older. Maybe another ten years an Kanazuen will be gone.
