Some general thoughts about Soaplands and especially Yoshiwara. I wrote this for some friends in German, so it is a rather loose translation.
- If you walk down to Yoshiwara from Minowa station and turn right at the traffic light before Yoshiwaraomon (Nihontsutsumi 1-chome), you will arrive at two small information bureaus. The clerk at one of them seems to speak basic english, but japanese helps, of course. He will ask you how much money you are willing to spend and what girl you are looking for, and then make some calls at different soaplands. Shortly after, some other clerks will arrive with pictures and you can have a look at them, select a girl and will then be picked up by car. This may be a good idea if you want to avoid visiting several stores and leaving them again if no girl you like is on duty.
However, I think that the best way to really enjoy a soapland visit is to do some research beforehand, pick out some places and visit them. If you can read japanese, have a look at some reviews on the internet. Otherwise it's up to luck if the girl is into it or just provides basic service.
- I did visit the Upperclass Soapland Emerald Emperor in Yoshiwara yesterday, and the lady (Shino, I think) was not very attentive and overall, the experience did not change from a cheaper place. The price was 60.000 Yen for 120 minutes, 10.000 Yen discount because she was new at the shop. She already worked for a long time at the Nakasu Soapland district in Fukuoka, though. If you want some Hakata dialect with your soap in Tokyo, this may be a chance not to miss.
- I also did not get a business card at Emerald Emperor. This brings me to my next point:
- Do not go to Yoshiwara too late. Most places close up around 23.00, at least during the week. You will then have to take a taxi to the next station or to your hotel, as the trains may already have stopped running for the day. I decided rather spontaneous to head for Yoshiwara after visiting the Kabuki-za (which is also pretty expensive but compared to Yoshiwara, it's a bargain. You might get to see some courtesans! Played by men, of course), and it was around 21.30 when I arrived there. Also, the girls will have a day's work behind them. Best time for a soapland is around noon, or in the morning, I think.
Some stories I heard from the foam princess there. Take it with a grain of salt.
- a lot of Japanese men have extreme phimosis
- there are also customers who only want mat-play. The price doesn’t change though.
- Some customers just want to take a bath together and then have some smalltalk.
- Nakasu in Fukuoka is cheaper than Yoshiwara, but as the bar district is just one block away there are a lot of drunken customers. Also, Kyushu people are rather hot-blooded.
- Working in Yoshiwara is good, because the place has some history and the people who come here come for the soap, no drunken bypassers like in Fukuoka.
- Go to Tobita Shinchi in Osaka if you’re not sure about the pictures you get at the soapland. Can’t argue about that ;-).
- A lot of customers also masturbate too much. As their own hand feels best, they can’t get an orgasm within a woman anymore.
- It is the duty of a Yoshiwara foam princess to emotionally heal (she used the japanese word "iyashi") the overworked japanese Sarariman, so he can continue to work at his job the next day with full power.
- She also explained to me how soaplands work, the owner of the place rents the rooms to the girls, which fall then in love with the customer at first sight and have intercouse. But you probably already know that.
