Couple of notes/points from my recent trip. I was able to hit 5 shops, and Dolce twice. Won't go into the girls in this review, as that is more review specific, but wanted to give some general notes for this post.
* Darling Harbor: Great service by the staff and I believe you do not pay a gaijin tax. Was shown like 7 to 8 cards.
* King's Club: I believe similar to Darling Harbor with really good staff.
* Cream Lemon: Nice and accommodating, would recommend along with the rest of the board.
* Sweet Kiss: Techno was really friendly and will do his best to communicate in English. Was told a lot of Chinese and Korean tourists go there, as well as Americans, so I think they almost cater to tourists. Their pricing is almost by the every 10 minutes.. I believe there is a 5K tax.
* Dolce: 4 out of 4 times I went there, I was paired up with a cute, young Japanese girl. They didn't appear overly experienced, but I think I set my expectations correctly when I go there. You can also play with the girl in her uniform, or other costumes, which I really liked. Staff seems cool enough, but do not give the you super service like Darling Harbor or King's Club.I believe there is a 5K tax.
Did not visit
* Love Corporation: (
http://www.ol-soap.com/top.html): Sister shop to Dolce and will take foreigners as well... I tried to go, but my timing was off and they didn't have anyone who could service me at that time. This is a must go for me next time, because I love OL girls. *
* Charmant: As mentioned before, but confirming, you probably won't get in unless you speak a passable level of Japanese. I was told this nicely in English by the techno at the time.
Tips
* If you are short on time, save the walk and taxi it Yoshiwara. Even if you have non existent Japanese, you can still communicate with the taxi enough to get to Yoshiwara. It should be the minimum 410 Yen.
* Saving time on the way back to the train, ask the House for their shuttle or taxi to the station. For JR, you can go to Uguisani. They ramen shop at this station was pretty good.
* At a couple shops, I took out my ipad mini and asked the techno to point the girl that I was interested in, so I could check out the blog picture. I only did this if I knew the techno would be patient, or if the store was super busy and the techno was running around to help other customers. I only did this a couple of times, because I didn't want to appear rude and taking too much of the shop's time to make a decision.
* If you are going to a particular shop in the morning, know when they open! Don't assume they open at 6 or 7, like many time. I had to walk around in the rain looking for a place to chill while waiting for Dolce to open (9 AM).
* Related notes, there are not many 'hang out spots' like a starbucks in the area.
My opinionated notes, based on the stores that I visited, which are NOT considered high end...
* Lower priced shops may have lower level service, but I am OK with that. Examples of the higher end service: Lounge is nicer with better chairs, drink is offered in the glass and not a paper cup. Some places do not provide you drinks. The techno may or may not kneel when you go up or down... These things are appreciated by many and matter to some...
* In the price range I paid for...I still think the girl's appearance from the card shown and the actual girl is still hit or miss... No girl is as hot as their picture card, but it's really hard not to have some disappointment when you first see the girl and she is not that hot. It starts the session off in a bad taste for my mouth. That is why I don't book long sessions...if I really felt attracted to the girl, I will either pay the extension or book her again.
* Am I the only guy who goes to multiple shops, back to back in a day? I tell myself, its far enough away from Shinjuku (where I stay), to not come back later in the day..
Thanks all for the continued feedback in this post.