Soapland

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Soapland (ソープランド sōpurando?) is a Japanese term for a type of brothel where men ("clients") can be bathed with female prostitutes ("companions"), although there are a few specifically for female clients.[1] Soaplands are special in the idea that a companion's work room has two areas. One is a small area with a small couch and bed, and the other is a large shower room with a large bath and floor for an inflatable mattress.

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[edit] Location

There are various kinds of soaplands in Japan. Unlike Bangkok, there are few independently located soaplands and they are usually located in complexes with varying numbers of soaplands. Famous complexes include Susukino in Sapporo, Yoshiwara and Kabukicho in Tokyo, Kawasaki, Kanazuen in Gifu, Ogoto in Shiga and Fukuhara in Kobe but there are many other areas, especially in onsen towns.

[edit] Price

Prices for a session at a soapland vary depending on factors such as location, time of day, length of session, and most importantly, quality of companion. Sessions are usually more expensive in larger cities and at night, and coincidently there are usually daytime discounts. The most expensive locations can cost more than JPY100,000 (~US$1000) per session.

[edit] Common procedure

The client and companion first undress. The companion then washes client's body, including his genitals. There is a special chair for this, called sukebe isu which means "erotic chair". This chair has a "U"-shaped seat, which allows the genitals to hang loosely, facilitating washing. For hygienic purposes, the client usually has to brush his teeth before the session.

After warming his body in the bath, the client lies on the air mattress while the companion covers herself with liquid lotion for lubrication. Then she slides her body up and down client's body, brushing his body with her pubic hair. This is called "awa odori," or "bubble dance," and its form of eroticism is considered to be of the highest quality.[citation needed] As a result, soaplands may be the costliest of Japanese brothels.[citation needed] Usually oral sex is performed on the mat, and if the client chooses they can then engage in sex on the mat. If not, when "mat play" is concluded they rinse off, and go to bed for sexual intercourse.

[edit] Origin

Soaplands were originally called toruko-buro, a phonetic translation of Turkish bath. They began as a simple form of bath where women only washed men's bodies when explicit prostitution became illegal in Japan. Turkish scholar Nusret Sancakli embarked on a newspaper campaign denouncing Japanese women working in Turkish baths[2] and the word 'soapland' was the winning entry in a nationwide contest to rename the brothels.[3]

Although prostitution in Japan has been illegal for more than 50 years, many sex businesses operate openly because the legal definition of prostitution loosely translates to the commercial offering of genital penetration in exchange for money. For example, the definition of "prostitution" does not extend to a "private agreement" reached between a woman and a man, nor does it cover anal or oral penetration, or any form of contact not involving genital penetration that results in the client reaching orgasm.

The historical entertainment district of Tokyo, Yoshiwara was destroyed during and after World War II, however the remaining streets are still associated with fūzoku (fūzoku eigyō (風俗営業?), "sex industry").

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Boye Lafayette De Mente, Sex and the Japanese: The Sensual Side of Japan, (Rutland, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing, 2006), 58.
  2. ^ Peter Constantine, Japan's Sex Trade: A Journey Through Japan's Erotic Subcultures, (Tokyo: Yenbooks, 1993), 37-8.
  3. ^ Ibid.

[edit] Further reading

Prostitution in Japan
Delivery health • Enjo kōsai • Fashion health • Image club • No-pan kissa • Onsen geisha • Pink salon • Soapland • Sumata • Telekura
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