SEX & NIGHTLIFE
Oppai Bars: How Japan’s “Sexy Cabaret” Stay Legal, and Whether Foreigners Can Go
What oppai bars are, how they work, and how Japan's ever-changing entertainment laws helped bring them into being.
kabukicho
SEX & NIGHTLIFE
SEX & NIGHTLIFE
Soaplands Explained: Are They Legal, and Can Foreigners Actually Go?
Soaplands are one of Japan's most euphemistic open secrets: “special bathhouses” where sex is sold under a legal fiction the country has…
SEX & NIGHTLIFE
Why Japanese Nightlife’s “Attention Economy” Is Better Than Sex
Why do people in Japan pay so much for non-sexual companionship? A look at how an industry born in the Edo Era…
SEX & NIGHTLIFE
Is Kabukicho Safe? How to Navigate Tokyo’s Raucous Nightlife District
The answer is yes - but you should be aware of a few rules and these common traps before stepping foot inside…
SEX & NIGHTLIFE
Japan Tried to End the Host Club to Sex Work Pipeline. It Hasn’t Worked
It's been a year since the crackdown, but data show that host clubs haven't changed. If anything, some say they've become "more…
INSIDER
Japan Wants to Jail Men Who Buy Sex. Sex Workers Say That’ll Get Women Hurt
A majority of voices are clamoring for Japan to criminalize prostitution buyers. Here’s why the country's sex worker advocates oppose that.
SEX & NIGHTLIFE
In Japan, Oshikatsu is Fostering an Underage Sex Work Pipeline
Oshikatsu has girls turning to sex work to give money to their favorite performers. Some are as young as 15.
INSIDER
The Three Tactics Japan’s Hosts Use to Saddle Women with Soul-Crushing Debt
The rules and agreements meant to help save women from the worst abuses aren't helping, as clubs have already figured out a…