Soapland

Soapland (ソープランド, sōpurando) is a Japanese word for a type of brothel where men (hereinafter called "client") can be bathed with female prostitutes (hereinafter called "companion")(there are a few for female clientele). Soaplands are special in the idea that a companion's work room has two areas in it. One is a small area with a small couch and bed, and the other is a large shower room that has a large bath and floor for an inflatable mattress.

Location

There are various kinds of soaplands all over 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 spa towns.

Price

Price for each session at a soapland vary depending on factors such as location, time, length of session, and most importantly, quality of companions. Sessions are usually more expensive in larger cities and at night (it must be said that there are usually daytime discounts). The most expensive places can cost more than JPY100,000 (~US$800) per session.

Common procedure

The client and companion first get naked. The companion then washes client's body including his genitals. There is a special chair for this purpose - called "sukebe isu" which means "erotic chair" - with a "U"-shape seat which causes the genitals hang loosely and thus easy to wash. Usually the client has to brush his teeth before the session for hygienic purposes.

After warming his body in the bath, the client then 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 and brushing his body with her pubic hair. This is called "awa odori" which means a bubble dance and its form of eroticism is considered to be of the highest quality. This causes soapland to cost the most among various types of Japanese brothels. Usually oral sex is performed on the mat, and then if the man so chooses they can engage in sex on the mat. If not, when this "mat play" is over they rinse off and go to the bed to have sexual intercourse.

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, set off on a newspaper campaign to denounce Japanese women working in Turkish baths, and the word "soapland" was the winning entry in a nationwide contest to rename the brothels.

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 penetration of the mouth or anus or any form of contact not involving genital penetration that results in the client reaching orgasm.

The historical entertainment district of Tokyo, Yoshiwara, no longer exists as it was destroyed during and after the World War II, however the streets that remain are still associated with fūzoku (fūzoku eigyō (風俗営業), "sex industry").

Further reading

• Bornoff, Nicholas. Pink Samurai: Love, Marriage, and Sex in Contemporary Japan. New York: Pocket Books, 1991. ISBN 0671742655.
• Connell, Ryann (May 18, 2007). "Weekly hacks expose the dirty secrets of squeaky-clean soaplands". Mainichi Shimbun. Retrieved 2007-05-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• Constantine, Peter. Japan's Sex Trade: A Journey Through Japan's Erotic Subcultures. Tokyo: Yenbooks, 1993. ISBN 4900737003.