Swimsuit-wearing galas are also rampant…and very popular in Kabukicho! The surprising use of “private saunas

Kabukicho is no exception to the ongoing sauna boom in the area. Kabukicho, with its many inexpensive 24-hour saunas, has always been a popular area for saunas.

Aoi (pseudonym, 24), who works as a host in Kabukicho, says, “We hosts have tattoos.

We hosts often have tattoos, so we can’t go to regular public baths or saunas. In that respect, there are many places in Kabukicho where tattoos are allowed, so that’s a big help.

Before and after work, he often goes to the sauna with his fellow hosts.

I know it’s dangerous when you’ve been drinking, but I go because it refreshes me (laughs). (Laughs.) But the saunas in Kabukicho are full of “tough-looking” people (……). When I went there with my host friends, we got tangled up with a group of guys with tattoos all over their backs who said, “Hey, guys, why don’t you work out a little more? I once got tangled up with a group of guys with tattoos all over their backs.

While such saunas for the masses are popular, “private saunas” are also booming among Kabukicho residents. These are private saunas that can be rented out and can be used by one or more people. They are so popular that new ones are opening one after another in Kabukicho.

While silent bathing has been a basic rule at most sauna facilities since the COVID-19 crisis, private saunas allow people to talk without hesitation. Since both men and women can bathe together, many people use private saunas in a way that is “only possible in Kabukicho.

There are many hosts who go to private saunas with their customers. I think the girls are happy because they can share their hobbies with the host they have designated. There are many saunas that are open late at night, so there are cabaret girls who go after hours with their clients, and girls who go to the sauna with their friends after their sex work. I guess it is because they can talk frankly when they are naked (laughs).

Recently, there have been such surprising customers as the following. Mika (pseudonym, 23), a girl who drinks at the sauna, tells us, “I’ve never been to a sauna where I could drink at the same time as the other girls.

The number of people drinking in saunas is increasing. I love saunas, so I’m always asked to come to the sauna. I love saunas, so it’s great to get paid while taking a sauna. But I have to wear a bathing suit, so I have to work out (laughs). (laughs) However, I have the impression that there are too many private saunas these days, and some of them are unnecessarily expensive. Do you have to pay that much for a sauna?　I feel like.”

In order to differentiate themselves, an increasing number of private saunas are offering unusual services. For example, “Kabuki Yu,” located in the middle of Kabukicho, is a shisha shop with a sauna attached, where you can smoke shisha while taking a sauna. Some hosts visit the sauna after hours to relax while smoking shisha, while others enjoy the sauna while flirting with other men and women.

One of the regulars at Kabuki Yu says, “Like the sauna, the shisha is a great way to relax.

Like saunas, shisha was booming in Kabukicho, but there were few private rooms. There were not many places where you could have a private conversation while smoking shisha. Shisha in a private sauna is perfect for this situation. It’s quite popular.

Kabukicho is a town of desire. New booms are happening one after another in Kabukicho, the town of desire.

Sasaki Chihuahua
Born in Tokyo in 2000. After attending an integrated school in Tokyo from elementary school to high school, he went on to Keio University, where he has been living in Kabukicho since he was 15 years old and has a wide range of personal connections. At university, he is studying the sociology of the downtown area, including Kabukicho. His book, “Pien” to shakai” (“The Disease of ‘Pien’: Consumption and Approval of the SNS Generation”), is now on sale.

From the April 21-28, 2023 issue of “FRIDAY