<figure id="attachment_365986" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-365986" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0a128942"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/03/4c4edb0b44cd17b32498003cfa253c37-2.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-365986" class="wp-caption-text">Mr. Hirose never lost his meekness. Has this amiability helped SB grow into the best happening bar in Japan?</figcaption></figure>
<p> According to the Japanese language dictionary, Daijirin, &#8220;happening&#8221; has the following meaning. According to the Dajirin, a Japanese dictionary, &#8220;happening&#8221; has the following meaning: &#8220;an unexpected event&#8221; and &#8220;an accidental incident.</p>
<p> Dogenzaka, Shibuya. The happening bar &#8220;Sleeping Beauty,&#8221; located at the end of a small street lined with love hotels, was the very embodiment of these two words.</p>
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<p> It was established in 2006. Riki Hirose, 42, the former owner of the bar, also known as &#8220;SB,&#8221; from the first letter of its English pronunciation, recalls the scene at the time. （The admission fee for men was 7,000 yen.)</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> SB was a two-story building with one basement floor and two stories above ground. The first floor was the reception area and locker rooms, the basement was the floor, and the second floor was the playroom. I think it was the largest hap bar in Japan.</span></p>
<p> The most important factor in attracting customers was the service, which was based on the concept of &#8220;intensity.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> SB&#8217;s theme was to &#8216;catch customers off guard,&#8217; and we held events every weekend,&#8221; he said. A point system was introduced, and one point was awarded for &#8220;happing&#8221; (performing a sexual act) in public on the counter. The person with the highest point total during the event would receive a luxurious prize. The staff members were also encouraged to be &#8220;extreme,&#8221; and they took the initiative in encouraging the customers to &#8220;happen.</span><br>
<span class="strongInContent"> The clientele was also very strong, including a man with a human foot in his anus, a man who lived deep in the mountains of Yamanashi who liked to have his balls kicked constantly, and a woman who took on more than 20 people in a single day. Gradually, word of these reputations spread by word of mouth, and at its peak, the bar became the number one happening bar in Japan, attracting as many as 200 customers a day.</span></p>
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<p> Both the customers and the staff are extreme, and if you go there, you are sure to experience something unexpected. In order to ensure the quality of the service, SB has strictly managed its clientele.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> When we have sex in the store, we make sure that both parties have given their consent and that condoms are worn. Our staff members go around and carefully check to see if condoms are being worn. If we found a man without a condom, he was banned from the premises. We also banned them from exchanging contact information.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The [accidental incident] of being caught..."></div>
<p>The store, which combines intense services with strict rules, quickly achieved rapid growth, but of course, it is illegal to perform sexual intercourse in front of an unspecified number of people. It was two years ago, on May 7, 2010, that SB, which had become a melting pot of excitement, was caught in an &#8220;accidental incident.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I was watching the security camera from behind the reception booth on the first floor, and I saw a couple, a man and a woman, trying to enter the store without going through the reception desk. I thought it was someone who was new to the store and didn&#8217;t understand the system, so I said, &#8216;No, you can&#8217;t,&#8217; and the moment I said, &#8216;No, you can&#8217;t,&#8217; I was strangled in the wings by these two people. At first I thought it was a robbery, but they said, &#8216;Police! They said, &#8216;We&#8217;re the police! I replied, &#8220;Show me a warrant! and an argument ensued. While we were arguing, dozens of investigators rushed in.</span></p>
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<p> On the day of the event, about 80 customers were gathered in the basement floor of SB, where they were spraying lotion on each other with water guns. In addition, a man and a woman were about to have sex in a playroom on the second floor. However, &#8220;Police! Don&#8217;t move! The scene instantly froze when an investigator shouted, &#8220;Police! The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested 10 staff members, including Hirose, on suspicion of aiding and abetting indecent exposure, as well as two men and a woman who were having sex in the restaurant on suspicion of indecent exposure.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The police showed us the warrant only after they had finished taking pictures and recording the scene. I and my staff were gathered on the second floor and taken to the Shibuya Police Station after attending an on-the-spot interview. I was detained for the next 20 days and questioned day after day. In the end, I was fined 150,000 yen in the form of a summary indictment. The court ruled that giving condoms and providing a place where sexual acts could occur constituted aiding and abetting public indecency.</span></p>
<p> Thus, &#8220;Japan&#8217;s largest&#8221; happening bar disappeared from Shibuya overnight.</p>
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<p> In November 2010, he opened a regular bar, &#8220;Beauty and the Beast,&#8221; in Shinjuku. Currently, as the bar&#8217;s master, he works day and night to serve customers.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I have no regrets about going to a happening bar,&#8221; he says. However, immediately after the bar was busted, I felt indescribably lonely. I had always liked interacting with people. So I thought, &#8216;Let&#8217;s try a place where perverts can gather safely this time,&#8217; and I opened this bar. Now, in my own way, I am doing my best to make this bar a place that will contribute to the vitality of this area, Shinjuku 5-chome. I am also interested in the world of politics, and I am studying for it!</span></p>
<p> Hirose even hints at entering politics. His life is likely to be full of happenings in the future.</p>
<figure id="attachment_365987" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-365987" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="40418183"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/03/5085906db8932797287140074a2ba243-1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-365987" class="wp-caption-text"> The &#8220;Beauty and the Beast&#8221; that Mr. Hirose currently manages is filled with whips, handcuffs, ropes, and other items used in happening bars.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_365988" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-365988" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="c7ae9fa4"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/03/e74f787d575cb8358577046e2ea060aa.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-365988" class="wp-caption-text"> Former owner of Japan&#8217;s largest happening bar &#8220;Sleeping Beauty&#8221; reveals &#8220;Until I was raided and arrested by the police.</figcaption></figure>
<p> From the April 5 and 12, 2024 issue of FRIDAY</p>


 Akira Tsuchioka (nonfiction writer)

 Shinji Hamasaki

 Two years ago, one of Japan's largest happening bars disappeared from Shibuya overnight. At its peak, "Sleeping Beauty" was so successful that 200 people a day visited the bar. The former owner reveals the story of how the police raided and arrested him.

 Scoop confession! At its peak, the bar was so popular that 200 people a day visited the bar, but two years ago, during a "lotion squirt gun" event, something unexpected happened. ......

Former Owner of Japan’s Largest Hapbar “Sleeping Beauty” Reveals How I Was Raided and Arrested by Police

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