Playback ’94] Services of “Women’s Soap” in Yoshiwara 30 Years Ago… Different from Modern Women’s Soap

What did “FRIDAY” report 10, 20, and 30 years ago? In “Playback Friday,” we take a look back at the topics that were popular at the time. This time, we will look back at the “Is there a ‘Hong Bang’? Finally, a soapland for women opened in Yoshiwara! Yoshiwara’s “Women’s Soapland” Customers and Services” is introduced.

What was the “women’s style” like 30 years ago? This magazine was able to get a closer look at the actual condition of the store when it opened 30 years ago. (Descriptions in parentheses are quotes from past articles.)

A “reverse soap” where female customers play with male employees

The article at the time reported the following facts.

The market for a playground for Edo kids has always been Yoshiwara. How’s it going, huh? It’s deserted these days, probably because of the recession. It’s sad.

Hmm? I thought I saw an unfamiliar pink sign. Queen”? Oh, so a new restaurant has opened in this day and age. What kind of place is it?

It’s a place that runs in conjunction with the soapland “Queen Alice,” which has been in business for some time, so to speak.

As the name suggests, this was the first time in Yoshiwara’s more than 300-year history that female customers were allowed to play with male employees in a “reverse soap. What kind of play actually took place here?

After taking a bubble bath, showering, and having a drink, the rest depends on how the female customer wants it done. In bed, I leave it up to the customer. I don’t mind talking the whole time.

It is doubtful that “talking” is all that is required, but since “free love” is also offered in regular male-oriented soaps, I guess that is what they mean. The entrance fee (equivalent to the usual soap shop entrance fee) was 20,000 yen.

According to the manager, she received calls from young women and elegant-looking older women inquiring about the fee and services offered. Incidentally, she said that men also called, but she refused their calls. So what kind of male employees were there?

“Currently, we have 15 employees. They range from university students, businessmen, and self-employed, and are between the ages of 20 and 33. They range from inexperienced girls with only one experience with a woman to professional-looking girls. We show the customers their albums and let them choose the type they prefer.

We also asked the male employees why they joined the “women’s soap” business.

Women’s soap in Fukuoka closed after eight months.

The male employees at the time described their reasons for starting to work.

I wanted money, and I’d like to save at least 100 million yen,” said a 33-year-old.

It’s a new challenge. I have experience with 40 to 50 people, so I’m open to any request.

My house is close to here. My specialty is using my tongue and fingers.

This store anticipated the “diversity” that is now being loudly called for in 2012, 30 years ago. Did it really thrive?

Unfortunately, it is not certain whether the restaurant has thrived since then. However, in February 2007, more than 10 years after this article was written, a soapland for women called “CC Club” opened in Nakasu, Fukuoka. Immediately after its opening, the store was quite prosperous, with many women in their 20s to 50s visiting from all over Japan, and some customers from Tokyo and Osaka visiting the store every month.

However, the “CC. Club” closed its doors after just over eight months. The reason for this was that the store was located in the middle of Nakasu’s entertainment district, and local women shunned it because it was “hard to get into” and did not retain repeat customers. Another factor was that the popular male employees had to deal with so many women a day that they could not keep up their physical strength, according to a web news report at the time.

Currently, all of the 200 to 300 women’s entertainment establishments that exist in Japan are non-storefront. Legal issues are the first and foremost reason why storefront stores are not easily established, but perhaps there is also the fact that it is difficult for men to deal with a number of women in a day.