Esthetic salons and masturbation clubs” and “reverse bunny and sailor”…Store-based health salons are diversifying and surviving the headwinds.

The adult entertainment industry is facing a number of problems, such as the exposé of scout groups and the increase in the number of women standing idle. What is happening to the store-based health clubs, which have been repeatedly put in a tight spot by laws and regulations? Sex industry journalist Akira Ikoma reports.

A very famous and long-established health center in Kabukicho “changed its business” to soap operators.

On December 19, 2012, “VIP Crystal,” a long-established health club in Kabukicho, Shinjuku, reopened as a soapland. The change of business was a surprise to many people, as the health club was popular not only for its good location in the center of Kabukicho, but also for its affordability, with mat play available for just over 10,000 yen.

The shift from health clubs to soaps can also be seen in the provinces.’ Fukuhara Bottle Grinig,” which appeared as the only health service in Fukuhara, Kobe, in February 2012, was converted to a soap only eight months later, in October. Also, “Cabin 21,” which was the only health service in Kofu, Yamanashi, closed in November ’23, and a major group’s soap “Marine Kofu Branch” opened in the same location on December 6, ’24.

The reason for the switch to another type of business was to break out of the current difficult situation. For the same reason, many of the new store-based health clubs these days strongly emphasize irregular services, such as the introduction of magic mirror appointments, esthetization, and masturbation.’ In December 2012, “Magic Mirror GO Tokushima” opened in Sakae-cho, Tokushima. In November of the same year, a storefront esthetic salon “with SPA” appeared in Akebono-cho, Yokohama, where customers can enjoy thick body washing, and a new storefront masturbation club “Kumamoto Shikotama Clinic” opened in Chuo-machi, Kumamoto, featuring nurses’ cosplay.

The appearance of delicatessen at the end of the 1990s and its prosperity from the 2000s onward had a major impact on store-based health clubs. Furthermore, the industry is facing unprecedented difficulties due to strict business regulations under the Entertainment Establishments Control Law and ordinances, as well as sluggish personal consumption caused by prolonged high prices. In order to investigate the actual situation on the frontlines, in late December 2012, I went around the store-based health clubs in the Tokai area, mainly in Nagoya, which is called the “health club capital,” Kariya, Kyowa, and Ichinomiya.

Reverse Bunny, Reverse Sailor…Store-Based Health Services Defying the Odds

My impression is that “health clubs are surprisingly stubborn. In Kariya, I was surprised to find that some of the stores not listed on the major sex industry websites were operating in the center of the entertainment district with splendid storefronts. When I went to Ichinomiya, I found that the health club area had been taken over by a residential area and was deserted, lacking the liveliness it once had. However, I was surprised to find that some stores were still in business with only their telephone numbers on their storefronts, without their names on the signboards. I was impressed by the way they kept as low a profile as possible and continued to operate quietly.

In Nagoya, a number of health clubs had converted to sex esthetic salons. I realized how the times have changed when I saw that some of the old, local specialty stores had become sex esthetic salons with flashy signboards. The most surprising was the appearance of a sex establishment near the Hibino intersection. I was overwhelmed to see the sign “Men’s Esthetic Salon” so loudly displayed that it could be seen from a distance.

In Shinsakae and Nishiki, I was shocked to find that the famous health clubs representing the area had turned into masturbation clubs. Also, the long-established “Daytona II” in Shinsakae, whose name is synonymous with “Daytona,” once a synonym for Nagoya’s health clubs, had been transformed into a Japanese-style cosplay store, making me keenly aware of the extent of inbound demand. Furthermore, I caught a glimpse of the persistence of health clubs trying to survive when I saw that “Aegean Sea Nishiki”, a high-class health club in Nishiki, was offering a very low price of 9,900 yen for 60 minutes for a limited time.

Not only in Nagoya, but nationwide, storefront health clubs are entering an era of individualization.’ In October 2012, “Super Moon” opened in Dogo Onsen, Matsuyama, featuring “genuine Ehime girls who gather only local women. In May of the same year, “Cuckold Specialty” health club “Cuckold Wanting Onna…Raw” opened in Choja-machi, Yokohama. The sales pitch is that it is a place where you can play with “women who have a desire to be cuckolded” who have husbands or boyfriends, but are in extreme agony because they feel a sense of immorality after being cuckolded by another man.

The “reverse bunny” at the “Dominant Reverse Bunny Girl Sakae Higashi Shinmachi” health club in Higashi Shinmachi, Nagoya, and the “reverse sailor suit” at the “Alice Jogakuin Ohsone School” health club in Ohsone, Nagoya, are just a few of the “different” types of cosplay that are different from the usual. There are also a number of specialty stores that specialize in “unusual costumes” that are different from regular cosplay. Reverse bunny” refers to a bunny girl costume in which the parts of the bunny that are hidden and the parts that are exposed are reversed from their original state. In other words, the breasts are fully visible. The “inverted sailor suit” is a very short sailor suit that exposes the breasts.

While the industry as a whole is making various efforts to survive, there are still many “local health clubs” that are closely connected to the local area. The “local specialty store-type health clubs” that operate independently in places that are not large entertainment districts are still going strong for now.

The paid version of “FRIDAY GOLD” introduces 55 “local specialty storefront health clubs” in Tokyo, eastern Japan, and western Japan.