<figure id="attachment_455222" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-455222" style="width: 6000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="132d73fb"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/01/f95bb4606d5bf1353d45006445c07785-1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-455222" class="wp-caption-text">Two women talk about the reality of &#8220;urisen&#8221; (prostitution)</figcaption></figure>
<h2> I had no qualms about selling my body.</h2>
<p> It has been a long time since the &#8220;tachinbo,&#8221; or women who sell their bodies for the purpose of prostitution, became a social problem.</p>
<p> A similar scene once existed in a park in Shinjuku 2-chome, not far from Okubo Park (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo), where many of the Shinjuku-based tachinbo wait for their customers. The difference is that the people standing on the street looking for prostitutes were either women or men.</p>
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<p> The park is now closed at night, thanks to the efforts of the Shinjuku City Office and the police.</p>
<p> The men who sell spring in Shinjuku 2-chome are known as &#8220;uri-zen,&#8221; and until about 10 years ago, male prostitutes could be seen standing in the nearly 400 bars that existed in the area, looking for a partner for the day, but today such bars are in sharp decline. Today, however, the number of such bars has plummeted, leaving only a few. The place to match each other&#8217;s desires has shifted to matching apps and storefront sex stores.</p>
<p> Koji, a first-year working adult, and Naoya (both pseudonyms), a fourth-year university student, have both worked in Shinjuku 2-chome as &#8220;uri-zen. Koji was always a top ranker during his two years of work. Naoya worked there for only six months, but rose to the number one position. They are both &#8220;super-successful.</p>
<p> Among the 50 or so cast members at the store, the two had particularly high numbers. They had both entered the business to earn money for school and entertainment. The entrance was the same <span class="strongInContent">: &#8220;I applied for a job after reading a job posting magazine specializing in gay men.&#8221;</span> However, their approach and their own ideas about sexuality were completely different.</p>
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<p> Let us take a look into the world of male prostitutes in Shinjuku&#8217;s 2-Chome district, which has been liberated by the opening of the district to foreigners and female customers, and which longtime residents say <span class="strongInContent">has reached a turning point in its</span> history.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Basically, young girls with good looks tend to sell well. It is the same as in the sex industry where women work.</span></p>
<p> Koji assures us that this is true. The store where he worked charged 13,000 yen for 60 minutes. Even when he was &#8220;called in&#8221; for an overnight stay, the fee was around 40,000 yen. About 60% of that was their share.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The longer the time, the lower the percentage of the payback to the cast members,&#8221; he said. So the key to making money was to do as many 60-minute sessions as possible.</span></p>
<p> Koji boasted as he sipped his alcohol in a good mood.</p>
<p> Naoya realized that <span class="strongInContent">she liked men</span> when she was in elementary school and had come out to everyone around her that she was gay since her school days. By being open about it, he was treated as &#8220;special&#8221; by those around him, which made him feel more comfortable.</p>
<p> Koji, on the other hand, was unable to come out as gay and spent his school days in depression. Koji, with his clear-cut eyes and nose, was popular among women. He once went out with a woman, but then he realized that <span class="strongInContent">he liked men.</span></p>
<p> By showing up at bars in Nichome or using matching apps, he could easily find someone to spend the day with. But that, of course, did not bring in any money. Koji, who was born sickly and physically weak, was limited in the types of work he could do.</p>
<p> Koji says, &#8220;I <span class="strongInContent">had no resistance to selling my body,&#8221;</span> and for two years he was delivered to wherever he was called. His average monthly income was about 500,000 yen.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" What changed after working as a uri-zen"></div>
<figure id="attachment_455233" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-455233" style="width: 3024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f2362332"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/01/b490c64d13a2c5f7e2620a47fd00a757.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-455233" class="wp-caption-text">Screenshot of a male-to-male matching app.</figcaption></figure>
<h2> Some of the customers are executives of large companies.</h2>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I wanted to quit for a long time,&#8221; he says. But as I kept going, I became popular and before I knew it, two years had passed,&#8221; Koji says.</span></p>
<p> Koji&#8217;s personality has brightened considerably since he started working at 2-chome. In the past, he used to hide the fact that he was gay and was overly concerned about the eyes of those around him. This changed when he met various customers at 2-chome. I <span class="strongInContent">felt like a fool for keeping my gayness a secret,&#8221;</span> Koji said in a particularly cheerful voice.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> I realized that people were not as interested in me as I thought they were. I realized that I was the one who was hiding my gayness, and that I had been discriminating against gay people. There were many people in this town who could accept their sexuality as an individuality and act cheerfully. It was not until I started working at a uri-za that I realized such a &#8220;truth.</span></p>
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<p> The two had been told that <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;the overwhelming majority of customers in the area have masochistic tendencies</span>. However, according to Koji&#8217;s experience, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;the ratio is changing.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I am both an aggressor and a cat, and I can do both when I am asked to. I myself am a feline, but as long as I was paid, I wanted to do whatever I could do as a professional,&#8221; said Koji.</span></p>
<p> In contrast, Naoya, who was popular among M-type customers, excelled at pushing and pulling, such as being gentle and cold. She also imposed detailed restrictions on the content of her play, such as &#8220;no kissing&#8221; and &#8220;no anal sex. She only performed oral sex (sex without penetration). But how did Naoya manage to become the No. 1 performer?</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Many of our customers have a history of suffering from prejudice, which is no small thing. So basically, they are gentle. When we tell them we don&#8217;t like it, they honestly apologize, and they value a spiritual connection more than a physical one. I was often consulted by people who were lonely or who said, &#8216;I want you to understand me. It was my style to be a listener.</span></p>
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<p> The clientele was also unique. Many of the clients who chose Naoya were financially affluent, and a high percentage of them were summoned to high-class hotels. Some were executives of major companies and well-known managers. He says, &#8221; <span class="strongInContent">I was</span> blessed with opportunities that would not have arisen if I had not done this job, and <span class="strongInContent">I learned how top businessmen think.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The higher the social status of a person, the more they wanted to be understood. Older people have suffered from the fact that their sexual orientation is not easily understood. The world was not as understanding as it is today. Even so, they are sometimes pleased when I dare to be modest about it, so I don&#8217;t really understand (laughs).</span></p>
<p> After &#8220;graduating&#8221; from the uri-zen club, the two men only occasionally come to 2-chome for a drink. Times have changed, and gay bars have expanded outside of gay towns. They also use apps to find lovers. Even so, the two men say that <span class="strongInContent">many people are able to live their lives the way they do because of 2-Chome.</span></p>
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 Shimei Kurita (Nonfiction writer)

 Takayuki Ogawauchi

 Shinjuku 2-chome in Tokyo is known as one of the world's leading gay towns. As the town has been opened up to foreigners and female customers, longtime residents of the area say that it has reached a turning point.

Many of the customers are wealthy and seek spiritual connection&#8230;&#8221; A former successful professional reveals the unknown world of &#8220;uri-zen&#8221;.

Many of the customers are wealthy and seek spiritual connection…” A former successful professional reveals the unknown world of “uri-zen”.

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