Picture by titanium22
Picture by Wasabi Bob
Picture by Kazuki Ohtsu
Picture by Katsuki Ohtsu
Picture by Lisa PinehillTobita Shinchi (飛田新地) in Osaka's Kabukicho district, also known as Tobita Yūkaku (飛田遊郭), is the largest brothel district in Western Japan. The streets are lined with Taisho-era-style 2-storey buildings. Each is marked with a little white sign, lit up at night, indicating the name of the business it houses. The ground floors of each building have wide doors revealing a large genkan (entrance area). The floors of those genkan are covered with mats, the decorations vary widely – from classical Japanese to Hello Kitty dolls. All of them are however designed to look cute. By the genkan or in the living room young woman are kneeling to attract customers — an unusual practice for brothels in Japan. An elderly woman, often the owner of the residence, sits in the genkan and greets male passers-by with phrases like "douzo, onii-san" (どうぞ、お兄さん, Welcome, young man). The wooden bordello buildings with carvings above the entrance hall mostly date back to just after World War II.
Prostitution in Japan was outlawed in 1958. Then Tobita Shinchi closed down for one night – and opened up again in the form of a restaurant association. Since then officially customers don’t buy sex in Tobita Shinchi. They are served tea and snacks on the second floor... Nearly all prostitutes in Tobita are Japanese, there are only a few permanent residents of Korean or Chinese origin. The "restaurant association" does not want to have troubles with the immigration authorities. Get an impression by this Youtube Video of Tobita Shinchi.
The Taiyoshi Hyakuban restaurant is located in a former brothel, built in 1918 in the Taisho era style (see Homepage in Japanese).
Picture by
Kazuki Ohtsu
Taiyoshi Hyakuban (鯛よし百番) restaurantRead also: A Red-Light District Off the Beaten Path.
