No Regrets!

The planning continues. It took some patience with surprisingly clunky and poorly translated Japanese websites, but all of our accommodations for the trip are booked!

As expected, Dave opted for the bougiest hotels he could find for our big city stays, and he’s really outdone himself. The two-bedroom suite we’ll be sharing in the Bellustar Tokyo looks exquisite, and the Four Seasons Kyoto is just as nice. He’s also booked the W Osaka, which is as beautiful as you’d expect any W property to be.

I’ve booked mostly mid-range options for most of our shorter stops. I’m usually a “most bang for the buck” kind of traveler, but I did extend myself a bit for fancy ryokan stays in Hakone and Kawaguchiko. Those will give us a more traditional Japanese experience, with onsens, or open-air hot spring baths, and kaiseki cuisine, multi-course meals featuring seasonal ingredients and artistic presentations prepared by chefs who take this stuff very seriously.

While I cleanly integrated my accommodation bookings into our running Google doc, Dave pasted outrageously huge and ugly screenshots of his confirmation emails into the document. I wish there was legal recourse for Dave’s blatant negligence with tech.

As part of our upcoming trip to Japan, Dave and I have been researching everything we can to experience the full spectrum of Japanese culture, from serene temples and scenic hikes to bustling nightlife. And that research inevitably led me to learning more about Kabukichō, Tokyo’s famous red-light district.

Kabukichō is right in the middle of one of Tokyo’s most lively districts, Shinjuku, and not far from our hotel. Lined with narrow streets and neon signs, it blazes with activity late into the night. Here, you can find every kind of entertainment you can imagine: restaurants, bars, karaoke lounges, nightclubs, quirky attractions like the Robot Restaurant, and a Samurai Museum. Street promoters, called “touts”, some even speaking English, guide visitors into their establishments. There’s something for everyone there.

While you won’t find the traditional red lights of a red-light district, there is a lot of the expected “adult” action to be found. Japan has a complicated relationship with this side of its nightlife. Prostitution is technically illegal, but there are establishments that operate in legal gray areas.

Hostess clubs are places catering to men where a mostly female staff is available to drink and socialize with them. Or potentially more. Another example is the “soapland”, a type of bathhouse where patrons receive a soapy massage, and… things may progress further. And then there are “pink salons” which offer a very specific kind of service to male patrons. “Love hotels” are conveniently located in the area, available by the hour.

If this is all too much, there are tamer solutions. Cuddle cafés are places where you literally pay to cuddle or sleep next to someone, with zero sexual activity involved. Services might also include holding hands or having your hair stroked. Pay extra to have them stare into your eyes or whisper sweet nothings.

Or… you can rent a girlfriend for a day. There are companies that offer attractive women you can “rent” for platonic companionship. It’s strictly non-sexual, and contracts are very clear about this. But do anything else you want with them. Take them to a park, have a lunch date, go see a movie, or ask them to count to a million. These girlfriend services are typically booked at rates starting around ¥6,000 (approximately $40 USD) per hour.

Wow. What a fascinating culture. There seems to be an epidemic of male loneliness in Japan, and clearly there are many ways to address it. Are Japanese men lonelier than men in the West? Does an oppressive work culture cause it? Perhaps a deeply ingrained social shyness? So interesting, and tragic, how a city of 37 million people could harbor such loneliness. And the data seems to bear out that this is a real problem, with a birth rate and population that has been declining precipitously for decades. Why is this happening?

Next, Dave and I will dive into food options for our trip. We’ve already made note of some highly rated restaurants to hit along the way, and we now need to figure out which places need reservations and how to make them. We also need to prepare ourselves for what will likely be two weeks of sushi, steak, and sake.

Time for another Japanese lesson:

あなたのお寿司でお腹が痛くなりました。営業許可証を拝見してもよろしいでしょうか？
Anata no o sushi de onaka ga itaku narimashita. Eigyō kyoka-shō o haiken shite mo yoroshīdeshou ka?
Your sushi has given me stomach pains. May I inspect your business license?

We’re almost fluent!