Tokyo Pink Guide

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Summary: Why and How This Book Was Written
Review: As you might suspect, Steven Langhorne Clemens is my 'nom de plume.' The publisher sought to create the first detailed guide book in English to Tokyo's red light districts and asked members of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan who would be a good author for this subject matter. As I had written numerous magazine articles in Japan on the subject and had some first-hand experience, the reporters suggested that the publisher contact me. At first I was a reluctant but finally decided to do it 'under cover.' I did enlist a few 'volunteers' to assist me in research for such topics as gay bars, S&M spots and host bars for which I could not or did not want to experience solo. Some of these great assistants are very esteemed colleagues who would be scandalised if their employers saw their names in print connected with such a project! A year later and about 10,000 dollars poorer (expenses for which I was NOT reimbursed) the book made it to print. It has gone through two printings and eventually if a few more Amazon visitors buy a copy, I might make enough to break even! Enjoy!

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Summary: You must have this book if traveling to Japan...
Review: Humerous and informative, "Tokyo Pink Guide" is a definative study of the current "entertainment" activities commonly available in Metropolitan Tokyo. It not only specifies exact areas and locations, but describes,in detail, protocols and cultural eccentricities. Remember, Japan is predominately Buddhist and Shinto. Unlike Western faiths, the myriad personal relations between humans are not verboten in "proper society". Ergo, life is more casual and relaxed, and without the stigma that we experience in America. I'd love to see a Part 2!

Rating:
Summary: You must have this book if traveling to Japan...
Review: Humerous and informative, "Tokyo Pink Guide" is a definative study of the current "entertainment" activities commonly available in Metropolitan Tokyo. It not only specifies exact areas and locations, but describes,in detail, protocols and cultural eccentricities. Remember, Japan is predominately Buddhist and Shinto. Unlike Western faiths, the myriad personal relations between humans are not verboten in "proper society". Ergo, life is more casual and relaxed, and without the stigma that we experience in America. I'd love to see a Part 2!

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Summary: Tokyo Pink Guide
Review: Humorous and entertaining guide to the hush-hush "adult" entertainment in Japan. While gaijin aren't normally allowed such treats, this books makes for an interesting and amusing read on the lifestyle of Japan.

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Summary: A load of tripe.
Review: Other than the maps guiding people to the major red light zones of the Kanto area, 90% of the information in this book is pure fiction and/or wishful thinking. All you need to know about night life in Tokyo can be had for the price of a little conversation at virtually any pub or bar in Tokyo. As an aside, the author's unjustly slanderous treatment of the Library bar in Ogikubo caused the owner to shut the doors as hordes of thrill seekers invaded his (up to that time) peaceful little corner bar. If you have purchased this book, don't bother looking for the Library, 'cause it's gone.

If you want a good book, get Nicholas Bournoff's "Pink Samurai" instead.

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Summary: Funny, Educational Read
Review: This book describes a lot of things that foreigners living in Tokyo might not realize even exist in Japan. For that matter, many Japanese are likely unaware of some of the types of places covered in his book. I wouldn't say that Japanese are more relaxed and casual about life - precisely the opposite - but I would agree with another reviewer in saying that this book shows that perhaps Japanese society is far more comfortable with sexuality and far less Victorian than American society is. It is quite an educational read and may dispel a few misconceptions, or may confirm what you already suspected! One omission from the book - couples' kissaten. Couples' kissaten are VERY popular within a particular community in Tokyo, fairly widespread, but there is no mention of them at all in this book.

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Summary: Juvenile, but interesting
Review: This book gives some interesting and little known information on, for example, the sex slave industry and the import of foreign prostitutes, the gay scene, and other aspects of Japan's "nightlife". Unfortunately, like many of the men who frequent Asia, the author could care less about some of the uglier aspects of the industry. He doesn't moralize because he basically has no morals.

My main job in Japan was English teaching. I used to ask my students what they thought of places like Kabuki-cho, which is one of Tokyo's better known red-light areas. They would look embarassed and say that when walking through there they felt "dirty". I found this odd, considering that the average Japanese is self-described as being anti-religious, and most of them have no cultural training in Christian morals.

Additionally, when talking to my female friends (including my Fillipina roomate) who had Japanese husbands or boyfriends, the biggest complaint seemed to be the lack of sex or affection in the relationship. One of the women expressed the opinion that most Japanese men were impotent. A lot of news articles in the English press in Tokyo point to the general uptight attitude of the average Japanese toward matters of sex in general.

A lot of foreign men see Japan as a place where men's "needs" are dealt with in a "non-moralizing" fashion. Well, that's pretty true if you are dealing with any aspect of the prostitution industry, anywhere in the world. I can name a number of places in the US, mainly in Nevada, San Francisco, and West Hollywood, and any red light area of any major city, where a man on the make won't come into contact with a single moral admonishment when in pursuit of a good time.

One cultural difference that men find attractive about Japan is that women in Japan (and Asia in general) are brought up to cater to men, at least on the surface. Japanese women find North American and European men attractive because these men were raised in a culture where they were taught that ladies should be treated with kid gloves. In addition, Japanese women, unlike their Korean counterparts, don't really care that much about looks. It's no accident that Japanese women and Western men find each other charming.

The Confucian system puts men over women. Consequently, sex is thought of as something that males shouldn't need to control - it's sort of treated in the same manner as passing gas - it's something that "can't be helped" (shoganai). Sex (for men, at least) is looked upon as a bodily function - it certainly is not attached to romance as it is in the West. So, if unromantic, casual, no strings, mechanical sex is your thing, Japan (and Asia) is the place for you.

This domination by males explains in part the wealth of graphic sex in the Japanese media. A number of American and other foreign men that I worked with complained that the average Japanese male's ideas about sex were "so 6th grade". Most of the sexually explicit material I have seen in the media there certainly does point to a low level of maturity on the part of the creators and their audience.

The idea of "needs" is not extended to women. Nowhere on the planet is prostitution a profession that is considered honorable, nor is a woman who "sleeps around". Japanese women still go to plastic surgeons to have their hymen repaired before marriage, so they can become "virgins" once again.

Clemens and his bretheren see nothing wrong with double standards, as long as it suits their needs, or as Dr. Phil would say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". The tone of this book is a couple of frat boys out on the town, living it up, giving tips on where to find girls that put out. And that's all well and good, because this is a guide to prostitution in Tokyo, nothing more.

The problem with this book is that it takes a small aspect of the entire Japanese picture and pretends that that's what Japan is all about. Well, imagine being a visitor to the US, and spending 90% of your time in places like Las Vegas and Castro Street, or a local strip club. Is that what America is all about? Hardly.

Having been a bar hostess (for a short time) in Tokyo, and having shared a house with a SE Asian bar hostess (whose Japanese visa was obtained by her Yakuza friends), I am somewhat familiar with certain aspects of Japanese "nightlife". If you want a truer look at what goes on in a hostess bar, better to get "Butterflies of the Night", by Lisa Louis.

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Summary: Outstanding look at the interesting side of Tokyo
Review: While I didn't have occasion to try any of the addresses in the book (I bought it on my outbound leg), the book is worth it simply from an entertainment perspective.