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Chatterbox_Bob

Inspired by article "Strip Clubs in Tokyo", April 2018, by 669.

INDUSTRY BACKGROUND: Japanese strip theaters are a form of burlesque -- the model is that you pay admission, sit in theater seating facing a stage, and there's a fixed rotation of dancers with creative skits and elaborate costumes. They do not circulate, selling private dancers, but there *is* an intermission in which they will pose for paid photos. Each dancer's set consists of a sequence of increasingly-naked vignettes; when they get fully nude, emphasis is more on the pubic area than bosom or bottom. The dancers tend to be skinny and ink-free; there's much less variation in physique as in the American ecdysiast industry.

VENUE BACKGROUND: Osaka Toyo Show, a.k.a. Toyo Show Strip Theater, was established in 1964.

SUMMARY: The strip theater industry has been in decline for years, and the place is chipped and dented. The sight lines from the rear row of seats are poor. The dancers are enthusiastic, and the venue is fine with foreigners. I visited in June 2018. The theater seats 129 but the audience consisted of about 40 men and two women. The bill had five dancers.

DETAIL: Osaka Toyo Show is in a perfectly reputable area of apartments and shops (*), 300 meters from the O River. There's no sidewalk, but the street is shared by pedestrians, bikes, and a small number of low-speed vehicles (not unusual for urban Japan). It's a little run-down (also not unusual), but neat. You can hike there from several rail stations. If you hike east from the Umeda complex (not the closest) it's 2 km, and you'll pass through the Komatsubara-cho entertainment district, then Ogimachi Park. The entrance is painted blue, and the word TOYO appears on the corner (in addition to kanji). Outside the door is the standard "18 with raised hands" icon for adult establishments. There are the ubiquitous beverage vending machines at the corner.

Enter, go up the stairs. There's a front desk, but first you buy your ticket at a dispenser, then hand it to the front desk clerk. The clerk will show you a placard with the house rules, printed in Japanese, Korean or English. The lobby includes "Standing Bar Chaco", coin lockers, and a restroom.

There are two entrances to the theater, which has 129 seats in four rows around the stage. The floor is slightly sloped, but not enough to improve sight-lines from the rear seats. It's a thrust stage has three parts: the curtained area, runway, and a rotating turntable. The floor is concrete. The seats are narrow, like in an American cinema or high school auditorium pre-2000. There's a control booth in the back. Lighting is theater-style, so you see the dancers' natural skin tones.

There are four shows per day, each 2 hours 15 minutes; at 13:00, 15:35, 18:10 and 20:45. The audience routine is to clap along with the song's beat, then applause at the end of each set.

If looking for a souvenir, there are color-printed promotional flyers at the street entrance, listing the venue's particulars (address, showtimes, price), and the headliners. Dancers are apprently engaged for 10 days at a time.

THE DANCERS:

This bill was organized with three dancers, their photo intermission, two more, another intermission, then a curtain call in which they appeared in matching orange ruffled dresses while their names were projected (in English!) on the stage curtain. Music included movie show tunes ("My Neighbor Totoro", "Moana"), standards ("I will Survive", "Gagnam Style"), and J-pop.

Dancer 1: A topless nature nymph ponders a seed, which sprouts flowers. She returns in yellow slicker and red wellies.

Dancer 2: Red yukata. White halter top and bias skirt with fringe, ruffles and bow. Stores her panties on her wrist. Pubic poses, drops her top and skirt. Returns to stage in a sports jersey.

Dancer 3: Señiorita-style with red hat, red hose, red ruffled top and black ruffled skirt. Robe and towel around shoulders, for pubic positions.

Dancer 4: Heian-style with tall black hat, white robe, black hakama. Oni mask, black keyhole top, black pants. Dances with her hat, turns, removes top and pants, then dances with a sheer red veil and fan. Yukata and red hair clip with ribbons.

Dancer 5: White fascinator, fur-edged white robe, black shirt. Turns, removes over-robe, obi and kimono; now in a pink top and two-slit skirt. Dance with a sheer robe. T-shirt.

(*) Specifically, the address is 11-1 Ikeda-cho, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka-fu 530-0033, i.e., Ikeda district, North ward, Osaka city, Osaka prefecture. Because Japanese urban addresses are nearly useless for navigation, businesses always provide maps, but they're inevitably confusing and you'll need to check against a standard map. A GPS app is useful; if you're lucky, you'll pick a hotel that offers the free "Handy" smartphone service.

REFERENCES:

* https://www.tuscl.net/article.php5?id=56…
* www.toyo-show.com
* https://www.google.com/maps/place/Toyo+S…
* www.hiinc.com/en/