A Soapland (ソープランド sōpurando) is a Japanglish and indicates a paradise for men in Japanese. It is said, since in Japan prostitution is officially prohibited by the government, that it is a type of brothel in Japan where male clients can engage in sexual activity with female prostitutes, although officially the clubs do business as places where the client is bathed. There are also a few soaplands specifically for female clients.[1]
There are various kinds of soaplands, and they are usually located in complexes with varying numbers of soaplands. Well-known complexes are located in Susukino in Sapporo, Yoshiwara and Kabukicho in Tokyo, Kawasaki, Kanazuen in Gifu, Ogoto in Shiga and Fukuhara in Kobe and Sagaminumata in Odawara but there are many other areas, especially in onsen (hot springs) towns. Prices for a session at a soapland vary depending on factors such as location, time of day, and length of the session.
Soaplands began when explicit prostitution in Japan became illegal in 1958, as a simple form of bath where women washed men's bodies. They were originally known as toruko-buro, meaning Turkish bath. Following a 1984 campaign by Turkish scholar Nusret Sancaklı denouncing the use of this name for brothels,[2] the new name "soapland" was the winning entry in a nationwide contest to rename them.[2]
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