Today's Aniversary: Japan, April 25th 1867

[Stavros]

Between 1639 and 1867 the ruling Tokugawa imposed a policy of sakoku, forbidding Japanese from leaving and foreigners entering the country on pain of death. One exception was the Dutch East India Company which was allowed to trade, but it was Commodore Perry's penetration of the obscurity of Japan, as it was viewed in 1854, which persuaded Japan to end centuries of isolation and begin trading with the rest of the world. As a consequence, military rule came to an end and the subsequent restoration of the Meiji in 1868 and modernisation led Japan by the end of the century to attempt the creation of an Asian Empire, a project which collapsed in nuclear dust in 1945. Yet today Japan is the 4th largest economy in the world even though it has few of the natural resources the rest of the world is blessed with.

I have not been to Japan but have long admired its films, and it has a fascinating musical and theatrical culture, yet I often feel many Japanese don't believe they need the rest of the world and I have been told it can be hard for someone from outside to get to know the Japanese and the way they live. Some of the most beautiful transexuals I have ever seen have been Japanese.

Do people with experience of Japan have any views they want to share?

[bluesoul]

Do people with experience of Japan have any views they want to share?

yes, i feel inclined to share the following:

i lived in japan for about a year. it's very expensive. you have to pay a "gift" before you rent an apartment which is usually equivalent to the rent (and deposit you will be paying for an apartment). in the same building i was living was a guy called takashi miike. he happens to be a director. i happen to be a producer. we never spoke (because he couldn't speak english and i cannot speak japanese)

my girlfriend in japan was amazing. she swallowed all my loads. for some reason, your blood type is as important as your star sign. i'd meet chicks while out getting wasted and the first thing out of their mouth would be "you're cool. blood type?"

sushi is an art. the architecture was cool in kyoto. i will be going back in 2014. i have designs to fuck more women. hopefully in the anus this time. i feel this is something i must do

btw: my neighbor in nippon (kawaguchi city, saitama) was called tonya. she had great parties for all the expats. tonya, if you are reading this: get at me girl. you never did fart directly on my face

[bluesoul]

btw: a lot of people ask me what is a lasting memory of japan that i have. well let me tell you:

one time, i was at a bar called hells bar (http://go-to-hell.jp/) with a few friends and i go to the bathroom. the bathroom looks like a disco. the rest of the club doesn't. i'm in the bathroom and this woman (in her 40s) comes in and i say "excuse me" because am peeing and she goes "no no no" and she's trying to tell me something. she lifts her skirt and tries to shit on me and i say "pardon me" i go for the door "and she says "no no no. look look" and she's still trying to take a shit"

i say "thank you. yes. very good" and get out. my friends and the bartender laughed at me the entire night. it was a big joke to them.

below is a picture of the hell's bar bathroom where that incident took place:

http://i.imgur.com/7YBkbR5.png

[Stavros]

yes, i feel inclined to share the following:

i lived in japan for about a year. it's very expensive. you have to pay a "gift" before you rent an apartment which is usually equivalent to the rent (and deposit you will be paying for an apartment). in the same building i was living was a guy called takashi miike. he happens to be a director. i happen to be a producer. we never spoke (because he couldn't speak english and i cannot speak japanese)

my girlfriend in japan was amazing. she swallowed all my loads. for some reason, your blood type is as important as your star sign. i'd meet chicks while out getting wasted and the first thing out of their mouth would be "you're cool. blood type?"

sushi is an art. the architecture was cool in kyoto. i will be going back in 2014. i have designs to fuck more women. hopefully in the anus this time. i feel this is something i must do

btw: my neighbor in nippon (kawaguchi city, saitama) was called tonya. she had great parties for all the expats. tonya, if you are reading this: get at me girl. you never did fart directly on my face

Takashi Miike is one of the best younger directors in Japan, I assume you are familiar with his work?

Some strange attitudes to bodily fluids in Japan, not sure it is an aspect of Japanese culture I want to explore. Sounds like for a volunteer it might be 'receive one for the team'...courage!

[bluesoul]

yes. i've seen most of his films. when i was in japan he was just gaining popularity in the west but was still largely considered "unknown" and a little bit of an "outsider" in japan.

one of his producers, a guy called hiroshi, invited me to a private party in shibuya to witness a kinkiben rope play. the play was based on a noh called 'ten women'. most japanese clubs like these have signs that say "japanese only" but he only smiled and said "good". we went in.

basically, a woman was flogged and tied up in what seemed like a very painful position, flogged more and slowly burned with an iron. "good" he said again.

i read about 'ten women' and it's about sexual assault. the next day, i snapped the picture below. the play took place in a house not far from where it was taken. you wouldn't know such things go on if you were there

http://i.imgur.com/HuFTp6B.png

[bluesoul]

btw: the girls in the above pictures are hostesses. a hostess is basically someone that just kicks it with you. they talk (more or less go "really? wow. how cool" whilst you talk) and walk around with you (if you want). when you go to a bar or restaurant, they pour your drink. it's very weird. you go to reach for your drink and they say "no no" and get it and pour it then they tell you "thank you"

that's right. they thank you for drinking. i was in heaven. i'm going back

[dderek123]

Man I would have gotten my picture taken with Takashi Miike. That dude makes wicked horror films.

I spent a few nights in Osaka and enjoyed it. The food was good and the people were quiet and polite.

[bluesoul]

here is a picture taken inside ruby room (http://rubyroomtokyo.com/) close to dogenzaka which is an area notorious for love hotels (1 room shacks where you can get your groove on with a lady of the night and yes, i was there plenty).

one time, i was with a girl in the hotel, fucking her real good btw, when i decided to take a picture and forward it to my friend. in my haste, i mistakenly forwarded it to my sister with the message "wish you were here"

http://i.imgur.com/VHgt9hy.png

[bluesoul]

Man I would have gotten my picture taken with Takashi Miike. That dude makes wicked horror films.


i did. most japanese people are very interested in foreigners but he seemed indifferent which i found refreshing. we'd met in the elevator in the middle of the night (or early morning) and he'd just wave and say "konbanwa"

my girlfriend at the time didn't like him and said he "looked weird". my neighbor was this guy called uni who was supposedly the son of a yakuza. one time i invited him to my apartment/flat and showed him a porn (my hopes were he could find me a girl that could do what that girl was doing) but he ran out of the place and later apologized for his embarrassment. i had to find the girl myself

http://i.imgur.com/7t6j7Br.png

[Stavros]

basically, a woman was flogged and tied up in what seemed like a very painful position, flogged more and slowly burned with an iron. "good" he said again.


a) I am not sure how being burned with an iron induces sexual pleasure in either the person being burned or anyone watching; and b) it does confirm my belief that there are some very strange ideas about sexual pleasure in Japan....thanks for the memories!!

Anyone seen Sans Soleil? One of Chris Marker's most engaging films, he shot a lot of it in Japan.

[Prospero]

Fascinating thread. There is a strange and well established japanese genre of extreme sado-masochistic porn.... though I'd not heard of it happening live.But this reminds me of a girl I visited in London some time back who offered 9though I m really a take in this pleasure0 S+M. She warned me about a Japanese dominatrix based in London who gets seriously carried away - and is rumoured to have hospitalized one customer after her passion for whipping got out of hand.

Didn't the writer Yukio Mishima enjoy extremeS+M?

[Stavros]

Mishima's greatest orgasm possibly came with the moment when his head was severed. I think it may be why one must surely need a well-informed guide when visiting Japan!! I mean, they eat raw fish, and that's just for starters....

[Prospero]

... and for their main course as well....lol

[bluesoul]

a) I am not sure how being burned with an iron induces sexual pleasure in either the person being burned or anyone watching; and b) it does confirm my belief that there are some very strange ideas about sexual pleasure in Japan....thanks for the memories!!

Anyone seen Sans Soleil? One of Chris Marker's most engaging films, he shot a lot of it in Japan.

S&M is not really something i feel should be explained. you either get it or you don't. at the time i was very much into it (not the burning- just the S&M). nowadays not so much.

when i first got to japan, the first thing i sought out was a dominatrix. she was serious, and so was i. at the time, i wouldn't have had it any other way

p.s. sans soleil: yes. lovely stuff. i actually watched that and la jetée back to back. kinda made sense. like the S&M.

http://i.imgur.com/82ykhN9.jpg

[bluesoul]

when i was in japan, i met these two girls from israel who were traveling around (i think they were just from or going to the military- i forget). anyway, we used to go to a certain love hotel in shibuya shoto. we didn't go there to have sex, we went there to eat dinner because the room we got was themed like an elf house.

you're probably thinking: you never wanted to have sex with either or both of these jew broads? and to be honest, i don't think i even thought about it. i was so caught up in the moment and we just kinda talked the whole time. eating at a love hotel started out as a joke then later became a pretty ritualistic thing to do.

we'd walk in, pay and go eat. then i'd fall asleep or we'd watch tv and plan what kind of damage to do to the city. it really was like living a dream

eating is like sex right?

http://i.imgur.com/iaDAwHv.jpg

[sukumvit boy]

The Japanese have got to be the kinkiest folks on earth . I thought I had reached twisted adult entertainment nirvana in Thailand with their hand job and blow job bars .
In Tokyo they have Upskirt Cafes , Simulated Train Ride Cafes , Schoolgirl Masturbation Cafes ....

[Stavros]

These posts confirm that I have no interest in 'kinky' sex, but I would still like to visit Japan...