These are highly educated, perfectly respectable women, on whom I have never seen a hint of leather bondage or a piercing out of place. In reality, the show consists of four Hungarians β not all of them handsome, with or without clothes. Although the boys are barely out of puberty, the performance is actually well choreographed, and the dancers deserve 8 out of 10 for effort β 2 withheld for denying me the promised Greek God.
Did I mention the audience participation? I leave the show wondering if their moms back home in Hungary worry about them cleaning their socks or washing behind the ears. Whips, bondage gear for both people and their intimate bits , outlandish outfits β gas mask or gimp outfit, anyone? KY Jelly is sold on the approach to the till in the same way supermarkets offer gum or batteries. My only purchase β I feel obligated to buy something under the somewhat curious and confused gaze of the male shop assistant β is a pair of relatively safe leather cuffs with a red flower motif for 7, yen.
I pay and quickly take my leave. The decor is sumptuous, with red velvet and tiered seating in front of two circular stage areas, where a negligee-dressed stripper is performing. One of the dancers looks like a life-sized Barbie doll, though she speaks five languages. She tells me the girls are mainly from Eastern Europe, Russia and Israel, but with stage names more suited to a blue movie, it is hard to guess their origin.
Although I am the only female in the audience, this club which has requested we not print their name makes a point of welcoming women, and it is, apparently, common to see both couples seeking to spice up their love life, as well as females in small groups. There is an even split of Western and Japanese men, and at one point a something Japanese man is sprawled across the stage with a dancer straddling and mock servicing him, all under the eagle eye of the bouncer, leaning in to ensure liberties are not being taken.
One of the girls tells me that with all the drinking and late nights, most have a system of a few months on, followed by a few weeks of rest at a spa. Marital relations for the male clientele may turn somewhat frosty on the revelation and seldom reported fact that no holds are barredβliterally. The no-touch policy of Western strip-joints applies only fleetingly on the main stage and is completely disregarded in the back rooms, where the private dances take place at a cost of 7, yen per song β the music is well mixed so that changes can slip by unnoticed.
