Whilst wandering around Nipponbashi (which is seen as the Akihabara of Osaka, and is also referred to as 'Den Den town') with my mate, we couldn't help but notice certain sights every 6 shops or so. At first we thought it couldn't be. It had to be a ruse. Surely not on main streets, in broad daylight and clear view of everybody?! But turns out it was so. Porn shops. Lining the streets like any other shop. Like it's nothing. In clear view of everybody who happens to wander past. Some even had HDTV's set up at the front of the store, with videos playing of big breasted Japanese ladies doing normal stuff in slow motion whilst moaning: like eating, stretching, ironing and hosing down flowers in the garden.My mate and I figured: we're guys, we are in Japan and people didn't seem to care or be objective or judgmental of the sex shops one way or the other - so we wandered into one or two...or three...maybe five. Okay, six! It truly was surreal. There were other men wandering around in the shops with shopping baskets like they were swaggin' down an aisle of Family mart! Begging the question how much porn do some buy in one go!? I guess buying in bulk saves trips. It was funny watching other men mooch around like they were in HMV. Shop attendants aren't as helpful as they are in HMV though. These stores are all about anonymity. The store attendants only acknowledge you if you approach them. Fair do's! I guess no dude wants a store attendant creeping up behind him yelling "Welcome!! What kind of DVD are you looking for!? We have a buy one get one free on guzzling and bestiality today!" A couple of the stores have till points where a piece of non-transparent piece plexiglass or a curtain is placed between the cashier and the buyer, so the transactions were faceless. Again; adding to the anonymity and killing alibi's in cases where a husband is buying porn when he shouldn't.
Sex is a weird thing in Japan. It's still a bit of a taboo subject, yet it isn't at the same time.