Happening bar
Encyclopedia
A or is a Japanese sex club
. In both, prospective customers pass an initial vetting to become members, then pay an entrance fee to enter the club. The club will provide drinks at a bar (often for free), rooms for sex and typically shower facilities. Entrance to couple kissa is limited to male-female couples and single women, while a happening bar will also allow single men to enter, although typically at a steep surcharge (as much as ¥25,000, whereas a woman might enter for free). Entry is denied to the underaged (under 20), male groups, drunk or intoxicated people and, in some establishments, foreigners.
Happening bars and couple kissas skirt around Japanese prostitution laws
by neither providing nor promising actual sex on premises, instead stressing that what may or may not happen is entirely up to customers. In a high-profile incident in 2004, after porn star and wrestler Chocoball Mukai
advertised on his website that he would be performing, the happening bar "Rock" in Tokyo
's Roppongi
district was raided by police. Chocoball, who had been caught in the act with another porn star, was later convicted for public indecency
and sentenced to a five-month jail term, and the club was forced to shut down.
Sex club
Sex clubs are either groups that organize sex related activities or an establishment where patrons can engage in sex acts with other patrons. A sex club differs from a brothel in that, while sex club patrons typically pay a fee to enter the club, they have sex with other patrons rather than with...
. In both, prospective customers pass an initial vetting to become members, then pay an entrance fee to enter the club. The club will provide drinks at a bar (often for free), rooms for sex and typically shower facilities. Entrance to couple kissa is limited to male-female couples and single women, while a happening bar will also allow single men to enter, although typically at a steep surcharge (as much as ¥25,000, whereas a woman might enter for free). Entry is denied to the underaged (under 20), male groups, drunk or intoxicated people and, in some establishments, foreigners.
Happening bars and couple kissas skirt around Japanese prostitution laws
Prostitution in Japan
Prostitution in Japan has existed throughout the country's history.While the Anti-Prostitution Law of 1956 states that "No person may either do prostitution or become the customer of it," various loopholes, liberal interpretations of the law, and loose enforcement have allowed the sex industry to...
by neither providing nor promising actual sex on premises, instead stressing that what may or may not happen is entirely up to customers. In a high-profile incident in 2004, after porn star and wrestler Chocoball Mukai
Chocoball Mukai
Hiroshi "Chocoball" Mukai is a Japanese male pornographic actor and a former professional wrestler.-Life and career:...
advertised on his website that he would be performing, the happening bar "Rock" in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
's Roppongi
Roppongi
is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, famous as home to the rich Roppongi Hills area and an active night club scene. Many foreign embassies are located in Roppongi, and the night life is popular with locals and foreigners alike...
district was raided by police. Chocoball, who had been caught in the act with another porn star, was later convicted for public indecency
Public indecency
Public indecency refers to conduct undertaken in a non-private or publicly-viewable location, which are deemed indecent in nature, such as indecent exposure and sexual intercourse or masturbation in public view. Such activity is often illegal...
and sentenced to a five-month jail term, and the club was forced to shut down.