Lesser-known gravure idol Hiroko Kamata has discovered a sure-fire way to boost your popularity in a crowded industry: take off your panties and then cover your pudenda with your hands.

Kamata was once a mainstream celebrity of sorts, hosting a TBS TV show for two years in the late 2000s.

She then branched out into music and releasing DVDs and photo books in the 2010s, but the 30-year-old is now on the look-out for ways to keep her career going by appealing to her thousands of social media followers. In a world of Photoshopped and iPhone-filtered pristine selfies, how do you stand out?

With these selfies that go one step further and raise the proverbial eyebrow, and no doubt make the person scrolling his phone on public transport hastily cover his screen.

The fact that she kept the upper half of her body clothed only adds to the allure. Other selfies where she is nominally wearing panties, though lifted up to hint at what is underneath, are another tactic that we shall have to teach our lovers.

Searching a bit further, it seems Hiroko has many ideas for gradols struggling in a competitive market. She also previously came up with a novel idea for merchandise: panties with a sexy ass print that allowed the wearer to transform into Hiroko Kamata’s butt. Sadly, the prototype was never made into a commercially available product but what a great idea.

We can think of a fair few other models we would like to create similar merchandise.

Like many, we have avoided the beach this year because of the recommendations not to leave Tokyo and not unintentionally spread the coronavirus.

Last week, we shared a couple of photo shoots that offered a vicarious experience of a love hotel session with a stunning Japanese beauty.

What about something more summery? Hungry for a beach fix, we recently admired a shoot done with the model 3zuki (Mizuki) by photographer ohmen2001, who generously shared the results on their social media channels.

She is ravishingly slinky in a barely-there bikini as well as satisfyingly curvy in a wet T-shirt. Her nude butt promises a rewarding squeeze. Waves break against her body and the sun kisses her skin.

And the cold concrete of coastal tetrapods have never looked so sexy when they stand there, silently contrasted with the alluring and worldly beauty of this model.

So not quite as good as an actual trip to the beach, but perhaps the next best thing?

Probably the most famous and successful cosplayer in Japan right now, Enako is no stranger to provocative photo shoots. Heck, did you see her as a semi-nude mermaid?

But did she inadvertently reveal more than she and her managers intended in a recent photo shoot?

That’s what netizens are hoping and speculating about in their customary frenzy. Cue lots of zooming-in and squinting at screens.

The suggestion is that in this photo, Enako’s left nipple (or at least, the areola) is visible.

We’re not convinced, though the sight of 26-year-old Enako lying on a futon with plenty of cleavage on display is lovely enough in its own right.

Virgins, beware! The killer has returned! And she looks seriously hot.

Transformed into a viral hit in 2017 by top gravure model Jun Amaki, who recently contracted the coronavirus (and thankfully made a full recovery), the Virgin Killer Sweater was so called (in spite of being really a dress) for its insanely revealing design that would make any virgin swoon. The wearer’s back and side boob were firmly on display, along with the top of the butt. Seriously, if you saw this worn by a woman in public, how could you not feel a stirring in your groin almost immediately?

The success meant that availability of the Virgin Killer Sweater was limited at times and there were, of course, various imitations and variations soon released. Heck, it even inspired its own parody onahole — not just once, but twice!

We are pleased to report that that Virgin Killer Sweater is back and is now available in white.

Even better, another new version has an incredible open-front design (in addition to the backless part, natch) that will make jaws drop with desire. We’ve seen an open-front version before but this one’s “bust hole” seems even more revealing, which is just the way it should be.

You can get the Virgin Killer Sweater internationally from Kanojo Toys.

There is the old joke that you can build up your biceps by excessive masturbation.

But Tenga is here to prove that it is, in fact, true. At least, it can be with the Tenga Workout Gear.

This is a silver-colored, stainless steel “sleeve” that locks around the Tenga Original Vacuum Cup toy. As you slide your johnson in and out of the masturbation cup, you hold the Workout Gear and train your muscles.

It is a heavy (as in four kilograms, or nearly nine pounds) and genuinely does help you strengthen your muscles simply by holding and using the item.

Here is the item in a demonstration video presented by company president Koichi Matsumoto, who is quite a characters in his own right and frequently features in the marketing.

The Tenga Workout Gear can also be used on its own like a unique dumbbell, as Tenga is at pains to emphasize through this series of workout videos. We love the names: the Skyward Wrist Raiser, Skull Compactor, Two-handed Chest Ignition, and more!

This is not a silly gimmick. It is well-crafted item that Tenga claims to channeling a made-in-Japan spirit of monozukuri (we think the choice of wooden box is inspired by this). The brand has even produced a making-of video to show off all the skill that goes into it.

The Tenga Workout Gear is available now from our friends at Kanojo Toys, though expect to pay a premium price for it (and not least because shipping such a heavy item doesn’t come cheap).

Tenga has accrued a reputation for its well-designed and effective masturbation toys, beginning with its series of “egg” and “cup” items over a decade ago.

But what is great about Tenga is that it also invests serious effort and money into these kinds of side projects and has the know-how and sophistication to market them well, too. Sure, its tongue is firmly in its cheek but the results are very original, memorable, and viral. Past examples include a party popper, an iPhone case, and robot figures.

Japanese media has reported that reality television star Maria Hamasaki has died of an apparent suicide.

Hamasaki was the 23-year-old star of AbemaTV’s Suddenly, Marriage, a show that purportedly chronicles that first 30 days after a man and a woman have registered their marriage. The popular web TV show had just started broadcasting its fourth season at the start of August. Its production and distribution has been suspended.

Hamasaki, a model who also ran a business delivering South Korean cosmetics, also appeared in one of the seasons of another web TV reality show, Bachelor Japan, on Amazon Prime Video.

AbemaTV made a statement on August 28 announcing Hamasaki’s death and offering its condolences. No other information has been released, however.

In April, Hamasaki attracted some online controversy by posting pictures to her Instagram account showing her out and about without a face mask when coronavirus infections were on the rise in Japan.

This is the second high-profile such death since wrestler and Terrace House star Hana Kimura took her life following cyberbullying earlier this year, an event that led to the cancellation of the show and the exposure of its manipulative practices.

Just yesterday we blogged about the shocking suicide of reality television star Maria Hamasaki. Now we sadly have another death to write about: the actress and model Rui Shinato (階戸瑠李).

Regular readers will know her from her semi-nude gravure photo shoots that showed off her beauty and hot body. Most impressively, though, were her recent appearances in the such films as Call Boy and the hit Netflix series The Naked Director, both of which required her to perform explicit nude sex scenes.

The 31-year-old actress, who is currently starring in the ratings success Hanzawa Naoki drama series on TBS, was found dead in her apartment by a family member, having died on August 28. The cause of death was given as a “chronic illness” and the exact details are under investigation. She lived alone in the Tokyo apartment and there is speculation that epilepsy might have caused her death.

Alongside her burgeoning acting career, Shinato had still continued her photo shoots, releasing a second photo book, Butter, in 2019 that firmly exploited her jukujo allure. She had officially retired from gravure in 2018 when she joined her final agency to focus on her acting.

Detailed detective work on the part of Japanese netizens have identified newbie porn star Sora Minamino (南乃そら) as Miyako Torase (虎瀬美也子), a former member of idol group Oyasumi Sekai.

Torase was active in Oyasumi Sekai from November 2018 to April 2019. If the netizens are right, it would seem that she struggled to find a post-idol career or otherwise specifically chose to enter AV with the right offer.

Sora Minamino released her first adult video title on September 1 with a splashy 149-minute feature (MIDE-812) from Moodyz.

The video, which nominally follows the newcomer over the 30 days prior to her porn inauguration, plays up to schoolgirl fetishes and Minamino/Torase’s innocent looks, though we are actually unable at present to find any accurate information on her age. Blurring reality and fiction in the quasi-documentary way that AV often does, Minamino in MIDE-812 is also meant to be an idol making the decision to switch to porn.

In the latest high-profile infections among celebrities in Japan, Nogizaka46 has announced that two of its members, Kaede Sato and Yuki (or Yuuki) Yoda, have contracted the novel coronavirus.

After a PCR test on August 27 for all the members of the idol group, the 22-year-old and 20-year-old were confirmed to have the virus, though not any symptoms of COVID-19 as of writing.

Yoda (pictured) released a photo book earlier this year.

As we recently reported, other top Japanese idols have contracted the virus, including gradols Jun Amaki and Fumika Baba. Another popular model, Fumina Suzuki, is also recovering.

These latest Nogizaka46 cases follow those from sister groups AKB48 (Shizuka Oya) and Keyakizaka46 (former member Yui Imaizumi).

AKB48 and such idol groups rely heavily on fan interaction for their appeals, not least in the “handshaking” meet-and-greet events that draw huge crowds. In the age of the coronavirus, the realism of continuing such a business model is up for debate.

A walk around the streets of Tokyo usually does not reveal a huge amount of evidence contradicting the stereotype that Japanese busts are on the modest side. But Japanese adult toys are a whole other matter entirely. Praise be to the Shinto gods, because designers are blessed with both incredible skill and imagination.

The Real Body Kiwami Nama Chichi series of “ultimate raw breasts” paizuri titjob toys just got even rawer and more ultimate with the newly released Real Body Kiwami Nama Chichi Fantasy Ultimate Raw Breasts by SSI Japan.

Like its predecessors, it is designed in 3D CAD for extreme precision in terms of dimensions and the layout of the toy, and then 3D-printed for prototyping — and then finally manufactured in high-quality elastomer for

Motorboating, paizuri, or just good old-fashioned caressing. Whatever you want to do, these massive breasts are there for your hands, mouth, and manhood to enjoy. They clock in at a seriously hefty 5 kg (11 lbs), so rest assured the tactile sensation always feels realistic and satisfying. As the example images provided by SSI Japan demonstrate, the breasts are also great for dressing up (and undressing).

The Real Body Kiwami Nama Chichi Fantasy Ultimate Raw Breasts are available now from our friends at Kanojo Toys for discreet worldwide delivery.

The former AKB48 idol Kira Takahashi (高橋希来) has stripped naked for her first photo book, Twinkle, which comes out locally on September 10. That said, it is not, strictly speaking, a nude photo book, since the naked Takahashi still just about manages to protect her modesty.

She is wearing panties and her breasts are tucked up, squeezed yet hidden by her knees. We get plenty of side book, though.

It’s now September and, while humid, Tokyo is arriving at typhoon season. Nonetheless, the photo book brings a splash of late summer, complete with shots of the 19-year-old poolside in wet swimwear.

Kira Takahashi was a lesser-known member of the supergroup, debuting in spring 2015 as a kenkyusei and then graduating in April 2017. During her time in the group, she was known by slightly different kanji (高橋希良).

Once forgotten, now a star? We shall see.

Feeling lonely? Feeling stressed? Then perhaps what you need to do is sit down and have a date with an ugly guy.

Yes, that’s right: this is the idea behind the Rental Busaiku (“ugly-for-rent”) service, in which one self-professed unattractive guy hires himself to all takers. Specifically, he mentions that his services are useful to be the wingman-type role in group dates (gokon), so he can be assigned to sit with any members of the opposite sex that the organizers worry may not get attention otherwise and/or to allow the other guys to focus on the women they want to score.

Launched in July this year, the service has already attracted several hires and thousands of followers on social media, not to mention Japanese media attention.

Given the current circumstances, our intrepid man-for-hire wears a face shield to protect against coronavirus infection.

There are numerous such “rental” services in Japan, from renting a friend to wedding guests, and they have receive a disproportionate amount of foreign media coverage considering the scale of the actual industry.

This example is, needless to say, just one individual and not proof of a major “trend” in Japan. That said, we do think it’s pretty unique and worth thinking about. We worry, though, that the man is exposing himself to ridicule during these hired sessions, whereby people will just rent his services to mock and make fun of him.

If you have ever used a Japanese love hotel, you might have interacted with staff in the reception area. Usually they are hidden behind a screen and you get a glimpse of a hand and nothing much else.

But what is the staff area like? Where are the employees in the meantime? Perhaps hanging out in the operations/control room, which may well look something like this.

The photo was shared on Twitter user Onitsuchi last week and went viral (as in 8,000 retweets).

We say “control room” because the room evokes a Cold War-era control tower at a tiny airstrip somewhere, or perhaps the bunker of a civil engineering facility in some remote corner of the globe (think a dam in Eastern Europe?).

We have no way of verifying the photo (and Onitsuchi does not seem to provide a source, other than saying in one tweeted reply that the photo was taken eight years ago), since it actually gives no sign of being at a love hotel, but the details are fascinating.

We can spot a couple of sofas, presumably for catching a nap during those long night shifts and a desk that looks very fusty and bureaucratic. Also note the (very outdated) police wanted posters on the wall, perhaps to remind staff who to be on the lookout for among the guests checking in.

The computer looks clunky and old (god knows what software it runs on), while there are a bunch of other furniture that probably hold files and documents. It’s all pretty low-fi, especially if you imagine what a premier hotel’s control room would be like — or if you consider that most love hotel rooms now have excellent amenities.

Ayaka Miyoshi is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful actresses and models popular in Japan right now but, with some exceptions, she is rarely seen in overtly sensual or sexy shoots. For the most part, she keeps her clothes on and has settled for a more mainstream appeal.

That has all changed with her jaw-dropping appearance in the September 9 issue of Anan, confirming the magazine’s reputation for enhancing models’ careers with provocative shoots.

The shoot puts to shame the spreads you find in the tabloids and even gravure magazines like Weekly Playboy. It’s what you might expect an AV idol or gradol to do. Clad in expensive and revealing lingerie (and garters!), the shoot reveals that 24-year-old Ayaka Miyoshi has a decent bust and that her thighs are quite something when she is standing in a certain pose and clothed (barely) in amazing underwear. She even does the tebura “hand bra” pose that has become a staple. And now we also know that her butt is pretty pert and her stomach is perfectly toned. Wow. Just wow.

Miyoshi has a high profile these days, frequently appearing on television and recently landed a major lead role in a movie (in which she flashed her panties). Incidentally, her boyfriend was the late Haruma Miura.

The cover shoot is causing a real stir and we expect it to boost Anan’s sales considerably — a tactic it has often employed for these types of shoots, establishing a kind of “Anan culture” and helping the women who participate in transforming their image or boosting their career.

Though it has featured the likes of gradol Fumika Baba, which Miyoshi’s shoot partly recalls, Anan is particularly known for “upgrading” a popular model, actress, or female celebrity into a full-blown sex symbol through its sophisticated photo shoots. Past examples include Ryoko Yonekura, Minami Tanaka, Rino Sashihara, Yui Ichikawa, Nanao, Yuki Kashiwagi, and Maomi Yuuki. What is intriguing about all this is that Anan is aimed at female readers.

A video has leaked online allegedly showing the popular actress and model Elaiza Ikeda having sex with a male partner.

In the video, a woman who looks like Ikeda is shown riding an unknown man in the cowgirl position. Her face and hair is certainly similar in appearance to Ikeda and she also has large breasts (Ikeda is famously busty).

The footage is shot hamedori-style by the man as he enjoys the action. Lasting just over a minute, it ends with the woman leaning down and kissing the man passionately. We do not know when it was shot or when, where, or how it was first uploaded. The video can be viewed here.

The 24-year-old Filipino-Japanese Ikeda is a sex symbol. Though she has never done nudity, she has got close with more than one sweaty, sensual scene. She is also now a mainstream star, fronting campaigns for major brands.

We should state categorically and clearly that we cannot verify if the sex tape is real or not. (And Ikeda has been misidentified by this blog in the past.) We are nominally just sharing something that a lot of netizens in Japan are talking breathlessly about right now. So please don’t attack us if you think the video is fake or you don’t think it’s actually Ikeda.

If it is real, though, it’s the biggest such scandal since the model Ayana Miyamoto accidentally uploaded to her social media account footage of the rapper KOHH giving her head. Unsurprisingly, her career has yet to recover.

For a while, it seemed that see-through onaholes were all the rage. Not a week went by without a new “crystal” or “clear” toy coming out. We particularly liked it when these were combined with a “hard” (i.e., tight) style.

But we haven’t seen a large masturbator in this kind of design for a while (if at all).

And so we were naturally delighted to encounter the new Puni Ana Suke Suke DX Onahole, which is available from our friends at Japanese adult toys store Kanojo Toys.

As you might well expect, you get two meandering and realistic holes here, insuring there is something whether you are a vagina guy or anus guy. Softly textured, the incredible heft and size means you have a lot to grip as you hold onto her thighs when you pound this minx. Lay her down flat to get the best out of your sessions with this larger toy. And being transparent, you can see your johnson enjoying the action inside throughout.

Regular readers and onahole fans will already know that this is the latest in a long-running and very successful series of Puni Ana toys (roughly, “soft hole”) by EXE, always featuring awesome box art. This time, the character illustration is by maruku.

The Puni Ana Suke Suke DX Onahole is now available globally via Kanojo Toys.

Despite switching names on multiple occasions, Rara Anzai (aka Rion, aka Shion Utsunomiya) remains one of the most popular adult video stars in Japan.

She matches an angelic face with a stunning J-cup bust.

But porn stars are not always what they seem: cup sizes are sometimes inaccurate or volatile. And naturally, a woman’s body changes over the course of her life.

Have Rara’s breasts always been the same?

An unidentified netizen and JAV fan has decided to investigate this important question.

He or she (all right, it’s surely a “he”) came up with this montage of Rara Anzai in action in various porn releases, helpfully tagged with the year so we can clearly see how her breasts have developed from her debut in 2013 to her most recent titles this summer. We don’t think she has released a solo title since July. The second image is a preview shot from that release (SSNI822).

More generally, she seems to have gained some weight around the waist and her breasts have evolved from a bouncy, rounder shape to a longer, droopier one more like bakunyu (literally “explosive breasts”).

We could not identify the original source of this “breasts chronology” image, so feel free to contribute that info if you know for sure. We would be happy to provide credit where it is due.

There are nip slips and then there are nip slips.

The gravure idol Hikari Hashimoto (橋本ひかり) recently suffered an incident that falls squarely into the latter category.

For reasons known only to the people who devise Japanese television content, the idol was recently doing an interview (filmed live and remotely from her home) for the web channel AbemaTV in which she was supposed to whip off her top to reveal her bikini beneath. Unfortunately (or not), her breasts had come loose from the flimsy bikini top (or bikini-style bra) and her right nipple was firmly and delightfully visible as she pushed her chest out to show off her best assets. Little did she know that was actually presenting far more than she had expected.

The hosts looked flabbergasted but it’s highly possible the whole thing was staged (maybe even with the complicity of the producers, who want good ratings and nudity is fine on web TV in Japan).

The gradol world is overcrowded and someone like Hikari Hashimoto, who is apparently freelance and with no agency contract, has to do something to stand out. Certainly flashing her F cup qualifies as “something.”

Can she ride this notoriety to bigger and better things?

Apparently an actual law student, the 22-year-old describes herself as “the top law student gradol in Japan who strips.” She is about to release her second DVD.

Check out our tumblr page for more pictures of Hikari Hashimoto.

In a recent photo shoot, Yuki Kashiwagi (Yukirin) has seemingly revealed to her many admirers that she goes paipan downstairs.

The 29-year-old veteran member of AKB48 would seem to be hairless between her legs, either through shaving or waxing.

The photo in question is from the cover of a recent issue of weekly magazine Young Jump, released in Japan on September 10.

In a ten-page cover shoot for the weekly Flash out this week, Kashiwagi looks back on her career in the supergroup.

This month, Yukirin also appears in a lingerie shoot in Anan, for whom she did a memorable cover shoot several year ago.

So all in all, a busy month for the idol.

It would actually be interesting to get some data on what percentage of idols (gravure or otherwise) prepare for such lingerie and swimwear shoots by going paipan, or whether just trimming the bush is enough. And how many gravure shoots require digital touching up in the crotch area to remove “offending” signs of hairs?

In Japan, most women let their bush grow long, despite fastidiously shaving their bodily hair almost everywhere else.

The Weekly Playboy bar in Kabukicho was a big success back in 2017. We were reminded of it — and how few chances there are to encounter the adult industry in a bricks-and-mortar setting other than just a shop in the likes of Akihabara — when we read the exciting news that top Japanese porn production and distribution company Soft on Demand is opening what is essentially a sex theme park in Tokyo.

Ostensibly, the building will host restaurants and bars staffed by genuine porn performers, following the precedent established by Weekly Playboy’s bar, where real gravure idols served customers.

But SOD is promoting SOD Land, which sets to open in — where else? — Kabukicho on October 10, by describing it as an “adult theme park.” (We also love how this development flies in the face of the recent, very artificial attempts to gentrify Kabukicho and eliminate its “dirty” reputation by building movie theaters and hotels.)

SOD has already done something similar in Akihabara (in 2018) and Nakano (in 2019), opening small bars staffed by (sadly, fully clothed) adult video stars. But now they are raising the stakes (and the budget) with a five-floor complex.

The ground floor is the tamest, featuring a reception counter, purikura photo booth, gift shop selling DVDs and merchandise, and gacha capsule machines (because, well, Japan). But head to the basement and try out the bar staffed by female SOD employees and porn industry newcomers — since we all love to follow the debutants in the fast-changing world of Japanese porn.

Head upstairs to the second floor for the Kakubutsu Salon to enjoy a drink with a hostess or sex worker. The staff on hand here all apparently work in the fuzoku industry — a catch-all legalese covering everything from hostess bars and girls’ bars to erotic massage, strip clubs, soaplands, and brothels.

If you are visiting for the JAV stars, though, you will want to go straight to the third floor, where the SOD Syain Bar offers patrons the opportunity to drink with famous porn stars on the SOD roster. And if you want something more respectful and contemplative, the novel Silent Bar on the fourth floor, as the name suggests, bans private conversation so customers can instead focus on the stunning spectacle that is porn stars in swimwear — probably as naked as anyone actually gets in the building — preparing drinks behind a one-way mirror (a classic trope in Japanese porn).

And the best thing? It’s very accessible. There don’t seem to be any hidden charges or gray areas. Instead, customers pay a modest admission fee of ¥500 per 30 minutes and then only for the food and drink they actually order, rather than a padded bill including inflated prices for the drinks of hostesses and so on like at many premium clubs and dubious bars in Kabukicho.

Coronavirus restrictions notwithstanding, SOD Land is open from 5 pm to 10 pm. Incidentally, the building has installed various ventilation filters and systems as well as contact-less thermal sensing with AI facial recognition to make a visit safer in these strange times. We didn’t see any announcement about the porn stars wearing masks, which would surely detract from the main aim of a visit. A publicity image on the SOD news blog, however, suggests, the staff may wear transparent face shields.

Strangely, despite the announcement attracting lots of media coverage, we cannot find any official website or social media channels for SOD Land, and even the press release has now vanished. But if you want to go, here is the address in Japanese: 東京都新宿区歌舞伎町1-21-3 フルフルビル.