Tennoji red light

Last weekend, I spent my Saturday in the Tezukayama neighborhood, near Tennoji, riding around on the back of Nori’s mama-chari, on random adventures. He asked me if I wanted to see the red-light district, to which I replied “sure!” He said well it’s dangerous, you could get kidnapped… and then said he was joking. But surely, I would never set foot through the place – the back of a bike is the way to do it. It was like a shopping arcade, except on an extra wide street, and with only a handful of men strolling around. The establishments were similar to row homes in their narrow width and physical attachment to one another. Japanese sliding doors pulled back to reveal a showcase room, raised several feet off the ground. No window. Old women with aprons sat on chairs, or on the open room’s edge, with fans or hands in their pockets. In the center, on soft pink cushions sat beautiful young women, in their best make-up and most attractive clothing, looking out for customers with the eyes of lustful maidens. It was hard not to stare, because whoever looked at them, they were sure to catch their eye. It had quite an effect. The rooms inside were pink or red, or had lights of that color, with a spotlight on the girl of the hour. The older women, the house mothers, were the most intriuging.