Araki Tokyo Lucky Hole

It started in 1978 with an ordinary coffee shop near Kyoto. Rumors spread that the waitresses wore no underwear beneath their miniskirts. Soon, similar establishments appeared across Japan. Men lined up outside, willing to pay three times the normal price for coffee simply to be served by a young woman without underwear.

Within a few years, a new trend emerged: "no-panties" massage parlors. Even more unusual services followed, ranging from intimate interactions through openings in coffin-like structures to venues catering to commuter-train fetishes. One of the most famous was a Tokyo club called Lucky Hole, where customers stood on one side of a plywood partition and a hostess on the other, separated by an opening designed for intimate contact.

Using Lucky Hole as both its title and central theme, photographer Nobuyoshi Araki documents Japan's adult entertainment industry during its peak. Through more than 800 photographs, he captures the pleasure-seekers and workers of Tokyo's Shinjuku district before the New Amusement Business Control and Improvement Act of February 1985 led to the closure of many such venues. Featuring mirrored interiors, hotel rooms, bondage, and group sexual activity, the book offers a striking record of a unique cultural moment, blending humor, poetic observation, and social commentary.

Age Rating: 18+