WaiWai: Get wet and go wild – housewife rakes in extra loot at the neighborhood body wash

This article is reproduced from the discontinued, but much loved Mainichi Waiwai column by Ryann Connell (Article below by Masuo Kamiyama). Read more about this at the bottom of this article.

If a man has money in his wallet and a gnawing need to get naked and have sex, where would be the most logical place for him to mount his search?

In Japan, the first place that would come to mind would doubtless be a dimly lit alley proximate to a neon-illuminated drinking district, usually within staggering distance of a major commuter rail station.

By contrast, the last place one would think of looking would be in a suburban residential area. But thanks to magazines like Jitsuwa Taiho (April), we have learned to expect the unexpected.

Continue reading WaiWai: Get wet and go wild – housewife rakes in extra loot at the neighborhood body wash

HIV Awareness in Japan: Things are still not changing

Red Ribbon for AIDS Awareness
HIV Awareness in Japan:
Has anything changed?

Thus far, we have two articles about HIV and AIDS in Japan on stippy.com (the first and the second). Another year has passed since we last touched on this issue, but a recent episode in my own life drove home that things still are really not changing fast enough with regard to the blurry awareness of HIV/AIDS in Japan, and the studied nonchalance of the Japanese people whenever the topic arises.

In Japan, everyone knows the word AIDS, but still very little is known *about* HIV or AIDS by the general public. This giant disparity of awareness was brought clearly to my attention one day after overhearing the following conversation between a physical education teacher and a young math teacher in her early twenties in my office (I work in a Japanese School) Continue reading HIV Awareness in Japan: Things are still not changing