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INTEREST: Real-Life Mario Karts Roam Tokyo to Pitch Ear-Cleaning Shops

When 30-year-old Japanese salaryman Takahisa Kobayashi places his head on the lap of an attractive young woman, he is thinking of his mother.

The summer kimono covering her thighs brushes against his face as he lies on the tatami mat floor and briefly looks into her elegantly made-up eyes.

A traditional alcove displays an ornate umbrella from years gone by, soothing away the memories of the garish neon of Tokyo's streets as 24-year-old Amane talks softly to her customer.

Then she begins scraping wax from his ears with a sharp bamboo stick.

"I'm coming here to relax my mind. Most Japanese associate ear cleaning with their childhood," said Kobayashi, who manages a consulting company in Tokyo.

As a young child, he recalls sitting on his mother's lap as she gently removed the daily build-up.

"My wife occasionally cleans my ears but that is different without the traditional Japanese-style room and its tatami matting."



Store manager Satoru Takahashi says even though only five percent of customers are female, the men who come know that there are limits to the services on offer.

"After the ear-cleaning, the girls blow in the customers' ears to remove any remaining dust. Lots of guys ask the girls to blow a lot," he said.

A sign in the reception sets the boundaries: "We are not a salon offering sexual services. We will stop ear cleaning whenever there is an act that offends women."

But the chain implicitly acknowledges that customers might find favourites among the all-female staff, with regularly updated blogs showing photographs of those working at the salon (www.yamamotomimikaki.com/index.php).



Ear cleaning has boomed in Japan since it was de-regulated six years ago and people without medical training were allowed to begin offering it as a service.

Shops have sprung up all over the larger cities, and while Yamamoto Mimikakiten offers a very straightforward service, other chains cater to more exotic tastes -- women wearing maid outfits will spend several hours working on a customer's ears.

Like the bars where hostesses coyly serve their male customers and laugh obligingly at their jokes, or the coffee shops where mirrored floors tantalisingly reveal untouchable waitresses without underwear, mimikaki occupies the grey area in Japan between innocence and commercial sex.

I am sorry if this offends anyone, but the whole concept of ear cleaning by someone just sounds plain gross and unbelievably unusual.

Using very sharp bamboo spears sounds like a great way to do some damage to your ear canal as well.

Japan, you can be very odd at times. As this begs the question, what does personal hygiene have anything with Mario?

I am sorry if this offends anyone, but the whole concept of ear cleaning by someone just sounds plain gross and unbelievably unusual.

Japanese have different ear wax compared to caucasians and blacks, that is why it can be removed with a bamboo mimikaki ear pick.

different how? Does it harden into titanium steel or something?

Japanese have different ear wax compared to caucasians and blacks, that is why it can be removed with a bamboo mimikaki ear pick.

kakoishii wrote:

different how? Does it harden into titanium steel or something?

I'm not an expert on this; here's what Wikipedia says.
It's apparently the same gene that allows the Japanese not to need deodorant.