China Daily
After midnight at a building in central Shanghai that is a shopping mall by day, a Japanese-language poster in the elevator invites men up to Big West Ocean club on the seventh floor.
Upon entering the club, a string of saunas with tropical garden decor and corridors lined with private rooms, the receptionist suggests a full-body massage for 680 yuan (about $85), more than 10 times the going price of foot massages and cosmetic services.
This top price buys "anything you want," the receptionist says. Workers inside the private rooms say the price includes sex .
About half the customers are Japanese, and the rest are local Chinese or Westerners.
Big West Ocean is one of an uncalculated number of recently established Shanghai massage parlors geared toward Japanese people, about 40,000 of whom live in the city.
Although no one knows the number of massage parlors catering to Japanese, people familiar with Shanghai's nightlife unanimously say they exist.
Some tell stories about masseuses starting from the feet and working their way up, raising the price as they go. Some offer prices so high, from 500 yuan to 900 yuan, that customers can be sure they will get more than a back rub, which usually costs 50 yuan to 100 yuan.
Some send masseuses to customers' homes, while others ask customers as soon as they arrive whether they want sex.
"You're not under any pressure, but it's generally a pretty frank question," said a Shanghai magazine editor who was asked once. "I was in a place the other day, and they asked me 'do you want the full service?'"...the rest...
