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by Taro Toporific » Sun Jul 17, 2005 8:57 pm
by Mulboyne » Mon Jul 18, 2005 9:43 am
"Sure, commercial facilities featuring health and beauty already exist," Ikezawa said during last week's press preview of Riraku-no-Mori. "But they have merely been a strip of shops. We are trying to offer them as a form of entertainment."
Ikezawa cited a recent survey conducted by a private think tank, which showed some 60 percent of the 1,118 respondents said they felt some kind of stress. Yet, in a separate Internet survey conducted by Namco, only 40 percent of the 329 respondents said they have visited a so-called "relaxation" facility.
"Many people haven't quite figured out what kind of services are offered at these salons," Ikezawa said. "They also feel the salons are too pricey. And with some places, it's hard to tell whether they are real massage parlors or sex businesses. Shadiness has always been part of this industry."
So what can people expect from Riraku? The theme park features what Namco succinctly calls "super therapists" -- ranging from a Nanjing qi-gong specialist to an Indian head masseuse, to a Thai massage therapist. One of the unique features of Riraku is that it offers a really quick fix -- some shops offer a session as short as 10 minutes.
For therapists trained to minister to a customer for at least half an hour, however, exchanging pleasantries and offering a truly relaxing service in such a short time could be a big challenge. But, in fact, therapist Sachiko Nemoto of reflexology salon Precious Foot did just that when this reporter tried a 15-minute course there.
...Ikezawa acknowledged that Riraku will not be the quietest space in town, with its targets of 500 million yen in revenues and 300,000 visitors in its first year
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