Eiko Yamada, proprietor of Shesta, another adult good shop targeting women, says
there's more good vibrations around than a Beach Boys album, with the number of
adult aid users skyrocketing, particularly among women in their late 20s to
early 30s.
"Our sales are almost 200 percent what they were last year," Yamada tells
Shukan Post.
Sanae Takahashi, CEO of Merci, another company in the same line of business,
explains what has brought about the change.
"Before, there only used to be seedy stores that existed only for guys. But,
over the past few years, (ubiquitous) discount store chains like Don Quijote
have started selling sex aids over the counter and online sales are doing well,
too," Takahashi says. "There has been a really rapid increase in the number of
our single women customers, and those who come to the store as a couple. We did
some marketing and monitoring and made sure we stocked cute shapes and colors
that would appeal to women."
Japan's adult aid market for women has evolved quickly.
"You only used to be able to buy items that were either egg-shaped or made to
look like a male organ. And they cost a small fortune, too,' an adult aid
manufacturer tells Shukan Post. "Now they come in all sorts of shapes so
complex it's hard to even tell they're vibrators. You can get some that warm
human skin, others that emit a sweet smell when they're turned on. Prices vary,
too, with the range starting at about 3,000 yen and going through to really
classy models in the vicinity of 10,000 yen. Expensive models don't just jangle
around, either. They also move up and down."
Shesta's Yamada says the typical sale is an item selling somewhere from 4,000
yen to 6,000 yen.
"They're about 15-centimeters-long, which is a size that fits nicely into a
make-up pouch," she says. "And our most popular items share the common trait of
having been made to be small and cute."
Ikumi Wakabayashi, a writer on the adult entertainment world, analyzes what's
being called the "My Vibrator" phenomenon.
"It's been about 15 years since we moved from the sleazy world of 'Adult toys'
to 'adult goods.' The change also brought about the creation of adult item
stores catering to single women and couples, and the stores where all the
employees were women. It's become much easier for women to buy adult goods.
Online sales offering anonymity have also become the norm and sparked explosive
sales," Wakabayashi tells Shukan Post. "Women's sexual awareness has
progressed. More women now want to pursue sexual pleasure by themselves, as
well as with guys. Young women have no problems with using adult goods."
Copyright 1999-2005, Mainchi Daily. Used with permission. All rights
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