MANGA KISSA THIS!!

What is "MANGA-KISSA?" (short for Manga kissaten--comic book cafe) It's a distinctly Japanese convenience, open 24 hrs with private computer workstations, showers, vending machine food and underwear/toiletries to buy and other conveniences designed for when you are stuck after last train or can’t go home for whatever reason. Unlike the male only capsule hotels, manga kisa are welcome environments for men and women.  Comfy office chairs designed to pass out in, headphones of course, gigantic screen I haven't used anywhere to work in MONTHS. i've been doing EVERYTHING by smart phone including writing these blogs so when I got in front of the 24” screen I was having the opposite of withdrawal!  I got the tip off from my new J roommate when i needed to find a place to print paperwork for my visa application and talking about missing Japanese 12am train curfew and what options there were aside from getting a LOVE HOTEL for $65 for yourself.  After drinking and dancing in nearby gay Shibuya (which was a red light district in Edo era Japan) I rented a cube for 6 hrs for 2400 yen ($12) took a 90 min nap in my underwear and then woke up and started to watch Beyonce videos while printing! Such amazing convenience I've discovered. If only i knew about this when I was looking for a room in Okayama. It's not a bed but it's not bad for the price, they do have other rooms that are only slightly more with a couch or tatami mat area that one could lay down and nap for a few hours. I still haven't got my laptop shipped to me so this is going to be a place I come back to work in the future even if I'm not needing timekiller til first train in Japan.  Things you learn only after being here or until someone local gives you a tip off that it even exists. Id seen some signs for these places and i swore they were for men only to jack off in the showers reading porn comics.  Why on earth else would you need a computer with internet and a shower in the same place? But once settling into my private cubicle, i noticed it was a safe and female friendly environment.  They have a makeup room mirror vanity with nice lighting, flat irons and blow dryers. So many things in Japan I so wish we had in the U.S! When I get a client call in the middle of something else I might be doing I would have to go dive into what I use to call my HOE BAG which had a wrinkle free summer dress, some platforms I hardly wear and extra make up so if I happen to be out sweaty and biking across town or hanging out with family I could do a Clark Kent maneuver into a local mall bathroom and come out ready for client work.  Having a hoe bag requires having a vehicle to store such a bag in however, and hardly anyone in Japan, including me has one of those so that's why these places are so great. Sometimes I want to dress up super sexy like I am used to back in LA, but its not like I have a car to park and make my grand entrance into where Im needing to go in Japan. I have to walk 20 min to my local station, ride an hour worth of trains usually just to get to the happening part of town. And after i walking back in mid afternoon wearing a Marilyn Monroe dress in small town Japan definitely stands out as the super long walk of shame.  Lucky my ego is pretty strong, but still Id rather have a change of clothes for the unexpected overnighter.  Manga Kissa is one of these things not marketed to foreigners. No English staff or signage.  If you need help, you better have a decent command of Japanese so you can get the help you need. I have a 50% competency in the language, but technical help can sometimes be difficult even in English at Kinkos right?

Turns out that since the manga kissa is designed for people to crash who miss last train, like everything else in Japan, you've got to BE QUIET!! Audio on headphones, phone on silent. So can you jack off under your computer desk silently? I suppose so, if you learned that skill as a young boy hiding from your parents or something but I guess If I were a dude, I'd head to a shower instead. Ears like mine are adept at hearing sex sounds and I'd be able to tell if the guy next to me were rubbing one out probably.  You definitely couldn't have sex with another person in your cube or in the shower here. Its heavily staffed and camera monitored. I've been told that lots of poor people live in the manga kissas, and I'd imagine it's a saving grace for many transient or drug using folks, tho Im sure if you looked too scraggly they would not allow you in.  You can hear people snoring loudly so luckily I carry ear plugs in my wallet so I was able to crash for a couple hours in my chair.