Japan's ear-cleaning salons offer childhood fantasy

I don't know whats creepier. The amount of men here with mommy issues or the women who do this without retching every 30 seconds.

hoserfella: quite right. I don't even want to think about where this psychological impulse comes from. Too creepy to contemplate.

“We are not a salon offering sexual services. We will stop ear cleaning whenever there is an act that offends women.”

may add : just arousing and preparing you to visit a near-by salon around.

Lolita, mother, christ it'S complex.

That's gross. I can't imagine what gets pulled out of these guys' ears that visit these places. These guys can't clean thier own ears? Does it need to be done with the customer's head on the lap?

Only in Nippon,,,,,,,,

Most Japanese associate ear cleaning with their childhood,

What about nose picking? It is just as gross, and you see it all the time being done every where.

@JapanGal

But people are not picking OTHER people's noses for them...

Can we assume that 30 year old Kobayashi san needs less soy and more meat in his diet if he is thinking of his mother when he has his head on the lap of an attractive young lady? As if that wasn't a creepy enough start to the article, we then get scraping with sharp bamboo stick, daily build-up, excavate... . The second paragraph was such a tease before nausea was induced. Jeez, it's a good job I wasn't eating when I read this.

My question would be what is going on in your life that you NEED to return to a childhood fantasy?

There is something weird about this ear-cleaning thing - first of all, I was always under the impression that ears are pretty much self-cleaning, and if it gets a bit too much you can simply do it yourself. Secondly, I notice that my husband will clean my daughters ears (which I hate but I let it go as they both seem to like doing it) but now I think about it he never cleans either of our sons ears. Why is that??! Third: HALF AN HOUR???!!! What on earth is IN there??!

My husband once told me his happiest childhood memory was Saturday mornings, when his Mum did the "grooming" routine and he got to sit on her knee while she cut his nails and cleaned his ears. If that is his happiest memory I think that speaks volumes and is really sad, quite honestly.

Talk about issues.

that's so cool! ^^ relaxing time~

No, thank you, i can clean my ears myself without paying 2,700 yen for 30 minutes of nothingness.

"Lots of guys ask the girls to blow a lot," he said.

Hahaha...

Too many weird perverts in Japan. Well, everywhere i guess, maybe they are more open about it here.

Ms Washida; I think your husband may have been pulling your leg.

xP

Japan's ear-cleaning salons offer childhood fantasy

More mental hospital, that's what Japan needs to ease their childhood fantasy.

japan come up with awesome ideas! leave them alone~

That is so disgusting. What person man or woman would lay there and let someone (other than a trained ENT) dig in their ears. I started cleaning my ears from about 11 and no one has touched them ever since. This is so wrong. If you're old enough to drink, smoke and drive a car, you should be old enough to clean your own ears!!!

My husband once told me his happiest childhood memory was Saturday mornings, when his Mum did the "grooming" routine and he got to sit on her knee while she cut his nails and cleaned his ears. If that is his happiest memory I think that speaks volumes and is really sad, quite honestly.

I don't even have words to convey the horror on my face reading this. I never looked forward to that. Yes, I was a clean child, got groomed like every other child, no big thing, but looking forward and reflecting on that?? My happiest memories were watching Sat morning cartoons.

Ms Washida; I think your husband may have been pulling your leg.

Sadly Steve, knowing his family as I do, I actually think he was telling the truth!

So what people like different things. CAn be a form of bonding and feels good too for many.

Why do so many women enjoy have their hair washed by someone else? No need to answer.

Also, the safest way to clean ears and to avoid possible injury is quite simple: just pour 2~3 drops hydrogen peroxide in the ear, wait 5 min and rinse, dab dry-DONE! All the excess and heavy wax is gone, no huge mess and your ears are squeaky clean. I do this once a week. No need to spend that kind of money on creepy salons letting some strange woman dig into your ears.

why is it so gross!? i don't get it

why is it so gross!? i don't get it

Why would you let someone rest their sweaty head on your lap (let alone a stranger) and you scrap chunks of smelly wax out of their ears and the stuff flies all over the place in the air on your lap and not to mention, when you have a cold and then the wax becomes liquidly and you have to spoon it out. Are you getting the picture? If you don't think that's disgusting then you are really need to do some serious soul searching.

I don't know whats creepier. The amount of men here with mommy issues or the women who do this without retching every 30 seconds.

Ears are erogenous zones many of the clients enjoys young girls are playing with it. They don't retch they are not that kind of girls, for triple hourly wages they would even lick it clean. They are usually not too skilled and they have that little metal rake to do the cleaning with it. These ear destroyers are sold in drug stores too, I never understood how people venture to poke their ears wit that tool.

Maybe that's a new fashion after ear piercing now comes the eardrum piercing.

I think its dangerous after all, maybe were told not to allow this, but they just don't hear it (-:DDD

omg bass4funk that's so exaggerated! i still don't find it gross.

soul searching lol whatever!

i think the whole salon thing is a romantic. anything unique in japan is really hot.

"After the ear-cleaning, the girls blow"...keeps 'em coming back!

and the stuff flies all over the place in the air on your lap and not to mention, when you have a cold and then the wax becomes liquidly and you have to spoon it out.

I just have to ask...how do you know all that? ;-P

I like it when my family massage my shoulders - does this make me a pervert?

If so, whoopee-doo... I do the same for them. This includes our extended family - uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces.

I miss the massage chairs at the local sento. They are part of the tour whenever I go back.

Japanese version of 'foreplay!'

@Kevin Lee Brooke (and JapanGal) Yes people do 'pick other people's noses' for them. Japanese mothers regular suck the snot out of their children's noses orally (here is my wife: http://www.burogu.com/2011/06/baby-snot-sucker.html ) However, there is also a paper on grooming in couples in Europe, where it is seen as a form of affection. Men are more likely to do it to women in Germany. https://blackboard.newpaltz.edu/bbcswebdav/users/geherg/Glenn_Geher_Continuous_Works/Glenn_Geher_Published_Works/nelson_geher_2007.pdf I think that the grooming is done by different people in different ways in different cultures. The Japanese family tends to be more verticle so it is more often mothers on kids.

Seems like a specialised form of "skinship (katakana - sukkinshippu)".

With all the proscriptions in modern life, it may be the only form of personal contact that these people have in their life.

Mimi-kaki are sold everywhere and they feel great if used correctly.

Personally, I think people that find it gross aren't too comfortable with their own bodies and it's associated excretions. Doing that cleanup shows care/loving/companionship, how else could anyone raise a baby and other activities with loved ones(which we normally don't talk about)?

In the end, IMHO, gross is in the mind.

@Nicky Washida

My question would be what is going on in your life that you NEED to return to a childhood fantasy?

There is something weird about this ear-cleaning thing - first of all, I was always under the impression that ears are pretty much self-cleaning, and if it gets a bit too much you can simply do it yourself. Secondly, I notice that my husband will clean my daughters ears (which I hate but I let it go as they both seem to like doing it) but now I think about it he never cleans either of our sons ears. Why is that??! Third: HALF AN HOUR???!!! What on earth is IN there??!

My husband once told me his happiest childhood memory was Saturday mornings, when his Mum did the "grooming" routine and he got to sit on her knee while she cut his nails and cleaned his ears. If that is his happiest memory I think that speaks volumes and is really sad, quite honestly.

Man, my husband does it too to our kids, he sort of..spends a great deal of time "grooming" them but honestly to heart, I don't find it "pervert" or "creepy" since I've seen him doing it and I am certain there is nothing to be alarmed BUT!! I do NOT find it very sexy when he's trying to do mine... I feel all squeaky and icky.. YUCK~ Not my ears please! He knows now I'm not comfortable with that, so he stays clear off my ears...lol

He does his own ears though! I think he just enjoy spending some "quality" time with his kids...but again, I don't think he's one of those creepy guys that goes to those creepy salons. damn. How gross. Parents to kids is understandable but Adults to Adults? WTF?!?

@some14some

Japanese version of 'foreplay!'

Hell NO! Not in my bedroom.. (^_~)

timtak, thank you for your informative comment. It's nice to see something other than the "ew that's gross" and "Japanese are so weird" variety. Has anyone ever been to one of these establishments? Would be interesting to hear a firsthand experience.

Japanophiles of a feather stick together. Everytime......

@LH10

i think the whole salon thing is a romantic. anything unique in japan is really hot.

So basically, you have a thing for that and anything that Japanese do is fine and perfect for you. If you think so that's your right and your prerogative and I have no problem with that, but I think it's gross, would never spend that kind of money and IMO any man that feels they need to go to some woman and have their ears cleaned because they suffer from "mommy issues" needs to seriously get their head examined.

Personally, I think people that find it gross aren't too comfortable with their own bodies and it's associated excretions. Doing that cleanup shows care/loving/companionship, how else could anyone raise a baby and other activities with loved ones(which we normally don't talk about)?

I have a kids and I clean their ears, but when they get about 9 or so, they don't need my help anymore and it would be pathetic if they did. They can do it themselves and should. As for showing care, where should it stop? Should we pull out each others snot from the noses, clean them everyday or how about brushing every family members teeth and helping them to the toilet, I mean, why stop at ear cleaning since we are showing care/loving/companionship, we are no different than the monkeys in the wild, gotta munch off the parasites that lurk on our skins too?

But hey, each to his own, but not me!

it's a uniquely Japanese way for stressed-filled salarymen to relax after a grueling day at the office.

"When Kobayashi places his head on the lap of an attractive woman, he is thinking of his mother."

I wouldn't be thinking that.

Having your ears cleaned by another person ( preferably an attractive woman if you're a guy ) feels mighty good!

On a par with having your back scratched!

bass4funk.

That is not the point and you should know it. But if you take the hands-off approach to parenting(once they are older) all the power to you.

Would guess your wife don't do those small touches to you and neither you to her. Back-scratching, etc works both ways and brings people closer. In the end the small personal touches matter, IME.

Man, my husband does it too to our kids, he sort of..spends a great deal of time "grooming" them but honestly to heart, I don't find it "pervert" or "creepy" since I've seen him doing it and I am certain there is nothing to be alarmed

Oh no, dont get me wrong, I dont think what he is doing is perverted or creepy in any way - I just find it a little odd that he seems to enjoy doing it so much, and also that he doesnt do it for our boys. I dont think for a second anything sinister is going on - just dont understand his obsession with cleaning ears.

Parent to child is a completely different ballgame to adult to adult. By the time you get onto cleaning the bottoms of babies who are on solids, nothing grosses you out anymore as a parent!

I'm a mother who still cleans my children's ears (10- 17), and I clean my husbands ears. It is something that my mother always did, and my grandmother did to her. However, it was because my mom's parents are deaf and they always wanted to make show my mother can hear. I have them lay their heads on a pillow (which is NOT on my lap). Now that my kids are older, I only clean their ears when they ask me to; I feel I should add that all of us girls (my daughters & I ) have REALLY bad allergies & it helps to relieve some of the pressure. I don't use any magical ear scraping tool, I put a few drops of peroxide in each ear & use a q-tip to clean the wax that comes out. I'm Louisiana Creole (French, African, Native American & Irish), but I was diagnosed with Asian form of MS & studied in Japan, so who knows I could be part Japanese.

My wife approached me with one of these bamboo things once, i thought it was a skewer type weapon and she had lost her marbles. Kids between the ages of 6-9 are fully capable of grooming themselves. Mollycoddling into later life can cause these weird fetishes that can ruin lives and lead to crime.

i think it's hot

I pluck hair out of my fathers ears. Been doin it forever. On another note, if it were that fire sucking cone, would definitely do it and would be great doing it on a lap of a pretty woman. But not daily! Monthly. Cotton swabs for daily cleanage.

Mr Barry; I would think someoens life is pretty much ruined, meaningless or both if they pay money to have these women satisfy their weird fetishes.

If you're a middle-aged guy getting this done, you are definitely at a low point.

I think this kind of business shows that the Japanese are, at heart, very lonely people. Paying money for things that should happen in the normal course of life (ear cleaning, chatting over drinks, etc) exposes the weak points of the society. Japan can be cold and lonely for the Japanese.

Freud would have a field day with this on so many levels.

Sounded relatively peaceful until I hit "Then she begins scraping wax from his ears with a sharp bamboo stick."

There does seem to be an unhealthy Oedipus Complex strain in Japan. I know a number of foreign men, married to Japanese women, who call their wives "oka-san". I don't mean referring to them that way when talking to the kids, like saying "you should talk to your mother about that". I mean speaking to them directly! "Oka-san, can you pick me up at the station?" It's creepy.

Can you imagine feeling the urge to get a little "physical" with your wife, and saying something like "oka-san, how about a quickie while the kids are at juku?"

yeeech

DS; Is your last post true? Sounds awfully queer. Cannot fathom why a chap would call his wife oka-san. Seems to be a large amount of peculiar men in Japan. Little wonder my wife wanted a more normal and decent chap and choseme.

bass4funk, just last week on a whim I tried Hydrogen Peroxide on a Q tip and my ears burned internally so I could not sleep. Even subsequent washing with warm water did not take the burning away. For me a BIG mistake.

(Just in case anyone tries this for the first time... it will not suit everyone.)

Incidentally, the parental act of cleaning their children's ears is traditionally one of the very few expressions of physical love that children will have ever experienced in Japan.

Cannot fathom why a chap would call his wife oka-san.

Its very very common here. Most of my Japanese friends call each other "Mama" and "Papa" or "Otousan" and "Okaasan" once they have children, even when the children are not around. Its like people cease to exist as individuals once they are parents and just bcome "titles". In fact, several of our friends have commented to me in the past "Why does your husband still call you Nicky?" like we are the weird ones!

Something people need to understand is that many Asians' earwax is not soft like western peoples', it's hard and flaky and builds up quite easily, which is probably why mimikaki came into existence.

I don't see anything wrong with this. It's really not much different different getting a massage, as long as you don't go with certain "expectations".

Something people need to understand is that many Asians' earwax is not soft like western peoples'

My mother has always commented (after picking out my earwax!) that mine is harder than hers or pa's. I certainly don't see this as anything sexual or child fantasy, although if others see it that way, that's their problem. However, unless you're a specialist, like a doctor, it's very hard to get the earwax out if the ears are really blocked. Twice I've had to go to the doctors where they use a contraption to vacuum it out. Absolutely no pain. However, I have to admit, I get a strange, good feeling, when my mother use to do it - like one poster said, like getting your back scratched.

Lately, I've used Q-tips to clean the ears regularly. Just wiping the ears with a wet cloth isn't enough. I've been hesitant in the past to use Q-tips because I had actually pushed the wax in, making me deaf in one ear. I think the trick is to use Q-tips regularly (and gently) before wax builds up. The last time I had problems, I tried these special solutions with hydrogen peroxide. Depending on how much wax you've got, it could take up to 3 days, but it works! I never knew how much black gunk you could store in one ear canal! But for some stupid reason, I can't find these solutions anywhere in Japan.

To anyone who's interested, lots of earwax removal videos on youtube. Enjoy!

It's best to see an otolaryngologist to have your ear wax removed.

many Asians' earwax is not soft like western peoples', it's hard and flaky and builds up quite easily

I don't think it's an Asian vs Western thing. I've always had very hard, flaky earwax. Sometimes when there's a build-up I can even hear it crackling. When I was little my Mum used to clean my ears for me, now I use a mimikaki. Sometimes when there's an awkward bit that just won't come out, I get Mr cleo to do the honours. It does feel strangely comforting. He's never once asked me to clean his ears though, despite them both being Asian.

Disgusting, and unhygenic.

If i had my head on one of these girls' thighs... my mom would be the last thing i think of

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

Makes me want to jab someone with a sharp bamboo stick! If they were sharp, they would make your ear canal bleed! And if they do, then you bought a piece of crap mimikaki! What it is is a long, smooth, small stick of bamboo, vaguely spoon shaped at the end. And they are wonderful devices if used with care.

And I don't see why people are so down on this except to say that they are petty miserable little people. God forbid anyone come into contact with another person and their fluids and excretions! Did some of you ever think that if you were not such prissy little automatons you might enjoy life a little more? I can just imagine all the joys you miss for fear of getting your hands dirty!

And FYI, I can scratch my own anything, but for some reason it feels loads more satisfying if someone else does it.

I hear many japanese (and most east asians) have the dry type of wax which is what the bamboo thingy is apparently good at scrapping out. When my wife was young, her mom cleaned her ears out and she will probably do the same to our children.. I've used this contraption on my own ears and it was weirdly wonderful.. that scoop can really take out a lot of the gunk in there.. mind you I don't have the dry type of wax so it was pretty gross and I had to wipe down the scoop each time. I hope you're eating while you read this

I always heard that thorough cleaning was unnecessary at best, and harmful at worst. The wax is there for a reason, to protect and lubricate the ear canal. It is self replacing and old wax should be pushed out naturally. By scraping down the inside of the ears, you leave them open to infection. Plus, it leads to overproduction of earwax to replace the wax scraped away.......... vicious circle. Doing it every day is just too much.

If the fetishist in the story loved it so much when his mom swabbed out his earholes, why doesnt he go home and ask HER to do it again? For old time's sake. Plus, he would save the cash.

I won't stop you dude but don't get offended if I don't go out and make an appointment.

@it"s me

Would guess your wife don't do those small touches to you and neither you to her. Back-scratching, etc works both ways and brings people closer. In the end the small personal touches matter, IME.

Well you guess wrong, buddy, since you don't know anything about my wife. We are so close, I practically feel like a bank merger! We have all the small so called "touches" and everything else that goes into a healthy loving marriage-minus the gross ear cleaning! Yes, in the end, the small touches matter, again, minus the gross ear cleaning.

@LH10

i think it's hot

Dude, we get it. You mentioned that a few times.

@David

If i had my head on one of these girls' thighs... my mom would be the last thing i think of

I would hope so!!!!

Next time when I clean my husband ears I will ask him Y 2,700 ;)

I've never seen hydrogen peroxide here, where would I be able to buy it from? Anyone?

I've never seen hydrogen peroxide here, where would I be able to buy it from? Anyone?

Just get a box of Gatsy hair bleach - isnt it pretty much the same thing?

With my smooth dome I think I would get very strange looks buying Gatsby hair bleach....

I've never heard of anyone putting peroxide in their ears...sounds drastic!...I bought a novelty earcleaner with a shark on the end when I visited Japan this year...of course I had to explain what it was to everyone here back home...we use cotton buds...dainty ones so I brought back some of those giant cotton buds they sell in Japan..love your cotton buds Japan...but my husband can't use cotton buds he says they hurt his ears, so he has a special squirt bottle which he uses to squirt warm (not hot) water into his ear...the aroma oil added to warm water would probably be even better...the ear cleaning excercise although gross to some, must be very relaxing like having a facial or a massage, or even just having your scalp massaged when you go to the hairdresser... very therapeutic...I say go for it!.

It's not drastic, there are many over the counter ear cleaning products that you can by at the pharmacy, but Hydrogen Peroxide works the best and while it may not be for everyone, overall it does dissolve especially the most stubborn and waxy ears.

"The amount of men here with mommy issues or the women who do this without retching every 30 seconds."

Not necessarily either of these. I have my ears cleaned with ear candles twice annually. While it helps control tinnitus and removes all sorts of interesting things such sand from the swimming in the ocean, ear doctors do not recommend them. You really have to be careful to avoid injury. But I have never had my ears cleaned with a sharp bamboo stick. Done correctly, it's probably perfectly safe, maybe.

Love the idea! that's so relaxing time

Nicky Washida

Cannot fathom why a chap would call his wife oka-san.

Its very very common here. Most of my Japanese friends call each other "Mama" and "Papa" or "Otousan" and "Okaasan" once they have children, even when the children are not around. Its like people cease to exist as individuals once they are parents and just bcome "titles". In fact, several of our friends have commented to me in the past "Why does your husband still call you Nicky?" like we are the weird ones!

damn, I really hate that, it makes me feel so OLD already and I'm just 30. He's like: "ママ、 こっちおいで～（笑）

@cleo

many Asians' earwax is not soft like western peoples', it's hard and flaky and builds up quite easily

I don't think it's an Asian vs Western thing. I've always had very hard, flaky earwax. Sometimes when there's a build-up I can even hear it crackling. When I was little my Mum used to clean my ears for me, now I use a mimikaki. Sometimes when there's an awkward bit that just won't come out, I get Mr cleo to do the honours. It does feel strangely comforting. He's never once asked me to clean his ears though, despite them both being Asian.

Same here, my dear friend... I have never been asked to clean his ears but you know, I feel like if he has trouble getting the earwax out..I'll happily help him. As I stated before in my previous post, I don't see anything weird about it. I feel its like having your back scratched. Very relaxing indeed.

@Nicky Washida

Oh no, dont get me wrong, I dont think what he is doing is perverted or creepy in any way - I just find it a little odd that he seems to enjoy doing it so much, and also that he doesnt do it for our boys. I dont think for a second anything sinister is going on - just dont understand his obsession with cleaning ears.

Parent to child is a completely different ballgame to adult to adult. By the time you get onto cleaning the bottoms of babies who are on solids, nothing grosses you out anymore as a parent!

Not at all, honey... I didn't get you wrong. I know very well what you meant in your post. (-_~) But I have to admit that, you know, I too would feel awfully mortified if my husband chose our daughters over our boys, I'd be like WTF?! Do everyone EQUALLY, dammit! I feel alright if I was asked to clean his ears but he just doesn't ask me to. Mmmm But he doesn't go to those places either...Mmm On the other hand, the worst case scenario would be to be in our bedroom making love and he stops in the middle of it and asks: "Baby? Can you please clean my ears? It'll excite me big deal" Hahahaha Can you imagine? YUCK!!!

chains cater to more exotic tastes—women wearing maid outfits will spend several hours working on a customer’s ears.

You really have to feel for the poor girls enduring this disgusting task - cleaning the ear-wax from dirty, un-dateable and childish otaku is the lowest of the low! I truly hope they are paid decently and can move up in the "floating world" to something better like cleaning toe-nails or scabs...

@villagehiker Ear candles don't actually work. Maybe you just like relaxing? There are cheaper ways to do that.