macaroni21

But they are, visibly more so than most other countries. They are efficient and well organised, and things run very well the way they are designed to run within their social and physical contexts, not the way we as outsiders would like them to do things. That is unrealistic.

Haha, at that very moment however, the word that came to mind was "drilling"..,

Mudik and Ramadan aren't festivals. The festival is Eid al Fitri which is at the end of Ramadan. Mudik is the migration of many urban folks back to their hometowns towards the end of Ramadan to celebrate Eid with their families. Naturally, they stay for a few more days, maybe a week, and then the migration goes in reverse back to the cities. This phenomenon is common across many Muslim countries with burgeoning urbanised centres, such as Malaysia and Egypt. It's analogous to the mass migration that takes place in the USA around Thanksgiving and Christmas. And all these migrations are nothing compared to the mass migration in China around the Spring Festival, where you may be literally trampled underfoot (I saw a news report once). Yup, would be useful to be aware of these festivals (in any country) and generally avoid the week before and after them.

Ah, @jimmie50 beat me to it. I was going to say the same thing. I recall a Burmese guy I hired thru Zeus explain to me that he was "legal" insofar as he was doing construction work in my hotel room, since his work permit was as a construction worker. To get such a permit one obviously needs a construction company to sponsor it (for a fee, no doubt). This might work for the Zeus guy since he wasn't tied to any specific location, but such a solution wouldn't work for Soda Massage or other shops in Jomtien Complex, since the boys are tied to a location, sitting in front of a shop all day.

I'm pretty sure it's a mix of 2 things: language proficiency and culture. Teasing no doubt exists in Thai society as in any society. It's deep within homo sapiens behaviour. But culture shapes the circumstances as to when it is appropriate to tease and when it is not. Just as different cultures have different rules as to when/who can use first names (or nicknames) as opposed to more formal names, or when/who may speak first in a social gathering, or eat first in a meal setting, or who one should greet first when entering a room, or even when/who can use "Vous" and "tu", so different societies have different unspoken rules about when/who is appropriate for teasing. Secondly, when someone says something to you in a foreign language which you are not entirely fluent in, even when it possibly sounds like teasing, you can never be quite sure what was intended. Or, it's very easy to misunderstand. So, quite often, one freezes and tries not to react at all. Basically, the safe rule is not to tease unless both parties are using the same language they're fluent in.

Indeed, timing is everything, but everywhere, not just Jakarta. Imagine someone going to Thailand for the first time and arriving smack in the middle of Songkran madness. Or some going to China or Vietnam during the lunar new year and discovering many places closed. At least you were flexible enough to exploit other opportunities. Count your lucky stars you were not like an old friend of mine stuck in Qatar. His "quick holiday from an extended layover" turned into a nightmare after arriving on Feb 26 or 27 (not sure about the date).

@RavenFlock if you're only going to be in Tokyo end April, this is far too early to book. The shops simply don't know who will be working. The boys they advertise mostly have day jobs or school. Japan is not Thailand, where many shops' boys work full-time in the sex trade either exclusively with one shop or with several shops. Rarely so in Japan. You may find managers willing to help you out by contacting a particular boy on your behalf far in advance and making a reservation, but if they do that, they're going out of their way for you, and you should appreciate that. Yet even so, the boy may cancel at the last minute. I have personally experienced it -- more than once, even though I booked only a day or two in advance. On one occasion, it was explained to me that the day job boss wanted him to work overtime. A more recent case had a college student having to stay late for a rescheduled class. Interesting that you mentioned Redline. A boy from that shop arrived half an hour late because he had to feed the rabbits/rats in the university biology department. See it from the boys' perspective: in many cases, their day jobs or school is more important than their night jobs. Japan is a rich country. What they earn from their night job is not as crucial to them as might be the case of a boy in Thailand with no other job. Also, in terms of the pecking order, many shops will see a foreign customer as low priority compared to a local customer, especially one who is regular. You shouldn't be surprised if they refuse to go an extra mile for you. So, moderate your expectations. And, as others have advised, take it easy and adapt to the Japanese way of doing things.

I'm not sure why you're specifically saying "independent providers" but many "prostitution shops" as the Japanese call them, provide outcall services. If it's discretion that's important to you, wouldn't that work just as well? Nor am I sure what you mean by "professional". The outcall guys provided by these shops are "professional" in the sense that they do sex work for a living. Or do you mean something else by that term?

I second @PeterRS's advice: 150 minutes seems too long. We often imagine the kind of person we want when we book, but the person can turn out differently, incompatible with what we're hoping for. 90 minutes should be enough for a first time. If you like that person, you can always book a second appointment.

I must have missed that post. But if it said that Jam specialises in darker complexioned guys, did it occur to you that boys can be made to look darker because of camera settings, studio lighting and editing? 🤪

I've also seen this phenomenon in several cities in China. I remember particularly well a barber shop with a massive basement (spanning the basements of several adjacent shops) which was a complete bathhouse + massage services.

You know you're not likely to get brown skin in Japan, right?

Another business with a physical shop and with your type of boys is Danshi Gakuen (DG), and they have in-house rooms. However, their rooms do not have ensuite bathrooms, and they have a complicated system where the boy has to use the intercom to ask permission from what I call air-traffic control before he walks you down the corridor to the common bathroom. This is to ensure that no customer ever bumps into another customer. For this reason, which I consider an inconvenience, I don't advise DG. Also, DG is a bit further from metro stations (though still walkable) than Tokyo Kids. If I remember correctly, they also advise Shinjuku San-chome station -- the one with more than ten exits.

Oops, I clicked SEND accidentally. As you can see, it can get confusing because they seem to have two Shinjuku shops. I advise the dark blue one, because I have used it before and I know for a fact that they have a physical shop (I attached the pic above). Also, it tells you to get there using Shinjuku Gyoenmae metro station which is a smallish station with only three exits. You won't get too lost. Any of the 3 exits will work for you to get to the shop. Make sure you have data roaming and Google Map on your phone. The shop itself has rooms within, but if they are fully occupied, then you still go to the shop, meet the boy and then the boy will walk you to a hotel room nearby. The Shinjuku ni-chome (2-chome) location of Tokyo Kids -- the black tab -- I have never used before. I don't know if they have a shop, or if they use nearby hotels only. If they don't have a shop, they will tell you to meet them at some street location. As a first timer in Tokyo, there's too much of a risk getting lost within the labyrinth of streets. But it can be done if you get a detailed map from them and you also have a detailed map of the metro stations and their exits. I don't advise it, especially when their nearest metro station is Shinjuku san-chome (3-chome). This is a very cmplicated station with well over ten exits. Anybody trying this station for the first time has a 99% chance of getting lost. There is also Ueno branch on Tokyo Kids (brown tab above). I add this as an option because from Narita Airport, there is an express train to Ueno station (shorter time than the train to Shinjuku Station). However, I have never used the Ueno branch before, and I don't actually know where in Ueno (a large city by itself) it is. If you're at Haneda Airport, then Shinjuku is nearer to you than Ueno. I also mentioned Dojo in my above message but I don't think Dojo has a shop. Instead they will tell you to go to a specific location to meet the boy. As with Tokyo Kids' ni-chome location, there's too much of a risk getting lost within the labyrinth of streets if there is no shop to go to.

@floridarob I have sent you a private message. While I have some experience with Japan, it's not that extensive. From those businesses that I have used, Tokyo Kids and Dojo might work for you; they also seem to be reliable and straightforward (re booking). Tokyo Kids has several locations around Tokyo City and other cities too. In my private message I have given you the URL directly to the Shinjuku Gyoenmae shop (I hope). If for any reason, you get the overall landing page of Tokyo Kids just select the dark blue tab at top left: