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This is an academic look into Karayuki-san and the Japanese prostitutes in Singapore. We’ll dig deep into history and try to reason how and why, and if so, when did they leave.
Karayuki-san certainly does not exist in Singapore anymore. We’ll try and reason why and how they came to be. While we may imagine this to be a saucy story, it is really the opposite. It is hard to imagine anyone in Singapore could book into a Japanese brothel.
In a “Truth is stranger than Fiction” analogy, Singapore had numerous Japanese brothels in the early days. By the middle of the 20th century, almost all were gone. So, what happened?
We’ll start this story with the first waves of arrivals from Amakusa, Japan. Today, there is hardly any trace of Japanese prostitution in Singapore. But the truth remains that they were once here.
Our tour will start at the first enclave of Japanese brothels in Chinatown. From these known brothels, we’ll take a train to the Middle Road area – a place that some of us refer to as “Little Japan”.
We will meet at Outram Park MRT (Exit H, in the direction of Dorsett Hotel) at 9am, Saturday, 11th February 2023. This tour will end smack in the middle of the former Japanese Red-Light District.
Note:
• We do the worldwide practice of tipping at the end of the tour.
• We also reserve the right to accept or reject habitual late cancellations and No Shows.