THE NORTH RIDING PROJECT

At the height of their popularity, some no-panties coffee shops went to a great deal of trouble to come up with elaborate variations.  I had developed an obsession with these establishments, which led me to scour the streets of Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo looking for them.  Among those that stand out in my memory are Playgirl ABS in Neyagawa, Osaka, where young women clad only in panties swam around in a huge aquarium, and Abeno Scandal, which offered bizarre shows on a nightly basis. Another was Emirumakananotokasu (“You can see up her skirt” written backwards), in Tenkajaya, Osaka, whose owner had secretly dug a basement under his no-panties coffee shop, working after business hours.

Araki/Tokyo