Remember that Panties Day article I wrote? Well, when I was gathering some information for it, I came across something interesting. Something good. I was first incredibly pleased, then rather disappointed. Pleased to find something interesting, and disappointed to learn that I'm decades too late to enjoy it. Let me introduce you fine folks to the No-pan Kissa.
Back in the 1980's, the sex industry in Japan was booming and things like no-pan kissa's were popping up all over the place. A no-pan kissa is a cafe where the wait staff were all girls and wore short skirts and no panties. Some parts of the floor could have reflective surfaces, such as mirrors, making it all the easier for lucky patrons to take a look. At their height, there were about 200 no-pan kissas in Osaka and Tokyo. The first one to open was in Osaka. Nowadays, it's likely any are left.
You see, such places were a way to skirt (pan intended) prostitution laws. We see soap lands in doujins here on the site, and that's a modern way to skirt the law. It's sexy, but oftentimes, there's no sex. To quote one of the info. sources I found: "Young women who previously would have been afraid to work at a sex business were now able to earn several thousand yen (upwards of $20) per hour for simply shedding their panties. The advent of these coffee shops prompted young amateurs to flock to sex businesses. Their presence, in turn, prompted rapid changes in the industry. The appearance of no-panties coffee shops occupies an important place in the history of Japan's sex industry."
Well, Japanese law caught up and now no-pan kissas are rare, if not extinct. Japan still has the soap lands and 'fashion health' where patrons get a massage and then some, but there's no sex.
There's more to this, but this is a general description. If you want to read more into no-pan kissas, here are some sources:
https://www.tokyokinky.com/no-panties-shabu-shabu-japan-ministry-of-finance/
https://www.tokyokinky.com/revisit-retro-glory-1980s-no-pan-kissa-no-panties-cafe-japan/
https://www.michaelhoppengallery.com/store/publications/13/
https://nihonomoshiroi.wordpress.com/places/no-pan-kissa-no-panty-cafes/
https://thedailyomnivore.net/2011/12/01/no-pan-kissa/
