Gifu

Yanagase and Tamamiya in Gifu City

Gifu City describes Yanagase as its central shopping district. In 1888 Gifu Station moved to its present site and the Kanazu pleasure quarter opened the same year; the town name Yanagase was created in 1889 when the city was incorporated. Set into the pavement of the arcaded Yanagase Hondori is a monument to the 1966 hit song 'Yanagase Blues'.

Tamamiya-dori runs north from Nagazumi-cho-dori to the Gifu City Culture Center, and the city describes it as a street full of restaurants aimed at young people and office workers. JR Gifu and Meitetsu Gifu stations are about five minutes apart on foot, and route buses from both are the usual way around town.

Where the ordinance allows venues

Article 28 of the Act on Control and Improvement of Amusement Businesses bans store-based adult businesses within 200 metres of schools, libraries, child welfare facilities and similar sites, and lets each prefecture designate further prohibited areas. Article 11(1) of Gifu's ordinance makes the whole prefecture the prohibited area for soaplands (Act Art. 2(6)(i)) and fashion health shops (Art. 2(6)(ii)), and Article 11-2 bans reception offices prefecture-wide as well.

Under Article 28(3), however, the ban does not apply to a venue that was already operating under a filed notification when it took effect. Walk-in formats such as soaplands can operate only within those limits; delivery health is an outcall format used at a hotel or another place you choose. With reception offices banned, an outcall area marks the venue's office or base.

Access

According to the Gifu Convention and Visitors Bureau, the JR Tokaido Line rapid takes about 20 minutes from Nagoya to JR Gifu, and the Meitetsu limited express about an hour from Chubu Centrair to Meitetsu Gifu. From Tokyo, the Nozomi reaches Nagoya in about 1 hour 40 minutes; from Shin-Osaka, the Hikari reaches Gifu-Hashima in about 50 minutes, then the Meitetsu Takehana and Hashima lines take about 30 minutes to Meitetsu Gifu.

How RED LIGHT JAPAN divides Gifu

This site splits Gifu into four major areas: Gifu City (Yanagase & Tamamiya, Nishi Gifu), Hashima/Ōgaki (Ogaki, Hashima), Kakamigahara / Ginan (Kakamigahara, Ginan) and Tajimi/Kani/Ena/Nakatsugawa (Tajimi, Minokamo, Kani, Nakatsugawa, Ena). The venue list is on each area page.