Japan’s first 'cuddle cafe' lets you sleep with a stranger for Y6,000 an hour
Before you read: some questions to help you think about the topic and the words you might need.
Have you ever felt lonely for a girl/boyfriend and you need to hug someone?
What strange or unusual business ideas do you know?
Sometimes, after a long, stressful day, there’s nothing better than getting into bed with your significant other and falling asleep and holding onto each other in each other’s arms.
But what if you don’t have anyone to cuddle with in the first place? If you’re in Japan, you might think to go to some kind of prostitution place, but then you’d have to deal with all that sex when you really just want to close your eyes and rest in the warmth of another’s body.
So before you resign yourself to another lonely night of crying on your pillow, why not stop by Soineya, Japan’s first “co-sleeping specialty shop,” where customers can pay to sleep in the arms of a beautiful girl—with no strings attached.
Soineya (literally which means“sleep together shop”) began business on Sept 25 in the Akihabara, Tokyo’s famous electronics district, the hub of otaku culture (Otaku is a kind of strange or a culture with a craze for things such as video games) and the beginning of other eccentric establishments like maid cafés. Soineya describes itself as a “co-sleeping specialty shop,” which we’re going to denominate “cuddle cafe” because it has a better ring to it.
According to the homepage, Soineya hopes to offer visitors to its business “the simple and ultimate comfort of sleeping together with someone.
And now it seems that this new business idea is making it into the U.S. market. A similar pay-for-cuddle service was launched in New York earlier this year and also in California. Advertising the “the healing power of touch” on its website, The Snuggery (Snug means cuddle or hold closely in a warm way), a one-woman show put on by a student studying for a Master’s degree in social work, charges 45-minute sessions for US$50, and 90 minutes of cuddling for US$90.
Guessing meaning from context (the words around that word or phrase).
Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. The answers are below the table.
|
significant other |
A |
1 |
To hug, to embrace |
|
cuddle |
B |
2 |
Where things go into and out of, a center for transport |
|
resign yourself |
C |
3 |
To control, to have more power over someone |
|
no strings attached |
D |
4 |
To give up, to accept something and not fight it anymore |
|
hub |
E |
5 |
Achieving, reaching, being accepted into |
|
eccentric |
F |
6 |
No extra conditions or expectations, no hidden expectations |
|
denominate |
G |
7 |
Something you like, agreeable, you like the idea of what you hear |
|
a better ring to it |
H |
8 |
Someone important to you that is a wife/girl or boyfriend |
|
making it into |
I |
9 |
To begin something new such as a new business or product |
|
launched |
J |
10 |
Strange, different (used to describe a person) |
A=8, B=1, C=4, D=6, E=2, F=10, G=3, H=7, I=5, J=9
Some example sentences using the new words to help you to better understand their meaning.
1. I met my significant other at high school and we got married two years later.
2. It is important for parent to cuddle their children often.
3. It is too hard to change older people’s thinking, so it is better to resign yourself to accepting it.
4. My new phone plan was a great deal and half the price, the only strings attached were that I had to stay with the company for two years.
5. Singapore is an important hub for transport and business in Asia.
6. Artists are famous for being eccentric.
7. Korean money is denominated in 1, 000, 5,000, 10,000 and 50,000 won notes.
8. The name Samsung Tigers has a better ring to it than Samsung Pandas.
9. If Korea wants to make it into the Soccer World Cup then they need to beat some other countries in Asia.
10. LG was slow to launch their smart phones compared to Samsung.
Some discussion questions using the new words to help you better understand the word meaning and how to use them correctly. Try to use the words in your answer.
1. Do you agree that after a long day it is good to cuddle your significant other?
2. If you are a man and don’t have a girlfriend, would you resign yourself to using the cuddle service in the reading? Why or why not?
3. What do you think is meant by ‘no strings attached’ in the reading? What strings attached could there be?
4. Are there any hubs of eccentric culture in your country? Another country? Where is the hub of export business and manufacturing in your country?
5. Can you think of another name to denominate to this kind of business?
6. Why does ‘cuddle café’ have a better ring to it than ‘co-sleeping speciality shop”?
7. Can you see this business idea making it into Korea? Why or why not?
8. If you could launch a new business, would you launch this business idea? Why or why not?
ECK Education
