Ikebukuro Pumpkin — 池袋ぱんぷきん, listed with "(Cinderella Group)" after the name everywhere it appears — is a hotel-health shop specializing in pocchari: plump, soft, curvy women. The reception is at Ikebukuro 2-7-3, Toshima-ku, second floor of the Watanabe No. 2 Building. That's two minutes from Exit C6 of the Tokyo Metro and about five from the JR west exit. The shop's own map notice says four minutes from the central west exit, and it took me four. Phone 03-5911-3131. Say "Heaven mita" when you call.
Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m., every day of the year, but there's a catch. The walk-in desk keeps 9:00 to midnight. After midnight, every booking is delivery to a hotel. If you want to see the photos in person, which is the point of this piece, come before twelve.
1:50 p.m. — The Pitch, Taken Literally
The copy on the shop's listing calls it "the biggest pocha-kawa (plump-and-cute) specialist in Ikebukuro"* and describes itself as a choi-pocha* shop: a little plump. The selling points are warmth, softness, curves with actual shape to them, "better than a futon or a hot-water bottle." It says the cheap price isn't a warning sign, that a lot of good-looking women are on shift every day, and it lists the range: big busts, very big busts, big hips, cute, pretty, gyaru, clean-cut.
The roster backs up the "big bust" part, at least on paper. On the day I went, the posted shift list ran from D cup to I cup, with listed busts from the mid-80s to 111 cm. Listed waists were mostly around 58 to 63, which is the "choi" in choi-pocha, if you take the numbers at face value. Nobody in this industry should, which is exactly why I walked in.
2:00 p.m. — What the Desk Shows You
Here's the shop's own description of a walk-in, and it's accurate. You come up to the second floor. You look at unblurred photos of the women working that day. Online they're cropped or mosaicked. At the desk they're not. You pick, you pay, they point you to a hotel. You check in, call the shop with the hotel name and room number, and she comes over.
That's the whole advantage of a reception shop, and at a pocchari shop it matters more than anywhere else. "Plump" is the most elastic word in Japanese fuzoku. One shop's "a little plump" is another shop's "very plump." The only defense is your own eyes, and here you get to use them before you've spent a yen. The staff were matter-of-fact. No hard sell, no "she's the best," just which women were free right now and which were booked until later.
One more thing about the address. Mondemiete, the group's big-bust shop, lists the exact same building and floor. If you've been to one Cinderella shop in west Ikebukuro, you've probably already been up these stairs.
2:05 p.m. — The Board Is One Line of Math
The price list is short:
| Course | Price |
|---|---|
| 60 min (Short) | ¥11,000 |
| 80 min (Regular) | ¥14,000 |
| 100 min (Middle) | ¥17,000 |
| 120 min (Semi-long) | ¥20,000 |
| 180 min (Long) | ¥29,000 |
| Extension, 30 min | ¥5,000 |
Take any course, subtract ¥150 per minute, and you're left with ¥2,000 every time. 60 minutes: ¥11,000 − ¥9,000. 180 minutes: ¥29,000 − ¥27,000. Five for five. The board is ¥2,000 to walk in plus ¥150 a minute, flat across every length, no time-of-day columns at all. For comparison, the sister shop on the same floor charges ¥250 a minute. That's your pocchari discount, written right into the price list.
It also tells you not to extend. The 30-minute extension costs ¥5,000, about ¥167 a minute, more than the ¥150 rate inside any course. Want 130 minutes? A 100-minute course plus an extension is ¥22,000. A 120-minute course is ¥20,000, and you lose only ten minutes. Decide at the desk, not at minute ninety.
What gets added on top:
- Joining fee: ¥0.
- Nominations: photo ¥1,000, phone ¥2,000, repeat ¥2,000. Some women carry a special fee of ¥1,000 to ¥3,000, and the shop says so up front.
- Transport: free to hotels on the shop's west-exit hotel guide; ¥1,000 to other love hotels around the north, west and east exits; then ¥2,000 / ¥3,000 / ¥4,000 within 3 / 5 / 10 km of the station.
- 3P: listed as available at double the course price.
- Options: seventeen of them, from cosplay and foam body-wash to a lotion bath and toys. The official site lists them by number, with no prices, so ask. Photo options are neck down only. More than thirty costumes are picked at the desk, so that's another reason to walk in.
Walk in, pick from the photos, pay for a photo nomination, use a guide hotel: an 80-minute visit is ¥15,000 plus the room. That's cheap for a reception shop two minutes from the station.
2:10 p.m. — ¥6,000 for an Hour, or Points for Later
This is where a first-timer has to pick, and the two offers don't stack.
Offer one, on the shop's Cityheaven coupon page: for anyone using the Cinderella Group for the first time, the 60-minute course is ¥6,000. That's 45% off the ¥11,000 board price. You say "Heaven no shinki coupon mita" (I saw the new-customer coupon on Heaven). You have to register for the free member program, Club Cinderella. Nomination and transport are extra, and it can't be combined with other discounts.
Offer two, on the official system page: new customers get points back depending on course length: 2,000 points for 80 minutes, 3,000 for 100, 4,000 for 120, 5,000 for 180. One point is one yen off a later visit, credited around 7 a.m. the next day. The official page adds a line worth noticing: you still qualify even if you've used other Cinderella Group shops. The ¥6,000 coupon says first time with the group. So if you've already been to Mondemiete or Hitozuma Hit Parade, the cheap hour is probably gone, but the points aren't. Confirm at the desk.
The math is simple. ¥6,000 for 60 minutes is ¥100 a minute, the best rate on the board by a mile. The 80-minute deal is ¥14,000 now and ¥2,000 off next time, so the second visit has to happen for it to count. If you're not sure you'll be back, take the hour. I hadn't been to the group before, so I took the hour.
Two smaller offers exist for later. A new-cast nomination pays 1,000 points on 80 minutes or more, first nomination of that woman only, and not together with the first-visit points. A written review on Club Cinderella earns 1,000 points, once per woman. There's also a member-rank cashback of 2% to 10% of what you spend.
2:15 p.m. — Paying and the Paperwork
Cash or card. Cards and debit cards go through an online payment link. You tell staff you're paying by card when you book, it's one payment only, and once the card is approved you can't switch back to cash. The shop's Cityheaven notice says no card fee, which is not something you can assume around here. The statement won't show the shop's name. They'll also issue invoice-compliant receipts under a neutral restaurant or company name if you ask, with a revenue stamp on anything over ¥50,000. That's a nice touch for anyone whose accountant reads their receipts.
2:20 p.m. — The Rules Before the Knock
The rules list is standard but specific, and it's worth reading before you go, not after:
- No honban (full intercourse): no asking, no negotiating, no pushing.
- No hidden cameras or recording.
- No swapping contact details and no asking her out off the clock.
- Shower first, and cut your nails. The shop asks for both in writing.
- One customer per room, no bringing your own toys, and no cancelling after she's undressed.
- Refused: under-18s, anyone with an infectious disease, gang affiliation or tattoos, and anyone drunk or high.
Break the rules and the session ends with no refund. In bad cases the shop says it may call the police. Fair enough.
2:35 p.m. — What Showed Up
The hotel was one block off the guide list's main strip: front desk, key, elevator, a call to the shop with the room number. The knock came within about ten minutes. She matched her desk photo, which was the whole reason I'd walked in. Soft, round in the right places, a waist you could actually find, and a laugh that came easily. That's choi-pocha as advertised, not a bait-and-switch.
She ran the shower properly and asked what I wanted instead of starting a routine. The hour moved at a pace that suited ¥6,000, which is to say no hurry. And the pitch was right about one thing: the warmth is real. It's November, the hotel AC was weak, and the "better than a hot-water bottle" line in the ad copy turned out to be the most honest sentence on the page. We had ten minutes at the end to talk. She asked if I'd come from work. I said something like that.
Bottom Line
- Board: ¥2,000 + ¥150 a minute, from ¥11,000 for 60 to ¥29,000 for 180. No time-of-day pricing.
- First time with the group: 60 minutes for ¥6,000, with Club Cinderella registration. Best rate on the board.
- Been to a sister shop already: points back on 80 minutes or more (2,000 to 5,000) still apply, according to the official site. Ask.
- Don't extend. ¥5,000 per 30 minutes is worse than buying the longer course at the desk.
- Walk in before midnight to see unblurred photos and pick a costume. After midnight it's delivery only.
- Use a guide hotel to make transport free.
Filed from a coffee shop on the west side at 4:30 p.m., warmer than when I went in.