Along with Pokemon and Toyota, Japanese is well known around the world as a source of the weird. Many times the weirdness extends into areas of sex and adult entertainment which makes it all the more intriguing. Mania Shop Slum is an adult video shop in the heart of Ikebukuro that sells things that would be considered revolting or even illegal elsewhere.
Mania Shop Slum is located near Ikebukuro Station. It is only a few minutes away by foot, nestled on a street that also contains things like a restaurant, some retail shops and a pachinko parlor. A traditional type of soapland is located just around the corner but it does not accept non-Japanese customers.
Two large flashing signs in the street indicate the location of the Mania Shop Slum The actual shop itself is located down a flight of stairs which is perhaps fitting considering that the products the place carriers would be called “underground” by some.
The shop is not small but it is so jam packed with aisles, shelves and products that it can be difficult to move around inside. Straight ahead there are aisles filled with DVDs that are sorted by categories. There are some “regular” Japanese porn DVDs in one area but most of the shop is filled with the kind of “maniac” videos that give the place its name.
Those videos are centered around a variety of subjects including urination, defecation (scatology) and roman showers (vomiting). They are organized by subject so that the piss fans don’t have to bothering digging through shit videos to find what they’re after.
Some of the most interesting aspects of the shop include a discount corner where grab bags are sold. Assumingly the bags are filled with things like DVDs the shop can’t get rid of rather than the kinds of bodily fluids featured in those videos.
The shop also has a corner where they sell Japanese sex toys and related accessories to allow fans a chance to play along at home. The prices for the toys are the same as those charged by other toy stores including the gigantic Love Merci.
There is a check out counter in the front that is mostly blocked off so that the staff inside and the customers do not have to make eye contact or really even see each other at any time. Money and products are shifted back and forth through a slot and over a counter that is just about waist high.
Mania Shop Slum. 1 Chome-42-17, Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan. Open every day from 10:00 AM to 11:00 PM. Click here for a map.