To be honest with you, I have been overseas for quite a while now. I am not sure about the original "Osaka," because the name was sort of plagiarized, and many spas were using some derivation of the name "Osaka," and nobody knew which was the real one anymore, at a glance.
But, a quick search revealed that "Salon de Tokyo" is still in business. They have been in business for 50 years now. I used to go there pretty regularly back in the 80's. They were authentic shiatsu back then and if they are in business for 50 years, I can't see them maintaining a reputation on subpar shiatsu. They moved down the street from their original location but still are on 57th Street. I believe it is 5 East 57th Street in NYC.
I learned of them about 40 years ago, when I was big into shiatsu, actually studying it and dating a Korean owner of a major authentic Japanese/Korean spa. We hired girls from Salon de Tokyo because their reputations preceded them.
But, those girls were like hired guns or even like independent contractors, and would work for different reputable spas, even once dedicated to one, if a customer called for her. There was respect between the last few remaining authentic shiatsu spas left in the city.
It was getting hard to compete with the illegitimate parlors spilling into the city in the 80's, and the legits were suffering financially, especially with the 70's and 80's Second Japanese (Financial) Invasion of America being done and over with. If you are old enough to remember, (I am sure you are not) that was a time when the unheard of was happening for that era, when iconic American properties and institutions were being bought up by Japanese business men and they needed authentic Japanese spas, restaurants and hotels to carry on with their lives, as if still in Japan.
But, you might try Salon de Tokyo. I remeber going there often and being friendly with the staff and taking very hot saunas and plunging into the very cold pool. Nobody had that type of facility at that time. Now refrigerated pools are becoming quite popular. And, the shiatsu was authentic.
Possibly some good shiatsu massage still can be found in K-Town. When the Koreans open up a new business, they spare no expense to make it state-of-the-art.
Hope that helps and I like your new moniker.
But, a quick search revealed that "Salon de Tokyo" is still in business. They have been in business for 50 years now. I used to go there pretty regularly back in the 80's. They were authentic shiatsu back then and if they are in business for 50 years, I can't see them maintaining a reputation on subpar shiatsu. They moved down the street from their original location but still are on 57th Street. I believe it is 5 East 57th Street in NYC.
I learned of them about 40 years ago, when I was big into shiatsu, actually studying it and dating a Korean owner of a major authentic Japanese/Korean spa. We hired girls from Salon de Tokyo because their reputations preceded them.
But, those girls were like hired guns or even like independent contractors, and would work for different reputable spas, even once dedicated to one, if a customer called for her. There was respect between the last few remaining authentic shiatsu spas left in the city.
It was getting hard to compete with the illegitimate parlors spilling into the city in the 80's, and the legits were suffering financially, especially with the 70's and 80's Second Japanese (Financial) Invasion of America being done and over with. If you are old enough to remember, (I am sure you are not) that was a time when the unheard of was happening for that era, when iconic American properties and institutions were being bought up by Japanese business men and they needed authentic Japanese spas, restaurants and hotels to carry on with their lives, as if still in Japan.
But, you might try Salon de Tokyo. I remeber going there often and being friendly with the staff and taking very hot saunas and plunging into the very cold pool. Nobody had that type of facility at that time. Now refrigerated pools are becoming quite popular. And, the shiatsu was authentic.
Possibly some good shiatsu massage still can be found in K-Town. When the Koreans open up a new business, they spare no expense to make it state-of-the-art.
Hope that helps and I like your new moniker.
