Japanese Nightlife Terms Explained: Deriheru, Nomination, Incall and More

Japan's adult entertainment industry has its own vocabulary, and most of it never gets translated. Guides and forums use these words as if everyone knows them; shops assume you do too. Here is what the terms actually mean — so you can read a price board, a profile, or a review and know exactly what is being offered.

What is "delivery health" (deriheru)?

Delivery health (デリヘル, "deriheru") is Japan's most common form of licensed adult service: a companion is dispatched to your hotel or home rather than you visiting a shop. The name is a euphemism — "health" refers to adult services, "delivery" to the dispatch model. At TokyoGirlsHub (TGH) this is called an outcall; Tokyo 23-ward hotel outcalls are supported, and the reception model where you visit us first is the incall.

What do "incall" and "outcall" mean?

• Incall: you come to the provider's location — at TGH, the reception in Kabukicho (Reisho Building B1F, Kabukicho 1-13-4) — meet your companion, and move to a nearby room.
• Outcall: the companion comes to you, usually your hotel. Check that your hotel allows visitors, and share your room number in advance.

What is a "nomination fee" (shimei-ryō)?

A nomination fee (指名料) is the extra charge for requesting a specific companion instead of accepting whoever is available. Tiers often exist — at TGH, grades like Silver, Gold and Diamond carry different nomination fees, shown on each girl's profile. If you skip nomination, staff match you with an available companion at no extra charge.

What is a "course" (kōsu)?

A course (コース) is a time-and-service package. Ours are published openly: Standard (1 hour, ¥23,000), Deluxe (1.5 hours, ¥33,000) and Premium (2 hours, ¥43,000). "Extension" (延長, enchō) adds time in 30-minute blocks if the schedule allows.

What do NN and NS mean — and why you should walk away

On English-language forums, NN and NS refer to services involving unprotected acts. Understand this clearly: paid vaginal intercourse has been illegal in Japan since 1956, regardless of protection. Venues openly advertising it are operating outside the law, and that risk lands on you as well as them. Licensed providers — including TGH — compensate companions for time and companionship and enforce this line strictly.

What is a "soapland"? A "pink salon"?

• Soapland (ソープランド): a licensed bathhouse-style venue built around washing services; a separate legal category from dispatch services, mostly concentrated in areas like Yoshiwara.
• Pink salon (ピンサロ): a low-cost bar-format venue. Cheap, fast, and usually Japanese-only.
• Health / fashion health (ヘルス): shop-based (as opposed to delivery) adult service venues.

Most of these traditional formats refuse foreign customers. Dispatch-style services designed for international clients are usually the practical option — that gap is exactly why TGH exists.

What is a "tekoki"? A "sōpu-style" shower?

Tekoki (手コキ) means a hand service; you will see it and similar terms on option menus. The mandatory shower at the start of a session (a hygiene rule at virtually every reputable venue, including ours) is sometimes called "play shower" — at TGH it is required, together, before the session starts.

Quick reference

• Deriheru / delivery health — dispatch-to-hotel adult service
• Incall / outcall — you visit us / companion visits you
• Shimei (指名) — nominating a specific companion (fee applies)
• Kōsu (コース) — time + service package
• Enchō (延長) — paid extension, usually 30-min blocks
• Free (フリー) — no nomination; staff choose for you (no fee)
• Honban (本番) — intercourse; illegal when paid, refuse any venue offering it

Still meeting a term you don't recognize? Ask our staff on Telegram — explaining the system to international guests is literally our job, or browse the FAQ for 50+ specific answers.