17 'relaxation' establishments raided; 76 high school girls in custody

TOKYO - Police in Tokyo on Sunday conducted simultaneous raids on 17 establishments in Tokyo for using high school girls to perform “relaxation services.” Police said 115 girls aged between 16 and 22 were taken out of the establishments. Of those, 76 were younger than 18 and were taken into custody, according to a TBS report on Monday.

The establishments, known as “JK rifure,” which is a contraction of the Japanese for “high school girl massage,” allow customers to receive massages from high school girls and to sleep next to them in private rooms. Police say such establishments, with names like “sweet jewel,” have been appearing at a rapid rate across the country, with around 80 having now opened in the center of Tokyo, most of them in Akihabara.

TBS said that police raids revealed that some establishments had been knowingly breaking the law by employing girls under the age of 18. Police say that dozens of young girls were taken into care in the raids.

According to police, many of the girls said they were introduced to the job by their friends who said they could earn up to 20,000 yen a day, TBS reported.

source: japantoday.com

How I Scored a Lifetime of Massage, Physical Therapy, & Chiropractor Work for Just $60

It was a normal mid-summer day. I jogged about two miles in to work, did a few situps when I got there, slaved away at my desk for 9 hours, then jogged home.

Throughout the day, I noticed a spot in my lower back getting tight. Did I pull something during the situps, I wondered? The subsequent jog home loosened the spot up a bit and everything seemed fine.

After arriving home, things took a turn for the worse as my back started tightening up again.

By the end of the day, I was reduced to crawling from one room to the next. The pain was so excruciating that I could not stand up and walk.

The entire next day, much of the same. I hobbled around the office hunched over, dragging one leg behind me. By this point, my entire back had seized up around the original problem spot. If I could have crawled around the office without creating a scene, I would have. Sitting at a desk all damn day certainly wasn’t helping the situation.

That afternoon, I booked an emergency massage appointment. One hour later and $50 poorer, I left defeated. Despite the massage therapists best efforts (she specializes in rehab and sports massage, btw), my condition had only slightly improved. An hour after that, it was like I hadn’t even gone at all.

That night I tried heat, cold, stretching, lying on soft surfaces, lying on hard surfaces, walking… nothing seemed to work.

One day and zero improvement later, I ran in to a neighbor across the street and told him of my predicament.

 “Have you tried a foam roller?”

 “A what?, I replied.

“A high density foam roller. Here, let me go get one.”

<Neighbor returns with giant black foam cylinder that looked like something pulled out of a Chuck E. Cheese play pen>

“Go home and roll your back across this.”

Skeptical, I returned home at snail’s pace.

Then I tried it.

After about 5 minutes of rolling and stretching my back across the roller, I stood up. What happened next was completely shocking. I walked across my living room, normal gait, with ZERO pain. WTF?! Encouraged, I spent another 5 minutes rolling. Then immediately went on a half hour walk with my wife and the dog, with no pain.

3 days of down time, an hour long massage, hours of ice, heat, and stretching had negligible, if any impact. 10 minutes on an inanimate piece of foam? Problem solved. The instant dramatic turn-around resembled something out of a healing-power televangelist scene in a movie.

A believer, I promptly rushed to Amazon and bought a super high density foam roller of my own – this one, specifically. I have tried a few others since and STRONGLY recommend the super high density (black), 36-inch, full-round version. The black foam represents the highest density, offering the most resistance on your body and best results. Once you go black foam roller, you never go back (or so I hear).

A number of manufacturers make them and foam is a readily available commodity, so they are cheap. My cost at the time? $30.

I have since used the foam roller before work, after work, and before bed – every single day. I have notoriously bad posture, sit at a desk all day, have a horrible kink in my neck, and have some hip alignment problems from heel striking when running. The foam roller addresses all those problems and occasional tension in my calves from cycling or arms from working out.

After much research, I have since paired it with a Body Back Buddy, which presents similar self-generated results for acute spots that a foam roller can’t put enough pressure on. I start with the foam roller and end with the Back Buddy. And now I recommend them to anyone I come across who has back, leg, or hip pain. Judging by its looks, it probably has some alternative uses as well.

Point here is not to diminish the work many fine massage or physical therapists perform or that these two tools can cure all physical ills. And as you know, I’m not a proponent of most “stuff”. There are numerous exceptions, however, that can lead to better health, better environment, and better finances. These tools are a great example of how a small strategic investment can produce a lifetime of savings. And all it took was a little creative exploration. Oh… and I’m not a doctor, but you already knew that.

source: 20somethingfinance.com

5 tips for planning your summer vacation

Even though the global economy has shaken the travel industry in the last couple of years, many signs signal that there is a recovery trend. People are laying down the fear of uncertainty, and are trying to plan their upcoming vacations and chill-out from the exhausting year.

The recovered economy means that many are ready to spend on summer vacation again. But, that doesn't mean that now people are splashing all their savings on a week of joy and relaxation. More than ever, everybody is trying to save on a great deal. The best value for the money is always the key criteria for a deal.

In this article, we will try to give you some useful tips for planning your great summer vacation, thus not splashing huge on it.

Skip the middleman. Reaching the travel agencies is a classic approach for finding a place to rent a property for your vacation. Leaving aside all the advantages of this approach, if you want to find a nice deal, you got to skip the middleman and cut its margin in the value chain. Agencies are taking their margins for matching you as a traveler with the vacation property owners. There are plenty of online portals that will help you find your ideal destination, or wanted place at an affordable price. You can find homes, condominiums, villas, cabins, bed and breakfasts, all-inclusive resorts by reviewing the property costs and rental agreement quickly and easily prior to the booking.

Explore hidden gems. Sumner vacations in destinations such as Barbados, Fiji, and Hawaii etc. tend to cost a lot. Non-celebrities who are looking to avoid those crowds and get better deals should consider places often overlooked by most, such as Southern and Central Europe, Australia, Oceania, Africa etc. Places like Greece, Croatia, and Bulgaria are awesome for a classic summer vacation in a wonderful resort near the beach. Places like Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia are great for a late summer vacation for good prices. And cities like Nice, Barcelona, Venice, Cannes are fantastic for an early fall vacation and shopping.

Plan early but wait on deals. If you are planning a honeymoon trip, waiting is a risky strategy. Otherwise, booking the lowest-price room or vehicle and then upgrading on the spot can lead to better deals. Also, If you're expecting for a payout from your credit card issuer in the form of cash back, gift cards, or airline miles, that payout can be used to fund your summer vacation.

Group with friends. Gathering with your friends for the summer vacation can bring you extra fun and extra cost savings. Besides the wonderful time with your beloved ones, you can look for a vacation rental property from the owners for rent, like a villa, cabin, apartment or a hotel and share the costs. You will have the all privacy and convenience that a property would bring, and will save agreeing terms with the owner itself and bypass the agencies' fees.

Bring "everything". Packing your own stuff, like food, clothes and accessories is a job for the ladies, I guess. Nevertheless, note that there always will be something that is missing. But the most important thing is to pack the right attitude. Let the "what if" and live the adventure. If this is a vacation to get away and relax, then focus on activities and thoughts that will be relaxing. If your goal is to reconnect with family and build memories together, that can be done regardless of circumstances. If your goal is to sight-see and take in some special attractions or shows, then plan ahead and make the reservations needed and make sure you are all set for the challenges.

So if you are looking for value, by renting directly from property owners, here are a couple of sites: Holiday Rent Club , Rentalo , etc.

Article Source:
http://www.articlebiz.com/article/1051581463-1-5-tips-for-planning-your-summer-vacation/