Is it something in the water? Or in the early winter air? Because we seem to be witnessing a wave of comebacks in the gravure industry right now, from 2000s favorites Yuka Kosaka and Megumi Kagurazaka to real blast-from-the-pasts like Mayumi Yamazaki and Reiko Kato, returning after decades away.
The latest returning star is Harumi Inoue.
Now aged 51, the freshly divorced 1990s and 2000s star has made her first full gravure appearance in 26 years.
Debuting in 1991, Inoue was a biggie of the post-bubble years but met a Mexican man in Canada, and ultimately married the foreigner and had ...
Mayumi Yamazaki has burst back onto the scene at the age of 53 years young. Marking her first gravure shoot in 32 years, the comely ex-idol appears in a shoot over eight pages of the current issue of Weekly Flash.
Of course, makeup and Photoshop can work wonders for anyone, but we think Mayumi looks fantastic. Let's hope this isn't just a one-off.
The former music idol was a member of Onyanko Club's B-Gumi from 1986 to 1987, and then went on to release a few singles as a solo artist. Onyanko Club was the Morning Musume or AKB48 of its day.
She married in 1994 and retired from the ...
The TV announcer Tomoka Takenaka has surprised fans by branching out into gravure at the age of 43. The former NHK presenter now works for Radio Okinawa.
She announced her sudden pivot from presenting into sexy modeling in September, quickly attracting attention. And the initial photos that have appeared show why she may have plenty of success: she's been hiding quite a pair under those professional clothes.
The comely jukujo appears in the issue of Weekly Playboy on sale from November 17 and a digital photo book is also available. The shoot was a lot of fun, she recently told listeners ...
The actress Aya Ueto is to release a new photo book in July.
Shot in Taiwan, Midday Reverie comes out on July 10 from Takarajimasha. The photographer is Kotori Kawashima, famous for his photos of a young toddler called Mirai, though he has done photo books for models before, such as Nanase Nishino and Asami Usuda.
Midday Reverie marks Aya Ueto's first photo book in 15 years. She turns 40 in September but, as the shoot preview images show, is still a remarkably beautiful woman. Don't expect any nudity, or even much flesh on display, though, since Aya Ueto has never had that sort of career ...
The new photo book by Yuki Kashiwagi has reminded us that a bunch of idols and models have made similar comebacks of late, some doing it just for kicks and others hoping to ride nostalgia to a quick yen.
Other examples include Reiko Kato, Serina, Chinatsu Wakatsuki, Rina Aizawa, Aya Ueto, and Haruka Ayase.
Another comeback that might be on the cards is Aki Hoshino.
Now aged 47, Aki Hoshino posted a video of herself in a swimwear (in what seems to be a sponsored post for Alexia Stam, a swimwear brand) and she looks great for a middle-aged woman.
Many fans commented that they want her to ...
Is this what all Japanese maid cafes will be like in the future?
With Japan's population aging at an alarming rate, one event in the city of Kiryu in Gunma demonstrates that it doesn't matter if you're young at heart.
A maid cafe is open only once a month but is attracting attention and popularity from both customers and national media. This is not like a maid cafe in Akihabara, where you are likely to be served by a very young and cute lady. The maids are all aged 65 or older.
According to a report in the Yomiuri, people are coming around Japan to meet the maids.
At the year's first ...
The Trunk is a Korean mystery series released on Netflix in late November this year.
We haven't finished watching the series yet but we were particularly taken by Jung Yun-ha, who plays the ex-wife of one of the main characters.
The 38-year-old Korean MILF -- a former Miss Korea -- has a nude sex scene in The Trunk. It's always nice to see slightly older Asian woman show how hot they are, and this scene really does her justice.
She is seen grinding in the lap of her lover, who is happily kissing her tits. She then throws him down and starts bucking her hips in the cowgirl position. She ...
In Japan, female voice performers are incredibly popular as idols and celebrities despite only displaying their oral talents in their work for anime series and movies. Some are able to carve out lucrative sidelines as models, singers, and gravure idols.
If they have the looks and following for this, it is usually apparent pretty quickly and their agencies don't miss a chance to make some extra yen. But others bide their time.
Such is the case with Minori Chihara (茅原実里), the seiyu who has waited until her forties to cement her gravure career.
Great news if you love Minori Chihara. ...
The actress and mature gravure idol Mami Yamasaki is to release her tenth and final photo book.
The photo book, Camellia, will come out in Japan on April 15 from Shogakukan. As announced on February 19, the publication will mark her retirement from gravure after a 20-year career.
Now aged 38 and still unmarried, Mami Yamasaki has got more alluring with age -- and indulged in more explicit photo shoots. She seemed to embrace entering her thirties as the opportunity to strip off for semi-nude shoots.
Mami Yamasaki has aged like a fine wine, getting sexier the older she gets. ...
If you've ever stayed at a traditional Japanese inn, or ryokan, especially a somewhat smaller one, you have likely encountered the women who run them, known as the okami (meaning proprietress, not to be confused with okami -- pronounced with a longer oh -- that means wolf).
Though younger women are often busy doing many of the tasks, a slightly older woman is usually in charge. Like the mama-san who runs a hostess club, she's a more mature yet still alluring prospect.
Well, we are likely romanticizing things because the gap between reality and fantasy gets misty here: ryokan ladies are the ...
