OSAKA — In the back streets beside Osaka's Kyobashi Station, pachinko parlors, massage parlors, or "soap lands" (brothels), restaurants and karaoke rooms are packed together in an area not more than two square blocks.
The area is especially convenient because of four train lines that pass through it and has always been popular with those in a hurry, anxious to enjoy themselves but wanting to get in and out quickly.
Recently, though, some locals have reported a different kind of customer: foreigners who appear for a brief spell and then disappear.