Delivery Health (Deriheru) in Japan: Where to Stay, What It Costs and How Booking Works

Delivery health (デリヘル, deriheru) is an adult service where the cast comes to your room instead of you going to a shop. It's the most common type of fuzoku in Japan and works almost anywhere in Tokyo or Osaka, which is why travelers use it most. The catch is where you're staying: the wrong hotel can mean being turned away at the front desk or paying extra. Here's what first-timers need to know, in order.

What delivery health is

• An adult service with no shop floor. It is registered under Japan's adult entertainment law; you book by phone or online and the cast comes to your hotel or home. Terms are explained in the glossary.
• 18+ only, and as with every fuzoku venue, full intercourse is prohibited by law.
• If you have nowhere to host or your hotel blocks visitors, hotel health, where you meet at the shop's reception and walk to a nearby hotel together, may be easier.

What it costs

The course price isn't the whole bill. These are rough ranges for the main districts of Tokyo and Osaka.

Where to call them: what to check for each kind of stay

Love hotels: the easiest option

Check in on your own, then send the shop the hotel name and room number and the cast comes to the room. Some love hotels don't allow solo check-in or a second guest arriving later, though. Shops keep a list of hotels they use often, so asking for a recommendation when you book is the safest bet.

Regular and business hotels: careful with single bookings

Many Japanese hotels turn visitors away or charge for an extra guest when the room is booked for one. Some bill the difference between a single and a double if they find out later. If you booked for one, ask the hotel whether visitors are allowed and what it costs, or book for two from the start.

Airbnb and guesthouses: check the house rules

Plenty of rentals ban visitors. If yours allows them, give the shop the building entrance, room number and how to get in so the cast doesn't get lost.

How it works, start to finish

1. Pick a shop, cast and course from the delivery health listings or today's roster, and check that the shop accepts foreign guests.
2. Book: give the date, start time, course, the cast you want, and your hotel name and nearest station. Popular casts often fill up on the day.
3. Check in and report your room: once you're in, send the shop your room number. With love hotels this is usually when you check in.
4. The cast arrives and you pay: payment is usually made upfront to the cast in yen cash. The clock starts when the cast calls the shop to confirm arrival.
5. Shower, service, shower: showering together at the start and the end is standard.
6. Finish: you get a heads-up shortly before time is up and the cast leaves first. Pay the hotel separately when you check out.

What foreign visitors should watch out for

• Many shops don't accept foreign guests, and most phone bookings are Japanese only. Confirm first.
• Bring enough cash, including small bills. Shops that take cards often add a surcharge or need advance notice.
• Be on time. Your course may be counted from the booked time even if you check in late, and a no-show can mean a cancellation fee.
• You can be refused if you're very drunk. No pressuring the cast, no photos, no violence, ever.
• Keep valuables in the safe or your bag, and check the amount you paid against the price list afterwards.

Booking as a foreign visitor

With YORU Concierge you tell us the shop or cast and time, plus what kind of place you're staying in and how many guests the room is booked for, and we call the shop in Japanese. We check that it accepts foreign guests and can come to your stay, then make the booking, or suggest similar shops if it can't. If nothing works out, the fee is refunded in full. For nightlife in general see the Japan nightlife guide; for the booking flow see how it works.