With its discount electrical goods stores, cosplay, and maid coffee shops, Akihabara is quickly gaining a reputation as a place that caters to a wide variety of needs, both nerdy and otherwise.

One of the latest new fads to spring out of Akihabara is mimikaki.

For 2,500 yen you can experience the pleasure of laying your head on the tender thighs of a yukata-clad young woman as she picks the wax out of your ears.

One of the premier establishments offering such services is Yamamoto Mimi Kaki-ten (Japanese page), which has been such a success that it has surprised even the folks who run the place.

For some reason, Japanese men find having the inner ears probed by sexy young things a turn on. And Yamamoto Mimi Kaki-ten plays this fetish to the hilt, even providing a page at its website where you can have a look at photos of the comely young lasses who work there.

Japundit’s renowned mimikaki (earpick) series gained worldwide attention once again when it was reported on Boing Boing recently.

Now we find out that a new type of esthetic parlor in Tokyo is cashing in on Japan’s love for stimulating aural hygiene.

These establishments are devoted exclusively to cleaning people’s ears or providing a combination of earwax removal and massage.

The idea is to remind customers of pleasant feelings they had during childhood when resting their heads on their mother’s lap to have their ears cleaned.

One such parlor uses a mimikaki fitted with a camera to allow the pickee to view the condition of their ear canal on a TV screen.

The basic cost for a five-minute ear cleaning is 500 yen. This goes up to 1,000 yen for a 10-minute session that includes a massage, and 2,000 yen for 20 minutes.

One parlor in Tokyo’s trendy Aoyama district offers a 70-minute pick-and-massage session for 8,400 yen.

The majority of customers at such establishments are men, and the owner of one shop says that a large number of women have told her they would like to learn how to remove earwax as a way to please their men. The shop is considering establishing a school to teach women the art of ear cleaning and massage, “as part of their bridal training.”

Heiwa Medic Co., Ltd. is selling a new type of cotton swab, designed and engineered specifically for ear picking (mimi kaki).

Heiwa Medic claims that the black color of the cotton makes the gunk that comes out of the ear more visible than the traditional white. In addition, the cotton tips are spiral formed to make it easier to scrape wax and other debris out of your ears.

The cotton of the black swabs is colored with a nontoxic dye that is totally safe, according to the manufacturer.

Some time ago we featured an ear vacuum cleaner that we thought was one of a kind. Today we discovered another model that features a streamline modern design.

The Ear Clean ear vacuum cleaner is said to totally clear the inside of the ear of debris, without fear of injury. But then again that is what all of the manufacturers of these devices say, isn’t it. . .

Ear Clean comes complete with a set of six replaceable nozzles, which means it can be used by the entire family. It also includes a supply of lotion to sooth the ear canal after cleaning and four AA-size batteries (only two are required at a time for power).

Price: 4,980 yen

Attention mimikaki fans!
Starting from this week, Mimikaki of the Day will move to the weekend and become Mimikaki of the Week. We hope you will continue to join us and find out about the latest developments in mimikaki technology and designs.

In the meantime, keep on kaki-ing!