Any recent experiences with tattoo removal in Tokyo?

honestly for 40+ year old ink you're in luck, the old-school stuff fades way easier than modern pigments. i had a friend get a 70s era chest piece done at tokyo skin clinic in harajuku and it was basically gone in 5 sessions, the doc said it's cause those old inks were mostly carbon-based and more granular

one thing to watch out for is scarring, old tats sometimes have raised scar tissue under the ink and the laser can make that worse. ask them to do a test spot first, most clinics will do it free or cheap. also if you're near shibuya, check out elim clinic, they're less pushy about selling you packages and let you pay per session

btw for onsen stuff, there's a sento in yanaka called takinoyu that's super chill about ink, no questions asked. might save u a few sessions if that's your main goal

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Another thing to consider is how the clinic handles the numbing. Some places in Tokyo offer lidocaine injections or topical cream that actually works, but a few just use a fan blowing cold air and call it a day. For old deep ink you'll want the injections, trust me on that. I'd ask upfront what their protocol is before booking.

There's a place in Kanda called Akihabara Skin Clinic that does a good job with test patches for like 3000 yen. They'll zap a tiny spot and check how your skin reacts after a month, which is smart for scarred or layered ink. Saved me from a bad situation with a piece that had some white mixed in.

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Given how old your ink is, you might be surprised at how few sessions it actually takes. I had a 35-year-old kanji on my forearm done at Shibuya Laser Clinic and it was essentially gone in four sessions - the doctor said the old ink was so fragmented it basically shattered on contact with the laser. The downside is that old ink often leaves a yellowish tint behind, which can take another few rounds to fully clear.

For onsen access while you're in the process, check out Ota City's public bath in Shimomaruko. They have a policy where faded or partially removed tattoos are fine as long as they're not fresh or angry-looking. The old ladies running the place are surprisingly pragmatic about it.

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if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping

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kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.

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tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.

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