I notice in the AR forum it's generally a lot of reviews for the very popular locations such as Ginza and so on. Naturally a lot of that is threads being bumped by the venue. I've done my fair share there and at Sakura and others over the years but overall I probably visit small/nondescript massage parlors like 70% of the time where I can sometimes can build a rapport. Personally I plan to write more ARs for small spots once I can suss out if they want the attention or not.

I'd say my very BEST experiences have been at the little shops, but my TYPICAL experience has been a bit better at the big spots.

I'm wondering what your ratio is of visiting popular/known places vs. small spots that aren't as well known.

Cheers,