I lived in Tokyo in the early 90's but was never aware of the VDO boxes you mention. I do vividly recall the "no gaijin" signs outside most of the saunas. This had started in the late 1980's when HIV started to spread in Japan. Idiotically, many of the gay mafia leaders decided this was a foreigner thing and banned all foreigners, even though unsafe sex remained the norm and any Chinese or Thai who looked like a Japanese could get in without question!
But not everywhere was 'out' for foreigners. The original 24 sauna in Asakusa was always welcoming, as were the few bars which mixed Japanese and gaijin. I had a good time there.
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