There are only two known isolation tanks in Japan. One is in Kyoto, for private use. The other is in Kazuo Miyabe's first-floor apartment in one of the fast-disappearing enclaves of Shirokane in downtown Tokyo, where he makes it his business to help people float away the stresses and strains of modern life.
As he explains, the isolation tank was designed for total sensory deprivation by famed American cartographer of consciousness Dr. John C. Lilly. "John began experimenting with the effects of sensory deprivation in the 1950s. He is best known to the public perhaps through Paddy Chayefsky's movie 'Altered States,' which is based on John's work."
Kazuo's personal living space is neat, compact, full of interest. The shoji screens are papered with white and indigo "washi" paper. There is a huge circle -- the symbol of the universe in Zen Buddhism -- brushed onto the ceiling. A message in English on the wall facing the doorway reads, "It is not hard to control / but harder NOT to control."