Sound Café Nekorobi

Ikagasaki-san's works always surprise me with how much volume you get for the price, but this time the sheer volume is shocking. Every single track is focused on relaxation, so you really do get the sense of rest the title promises. There's so much content that I ended up dozing off, and now I'm wondering just how long it'll take me to fully enjoy it all...

Some people might think 900 yen is expensive for an all-ages voice work, but I actually think it's cheap. In the same genre, works with a 2-hour runtime priced around 300–500 yen are usually considered good value. This work runs over 6 hours, so even at the full price of 900 yen, I didn't think it was expensive at all. On top of that, there's a separate free trial (the "trial ticket course"), and right now the trial ticket comes with a 30% discount coupon. So in effect, you can get this work for 30% off the 900 yen price. When you think about it that way, it's actually quite cheap. And it's not just long—the quality holds up too. The sound was incredibly realistic. Shirokuma no Yome is a circle that's basically a household name when it comes to voice works, and their past works have always been highly rated, so I doubt existing fans have much to worry about.

Yes, this is a work you absolutely cannot listen to all the way through. One time, I thought "okay, time to sleep!", put the track on, put in my earbuds, and got into bed—and before I knew it, I woke up, only remembering having heard a single phrase.

I'd tried works that were just ear-cleaning sounds, or works where a man does the ear cleaning, but I was curious about a voice work featuring a woman (thinking I might recommend it to family if it was good), and I chose this one because I was drawn to its volume and sound quality. I couldn't finish it in one day, so I listened to it over several days, but every part had pleasant sound. The body care and head spa parts made me feel like I'd gone to a top-tier spa. The obligatory ear cleaning was plentiful, and the ear massage was plentiful too... it was wonderful (sigh of bliss). The shop clerk's voice was calm yet cute, and she spoke just enough not to get in the way of the treatment sounds—it was very healing. There's no particular indication that the listener is meant to be male, so I think women can listen without worry. However, during the treatment the clerk's breathing sounds (things like little "nn..." noises) come in fairly often, so that might bother some people. You can check that in the trial version, so I'd recommend listening to the trial first, and if that doesn't bother you, it's worth buying.

Before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep, and it was so comfortable. The pool and the bridge are unforgettable. The curtain opened on the brightest night, and the scroll felt cold. The water rushes, and the leaves are fresh when exhaled. There's no powder, only fluffiness.

This was my first purchase from this circle. The reason I bought it was the "ear massage." In a lot of works, the ear massage feels like just an appetizer before the ear-cleaning part—you think "oh, this sound is nice," but the treatment is over too quickly to be satisfying. In this work, though done separately for left and right (be aware if you prefer simultaneous left-right), it's thorough! Careful! And really takes its time. There's massage that covers the ears, massage like being stroked with bare hands, tapping, oil massage, massage while wiping with a towel, even powder massage... I was surprised there could be this much variation just under the label "ear massage." The tingling sensation is irresistible. There's a good amount of conversation too—not too much, just enough—and it's very soothing. There's plenty of other great sound included as well, but this is a work I'd especially recommend to those who love ear massages.

In 2018, Ikagasaki Ayaka-san started another circle besides Shirokuma no Yome called Black-ma no Yome. Since she split things into separate circles, naturally the style differs between them, but she had previously said that the healing-focused style she's always done would continue to be released under Shirokuma no Yome, and I'd been eagerly awaiting this release ever since it was announced. Nine months since "Yozora no Hakobune." This release, which felt overdue as an all-ages work, turns out to be a massive 6-hour epic once you include the bonus content. I'd heard she wanted to put out an all-ages work, but honestly I never imagined it would exceed 6 hours. I figured at most it'd be 3 to 4 hours. This length must be the result of Ikagasaki-san packing in everything she wants to do with all-ages content right now. Having actually listened to it, the style is so pleasant that I ended up falling asleep partway through my first listen. The sound is just that good. Ikagasaki-san's voice is as wonderfully soothing as ever and feels great on the ears, and every sound effect feels great too. This time, apparently "to bring out naturalness in the sound effects and actions, as much as possible the sound and voice were recorded simultaneously." By avoiding layering SE afterward as much as possible, you get to hear the natural voice and sound effects in their raw state, which I think makes it easier to immerse yourself in the work while listening. Neither the self-introduction text nor the text file included with the product says much at all about this particular release. You'd think there'd be a lot to say after making such a massive work. But I think the fact that almost nothing is said on this description page means exactly this: "please listen to the work, listen to the sound." This work could be called a return to the roots of Shirokuma no Yome's style. Let's listen. And let's be healed.

I bought this because I like the circle and the voice actress. Before buying, I thought "wow, that's a lot of volume..." but after listening it became "wow, the content is packed in, the sense of fulfillment is amazing..." I was a little worried that "lots of unexpectedly good sounds" might mean there'd be some noise mixed in, but there's nothing like that. It's all calm, soothing sounds and scenes perfect for falling asleep, and you can sleep deeply. The clerk's chatter is kept fairly minimal. Also, I appreciated how carefully the paper is handled in the origami scene. With paper-based ASMR, sometimes the paper gets crumpled or cut up roughly, and I end up thinking "this sounds great, but isn't that wasteful of paper?" which pulls my mind away from the healing feeling—so that was nice.

This work, boasting an overwhelming amount of volume, lets you enjoy high-quality sound no matter which track you pick, and the healing effect is outstanding! It includes staple healing-work sounds like ear cleaning and massage, as well as sounds you rarely get to experience in other works, like a sleeping bath or a medicine grinder (yagen). I think everyone will be able to find a favorite track among them. And of course each track's sound is wonderful on its own, but the voice of the shopkeeper played by Ikagasaki Ayaka-san also has an extraordinary healing and hypnotic effect, so it makes perfect sense that being able to experience all these treatments while listening to the shopkeeper's voice makes this an almost unfairly effective healing work. Lately this has been my constant companion when going to sleep, and even though there are other works and voices I should want to listen to, I somehow always end up choosing this one...! I'm thoroughly satisfied with how it never gets old no matter how many times I listen, thanks to its healing effect and rich variety. The same circle also offers a "trial ticket course" with an amount of volume that feels unbelievable for something free, so if you're considering buying this, it might be worth trying that first.

A voice work where you receive healing treatments from a shop clerk. Great sound, great voice, great volume—a wonderful work with all three elements in place. Between the various sounds, a voice murmurs softly like birdsong, and the slow-paced healing atmosphere felt like it soaked into my tired body. The sheer amount of dialogue needed to fill 6 hours is also impressive. She's talking for roughly half the total runtime, and I imagine just recording it all must have been a huge undertaking. You couldn't pull off something like this without serious dedication, perseverance, and above all, passion. Not only does it show a deep understanding of ASMR, but you can also feel the underlying love in it—like it's made at such high quality precisely because she loves it. The price is also incredibly good value considering the total runtime. I doubt we'll see many works of this level of quality again anytime soon. The only issue is that it takes quite a long time to listen to everything. I'd also recommend this as an introduction to voice works.