A Massage Parlor — written Massage Parlour in Canadian or British English — is officially an establishment where paid massage services are offered and take place. Although the phrase “Massage Parlor” by itself is neutral, the term is generally used for those places that provide commercial sensual erotic massage services and/or sexual services, sometimes even including sexual intercourse.
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In fact, it’s not uncommon that massage parlors— notably in countries or states within countries in which prostitution or sex work are illegal activities — are actually (partly) a disguise for brothels, that is, a cover or front organization for places that offer sexual services and/or prostitution.
Mind, however, that offering sexual or erotic services is not necessarily defined as prostitution. The legal definition of what is involved in “prostitution” depends very much on individual countries. In Japan, for instance, prostitution is illegal, but the term is defined as “having paid coital intercourse with an unacquainted person,” which leaves quite some space for a liberal interpretation.
In practice, it means that all other sexual services — fellatio, handjobs, anal sex, nude body-to-body services, and so on — are not considered prostitution and therefore legal activities within Japanese law.
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Now, depending on the individual Massage Parlor, you’ll find that Happy Ending services, Striptease, Soapy Bathing Services, Sexual Self-Service (the client is allowed to masturbate and achieve their self-induced “happy ending”), Girlfriend Experience Services (GFE), and/or Full Service (which includes sexual intercourse) may be provided, often as “extras” (to be paid, of course) on top of more regular sensual erotic massages.
Nonetheless, Massage Parlors may indeed offer genuine massage treatments such as non-erotic Swedish Massage, Sports Massage, or Thai Massage, or alternatively erotic massages without extra services, such as Nuru Massage, Tantric Massage, Prostate Massage, or Sensual Oil Massage, and so on, and do not engage in prostitution or other types of sex work.
However, in many countries, massage parlors are commonly established as a kind of blend: that is, you’ll find employees (masseurs, therapists, or practitioners) who offer “extra services” on top of regular erotic or non-erotic massages, and on the other hand you’ll find a number of employees who don’t engage in sexual services at all.
