I call BS. If he got clobbered by his masseuse, I am willing to bet that he was acting or speaking inappropriately. This is and has been a recurring problem in Japanese hotels over the years.
The era has when young pretty masseuses in Japanese hotels doubled as prostitutes has long gone, but a lot of westerners haven’t gotten the memo.
AND they think it’s cheap!
Ridiculous!
“Cost me just a pack of SMOKES, back in th day..!”
Eh...I got news for ya...
He probably said something nasty.