Originally, long long ago, the Hitachi was designed and built as a muscle massager. While it worked great in those means, someone decided to try to use it on their private parts. Wow! The Hitachi soon became known as the genital massager that produced very powerful orgasms, or even better yet, forced orgasms. Having read so many wonderful things about the Hitachi, I decided to order one for my wife and myself. I was a little concerned with how powerful it was, but I figured, worse case scenario, my wife and I would use it for its intended purpose of body massage, because who doesn't love a great massage?

The Hitachi is made out of plastic, and receives a 8 out of 10 on the Eden Fantasys toy rating scale. The handle is a hard plastic, while the head is a softer plastic. The head is slightly smaller than a tennis ball, and it is slightly squishy. The head has texture all over it, but it isn't raised or anything, just like small scratches. The head has a diameter of 2 1/4 inches, with a dent or a trough through the middle. The head is suitable for water, silicone, and oil based lubricant. But if you do plan on using this on a vagina, make sure to not use oil based lubes, since oil is bad for the vagina and can cause infections. The head is mounted on a blue flexible shaft, which is an 1 1/4 inch long, which then goes into the massager itself.

The design is of a few decades old body massager, that has adapted for genital stimulation. Just looking at the plastic, which I have now had for about 9 months, it already has a slight yellow tinge to it. The handle of the massager is 9 inches long, the blue shaft is 1 1/4 inch long, and the head is just over 2 inches tall. Attached at the other end, is a 6 foot long power cord that gives the Hitachi its magical super powers. It has a decent amount of weight to it, 1.2 pounds according to the included materials, which is definitely the heaviest sex toy we currently own.

The controls are very simple on the Hitachi. You first have to plug it into the wall, and be within 6 feet of the wall because that is how long the cord is. After that, you have three options for controls. Off in the middle position of the switch, low at the bottom, and high at the top. The low setting gives you an rpm of 5000, while the high gives you an rpm of 6000. Either setting is quite loud, and you won't be able to be discreet with your roommates unless they are deaf (or they join in on the fun). The vibrations are located in the head of the toy, which has a slight springy effect to it. Because the Hitachi has to be plugged into the wall, it is not waterproof, so please keep it away from the bathtub or a partner who really really squirts a lot.

My wife could only stand the low setting, and this was too much for her still. I tried switching between low and high one time on my shaft, and it was never too much for me, but it wasn't mind blowing either. The directions also say that you should use it for no longer than 25 minutes at a time. If you want to use it longer, they ask you to leave it off for 30 minutes. I have never had mine on for that long, but I am sure after 25 minutes, the massager is going to be quite warm.

Since it is a plug in toy, you have to be careful with cleaning this. You cannot submerge it in water, so I typically will take a baby wipe to it when I am done to clean off the head of the toy. You could also purchase one of the many Hitachi attachments, many of which are made of out silicone, and then clean-up will be much easier since you can just remove the attachment. Another option would be to just place a condom over the head. For storage, we currently use a large plastic bin that we used to use for files, and we just place it in there. We have also stored it in our nightstand drawer, but I think now it is going to go back in its box in the closet.

The packaging was quite simple. It has a few people in workout clothes using it as "directed" for a muscle massager. It comes in a cardboard box which is barely larger than the Hitachi itself, with two pieces of paper inside. One talks about the limited warranty and do not return it to a store if it has problems. The other is safety instructions and directions for use.

I had read on Eden that someone used the Hitachi on their penis for a kind of forced orgasm. The reviewer had said that if he placed it on his shaft, it caused an ejaculatory orgasm, but if he placed it just on the head, he got non-ejaculatory orgasms. I decided to try this out solo the other day, and it somewhat worked. I put on a video in the background, and I placed the Hitachi on low on my shaft. My penis quickly became fully erect. Between switching from low to high back to low, and between the head, shaft and balls, I quickly got close to orgasm. I tried to just use it on my head at the end to see if I could get a non-ejaculatory orgasm, but my body would not have it. I quickly came with a very nice orgasm, that unfortunately went all over the floor because I was not expected that. This might be the normal response for me to the Hitachi, or it was just because I had not had an orgasm in over a week. I am not sure.

The first time that I tried to use this on my wife, she didn't like it at all. Either low or high, she wouldn't have it. She said that it numbed her too much and it just was not enjoyable. She also says that it is uncomfortable as a massager. A few months went by, and between adding new toys and moving, we didn't pull this out for a long time. Well, the other day I decided to try this again since my wife had some lingerie on that would add a little bit of fabric between the Hitachi and herself, and hopefully muffle the vibrations some. As soon as I turned it on, she bolted up and said "not that thing again!" I asked her to allow me to try it again, and even with the extra fabric, it was still too strong for her. I had a bunch of attachments in my wish list to try with her, but at this point I think I would rather spend the money on a different toy than to spend any more on this. I tried, but the Hitachi is just not for my wife.