Massage in Japan

Is massage as common in Japan as in Thailand, for example? We have read that shiatsu can only be offered by licensed practitioners. Does that mean that they are few and difficult to find? If so, are there any other, less-licensed forms of traditional massage that are offered in Japan?
Any recommendations for spas/massage parlours in Tokyo/Kyoto? We have looked on the internet but without much result.

There are plenty of shiatsu massage centres in Japan, I don't think is that hard for a practitioner to get certified.

By the way I usually think of a "massage parlour" as something you would find in a red-light district, but from the rest of your post I guess you are looking for therapeutic massage.

In Tokyo I recommend the Shiatsu Room, which has branches in Aoyama, Shinjuku, Harajuku and Omotesando.

Their website is www.shiatsu-room.ne.jp

The website is mostly in Japanese but the menu is in English- click on "rooms", then the location and you will see a phone number for each location.

There should be staff on hand with enough English for you to make a reservation.

Thank you, Sira. This is exactly the kind of place we had in mind.