The reputation of the Japanese love industry has spread across the borders of Japan itself, nearly everybody has heard about at least one “strange” Japanese business model in which human proximity is sold. We will try to shed some light onto these kinds of businesses and we’ll start with one of the most popular kind: Host clubs (ホストクラブ)
A host club is similar to a hostess club, except that female customers pay for male company. Host clubs are typically found in more populated areas of Japan, and are famed for being numerous in Tokyo districts such as Kabukichō, and Osaka’s Umeda and Namba. Customers are typically wives of rich men or women working as hostesses in hostess clubs.
The first host club was opened in Tokyo in 1966. In 1996, the number of Tokyo host clubs was estimated to be 200, and a night of non-sexual entertainment could cost $500 to $600. A women’s studies professor explained the phenomenon by Japanese men’s lack of true listening to the problems of women, and by women’s desire to take care of a man and be loved back.
Male hosts pour drinks and will often flirt with their clients, more so than their female counterparts. The conversations are generally light-hearted; hosts may have a variety of entertainment skills, be it simple magic tricks or charisma with which to tell a story. Some host clubs have a dedicated stage for a performance, usually a dance, comedy sketch, etc.
Hosts’ ages usually range between 18 and the mid-20s. They will take a stage name, usually taken from a favourite manga, film, or historical figure, that will often describe their character. Men who become hosts are often those who either cannot find a white-collar job, or are enticed by the prospect of high earnings through commission.
While hostess bars in Tokyo often have designated men out on the streets getting clients to come into their clubs, some hosts are often sent out onto the streets to find customers, who are referred to as catch, but these are usually the younger, less-experienced hosts. A common look for a host is a dark suit, collared shirt, silver jewellery, a dark tan, and bleached hair.
Pay is usually determined by commission on drink sales with hosts often drinking far past a healthy limit, usually while trying to hide their drunkenness. Because the base hourly wage is usually extremely low, almost any man can become a host regardless of looks or charisma. However, hosts who cannot increase their sales usually drop out very soon, because of the minimal wage. The environment in a host bar is usually very competitive, with tens of thousands of dollars sometimes offered to the host who can achieve the highest sales.
On the first visit to a host club, the customer is presented with a menu of the hosts available, and decide which host to meet first, but over the course of the night, the customer will meet most of the hosts. The customer then decides which host they like most, and can make him their named host. This can be done by buying a “bottle keep” a bottle of liquor that can be saved for next time, stating interest in a host. The named host will receive a percentage of the future sales generated by that customer. Most clubs operate on an “permanent nomination” system: once the named host has been nominated, a customer cannot change hosts at that club.
A lot of host clubs and bars can be found in the Nakasu area of Fukuoka. Are you interested or do you have experience in Japanese nightlife?
http://japanese-school-asahi.com/
