The Dark Reality of Japanese Host Clubs

The Dark Reality of Japanese Host Clubs

So I was thinking about Ouran High School Host Club the other day and… We all know that that show isn’t actually about a host club, right? In the first episode of Ouran, we’re presented with this beautiful, finely kept lounge called the Host Club where, quote,

“the school’s handsomest boys with too much time on their hands entertain young ladies who also have way too much time on their hands. It is an elegant playground for the super-rich and beautiful.” It’s a space where male students entertain female students through flirtatious gestures, and that practice resembles real-life host clubs… but that’s where

The similarities start and end. Functionally Ouran’s host club is more like an after-school lounge and a school spirit committee combined: it provides a hangout space for peers and occasionally hosts fun events for the whole school. As a plot device, it’s the jumping-off

Point for friendships and relationship drama. That’s the appeal of Ouran; we get to see this group of misfit twinks and one androgynous heroine have fun and grow with each other. It’s a very wholesome, feel-good show, despite the fact that its premise is based on a mainstay of nightlife culture.

Not that this is surprising – Japanese pop media isn’t shy about depicting the adult entertainment industry. The video games series formerly known as Yakuza features mini-games where you run cabaret clubs and enjoy humanizing conversations with cast members. Girls RPG:

Cinderella Life is a 3DS game that lets you play as a hostess working in Neo Ginza. Isekai Kyabakura is a comic about a cabaret club transported into another world. Kabuki-cho no Jouou Aina, Kyuukyoku no Sekkyaku Sukiru de Isekai no Ou ni naru tells the story of

A top-earning cabaret hostess re-establishing her throne in another world. Isekai toka Yoku Wakanne kedo Shanpan Hairimashitaaaa is about a top-earning host who gets transported to another world – I think you get my point. Companionship work is not always vilified and is instead often glamorized in Japan.

Even extremely intimate lines of work are fairly accessible both for workers and customers, largely because there are no penalties built into the country’s anti-prostitution legislation. While there is a stigma around companionship work, most Japanese people do not find the

Industry scandalizing in the same way that many people in the west do. I wouldn’t say entering this line of work is often encouraged, but it is legally and socially permitted as long as it doesn’t disrupt the peace. So it makes you wonder why the Japanese police

Force recently cracked down on host clubs. What the heck did they do to draw the ire of the prime minister? This is A-Ko. She’s a college student who moved to Tokyo for university, she has a part-time job at an izakaya bar and lives alone. One weekend she spends the

Day with her friend at Shinjuku and by evening they stumble into Kabukicho, the infamous red-light district of Japan. Her friend suggests they visit a host club because, as new customers, they get all-you-can-drink alcohol for a pretty low cost – 3000 yen per hour per guest. In

Dollars that’s less than thirty bucks. But A-Ko’s a little reluctant. Her perception of a host hasn’t been updated since 2010. She’s not into assertively flirtatious men in suits with voluminous bleached hair. A-Ko’s friend assures her that it’s not that sleazy,

She’s gone to multiple host clubs as a new customer and it’s a great way to drink for cheap. You don’t have to commit to a host, and it really isn’t that scary if you go in with a friend.

They go into the lower floor of a building, show their IDs to prove that they are adults, and then are greeted by all the hosts in the establishment as they are guided to their table. At the table, a staff member explains the system to A-Ko; she and her friend will

Get to choose a few hosts from the catalog to talk to, in addition to whoever else may be working at that time, and they’ll sit with them for 7 to 10 minutes each. And so A-Ko’s carousel of handsome boys begins and her perception of hosts gradually shifts.

First of all, they’re dressed a lot more casually than she imagined. Long gone is the uniform of slick suits. Many wear a plain t-shirt or button-down (although notably, they’re expensive brands) and a good chunk of the boys are wearing hoodies and street-style

Clothing. Hair and makeup are less gaudy and more clean and refreshing. Even the hosts that have a striking style are less spikey and more reminiscent of K-Pop idols, visual-kei, Japanese Genderless style, or… just Yassified. Okay, pause here. I couldn’t find another place to put this, but I need to talk about

Some of the photos of hosts I found during my research. For the privacy of these people, I’ve drawn stylized impressions of them rather than show the original photos. What’s important is the kinds of feelings they inspire anyway. So the website “Hos-Hos” is the go-to

Database for public host profiles and host club information made for both clients and host recruitment. There’s a lot of stuff here from club hours, location and costs, sales rankings of hosts, event report blogs etc. There are also plenty of photos and videos

Of these men on this website, and, although I understand that a host’s otherworldly quality makes him stand out, some of these photos feel so strange. Like, this website has not one, not two, but currently 8 entries in their “waterfall

Host” photoshoot series. The first one I saw with this guy posting with a sword caught my eye, but in retrospect, it’s not too different from a typical D&D player’s cosplay but then I saw this one with a dude in cyber street wear with a toy rabbit!? He has another

Stuffed animal in a different phot- what even is that? Then there are these photoshoots at abandoned theme parks that don’t look too bad but I can’t help but imagine how uncomfortable the filming site must have been. Those abandoned sites are overgrown with grass and you know there are weird bugs everywhere.

My favorite one hands down though is this seemingly average photograph of a man in a suit posing with a barrel shotgun in a way I’ve never seen before. He has it resting on his shoulder without his hand on the trigger. Sir, you are going to shoot your foot.

Now, even though I’m poking fun at these specific images, let me clarify that this flamboyance does serve a purpose. When hosts are asked about their jobs, a lot of them will describe it as “selling dreams.” Their goal is to create a space, experience,

And image that is dream-like so they can take their clients out of their day-to-day reality. Everything from the neon lights of the club to the cute champagne bottles shaped like teddy bears, to the celebrity-level looks of the hosts turn the club into a special

And peculiar space that gives clients a moment of escapism. And so it makes sense for these photos to look somewhat unnatural. They are signifiers of unattainable class and coolness, like K-Pop idols, bad boys in music videos, and even anime characters. I might think that

These photos are a bit ridiculous, but I also understand that not any random man can pull off cyber streetwear. That charm is often what attracts women who go to host clubs. Anyway, let’s return to A-Ko. As she meets a bunch of hosts, she recognizes that they

Don’t just look different from each other, their personalities vary too. Some are the stereotypical princey, caring type, some are more energetic and talkative and use comedy to win their clients’ hearts, some charm girls by acting cute and playful, and some

Are frankly a little awkward and you can tell they’re a rookie, but that’s charming in its own way too. A lot of the men make subtle physical contact with A-ko, such as touching knees, and others aren’t as subtle about making a move. But she doesn’t hate

It. A-Ko never had a boyfriend and is usually a bit nervous around guys, but she likes all the attention she’s getting. The alcohol is kicking in and she’s feeling a little more happy and bold than usual. She especially likes Rin – his slender face, his medium-length

Hair, long fingers… There’s a masculine charm to him that draws her in, but there’s also an effeminate quality that makes her feel safe. After talking to about 7 guys the staff member from the beginning asks if they would like

To choose their favorite host to guide them out of the club for the night, OR extend their first visit for an additional 5,000 yen and nominate a host of their choice. A-Ko’s friend who is already drunk and wants to stay drunk suggests that they stay- 8000

Yen or about 55 dollars per person for all-you-can-drink with the company of handsome boys is still pretty cheap. And A-Ko would also like to talk to Rin a little longer… So A-Ko officially nominates Rin as her host for round two. Since she chose Rin to be her designated host, A-ko

Signs a formal document to confirm this, and now she is not allowed to ask for any other hosts in this club other than Rin. And Rin is delighted! He sits even closer to A-Ko, asks her for her LINE messaging app username to get connected, and they have a fantastic

Night. An hour later the two ladies are guided out to the elevator of the building for a final goodbye, and in a dreamy, drunken daze, they return to their homes. When A-Ko gets back to her small apartment, she notices that Rin has sent her a message. Memories of the

Night come back to her, and she’s already missing the atmosphere of the dimly lit club and the conversations she had with him. She responds to Rin saying she’ll go again soon, maybe next week. And so A-Ko returns to the club a week later,

This time alone. She asks for one hour with Rin. Immediately there’s an entrance fee of 3000 yen, a table charge of 2000 yen, and a nomination fee of 3000 yen. She is already spending as much as she did on the first visit even before ordering a drink. “Well, okay…”

A-Ko thinks to herself. “I expected it to be pricier than the first time…” Her surprise at the starting costs is blown away when Rin greets her and wraps his arm over her shoulders. He’s very happy to see her again and asks her how her day was. She’s also asked what

She would like to drink. She spots on the menu a canned cocktail she likes to get from the convenience store and orders that. She tries not to think about how they’re usually 200 yen per can but here she has to order a set of two for 3,000 yen. But really it’s

Fine because that money is for Rin! Rin is a PLAYER, a host intensely competing against the other hosts in the club for the title of top earner. Every yenny she uses at the club counts towards his sales. This is how she can thank him for his company and A-Ko

Sees how much Rin appreciates the support. That’s why she shouldn’t feel too bad for ordering a bottle of shochu for 20,000 yen, or about 135 dollars. She stays for two more hours at the club, that’s 2,000 yen for every additional hour, totaling 37,000

Yen or 250 dollars… before TAX. That’s an additional 35% to her tab, totaling 49,950 yen or about 338 dollars. “Wait, isn’t Japan’s tax supposed to be 10%?” Oh, yeah! “TAX” here refers to the establishment’s service fee, so an additional 10% for the

Real consumption tax is added to the “TAX”ed bill, totaling… 54,945 yen or 372 dollars. At the end of her stay, Rin tells A-ko he had a great night and wants to see her again soon. She also feels the same and can’t wait to see Rin again.

And then she thinks to herself, I need to find a new job. A-Ko’s second visit to a host club is still on the cheaper end Even her 20,000 yen bottle of shochu isn’t anywhere near the average cost of the host

Club’s most expensive drink. For example, a bottle of Armand de Brignac which at market price can range from 50,000 to 200,000 yen, that’s about 350 dollars to 1350 dollars, is sold from 270,000 to 800,000 yen at a host club – that’s anywhere from 1800 dollars

To 5400 dollars. Veuve Clicquots that can be bought from 6 thousad to 25 thousand yen are sold from 40 thousand up to 300 thousand yen. Red bulls that can be bought for 200 yen at the corner store are sold for two to three thousand yen. You can expect a markup

On these drinks ranging anywhere from three times to ten times that of market price. Let’s look at some more fun options. You can get decorative bottles in shapes of teddy bears, high heels, and hearts for 30,000 to 50,000 yen, bottles with the host’s face

For 50,000 to 150,000, and decorative mineral water can be bought for 50,000 to 200,000 yen. And it’s not a host club if they don’t do champagne towers, and usually, those can range from 1,000,000 yen or 6500 dollars on the cheap end and about 3,000,000 yen or 20k

Dollars if you really want to make a statement with it. Look, before we dive into the performance of being a host, I feel that I need to establish what sort of numbers we’re dealing with. The average monthly salary of someone in their

20’s in Japan is 300,000 yen or around 2000 dollars, and that statistic probably doesn’t include college students, who often only take part-time jobs as waiters, shop staff, and tutors, or are supported by money sent from their parents. It is very easy to imagine

Someone who frequents a host club blowing a significant portion of their budget on their visits. It is a luxury pastime with luxury prices. What is being sold, of course, is not so much the drinks but the opportunity to drink and

Socialize with handsome men, most often a specific handsome man. These men are stylish, clean, and often covered in brand-name clothing from head to toe to maintain that shiny image. The way they can afford their image is by convincing their clients to spend hundreds

Of thousands of yen on marked-up beverages, with the implicit promise being that the host will treat a client better the more money they spend. In her article, Selling Intimacy under Post-Industrial Capitalism: An Ethnography of Japanese Host Clubs, Ruby Fitzsimmons categorizes

Host club work as “affective labor.” This is a term political philosopher Michael Hardt used to point to services that offer intangible products; “[the] feeling of ease, well-being, satisfaction, excitement, passion – even a sense of connectedness or community.”

On paper, host clubs are just selling drinks plus a table charge, but when a client orders a marked-up drink, she isn’t just purchasing the material goods, she’s purchasing the attention and affection of hosts. There are a few different approaches hosts

Can take to offer affective services. “Irokoi” is probably the one that’s easiest to imagine. That’s where a host flirts with their client; they get physically close and intimate with them, go on dates, and send sweet messages through text. Take it up a notch and we get

The “HonEi” or “Honmei Eigyo” business style where the host treats or sometimes truly considers their client as their real partner. They may tell the client that they can’t live without their support, or hint at wanting to get married. On the flip side, the “Tomodachi”

Approach is when a host has a friendly, platonic relationship with their clients. They act more like a drinking friend who cheers you to chug one more shot of tequila. The “oraora” approach is when a host acts dominating and intimidates his client. This works when clients

Have a masochistic streak in them. There’s also the “Idol” business style – the name doesn’t always describe the persona the host takes on, but it’s an approach where they raise sales by having a lot of clients as if they are a pop idol gathering fans,

Rather than relying on building intimate relationships with a small number of big spenders. I apologize for all the weird jargon I’ve been using. I think exploring the words used in this industry is a good way to see its trends and practices, but if I’m throwing

All this vocabulary at you, maybe we should take this into a classroom. “Hello, everyone! Let’s learn Host Club vocabulary! Repeat after me!” “Tantou!” A client’s designated host. As mentioned earlier, once a client nominates her host at a club, she cannot request to change her designated host. This is done so hosts in

The same club do not fight over the same client. Some people, though, may have a “sub tan” or substitute tantou at another club if their main tantou isn’t enough to satisfy them. In the Kansai region, a client’s designated host may also be called “Kouza,” meaning “bank account.”

“Ace!” The client of a host who spent the most money on him that month. In other words, the host’s most lucrative customer. At the end of the month, there is an announcement of the top-earning hosts at a club, and the ace is invited to

Sit with their host during the celebration while his other clients watch her in envy. “Douhan!” When a client and host hang out or have dinner together before going to the club. Depending on the club, an additional fee for this service may be charged. “Afutaa!”

Much like douhan, “afters” are when a client and host hang out after the club closes. This could be going out to karaoke, hanging out at a bar, or going somewhere where they can be truly alone together. “Makura!” Directly translating to “pillow,” this refers to s*xual services hosts may perform

With clients in hopes that it leads to their spending. It is worth clarifying that the occupation of a host is not based on the transaction of s*x. A host’s job on paper is to keep customers company during their time at their club – that’s it. They do, however, have

A lot of freedom in how they conduct their business, especially outside the club, and some more intimate practices are expected by some clients who spend a lot of money. Hosts who sleep with clients without financial motive are called “Shumimaku” or “hobby pillows.” “Urikake”

This refers to the “tab” system at a host club, the act of buying drinks and promising to pay before a deadline. Not all clubs or hosts allow this, but if a client is itching to be the ace this month, or in reverse, a host is desperate for sales that’ll bump

Up his ranking, urikake may be negotiated. However, if a host fails to receive money from the client, the tab falls on the host, making him indebted to the club. “Sodate” Coming from the word “to raise” or “to grow,” this refers to the act of a host

Turning a low-spender client into a high-spender. It may also be used as a noun to point to a client being “raised” into a high-spender. (I have a question. How is this different from “grooming?”) Hopefully, I’ve laid out the basics of host clubs enough for you to get a sense of what

Their appeal is and what kind of service is being sold. But if you’re completely new to this topic and still perplexed by this business, I don’t blame you. Escorting is probably the closest Western concept I can tie it to, but that comparison isn’t sufficient.

Escorts are people you usually take out to social events, but you have to go into host clubs to meet hosts. While the role of both escorts and hosts is to accompany clients, the institution of a host club is the focal point of the business. The club is the home

Base – that’s where clients keep coming back to meet their host, that’s where they go to pay their host through the purchase of drinks. This establishment is where the business and relationship rules are laid out and where community and competition is fostered.

Hosts can offer to meet up with clients outside the club, but those practices are treated like extra efforts that the host individually takes to maintain relationships rather than a service the host club offers to customers. I’m also tempted to compare hosts to k-pop idols and streamers, occupations that often

Rely on parasocial relationships for profit, but that’s not accurate either because host-client relationships are far too intimate to confidently call “parasocial” from my perspective. The term most often used to describe the appeal of hosts in Japanese is 疑似恋愛（Giji-renai),

Pseudo-romance, and romance can only happen if there is a push and pull of affection and desire from both parties. You may be quick to think that as long as a guy has the looks, can talk to women, and can convincingly pull off the boyfriend act,

Being a host would be an easy job, but I don’t think it’s that simple. If you’ve seen the CDawgVA video where he tries out the occupation for a day and the podcast episodes where he reflects on his experience, it sounds like he’s high-key hazed by the other hosts into

Chugging drink after drink. And, well, that’s the name of the game. To get clients to spend more money, hosts have to keep the drinks coming one after another. To throw in another vocabulary word, bottles that are close to empty or bottles hosts are dared to down in

One go, are called “chance bottles” because finishing them gives hosts a chance to get another, possibly more expensive order in. What I’m getting at is that being a host is not a healthy job, physically or emotionally. Although there are systems like the designated host rule to avoid conflict between hosts

In a club, the industry is built on competition. First of all, host club managers, many of whom used to be hosts themselves or still have clients, really push the hosts under them to work hard and earn money for the club. A lot of that is because the charisma of a

Host, how appealing they are to clients, is strongly tied to their pride. It’s embarrassing to act like a hotshot without having the sales numbers to back it up. Then there’s the club’s environment. Whenever a host gets a very expensive order in, the whole club

Gathers around him and his princess for the champagne call. Every night, the host that has the greatest sales earns the “last song” where he gets to perform karaoke before closing. The monthly sales ranking celebration is the rowdiest night every month, and the “numbers,”

The hosts who rank highest in the club, all get to make bombastic speeches. Take a step out of the club to get some fresh air, and you’re reminded that Kabukicho is covered in giant posters with the area’s top-earning hosts, boasting not just sales numbers but

Their rankings within a club or the whole district. Ceremonies and hierarchies are put in place to pressure these young men. So it makes sense that hosts pull risky moves like Urikake debts to either bring their ranking numbers up so they can stand on stage, or

Just push themselves past the minimum sales goal so they don’t get scolded by the club manager. This job is especially taxing for rookie hosts. When a host is starting from zero clients all they have to rely on is a measly salary – if they have one at all. A lot of host clubs

Actually treat their hosts as independent contractors. A majority of a host’s earnings, if not all, comes from nomination and drink sales commissions. But if they are an employee at a club, rookies who don’t have a client base spend more of their time cleaning the

Club rather than entertaining clients. Many can’t afford a place of their own so they either live in dorms or sleep at a friend’s place. Clubs treat their hosts according to their sales, so if a host doesn’t bring in money, even if they have been working at

The club for years or used to be a big money maker in the past, they are often treated like a burden. The grind of a host isn’t restricted within the club either. If a host has a particular client they want to win over, they’ll have

To hang out with them before or after club hours. They’re also constantly on their phones texting clients to either keep up the boyfriend act or just blatantly tell clients to come to the club and order drinks. It’s apparently common for hosts and clients who

Get close to go to Disneyland, especially as a reward for their large spendings. And you can imagine what kind of relationship drama can happen between hosts and clients and other clients when the business model is pseudo-romantic, right? Whether it be throwing

Up every night or hosts and clients getting into fights or clients fighting each other, host club work can get very messy very easily. Why do men become hosts then? Well, obviously, for the money. Based on the numbers we discussed,

If you do succeed you rake in a lot of cash. That nomination fee and drink sales commission I mentioned start at around 10%~20% percent, but it gets higher the more sales you make, going up as high as a 60% commission. That means if a client orders a 1,000,000 yen champagne

Tower for a host, the host gets 600,000 yen. That’s like 4000 US dollars in one night- good God is the yen rate weak right now. – STILL, that’s like 4000 dollars in one night. But what makes this occupation stand out is how almost any man can become a host, especially

If they’re young. This industry is one of the few ways in Japan for a young man to quickly make massive amounts of money. You don’t need an education to become a host. A lot of hosts actually started right after graduating high school, and – while this is illegal – some

Started at ages 16 or 17. Now, there is a drawback to this because once you’re past your mid-twenties, you can’t use youth as a weapon anymore, so sales may become harder. A host will be called an old man by the time they’re in their thirties. But most men

Don’t stay hosts for that long. While there are hosts who have a lot of pride in their job and plan to stay for the long run, most successful hosts stick with the job during their twenties and then switch to host club management in their thirties, or take the

Money they earned and invest it into other business ventures. In one interview I watched with a veteran host, he advised that someone should only become a host if they have a goal beyond working at a host club, not just because the job is so tough that it necessitates hosts

To have a grand goal to work towards, but because it is not a long-term occupation. According to him, the scene has only become more competitive and sales records continue to keep getting broken. While not impossible to survive as an older host, year by year,

The cards keep getting stacked against you. Eventually, clients leave and it gets harder to find new ones, your liver gives out, and your face starts to age. Veteran hosts say that due to changes in legislation related to cracking down on yakuza and the

Effects of the Businesses Affecting Public Morals Regulation Act in the past two decades, the host club industry is more transparent than it has ever been. Social media has also become a big strategy for hosts to promote their business, so they don’t hesitate to

Post about their earnings on X or make mini-documentaries about their work for YouTube. Clients are also able to praise and criticize establishments, as well as boast or rant about their personal relationships with individual hosts. What I’m saying is, that all the info I’ve

Laid out so far, everything from the prices of the drinks to the methods hosts use to get close to clients are not secrets. Anyone interested in going to host clubs can find this information through a quick search on Google, the platform formerly known as Twitter,

Or YouTube. I have a list of sources in the description box if you’d like to check them out. So the next question is, what kinds of people go to host clubs? Hey, intermission Nilgiree here to tell you to SMASH that like and subscribe button! If

You like what you’ve seen so far, I would really appreciate it if you could interact with this video. I also have a patreon now where I’ll be posting progress updates and discussions about my videos. Thank you for making it this far into the video and I hope you enjoy the rest!

Let’s start by breaking down some host club client stereotypes based on occupation. The host clubs that we have now are a business that branched off from ballroom dance clubs of the mid 60’s, so first, let’s talk about the older lady clients. These are older

Women who either make good money through their own businesses or are playing with their husbands’ or family’s money. Historically, these were the first types of women host clubs advertised to. Ballrooms in the past would have male dance instructors or dance partners available

For the women to partner with and they would get paid in tips. This style of club attracted women whose husbands were away at work, female business owners who wanted to blow off some steam, or just ladies who wanted to dance. In the 70’s “Club Ai,” the first host

Club that focused on providing women with a male drinking partner was established. With less of a focus on dancing, this was where women who were bored and alone could talk, smoke, and drink. This type of mature client certainly still exists, but they aren’t the main target demographic anymore.

Even fewer of the clientele are “day-time workers.” These include the average office worker, nurses, people who work in the beauty industry, etc. I would say it’s fine to throw in the average college student with a part-time job in the service industry in

This group as well. This group is small because their work doesn’t pay enough to support the lifestyle. They may be a “Shoken Arashi,” someone who abuses the new-guest price and hops from one club to another just to get cheap drinks (that’s what A-ko’s friend

Is), but otherwise hosts are lucky if they can get day-time workers to spend around a thousand dollars or 100,000 to 200,000 yen a month. Which leaves us with the “night workers.” They make up the majority of the clientele

Of host clubs. Night work here refers to companionship jobs like cabaret clubs and girls bars, and s*x work, such as call girl services, soap land, etc. These businesses easily pay triple or quadruple the salary of day-time jobs. People say that once money goes into Kabukicho,

It stays in Kabukicho because the workers of the place tend to pass it between the businesses within the district. …Oh, hey, I wonder how A-Ko’s been doing. It looks like she’s texting with Rin on her phone. They’re talking about Rin’s sales. Hmm… He’s saying he would really

Appreciate it if she came over and bought some champagne for… 600,000 yen!? A-Ko doesn’t have that kind of money! Hey,  A-ko… what are you searching? Oh, uh, you’re looking for work? In Kabuki-cho? I mean… I guess you’re free to do so… Oh, wow. That’s like triple what you make with your izakaya job.

So the inspiration for this video was that I somehow fell into the rabbit hole of Japanese Host Club YouTube. I don’t know how I got here. Frankly, the styles and personalities of the hosts do not appeal to me. I’m into old anime men with depression,

So the closest I got to my type was through browsing the hos-hos websites and finding this one host’s promo video which has an oh-so-edgy scene of him dropping a copy of No Longer Human. Oh wow Bro, you must be so smart and well-read. I, as well as every Japanese

Highschooler, have read that book too! Anyway, even during research I wasn’t very interested in the videos heavily focused on the hosts. There are a couple of channels run by host clubs where the hosts either do casual vlog content or interview and edit

Footage of themselves working documentary style, but the journey of climbing to the top of the host world or advice on how to better talk to girls or techniques for managing relationships with multiple women… This stuff I couldn’t get emotionally invested

In. There’s a limit to my curiosity when it comes to how hosts can sell their service or what makes them so cool. My real question is “why,” and “why at this price?” When hosts and managers are depicted as entrepreneurs chasing fame and riches, it presents the clients as simply

Business opportunities or obstacles. The clients are not completely depersonalized in these contexts – they are spoken about as people with unique motives for seeking hosts- but their role in the host’s story ends when their purchases are confirmed. These videos

Restrict the narrative to inside the club, but I’m interested in how the host club lifestyle seeps out of the club and into people’s lives. That’s why my real fascination lies within the videos about host clients. The two main channels I watch are Hosuroji and Boo-Channel. Hosuroji focuses on relationships between

Hosts and clients, often giving us a close look into the conversations and negotiations they have. Boo-channel is a once-personal channel that now focuses on the women who frequent Kabukicho. This account features a lot of street interviews with people, many

Of whom are host clients, but notably, they get the opportunity to speak without the presence of hosts. These two channels, at the end of the day, promote the host club industry but have a more blunt, raw feel to them. They aren’t full-out selling “the dark side

Of host clubs” because they usually end on a positive note, but they get deep into the messy life and relationship drama. What attracts me to this kind of host content is how it positions the hosts and clients on a more equal footing. They are more aware of the foundational role relationships play

In this line of work and understand that people are only willing to give up tens of thousands of yen if there are strong emotions and desires behind these transactions… And those emotions make good content. [Real housewives audio overlapped with host client girl freaking out]

Hosuroji has a lot of videos that give me the impression that the fights and arguments are partially scripted based on the way they’re filmed, but hey, if this is what these creators are uploading, how they choose to present themselves,

Let’s take it at face value. Because I think these videos provide a hint to my why question. Hosuroji’s most popular video is an episode of an advice show where women who partake in host clubs come up with a question or concern for a group of hosts to resolve. In this episode,

A woman explains that after she posted an unsolicited photo of a rival client and wrote insults about her on a popular host club-related message board she got sued for defamation. She has no intention of paying the compensation she’s being demanded, and asks, how do I get this bitch away from my host?

The hosts avoid answering her main question and instead ask her why she did what she did, if she’s paying taxes on the money she earned through sugaring, and express that, no matter how much money a client spends on a host, the host would probably want to cut ties with

A client that causes trouble with other clients. The woman then starts speaking rudely to the hosts, and brags about how much money she spends on her tantou. The men retaliate, telling her that her attitude is not cute, and as hosts themselves, they think she needs to

Change her attitude so her tantou can like her more. After some back and forth, the moderator of the advice show asks for the woman to leave. The second most popular video follows a client with a lot of pride and a boorish attitude throwing a giant fit. She buys her designated

Host a champagne tower, one of the most expensive purchases you can make for a host, and makes him promise to meet up with her after club hours, but when he says they’ll only hang out for two hours, she loses it. These two videos are over the top and probably exaggerated,

But they serve as good examples of “cringe clients” or “ita-kyaku,” clients that are hard to deal with due to their sense of entitlement and disrespectful attitude. They’re characterized by a greedy obsession with a host, selfish hostility towards other clients,

And extreme mood swings. I sympathize with hosts who have to work with cringe clients to a degree, as I do with any service worker who has to deal with upset, possibly drunk customers. But it’s also important to consider what may have led to a cringe client’s obsession

And attitude in the first place. Not all of Hosuroji’s video’s are this spicy but I think they cover a wide range of highs and lows in a host-client relationship. Most clients who have a positive relationship with their hosts say that supporting a host

Motivates them to work. They describe their hosts as shining beacons in their lives that give them joy and club visits as something they look forward to after a stressful week. Some of the more bittersweet videos feature clients who are very attracted to or in love

With their host and wish to take their relationship to the next level, but rarely do they get a straight-forward answer about their future other than “I would really appreciate it if you could continue supporting me.” When you take a close look at host-client interactions, it’s clear that these women

Understand the transactional nature of their relationship. Romantic attraction is often a driving force of their patronage, but they are aware of their position as customers and expect the hospitality to match their spending. Their pride is a powerful mix of romantic

Love and spending power, and when hosts fail to match their expectations, it’s not that surprising to see a few tables flip. Imagine – if your boyfriend of seven months forgets your birthday, that’s pretty upsetting. Now, imagine that you’ve been giving him

A couple-thousand dollars specifically to buy this attention and he forgot your birthday. Now it’s insulting. Hosts oftentimes describe their occupation as simply “selling dreams” but neglect to mention that once you sell a dream of romance, frequent dates, and even marriage, they need to provide aftercare. They’re constantly walking the thin line

Between being realistic and setting boundaries, and continuing to let their clients dream. And when these dreams are broken, usually a host has to deal with one less regular customer and a dip in sales, possibly a slap on the face, but what about the other side…?

Boo-chanel is where things get a bit too real. This channel features many videos of street-interviews with host clients, often asking them to share experiences they had with hosts or what they do to maintain their host club lifestyle. I believe these interviews can give us insight

On the emotional profile of clients and just how committed they are to hosts. In the video where the interviewer goes around asking for the interviewee’s “dark past,” she gets stories like “I dated a host who said he was going to quit, but when he did,

He said he wanted to break up with me to forget about his host club past. Then a month after I broke up with him, I saw him working as a host in Kabukicho again.” “I was living with my host boyfriend for two years and he cheated on me.”

“I was almost stabbed by my mother.” –Wait, that has nothing to do with hosts. In the video where the interviewer asks for “secrets they can’t tell anyone,” she gets statements such as, “I’m pregnant with a host’s child.” “I made an urikake debt and borrowed money from a loan shark.” “I XXXX with a host outside.”

“I haven’t taken emergency contraception even though my SW client did it inside me.” UH NEXT VIDEO. The interviewer asks, what’s your rent? “I live with my parents but I give 100,000 yen to the house.” “60,000 yen, I get welfare money and sometimes go to host clubs.”

“I don’t have a home, I go on business trips all the time and spend all the money on hosts.” “I don’t go home, I just spent 5,000,000 yen on a host, got depressed, and now I can barely walk ‘cause I just took a bunch of sleeping pills.” Uuuh…

I know that these videos intend to sensationalize the host club lifestyle for YouTube views, but I don’t think these stories are made up. In the original videos, a majority of the interviewee’s faces are censored. At least for me, their desire for anonymity lends more credibility to their frankly unflattering accounts.

And these dark stories come up over and over across interview videos with varying degrees of severity. I’m detecting a concerning pattern here… I think we should check up on A-ko. Since we last saw her, A-ko had a fight with Rin and hasn’t gone to the club in a week.

She said he was acting kind of cold to her lately and then he shot back by saying she hadn’t been spending enough money at the club, that snowballed into insults at each other… Arguments like this are a dime a dozen in Kabukicho. She hasn’t responded

To any of his texts and is determined to break things off with him. With Rin out of the picture, she reconsiders her job at the cabaret club. She’s able to bear with it, but she doesn’t enjoy flirting with older men and pressuring them for drinks… But did she enjoy her job

At the izakaya bar either? Does she want to go back to running around a bar for 1,200 yen an hour, or keep working at a cabaret that offers an hourly wage double that plus commission? “Maybe I can keep this job…” A-ko thinks to herself. But she’s tired. Even though

She hasn’t been attending university classes regularly these days, night work has been keeping her busy. She wants a drink. She wants someone to talk to, to listen to her. As she’s walking through Kabukicho after a short shift, she sees a poster with handsome men. One man

In particular, with his slender face, medium-length hair, and long fingers, catches her eye. Below the poster is the price for new customers – 3,000 yen for unlimited drinks for one hour. Up to this point, I have been trying to be as detached as possible, other than injecting

Some snarky remarks here and there. I understand that host clubs are an unfamiliar topic to most of the world and wanted to first present it without too much bias. I’m not an authority on this topic, I just speak Japanese and wanted to share this subculture with an English-speaking

Audience. But, as you have noticed, this topic can get dark and controversial fast. If you feel that I’m misrepresenting this industry and its participants, I implore you to do some digging yourself. I’m not trying to talk for hosts or their clients. They can

And have put out their own stories through social media, including YouTube. While most of the videos are in Japanese and do not include English subtitles, I suggest searching ホスト on YouTube to find the channels I’ve referenced. Some English-speaking anime and Japanese culture

YouTubers have talked about host clubs or talked to hosts as well. One video personally recommend is cybr.gl’s discussion video The Dark Side of Jirai Kei 地雷系 (Landmine) Fashion & Culture . It focuses on Jirai Kei fashion, a style that

Is strongly associated with host club clients, and the non-Japanese women in the video discuss the stereotypes that come with it. I also recommend reading that Ruby Fitzsimmons article I briefly mentioned for a more academic perspective that analyzes the industry from the lens of post-industrial capitalism… with some caveats that I’ll cover later.

However, I am not making this video uncritically just because my goal is to be informative. I am not trying to be a replacement for a Wikipedia article here. … Actually, that’s partially a lie. When I looked up the English page for host clubs

On Wikipedia, I found out that information about host clubs is condensed to the same page as hostess clubs, and while I get that they are similar businesses, their business strategies are distinct. Hostess clubs usually have a no-touching policy to prevent male

Clients from getting physical with women, while host clubs don’t have that rule. Host clubs have a permanent nomination system, while clients of hostess bars have the freedom to nominate whoever they like each time they visit. Host club drink prices are often about

Three times that of hostess bars. Host clubs allow urikake tabs, but hostess clubs do not. Now, the Wikipedia article does mention this information, but it’s not laid out comparatively as I have here. I think it’s misleading to treat these businesses as gender-flipped

Versions of each other because the difference in practices greatly influences the clientele and what motivates them to spend money. We’ll touch on this again later. So, what have I learned through my exploration of host clubs? My first observation is that YouTube videos by hosts or promoting host clubs feel hypocritical.

Not blatantly, provably hypocritical because hosts are rather careful with their words, but their words and actions aren’t making sense to me. For example, there’s one video of a woman hanging out with hosts after she went on a “business trip” or “dekasegi.”

Usually, this implies that they went to do SW outside their prefecture, but this was an overseas business trip that paid especially well. The woman states that she chose to take this job of her own free will and that her host did express concern about her going on

This trip. When the woman comes back and meets up with the host, the host says he missed her, was worried about her, and praises how strong she was for not texting him about her anxieties because she thought it would only cause more unnecessary worry. When the woman

Says that she’ll be taking another overseas business trip, the host says things like” Are you serious?” and “They have guns there and stuff, you know?” but doesn’t actually tell her not to go. Quite often there is a frustrating tension between hosts trying to preserve morale to look like a decent guy and the indisputable

Value and priority of high-spenders. The host must act like a concerned boyfriend to make the client feel loved and appreciated, but he has to conduct business so he can incentivize, or in this case, not disincentivize the client to continue making money.

This ties into my second observation, or rather, internal reflection. The process of writing this essay made me think about my attitude towards SW. I like to consider myself a generally s*x-positive person. I don’t judge people based on what they do in the bedroom, and

I believe SW is work. It is labor, and, like any other person providing a service, I think S workers deserve payment, respect, and protection. That’s what “s*x work is work” implies, right? But watching these hosts talk about their clients doing SW, I realized I have

A bias. I still think of SW as a means to an end, an occupation people take to get out of the rut, or a career for the short term used to build the capital needed for their future. I know people who enjoy SW exist, I’m not the kind of person who thinks it’s

Self-harm, oh no. It can be a genuinely fun, fulfilling, self-expressive occupation, and those very passionate about it can make it a long-term career. But often times there’s a part of me judging, “You’re not planning to do this forever, are you?” And so seeing these hosts being nonjudgemental about sex work was…oddly refreshing?

A lot of hosts choose not to dig into what jobs their clients have, but a lot of clients are comfortable being open about SW with them. When hosts know that their client does SW, they never treat their payment as dirty money. Quite the opposite – they praise the women

For their hard work. As I mentioned earlier, a lot of clients seem to rely on hosts for motivation to work at all, that they’re able to continue living and working in hopes of making their hosts happy. They receive genuine happiness from their hosts. Seeing

How hosts recognize the effort these women put into an occupation that is looked down by the rest of society, treat their money as legitimate as any other kind of income, made me reconsider S workers’ agency in not just how they earn money but how they spend it.

BUT AREN’T HOSTS JUST SAYING THAT BECAUSE THEY WANT THAT MONEY? Whether it be Wikipedia or English podcasts talking about hosts, when I first looked into English discussions on host clubs that mentioned that a majority of the clientele are s*x workers

Or companionship workers themselves, they did not mention that a good chunk of those people only started this line of work after visiting host clubs. Whereas the narrative of a young woman deciding to go into SW to support their host or the host club lifestyle

Came up over and over and over in these host club YouTube videos. I want to respect these women’s choices to do whatever work they’re comfortable with. I want to accept that hosts and clients are humans who are free to live messy lives. But

This is so hard to do when reality shows me how unsafe and unhealthy it often can be. And this is where that government crackdown I mentioned at the beginning comes in. Host clubs were a hot topic in Japan in 2023 because news stories and social media made it glaringly

Obvious that some shady stuff was going on. For example, on November 5th, 2023, a 25-year-old woman stabbed a host in the streets of Shinjuku. November 19th, 2023 頂き女子りりちゃん (itadaki joshi Riri-chan), a sugar baby, and her host who was complicit in her sugaring

Scams got arrested. The number of arrests made of women doing “tachinbo” street hookups in Ookubo park in Shinjuku almost tripled from 51 arrests in 2022 to 140 arrests in 2023. According to one survey, about 40% of women who do tanchinbo do it to finance their host club, men’s concept cafe, or men’s underground

Idol hobby. Then there’s the subject of “To-Yoko Kids”. In Kabukicho there’s an area called “To-Yoko”, an abbreviation of “beside Toho Cinema.” It’s become a hub for homeless youth and runaways to gather. Many of them have to rely on certain kinds

Of work to survive, but some hosts and men’s concept cafe staff invite them into their businesses in hopes of getting hooked and “raising” them into high-spenders. As media coverage of malicious host practices reached its peak, on Nov. 20th, Prime Minister

Kishida announced a plan for the crackdown on host clubs. In December, police investigated multiple host clubs in the entertainment districts of several prefectures, including Tokyo, Hokkaido, Osaka, and Aichi. Reports read, “Officers uncovered breaches of regulations such as

Failure to display a price list and lack of any notice that minors under age 18 are banned from entry.” Some host clubs were found giving receipts that listed only the total price of a customer’s stay without an itemized list of purchases. Welcome to the host club,

Where the prices are made up and your wallet doesn’t matter. Now, although there is a societal concern about women being coerced into SW through hosts, the police have been pretty clear that their goal in these crackdowns is less to

Specifically stop women from going to host clubs or taking up SW, but to get a lead on and then crush “toku-ryuu” crime organizers. I won’t get into the nitty-gritty of it, but in recent years there’s been an increase in “anonymous” and “malleable” crime

Organizations. Compared to, let’s say, the yakuza, who operate in hierarchical groups that tend to have goals or areas they’re in charge of, toku-ryuu crimes are planned anonymously on social networking platforms and teams are malleable – participants are unlikely to work with the same people across missions. This has made it difficult for the

Police to capture those at the top of organized crime because the people who carry out their plans and are caught by the police oftentimes cannot identify who was giving them orders. Police have reasonably suspected that host clubs are a hotbed for toku-ryuu crime. When

Clients are in debt to hosts, or hosts are in debt to clubs, people may be inclined to reach out for shady money. For example, a host could make a deal with a SW agency connected to toku-ryuu to introduce his clients to work for the agency. Women who do not want to take

Up SW but still need money, may borrow money from loan sharks, or participate in “yami baito” – illegal part-time jobs such as smuggling drugs or bank transfer scams. I believe this crackdown is a good thing that’ll improve the safety of the industry overall,

But I also recognize that the approach is not intended to crush the host-client-to-sex-worker pipeline. The thing is, host clubs are the most extreme example of this heavily transaction-based relationship, but they’re not the only one of their kind. When you watch Boo-channel’s

Street interviews, sometimes you get women who are into men’s underground idols and men’s concept bars because they have very similar experiences. These other businesses don’t have the exact same practices or prices, but they are still businesses that are founded on women getting emotionally invested in men to get them to spend money.

Actually, let’s talk about concept cafes for a minute. Host clubs and cabaret clubs are deemed “fuuzoku,” establishments that offer drinks alongside entertaining guests, so they fall under the Businesses Affecting Public Morals Regulation Act, which has gotten stricter in recent years. Under this act, these clubs are prohibited from serving alcohol

Between the times of 12AM to 6AM. Although a lot of businesses simply turn off their entrance lights to look closed but continue to run their business… Concept cafes and bars are interesting because they operate like a cheaper, looser version of cabaret clubs, but are registered as regular dining establishments because, supposedly, their

Staff or cast are only allowed to stop and talk with their customers for three minutes at a time. There are no nomination systems like the clubs, but most “casts” have their shift schedules posted on their social media so their fans can plan to visit them.

And, of course, they sell decorative, overpriced alcohol. They also offer more idol-culture adjacent services, the big one being Polaroid pictures. These establishments are much more accessible due to their lower price and novelty, and they don’t have the stigma host clubs developed over the years. However, they can become as addictive as host clubs.

Menchika or men’s underground idols are men’s idol groups that are formed and operated independently or through small talent agencies. These men perform on stage by dancing and singing as the word idol implies, but live show tickets are not what gets them money.

It’s merch sales. If you know how K-Pop idols and AKB48 operate, you probably know the direction I’m heading, and we’re going to stomp on the gas. Unlike mainstream idols, underground idol fans are not paying for a chance to see their idol, they are guaranteed

To speak and hold hands with them. Often the way it works is that the more money a fan spends on merchandise after live shows, the more time they get during the handshake session. There can be way more than handshakes going on though. MenChika meet-and-greets can become

Much more intimate than mainstream boys’ groups or even female underground idol greetings. There’s a bunch of hugging, getting held princess-style, and sometimes kissing through masks. Some idols offer spending goals, like the opportunity to go on a dates. In the guise of “supporting an idol,” fans can purchase intimacy with these men.

The best way I can make sense of this phenomenon of young women getting extremely attached to the courtship of men and businesses that are structured to take advantage of that is that it seems to psychologically reflect a gambling addiction. Hosts and men in similar

Jobs tease new developments in their relationships with clients and fans to get them to spend more money, and women get hooked on spending to either advance or maintain these relationships. But this discussion is more difficult than talking about gambling because we’re not

Working with slot machines. Watching several Japanese debate shows on this topic, “agency” and “victimization” are always what the host defenders and host critics argue about. Is it correct to use the word “mind control” when women are aware that their relationships are transactional? Aren’t the hosts who end up shouldering urikake debt because their

Client failed to pay them back victims as well? Do parents of people who get wrapped up in host clubs have the right to get involved in the lives and choices of their adult children? I think one of the reasons why host clubs have become such a hot topic is because it

Clashes with our preconception of women’s agency and the victim narrative we often assign to S workers. In the opening section of her article, Ruby Fitzsimmons has this to say… “The overarching narrative of host club patronization, that women are helpless victims,

Does nothing to credit the agency of women, and is a testament to how entrenched the black-and-white rhetoric of victimization/exploitation versus free choice is in discussions of s*x and s*x-related work.” -Ruby Fitzsimmons As she says, we can’t just scorn or pity clients because that discredits their agency and simplifies this phenomenon. This conversation

About host clubs is captivating to me because of its controversial nature. Our default liberal responses to s*x work and women’s empowerment aren’t sufficient enough to address this issue’s many layers. Hosts clubs make us recognize how powerful affective labor is

And how it can be used and abused. It forces us to consider how human emotions, business transactions, and gender dynamics are all intertwined. It makes us grapple with the concept of agency and empowerment for woman under post-industrial capitalism. We cannot have this conversation without an intersectional approach, because if we treat spending power

As the only relevant power or assume all S workers are victims, we lose sight of the driving forces of this industry. My position is that I don’t want to blame all of the host industry’s misery on people making bad personal choices. That is what frustrates me about these conversions about

The host industry led by hosts. When people talk about the issues of hosts and obsessive host clients, they try to pinpoint one individualistic thing that’s the root of the problem. If a client is in an abusive relationship with a host, it’s the host’s violent personality

That’s the problem. When a host has a client who keeps pressuring them to sleep with them, it’s the client’s fault for having the misconception that all hosts sleep with their clients. On the topic of police crackdowns, I’ve read so many hosts complain that they

Should not be interrogated just because the industry has some bad apples. Even though these issues are so common across Kabukicho and other entertainment districts in Japan, everyone seems to be pointing fingers at each other to blame one person or one action, and

It almost feels like it’s done on purpose. Because if they stop doing that, they have to consider the issues of the host club industry as a whole, and that could mean EVERYONE has to change how they do business. Judging by the attitudes of hosts and their clients that

I’ve seen in YouTube videos, I think a lot of hosts want to continue making exorbitant amounts of money to get their name on flashy boards and understand what that entails about their client base. On the other hand, clients understand that they are being exploited but

Believe it’s worth it if they can continue to feel high from the affection they get for their insane spending. Some people argue in favor of the host club industry by pointing out this complacency – that there is mutual agreement between host

And client, and they have the freedom to maintain their relationship. Also people ask, “Why are host clubs bad when you don’t have a problem with hostess clubs huh???” BECAUSE HOST CLUBS AND HOSTESS CLUBS HAVE DIFFERENT BUSINESS MODELS. Let’s bring back that comparison

Chart again. Hostess clubs with female workers don’t offer urikake tabs, their menus are not as expensive as host clubs, and they don’t have permanent nominations. Many hostess and cabaret clubs outright deny the entry of people who look like they can’t afford their business.

Their target demographic is men who already have money to spend. Host clubs, in contrast, have tabs, permanent nominations, and much higher prices. It is so much easier for a woman to find themselves stuck in a difficult situation with a host. Finally, throw in the

Biased view that women, especially young women, can always lean back on certain kinds of jobs. A good host client isn’t always someone with money – it’s someone who can promise to have money ready by the end of the month.

I cannot unsee how host clubs are seemingly designed to be addictive and to captivate certain kinds of people. Going back to Boo-channels’ interviews, honestly, a lot of the women in Kabukicho don’t seem to be okay. Host clients include homeless and/or mentally ill women

And run-away youth – people who already struggle to make ends meet without the additional burden of paying for time with hosts. Even the people who are seemingly put together share experiences of domestic abuse or bullying. In one way or another, many of these clients seem hurt.

If you surround a young, lonely woman with pretty men and alcohol for a cheap price, it’s easy to get them to buy into host clubs. Then you have them visit the club more frequently and promise a deeper relationship the more they spend, and make them feel the limit of

What they can afford with their current salary. And if they choose to go into s*x work or they’re already doing s*x work, hosts can motivate them to earn more money until the host decides to quit. Because on the host’s end, it’s a job, and people can quit jobs.

Just as clients can choose to stop seeing a host when they’re bored with him, hosts can also discard clients and their real feelings and dependencies because it’s all just business to them. A client puts both their wallet and their heart on the table when they go to host

Clubs. I don’t think hosts do the same. I don’t believe all hosts are bad or that all clients are victims. Not all women have terrible experiences with hosts, not all hosts are manipulative or use physically or emotionally violent tactics to drive sales. I won’t

Even say only women with issues go to host clubs. But it’s not hard to see that this business has a track for certain types of vulnerable women to fall into. It may be based on personal choices and offer genuine satisfaction, but for an absurd price tag that nudges people

Into acquiring money in ways they would have otherwise steered away from. We’re at the last stretch of this video but I haven’t gotten deep into why women start going to host clubs yet. I saved this question because I want to discuss it beyond

Host clubs. I think I’ve said all I wanted to about hosts. Honestly, I believe that the public reputation of host clubs was thoroughly tarnished last year, and predict a decline in new clientele in the coming years. In fact, it seems that there are already changes in

This industry happening that hopefully make the darker portions of this video obsolete. Kabukicho has established an industry group with notable host club management leaders to make the industry safer, such as by enforcing tighter age restrictions starting in 2024. You think a store that primarily serves alcohol wouldn’t allow people under the drinking

Age to begin with, but better late than never, I guess. A brief article on Asa-Gei Plus from January this year quotes a host club manager saying that he’s instructing newer hosts not to bother with clients with dubious income. He also states seeing more women from the

30~40-year-old day-worker group come in as new clients, instead of 20-year-olds who typically shouldn’t have the money to spend on host clubs. However, while the host club may change to become a healthier environment for hosts and clients, I don’t think it addresses the demand for affective labor this industry represents.

Let’s bring back Fitzsimmons’s article again because I appreciate the way she illustrates the journey of her research. She clearly states that she assumed in the beginning “that Japanese women, sex workers or otherwise, desperately need respite from the subjugation and chauvinism of their male partners[… That] women’s interactions with hosts acted

As an escape from the emotional and physical tolls of their jobs as hostesses and sex workers.” She believed that Japanese women went to host clubs mainly to unwind, and while that certainly could be the case for some clients or eventually become a motive for clients, her research

Corrected that this is often not the starting point. One of her interviewees said… “No you’ve got it wrong, women don’t go to host clubs because their boyfriend doesn’t treat them nicely. They go to a host club and get really wrapped up in it, so turn to

Sex work so they can earn more money for their host. [… ]They go because the host is like their boyfriend.” Contrary to Fitzsimmons’ initial hypothesis, hosts are expected to be the whole boyfriend experience, not just a temporary escape from male business clients or a more ‘legitimate’ male partner. Pseudo-romance is still romance.

Even if it’s performed in a business setting, whether that be a club or a bar or a live venue’s merch table, an exchange of romantic gestures takes place, and real emotions are invoked. Many people feel that it is a sufficient replacement for romantic relationships or

Consider it a “real” relationship in itself. The underlying question then is why people seek or stick with pseudo-romance instead of more traditional forms of companionship. This is where my criticism of Fitzsimmons article comes in. I think her writing is a

Great, detailed account of the host club experience that is worth reading. I like that she includes her research journey and quotes from people she interviewed, and I appreciate how she explains the way Japan’s companionship industry feeds into itself… But I only half agree

With the “Consumption of the “chivalrous” West” section. She frames Japanese women’s dissatisfaction with Japanese men who follow Japanese standards of masculinity as a result of fetishizing imagined Western men and their more overt gestures of romance. Hosts are then a way for women to purchase said Western gestures and aesthetics. I, as a half-Japanese,

Half-American woman, certainly have qualms with the sexism in Japan and even the style of non-verbal communication common in Japan, but this is too reductive. Like, of course, Japanese women are influenced by the West, as is the rest of Asia due to globalization.

The way I see it is that, as a more Western, liberal economic model was pushed on Japan, Japanese women desired to or had to adapt to a more individualistic approach to labor. They realized they had to become part of the workforce to support themselves or their family

Because they could no longer solely rely on a man’s paycheck, and also saw the freedoms offered by having their own finances. So I don’t think modern Japanese women dream of sensitive Western gentlemen who share housework and give them words of affirmation just ‘cause

Japanese men won’t or can’t do that. I think modern women in the workforce simply want men who recognize the necessity of shared effort and respect in both partys’ careers and domestic lives. I think it’s true that many Japanese men struggle to meet this expectation

Due to Japanese cultural factors, but this is not a problem exclusive to Japan. To say Japanese women have an occidentalist fantasy to seek refuge in the West comes off as a bit of a leap to me. I think the reason is more simple and human

Than that. I think people overall are just lonely, overworked, and feeling hopeless. So many young people in Japan right now don’t see a point in getting into a relationship. Based on a survey conducted by Japan’s National Institute of Population and Social Security

Research in 2021, more than 70% of men ages 18 through 34 do not have a romantic or marital partner, and over 60% of women in the same age range answered the same. This survey also revealed that across men and women, about a third of people who are not in a relationship

Aren’t seeking a relationship. Marketing writer Megumi Ushikubo, who wrote the book “恋愛しない若者たち” or “Youth Who Do Not Romance,” in 2015, updated her research in a 2023 President Online article by expanding on two possible reasons why the current youth of Japan aren’t seeking

Partners. First, people have more access to information and the power to spread information these days, especially through the Internet. Everyone is quick to point to the spread of pornography as an example, but let’s remember that this includes general discussions of

Romance too, both good and bad. From typical romantic feuds to revenge porn, young people are more aware of the costs and risks of romance and are turned off by it. Interpersonal social networking platforms like messaging apps have also made it easier for people to spread rumors

And talk behind each other’s backs. Many Japanese people say that they don’t want romance to disrupt whatever peace they have in their friend groups or workplaces. Real relationships are too messy, unpredictable, and cause more trouble than they’re worth, so why bother? Especially when there are alternatives…

Reason two is parasocial relationships with characters and talents. Ushikubo points out that the fan mindset has shifted from internal to external in the last decade. “Fanatics” are not a new phenomenon of course, but the 2000’s was marked by Japanese fans saying

That they experience “moe,” a feeling of adoration that is neither romantic nor sexual. Compare that to the present, where the word everyone is using is “oshi,” which comes from the verb, “to push.” Fans are now pushing their feelings onto their

Subjects, supporting them by buying merchandise and going to performances to push them into the spotlight, and posting about their subjects and pushing themselves to show their dedication. Ushikubo cites Kyoto University Physiology Professor Kisou Kubota when explaining that mentally “oshi-katsu” fan activities have a similar effect as being in a romantic relationship.

When someone is not just thinking about their idol but working towards something for that idol, such as saving money for their live show or putting on a display they’ll post on Instagram, the dopamine they get is similar to having a crush.

Hosts fit into these trends pretty well. The barrier to entry to a host-client relationship is a couple-thousand yen. You don’t have to go to university clubs or even open dating apps to test the waters and see if guys are interested in you. You don’t have time for

That! Why spend hours searching for a partner when you can go to a club and just sit there with a wine glass in your hand and pick whichever handsome boy you fancy? The transactional nature of the relationship that many may find alienating can instead be an appeal to some

People – “The more money I give him, the more he climbs the club hierarchy, and the more he treats me like his princess.” Like fan activities towards pop idols, expressions of love towards a host are simple and actionable. You know exactly what he wants from you (money),

You know exactly what you need to do (make money), and you know exactly how you’ll be rewarded (pampering and alcohol). But, as I have discussed, the reality is that it is not that simple, and the costs of making a host your “oshi” can be financially

And mentally exhausting… But how much worse is it compared to “normal” dating? I have to admit, it’s easier to make SMART goals when you’re “dating” a host. This section is not me saying everyone in Japan should stop being fans and get into

Heteronormative relationships to be happy. I know asexuals exist, and I’m glad that people are not as heavily pressured to be in romantic relationships these days compared to the past. The IPSS survey from 2021 shows that increasingly more single people report

That they have a hobby or passion that they can call their purpose or motivation in life. It also shows the depressing response of less people saying they have friends to hang out with and more people saying they feel that they won’t be lonely living alone… Anyway,

I also don’t think single people uninterested in dating is something only Japan is dealing with. About 60% of American men ages 18-29 are single (compared to 34% of women who are single – okay there’s probably some cultural differences). 37% of single Americans ages

18-29 answered in a 2020 survey that they are not interested in dating too. The motivations for this mindset are going to vary a bit across countries, but globally we’re seeing today’s youth prioritize things like their career or simply the ease that comes with being single.

If there is one thing that I think is uniquely Japanese about this phenomenon though, it’s how easily and readily accepted the commodification of affective labor is, especially in regards to women’s labor. It is so easy to run into ads for companionship work in Japan. Trucks

Are running down roads in Tokyo advertising “high-paying part-time jobs for girls.” (Yes, they specifically use the word “girl.”) Walk down just slightly skeever parts of the city and they give out tissue packets with help-wanted ads for the same kind of businesses.

Hell, I went on a trip to Japan recently, and once Instagram registered that I was in Japan, it would not stop showing me ads to become a cam girl, or “chat lady” as they like to call it. That’s what’s so disheartening about the host club problem. So many women

Get caught in this loop of doing companionship work to purchase time with hosts because it’s really not that hard to enter the market. Part of me wants to believe that the accessibility and abundance of sex work makes the industry more transparent and safer, but another part

Of me is frustrated that young women can so easily enter this legal gray zone. And although I still believe that emotionally hosts have more power over clients, these men are exploited too. Often hosts are young men who don’t come from the best economic background or

Family life. I think a lot of these men get wrapped up in a cycle of misogyny and exploitation because they don’t know anything else and they also struggle to get out of it. What fascinates me about the host club phenomenon is how it feels like a thought experiment

Come to life. It answers the question, how would a male sex market designed for women function? And the results are interesting because it’s not a simple 180 of a strip club or lounge for straight men. Although it is designed to be a place for escapism,

Host clubs do not exist in a bubble separate from the reality and expectations of Japanese society. Women are able to escape patriarchy but only for a brief moment and arguably it’s only surface level. Even in a space where the roles are supposedly reversed by women

Purchasing the company of men, men still need to prove their masculinity through wealth, and many women earn their buying power by becoming replaceable gears in the companionship industry themselves. But when we talk about host clubs and their clients, we have to be careful not to reduce

The conversation to a simple abuse victim narrative, because the sense of agency these participants feel through the work they do and how they show off their earnings is the key to understanding how this industry functions. We can and should debate whether rookie hosts

In a competitive club or a client facing debt to a host actually have the power to make choices, but we have to consider the dynamics of gender, class, and even mental health before starting that debate. I’m not vilifying the companionship industry as a whole either

– in a time when people are feeling increasingly lonelier, I think the ability to purchase company is better than not having company at all. But it’s hard to defend the host club in its current form because it is a dangerous yet predictable mess of money, romance, and

Alcohol. It’s hard to believe that these establishments will every be a peaceful, communal sanctuary, like how they are depicted in Ouran High School Host Club.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/nilgiree

Looking Up Host Content
Mentions of specific accounts, videos and personnel have been kept to a minimum for this video to respect the privacy of people and businesses. However, please feel free to look up the many videos published by hosts and host clubs on YouTube by searching in Japanese.

Copy and paste the following keywords into YouTube/X/Google
ホスト (Host)
ホストクラブ (Host Club)

For looking up host business information, I recommend exploring the listing on ホスホス
https://www.host2.jp/

Sources

CDawgVA. (2020, February 1). I joined a Japanese host club (and failed). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV8OhAc3Zyc

cybr.grl (2022, October 1). The Dark Side of Jirai Kei 地雷系 (Landmine) Fashion & Culture https://youtu.be/1SR1fgtBIOE?si=pCH9OyRnMmcWstEm

Fitzsimmons, R. (2021). Selling intimacy under post-industrial capitalism: An ethnography of Japanese host clubs. International Institute for Asian Studies. https://www.iias.asia/the-newsletter/article/selling-intimacy-under-post-industrial-capitalism-ethnography-japanese-host#3ae35

Growing Indifference to Relationships and […] in Japan. nippon.com. (2023, March 27). https://www.nippon.com/ja/japan-data/h01440/
Host and hostess clubs. (2024, February 24). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Host_and_hostess_clubs

Japan moves to strengthen crackdown on malicious host clubs. The Japan Times. (2023, November 29). https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/11/29/japan/crime-legal/government-crack-down-host-clubs/

Nippon TV News 24 Japan. (2023a, November 21). Japan to consider crackdown on male host clubs. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGRWBJhhPyk

South China Morning Post. (2023b, December 26). Japan’s “host clubs” driving women into […] work. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKEtFLAelgI

ASAGEI PLUS (2024 January 8) ホストクラブ「売掛廃止」発表から1カ月…歌舞伎町に起きた https://www.asagei.com/295462

【ホスト高額売掛】自主規制で何か変わる？歌舞伎町のカルチャーはどうなる？ひろゆき&ホス狂い&支援団体と考える｜アベプラ (December 16, 2023) https://youtu.be/Z1PJH7OR-eY?si=FkHtX7J-Q62sJjfK

【2022年版】ホストクラブのお酒の値段｜価格設定の理由まで全解説！: 大阪ホストナビ-大阪のホストクラブ情報まとめサイト. 大阪ホストおすすめナビ｜ホストクラブ情報まとめサイト. (2022a, June 28). https://osaka-host.net/host-alcohol-price/

牛窪 恵. (2023, September 12). 未婚男性の7割､女性の6割が恋人ナシ…若者が大学のサークルや職場での恋愛をしなくなった驚きの理由 SNSで情報が広まり｢和を乱す恐れがある｣. PRESIDENT Online（プレジデントオンライン）. https://president.jp/articles/-/73517

【ホスト巡る事件多発】「鎖」に「地雷」ホストクラブの“マニュアル”入手 ホストに多額の金を払う女性たち “ツケ払い”に規制は必要か 慶応学生でホストを研究するライター・佐々木チワワさんの解説 (2023, November 10th)　https://youtu.be/bSHUyDmzy8I?si=tV1pvyc6zvfId_DC

【ツイセキ】ホストの安い版「メンコンカフェ」　安くて気軽に行けるのがウリ　“推し”に多額つぎ込む少女たち　中にはママ活で稼ぐ14歳や風俗の仕事をする21歳も【関西テレビ・newsランナー】(2023, August 17th) https://youtu.be/gh7gOmsRq0Q?si=6LNcLo6tog-0iE8I

【解説】“メン地下”相談件数は3倍に…一般的なアイドルとの違いは？300万円分のポイントで“日帰り旅行”も｜TBS NEWS DIG　(2023, February 2023)
　https://youtu.be/SzTRzOTUxsI?si=09ZU9hbfaQ9Utimg