The Concept

While the media and general public look down on the industry, idea of the "Host Club" is a growing trend in Japan. A Host Club is a place where girls pay to spend time with attractive guys. These kinds of clubs are not strip clubs or prostitution rings; they're more comparable to an in-house escort service.

The hot spots for Host Clubs are in Kabukicho, in Tokyo, and Umeda and Minami, Osaka. Clubs operate at night; it's common practice for hosts to sleep somewhere between 6 AM and 10 PM. The men who work at the clubs are all between 18 and their mid twenties, and are all considered very attractive men. They are good conversationalists, and can be very clever and funny; the point it to entertain.

Making Money

Some clubs charge a cover fee, while others charge by the hour for the location you want to be seated in. The actual host earns his money through drink commissions. The more alcohol a girl buys, the more money the host makes.

In this way, popular hosts can earn anywhere from the equivalent of $10,000-$50,000 every month; the average salary man makes only about $2,000 each month. The host that earns the most is ranked #1, and rankings are displayed somewhere in the club.

Customers may also give their host a gift, such as extra money, or a small token, but also as extreme as a car or an apartment.Some hosts accept these extravagent gifts, but general practice is that they do not. The occasional client will even pay huge sums of money to have sex with her host, but this is also generally turned down.

Dealing with the Customers

Almost all of the customers are female, in their early to mid twenties. They can be drawn into the club in a variety of ways. Many girls can simply be curious about a club, as they advertise on the street, and occasionally in magazines or on TV. There is also the method of going onto the street, and trying to pick new girls up, called "nampa". (A large number of customers work as hostesses, call girls, or prostitutes.)

A first-time customer can chose her host in a variety of ways: from a host catalogue, from asking the host to sit next to her, or by buying the host a drink. Once a girl choses her host, she cannot change (except under very special circumstances), even if she would rather have a different host.

Despite the fact that girls cannot change hosts, other hosts can come spend time with girls that are not their customers, just for fun. Many clubs have kareoke. For even more attention, each club has its own special celebration, often referred to as a 'chamagne call'. It is the most expensive drink in the house (generally a bottle of champagne), and can cost anywhere from $200 to $5,000. Every host on the staff comes to the customer's table and cheers while she drinks, followed by her host, and then any other host that wants a drink. Each club has its own cheers and practices regarding this tradition.

There is, however, a downside to all of this. The clients can become very attached to their host, even to the point of falling in love with him (despite the fact that many women visit multiple clubs). When a girl becomes very attached to her host, she starts to spend more money on him. While this is the idea behind the business, clients have used their life savings to visit hosts, and if they were not already in the sex industry, many are driven that way in order to pay for their visits. The girls become addicted to the Host Club atmosphere. Sometimes a girl will even try to convince her host to marry her.

The hosts themselves even have serious problems due to this job. Because their salary is based on the buying and consuming of alcohol, a lot of hosts are often very sick, possibly multiple times in a single evening, and even develop liver problems. More than that, however, is the psychological and emotional damage that hosts can suffer from. It is exceptionally difficult for a host to have a relationship outside of work. They have to constantly lie to their clients in order to make them happy. If they become angry or frustrated with a client, they cannot show it openly because it would be bad for business. Since so many of the customers visit multiple clubs, meanwhile telling each host that she loves them, the hosts develop suspicions about women, to the point that they have serious trust issues. Long term customers often times pour their hearts out to their hosts with no honest reciprocation. All of those, along with the guilt of causing women to spend so much money, is why so many hosts have to leave the business after only a few years.

"The Great Happiness Space"

"The Great Happiness Space" is a documentary about the Osakan Host Club Stylish Café Rakkyo. It focuses on the owner and top host Issei. Rakkyo is the number one Host Club in that area. Directed by Jake Clennell, it's a very real and honest look into the work lives of the roughly 20 guys that work at Rakkyo. It includes interviews with both hosts and clients, but primarily follows Issei.A short clip is available below.

A very popular anime/manga series spoof of Host Clubs is Ouran High School Host Club

<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/sep/18/japan.justinmccurry">An article about Host Club Ai</a>

<a href="http://www.kyotojournal.org/gender/host_clubs.shtml">Explaining Host Clubs to Western men</a>

<a href="http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,193635,00.html">An article from Time Magazine</a>

<a href="http://www.japanfortheuninvited.com/articles/host-bars.html">General information article</a>

<a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/buried-treasure/2008-09-18/the-great-happiness-space">ANN: A review of "The Great Happiness Space"</a>