Tokyo is experiencing a second wave of coronavirus infections, with upwards of 200+ infections announced per day. Almost all of these, so far, are younger people able to cope with symptoms and the pressure of the city's health facilities is currently minimal. Let's hope that this situation does not worsen.
As we have continued to write on these pages, much of the blame for clusters has focused -- we think, overly and unfairly so -- on the mizu shobai "water trade" world of nighttime entertainment, particularly host and hostess clubs, which have been almost demonized by the mainstream media ...
Infections continue to rise in Tokyo as we enter the second wave of the coronavirus in Japan, though numbers remain very modest compared to other countries.
Much of the blame and media attention has focused on hostess and host clubs. We have followed this as part of our monitoring of how the COVID-19 is affecting the adult industry in Japan, where sex workers, gravure idols, strippers, and hostesses are facing a sudden and serious decline in income.
There has also been some name-calling between Ginza and Kabukicho, as the hostess clubs in each district try to claim that they are not the ...
As the city reopens following its soft lockdown, one establishment has made headlines for changing its operating style to fit the new normal that is post-COVID-19 Tokyo -- and also opening itself up to a broader demographic ahead of its closure.
The host club Ai Honten (literally, Love Head Office) will open only on Saturdays and Sundays as a cafe. For once, male customers will also be admitted. So this is also a kind of education project, helping people experience what a host club is like without having to pay the usual costs entailed.
First opened in 1971 and one of the most renowned ...
Host culture in Japan is so big now that apparently even pre-teens aspire to look like the hirsute Kabukicho drinkers-for-hire.
Ryuchalo is the son of a beauty blogger called Chiimelo (yes, the names are pretty wacky), and apparently he wanted to celebrate his 8th birthday as a host.
In fact, he even celebrated his birthday at a host club in Kabukicho, a notorious red-light district if you discount the recent partial gentrification (or should that be Godzillafication?).
Ryuchalo spent his big day in August at Superstar club, which is owned by Jin, a famous host.
He even got to ...
Rejoice! If you are a little overweight, you can still enjoy the unique charms of the naked restaurant.
Japan's first nudist eatery, The Amrita, opens on July 29th. Frankly it's so hot and sweaty right now that my home it a permanent nudist camp.
Originally it had made a big thing out of how you couldn't be more then 15kg (33 lbs) over the average weight for your height -- and that they would be weighing patrons at the entrance to check! After all, the logic went, who wants to be put off their dinner by excess flab?
Guests are served by near-naked hot guys, meaning this is a host ...
Staged Seduction: Selling Dreams in a Tokyo Host Club is a new book by Akiko Takeyama, published by Stanford University Press. It is an ethnographic study of the men and women who produce and consume love in Japan's host clubs, examining not only the "fixed times and formal spaces" like the late-night sessions in the clubs themselves, but also beyond.
Why it is very easy to find media reports and articles about hostesses, male hosts are less famous outside of Japan.
And yet arguably, this is the more interesting phenomenon, since there are bars and clubs where you pay to hang out ...
It's good news for naturists and nudists as Japan's first "naked restaurant" is set to open in Tokyo in July.
However, it's bad news if you've been to one too many restaurants yourself: overweight patrons are banned!
Naturally, this being Japan, such a draconian rule need not actually exclude much of the demographic.
The classically themed Amrita only allows diners aged 18 and 60, and you have to wear paper underwear provided by the restaurant so this isn't a paradise for exhibitionists per se.
"If you are more than 15 kilos (33 pounds) above the average weight for your ...
We know that rich Japanese politicians, businessmen and celebrities have a penchant for hostesses.
But feminism happened, don't you know. It's not just the men having all the fun.
According to the tabloids, there are plenty of prominent female celebrities who are addicted to male hosts, a habit which costs them dearly.
Josei 7 magazine recently published a report claiming that actress Yoko Maki had once spent ¥20 million in a single night at a host club!
The 33-year-old divorcee, known for her stunning breasts, clearly liked the services she was given.
Maki's not ...
Rental companion services have been around in Japan for a long time, but occasionally a new service or some news appears.
Ria Kare offers to cheer up the lonely ladies of Nagoya, starting at ¥5,000 an hour (actually cheaper than most host or hostess clubs).
For some apparently random reason, it got an arbitrary write-up by the "wacky-Japan" bloggers at RocketNews 24, so we thought we'd followed suit.
The demographic is certainly interesting here. You can choose a male rental companion aged as wizened as 57, so it's not just the stereotypical flashy young host types.
The ...
The joy of sleeping with a beautiful partner -- and we mean the sleeping part -- is something many of us don't get to experience on a regular enough basis.
In fact, it's such an unattainable dream for some that there are even digital alternatives to make up for what reality cannot provide.
But what about the ladies? Do they get to enjoy the wonders of sleeping next to a hot guy enough in their busy lives?
It seems the answer is no, since there is a job called a soine-shi -- a professional snuggler.
One such ikemen "hunk" version of this little-known trade is Kaede Ichijo, ...
