Got to bed last night at 2:00 after passively breathing in about two packs-worth of cigarette smoke at a most excellent host club. These days in Kabuki-chō, it’s illegal to smoke out on the street, but inside a club? Fire ‘em up!
It was pouring rain and freezing cold outside. I thought it’d be a quiet night, but the club was packed. We met another excellent parade of hosts this time, including one who studied kendo (Japanese swordfighting) for nine years, one who I’d met before but didn’t recognize right away because his hair had changed radically since I last saw him (black is the new blond), and one who claimed he couldn’t even talk to girls until high school (clearly a late-blooming prodigy).
This time, around midnight one of the other tables ordered a bottle of champagne. All the hosts gathered around, laser lights and stage smoke blanketed the club, and they launched into a drinking song. Toasts were drunk, then the rest of the bottle was handed over to the customer to chug. Not to be outdone, three other tables ordered their own bottles of Dom Peri in rapid succession, thus ensuring that their designated hosts don’t fall behind in the weekly tally.
The price per bottle? ¥70,000 (about $750). This is on top of the door charge, the table charge, the charge for requesting a certain host, the service charge and 35% tax…
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And if you want to find out more, here are the TOP TEN QUESTIONS ABOUT HOST CLUBS I’m asked most often:
Why do women go to host clubs?
What kind of women go to host clubs?
What’s it like to visit a host club?
How expensive is it to go to a host club?
What is a host club “champagne call”?
Can foreigners get into a host club?
How do I find a good host club?
Host fashion: Why do hosts dress like that?
A Day In The Life: What’s it like to be a host?
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The Last Tea Bowl Thief was chosen as an Editor’s Pick for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense on Amazon
“A fascinating mix of history and mystery.” —Booklist
Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
Only In Japan 