Turn down the lights, hire a bunch of cute hosts, and keep the drinks coming, and it shouldn’t matter what your club looks like, right? Actually, no. Designing host clubs is a lot like designing casinos and supermarkets – if you want to inspire women to spend money like water, you better make sure you have a bunch of these:
CHANDELIERS. LOTS AND LOTS OF CHANDELIERS.
And why do we have to have so many chandeliers? Because the ur-club that started it all, back in the 70s, had so many chandeliers it basically WAS a chandelier.
COLOR SCHEME. BLACK…OR WHITE?
SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO SPELL IT OUT, FOR CUSTOMERS WHO AREN’T QUITE WITH THE PROGRAM
THROW IN A BUNCH OF LEOPARD PRINT
The more leopards, the better.
GOTTA HAVE SOME PRIVATE BOOTHS…
…AND A VIP ROOM, FOR WHEN THEY’RE READY TO LEVEL UP FROM THE PRIVATE BOOTHS
DON’T FORGET THE LASERS
No host club would be complete without lasers. Lots of frickin’ lasers. Because when there’s a champagne call, the whole club’s gotta know it.
DISPLAY THE HELL OUT OF THAT ASPIRATIONAL BOOZE
“I’ll know I’ve made it when…
AND NOW, FOR THE TEST…
Fallen Angel readers often ask me what it’s really like to go to a host club. If you’re curious too, here are answers to the TOP TEN QUESTIONS ABOUT HOST CLUBS:
I was going to suggest that when you come back to Tokyo, we go to a host club. I’ve never been to one. But after looking at these pictures, I’m feeling slightly nauseated.
Ha, it’s definitely an acquired taste, for Westerners! Also, the last time I went, I was totally wiped out afterwards, because speaking Japanese to a new stranger every ten minutes for two hours while drinking sho-chu, with loud J-pop playing in the background, is NOT RELAXING. heh.
Yes, there are hundreds, all over Japan! It’s big business! Have you, by any chance, seen the short documentary “The Great Happiness Space”? It’s a beautifully-done piece about a host club in Osaka, told entirely through supremely well-edited interviews with hosts and their customers. Well worth a look (on Netflix or maybe even YouTube, subtitled in English) if you’re at all interested in seeing and hearing these guys for yourself.
And thank you for making my day by telling me you enjoyed Fallen Angel! It’s so thrilling to hear a kind voice come out of the void, and say the thing all writers live to hear! (^O^☆♪
I was going to suggest that when you come back to Tokyo, we go to a host club. I’ve never been to one. But after looking at these pictures, I’m feeling slightly nauseated.
Ha, it’s definitely an acquired taste, for Westerners! Also, the last time I went, I was totally wiped out afterwards, because speaking Japanese to a new stranger every ten minutes for two hours while drinking sho-chu, with loud J-pop playing in the background, is NOT RELAXING. heh.
Wow, Jonelle. Loved Fallen Angel but I assumed that the clubs you talked about were sort of one-offs. No idea the whole idea was so huge…
Yes, there are hundreds, all over Japan! It’s big business! Have you, by any chance, seen the short documentary “The Great Happiness Space”? It’s a beautifully-done piece about a host club in Osaka, told entirely through supremely well-edited interviews with hosts and their customers. Well worth a look (on Netflix or maybe even YouTube, subtitled in English) if you’re at all interested in seeing and hearing these guys for yourself.
And thank you for making my day by telling me you enjoyed Fallen Angel! It’s so thrilling to hear a kind voice come out of the void, and say the thing all writers live to hear! (^O^☆♪