These days, everyone wants “experiences,” not “stuff,” so how about digging into your Santa sack for presents that deliver #youllneverguesswhatwedids that could only come from (where else?)…Japan! This year, give the gift of… 1 …making your own Panda Face sushi and finding out who’s the fastest panda-grabber in the land Level up by slipping in aContinue reading “Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts From Japan 2018”
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Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts from Japan 2017!
It’s that time of year, when everyone who’s easy to buy presents for already has a big satisfying check mark next to their name, but the ones who don’t are driving me crazy, because I just can’t think of anything that will surprise and/or delight them. Or at least make them scream when they openContinue reading “Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts from Japan 2017!”
Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts From Japan 2016
Yes, it’s that time of year again, when you comb your list of friends & family for those who truly deserve that rare and awe-inspiring gift from Japan… 10. If there’s nobody on your list who needs a MANEATING VAMPIRE PURSE, you need to make new friends. 9. CUTEST WASHCLOTHS OF ALL TIME! Who could fail to smile after ripping the wrappingContinue reading “Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts From Japan 2016”
2015 Top Ten Crazy Gifts From Japan!
It’s time for Only In Japan’s yearly holiday gift round-up, and it looks like 2015 is holding its own! I can pretty much guarantee you’ll be the only one to bestow one of these awesome gifts from Japan on your nearest and dearest… 10. Warm in winter, cool in summer, give this CREEPY CONSTRUCTION WORKER HEAD TOWEL, so they can enjoy displaying their brains asContinue reading “2015 Top Ten Crazy Gifts From Japan!”
Ten Best Stocking Stuffers From Japan!
10. SUSHI SOCKS 9. DIY CROSS STITCH PHONE CASE 8. ANIMAL SKELETONS 7. DEVIL WAX 6. EYELID EXERCISER 5. EMOJI EYE MASK 4. DEODORANT CANDY 3. NINJA SNACK PICKS 2. THE STATUE OF TOO MUCH LIBERTY 1. PIGGY ZAPPER • Still need a gift idea? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️The Last Tea Bowl Thief was chosen as an Editor’s Pick for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense onContinue reading “Ten Best Stocking Stuffers From Japan!”
Top Ten Only In Japan Holiday Gifts 2014!
10. What do you give the person who has everything? They’ve already got a one-shot coffee maker. And a one-shot tea machine. But I bet they don’t have a ONE-SHOT MISO SOUP MAKER! 9. Landing a blow for equal opportunity character pillows, the otaku girls on your list will love sleeping with the SINGING PRINCE DREAM CUSHION! 8.Continue reading “Top Ten Only In Japan Holiday Gifts 2014!”
Inside Tokyo’s Wildest Host Clubs
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:Continue reading “Inside Tokyo’s Wildest Host Clubs”
Top Ten Only In Japan Holiday Gifts 2013
10. I bet the person on your list who has everything doesn’t have a THOUSAND DOLLAR RICE COOKER! 9. Surely you know someone whose garden wouldn’t be complete without a few GNOMES OF VICTORY 8. Give the gift of facial warmth and animal shenanigans with the BEARFACE MUFFLER 7. For that perfect head, the SONICContinue reading “Top Ten Only In Japan Holiday Gifts 2013”
A Day In The Life: What’s It Like To Be A Host?
Join veteran host Sakura-san as he teaches his new recruit “Yua-kun” the ropes! First, a run-down of a typical day in Yua’s life: 11:00 a.m.: Wake up* Noon: Go to the hair salon to get his tresses waxed, teased, arranged and sprayed. 1:00 p.m.: Go home and relax until it’s time to go to workContinue reading “A Day In The Life: What’s It Like To Be A Host?”
How Do I Find A Good Host Club?
It’s a well-kept secret that there’s a website with listings for host clubs in cities all over Japan. It’s called HostXHost. Naturally, it’s in Japanese…but fear not! I can show you how to navigate the highways and byways to get a feel for the hosts and their clubs! Here’s what the home screen looks like.Continue reading “How Do I Find A Good Host Club?”
How Can I Go To A Host Club?
It’s not impossible for a foreigner to go to a host club, but the best way to do it is to ask a Japanese female friend to go with you. If you go with a Japanese woman, she can make the reservation and ask the club if it’s all right to bring a foreign guest.Continue reading “How Can I Go To A Host Club?”
Can Foreigners Get Into A Host Club?
It’s possible, but it it’s not quite as simple as walking up to the doorman and asking to come in. Why? Isn’t my money as good as the next girl’s? Well, for starters, there’s a bit of a language issue. While there might be a few hosts who speak languages other than Japanese, most guysContinue reading “Can Foreigners Get Into A Host Club?”
What Is A Host Club “Champagne Call”?
Sometimes a customer orders a special bottle of champagne, and all the hosts in the club temporarily abandon the customers they’re entertaining and gather around her table for a “champagne call.” Laser lights and/or music starts up as they assemble from all corners of the club. Then, while a waiter prepares a tray of emptyContinue reading “What Is A Host Club “Champagne Call”?”
How Expensive Is It To Go To A Host Club?
Will going to a host club blow your budget for a month? The answer is, it won’t if you’re careful. Most clubs have an “introductory price” of ¥2000-¥3000 that includes one to two hours at the club being entertained by the hosts and a bottle of either saké, shōchū or brandy. If you go with someoneContinue reading “How Expensive Is It To Go To A Host Club?”
What’s It Like To Go To A Host Club?
Let’s slip past the secret door and find out what it’s really like to go to a host club! When you arrive for your reservation, at some clubs you’ll be handed a photo album before being seated at a table. Inside are glamour shots of all the club’s hosts, and you’ll be asked if you’dContinue reading “What’s It Like To Go To A Host Club?”
What Kind Of Women Go To Host Clubs?
What kind of woman pays a guy to spend time with her? The truth might surprise you – it’s not women who are too unattractive to get near a guy otherwise. Actually, about seventy percent of women who go to host clubs work in the mizu shōbai business themselves (in hostess clubs or places thatContinue reading “What Kind Of Women Go To Host Clubs?”
What Do Women Want?
So, why do women go to host clubs anyway? That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? What do women really want? Ask any host and he’ll tell you: women want to be wanted. But you have to be able to tell how a woman wants to be wanted. A woman isn’t always jonesing for aContinue reading “What Do Women Want?”
Top Ten Only In Japan Holiday Gifts 2012!
10. For the film maven on your list who camped overnight in line at the movie theatre to see the new Evangelion…ANIME EYES SLEEP MASKS (seen at Village Vanguard) 9. For the octopus ball lover who just can’t get enough of a good thing…JUMBO DIY TAKOYAKI MAKER (seen at Tokyu Hands) 8. For the vampire gourmet…BLOODContinue reading “Top Ten Only In Japan Holiday Gifts 2012!”
Bottle of Dom, Anyone?
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 aContinue reading “Bottle of Dom, Anyone?”
Host Club 101
I’m happy to report that the geisha world is alive and well in Kabuki-chō…only these days it’s populated by gorgeous young guys decked out in visual-kei style whose job it is to entertain women like the princesses we wish we were. When I first started researching Fallen Angel, I discovered just how hard it is for a foreigner toContinue reading “Host Club 101”