IamA Japanese host in Okinawa, Japan. AMA

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I don't have sex with any of my clients but a lot of them are around my age (20 years old)

Are you going to play Final Fantasy XV when it comes out? I hear they based a lot of the characters on Hosts just like you.

You're going to hate me but I've never played a FF game in my life haha

How did you get into this job, and what was appealing about it to you?

At what point do hosts "age" out, or are there older, mature clubs that appeal to equally older women?

What do your family and friends think about your work?

What are some of the funniest/craziest experiences you've had? How about the most depressing?

How would you compare this industry to Western strip clubs? Both are equally deceptive, in a way, as the host or dancer sells their time for companionship in some form. Obviously, the end services differ, but in the end, the customer goes home alone (usually!) and out of a lot of cash.

I was taking a walk and someone scouted me but I don't really know what was appealing about me at the time

the oldest host at my club is around 27 and he still looks like he's in his early 20's and I don't know any clubs around my area suited for older women.

My family was first against it but most of them live further up north or in the US. My american friends think it's the best job in the world since I get paid to have fun basically but my friends here in Japan don't really care much about my occupation

funniest/craziest would probably be my birthday event. I got blackout drunk and apparently started chugging straight from a tequila bottle while half singing Coldplay's Viva la Vida and then I passed out. Most depressing would be the amount of stress this job can build up over time.

hmm interesting comparison but i wouldn't say both are equally deceptive. Even though they spend a lot of money on me I usually end up being good friends with a lot of my clients and even hang out with them whenever I have free time

How is your job stressful? Serious question.

Keeping the image of being a host. Making sure my hair, clothes, and everything else is perfect also adds on to the stress.

This is about asd close to a man knowing women's "grooming pressures" as I can imagine. You can't just go out.... you have to make sure your hair, makeup, and clothes are in order at the very least.

that's a really good point, but without those pressures of keeping my image I'd be pretty gross

Interesting, thanks for the response!

Have you seen The Great Happiness Space? If so, would you say that is an accurate portrayal of the industry?

All clubs are different in their own unique way but yes it's pretty accurate :)

What do you think is the reason for the amount of stress you build up from this work?

Usually money

Is the salary bad?

The No.1 host at my club makes around $30,000 a month, so no not really

Follow up: Do you accept foreign customers?

Yes :)

i heard there was competiton between hosts on who is the most popular or gets most out of their clients is it true?

Yes, that's true. Essentially we're all going for the No.1 spot but all my coworkers are still good friends

How is that spot determined, exactly?

amount of money they make in a month

Do clients ever give you expensive gifts?

I've gotten some Vivienne Westwood accessories and a mcdonalds giftcard one time

Maybe this is inappropriate to ask, but how much do you make in a month on average? I have watched a couple documentaries on host clubs and it seems like hosts make a decent amount of money, even if they aren't the #1 host.

I'm not the number one host but I make around $4,500 at best in a month

Have you seen The great happiness space? What do you think of it?

Do you ever feel emotionally drained by your clients wanting your attention all the time?

Do you ever have non Japanese speaking clients?

How long have you worked as a host?

Would you ever recommend being a host to other people?

How much alcohol do you consume a shift usually?

What makes a good host?

What do you think about the population decline going on in Japan?

1.I watched a lot of host documentaries before I started this job. I think it shows both pros and cons of this job pretty well

yes

all my clients are Japanese

only for about 9 months so not too long

it really depends on the person but I'd recommend it to people who have an interest in it.

not much when I have school the next day but a fair amount when I have the day off.

Communication in my opinion

I'm only 20 so I'm not worried about it right now haha

When I last visited japan, most of the people there seemed to have an amazing sense of style.

Do you have a stylist or do you style your hair yourself?

Where can I learn to style like this?

I go to a hair salon to get it styled but my mom is a hair stylist so I picked up a few things from her.

could you talk more about your styling routine?

My stylist does my hair for me and what she usually does is a lot of teasing and a shit ton of hairspray

Have you ever met someone who really freaked you out? Like someone who actually thought that what was happening was a real relationship?

luckily no

do you have any crazy client stories that you like to share?

one of my coworkers clients cave him a fleshlight thing after work we played catch with it

Have you watched the TV series Ouran High School Host Club? And if so do you find the concept really weird or are school host clubs an actual thing? (P.s.I think the show is great but have no point of reference for host culture as I live in Australia)

That anime is not accurate at all with the actual host clubs, watch a few documentaries on YouTube such as the great happiness to see how it is like :)

what type of customers do you get the most ?

Most of the clients that come in are hostesses themselves but that's mostly because of the time we open/close

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Haha same here but I guess since we both work in the same type of business they can be more comfortable around us

Do you ever feel sad or guilty knowing that that's the reason they're there? When I watched 'The Great Happiness Space' I found that part of it really depressing.

Nope, they should know by now what a host is really after so I don't really feel guilty especially when theyre in the same type of business

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I would never go out with a client.Ever.

A thing about the last part of your question is that when I moved here I still had a girlfriend overseas in the U.S. I didn't want to have a long distance relationship so I told her that I would be working as a host and she didn't take it too well.

How do you feel about Americans and the military presence on the island?

I lived in San Diego for 13/14 years and I recently just came back to Okinawa so I don't mind it at all

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I'm having withdraws man, please send carne asada fries and in n out

How's the base/atmosphere there? Japan is one of the places I'd like to be stationed in in the future if i can.

The summers are ruthless here

I'm impressed that you managed to keep up your japanese language skills enough to be a host...especially after living in the US for 13 years

Yeah same here honestly but I'm just good with languages in general

How much liquor does a host drink on a average?

I usually drink a few shots and champagne if my client orders one.

Have you considered working out a deal with the bartender to only serve you water and get the liqour cost in money instead?

There is no bartender in a host club, we the hosts make the drinks ourselves and for the clients

Is there such things as host clubs that employ attractive foreigners?

I have no idea, sorry

I'm guessing you've never seen a host who was a foreigner then?

No not yet but that'll be interesting to see!

Here in korea there are similar, but far less common host clubs. More often it is a noraebang (private karaoke room) with girls (or guys in this case). Anyway, I have been told that the most rotten customers and most demeaning ones (also the ones that drop a lot of money) are the ones that are in the same business. So Noraebang girls that want to blow off some steam.

Is this the case for you?

What's the most rotten or worst customer story you can remember?

There are some bad clients for sure but we always put on that fake smile just to make sure they're happy.

Have you ever felt some clients were being taken advantage of? Have you seen clients put themselves in debt due to an addiction to host clubs?

Yes, we all make money off of out clients so the brutal truth is we are always trying to take advantage of them somehow :/

How are the hotness and drinking ability ratings on your profile determined?

I actually have no idea :(

Do any of your fellow employees see this as a career? Whenever this is reported I always think if these guys are making so much money they might as well start up their own business or save up and retire young.

I'm going to school right now so this is only a job that'll only last for another 3 years or so for me but yes a few of my coworkers have been hosts for well over 10+ years

How much of an alcoholic are you? I'm fully aware of how much hosts need to drink. Seems like an occupational hazard.

I only drink on the job to balance it out. When I'm at home I'm usually drinking tea

Do you think that hosting would get in the way of a relationship?

Who's your favorite LoL champ?

Yes that's why I don't have a SO at the moment and Kayle is my waifu

So, knowing you've spent at least some time in the states, I'm wondering something. Did taking on the host type style make you feel silly at first? What with the hair, way of dressing ect. As a chick I've never understood why that style is appealing (no offense meant).

this is going to be pretty far down so no one else will see but back in the states I was in that 'scene' phase for a while so the hairstyle change didn't affect me at all. Japanese girls like more 'cute' looking guys than muscular alpha types so it's just how the culture is around here

OP When will you come back to wow?? Lol

I've played WoW for years and I'm not going back to it ever again

What are the chances of a foreigner working as a host?

Well I haven't seen any foreign hosts before but I have seen documentaries on YouTube where I saw a white guy working as a host

I assume he spoke fluent Japanese?

he was only speaking english during the video

Was your hair already like that when you were scouted, or rather did you look different before joining (then had a makeover)? From internet pictures, it seems that only hosts or the real fashionable types have that type of hair style/fashion sense.

Since you have friends that are hosts and friends that are not, do you have a different persona to your host friends compared to your non-host friends? Do you ever hang out with both hosts friends and non-host friends at the same time?

This is what I looked like when I was scouted, they didn't force me to change my style at all but I just adapted and changed it on my own to fit the image more.

That's a really good question and no not really, after work is done I normally around everyone (hosts and non-host friends)

Did you look like that before you went back to Japan? Sorry if that sounds rude, what i mean is, has that always been your sense of style, or did you change it just for your job? I was in Tokyo last year and I walked past lots of host clubs. I know you guys (and the girls) have a very specific style, and I found that it seemed that it was almost unique (even by Japanese standards) and so if I saw someone dressed/styled like that on the street, it'd make me think they were a host. I thought those styles were popular in the early 2000s but now seem to be almost the domain of hosts, is this correct?

Also, what made you want to do an AMA?

Didn't see it as rude at all :) but uhm no not really, back in the US I dressed VERY differently from how I am now and I was on /r/cringe and saw a documentary from Vice on about my job and some people asked me to do an AMA

are you american born? do you get extra omg he's so cool points from the ladies that come in because you know english?

no, born in Okinawa and moved to the US when I was around 7 and yes, knowing english helps me a lot actually

I am strangely enough quite jealous after watching that documentary. Whats the strangest and whats it is the best gift you got thusfar? Are you hoping on getting paid more in the future? What kind of gifts would you like in the future as host?

I've gotten expensive gifts before but the best one I've gotten is the McDonald's gift card haha but I'm quite content with how much I make now

Hey I know I'm late but I'm about to be stationed there for 3 years. I hear us military likes to piss off locals, how do I NOT do that?

I've personally never had a problem with them

Would you be upset if I copied your profile photo, framed it, and placed it with the rest of my family photos?

You woudn't dare^sendpics

I'm guessing you're probably working now so I hope it's not too late to get my question answered haha.
But woah I didn't know Host clubs were that big of a thing. I've been to hostess bars in Taiwan, and heard that there's host bars here too but not many. I guess my question is are host bars more popular than hostess bars in Japan?

Oh no, kyabakuras are way more popular but host clubs are still known to everyone

If someone asked you where they can go and pay for sex. What would be your response?

I'm a host not an escort

You said that you have no SO because of this profession.

Do you still go out and casually date/see girls outside of work?

And have you or your coworkers ever thought with a client, "Dang, if she weren't a client, I'd totally want to date/do her."

I usually spend my free time playing LoL

Wow thanks for doing the AMA.

1) Have you found any tips that work particularly well on girls? Like making connections, using puppy dog eyes, acting "Alpha"? Have you had to use any pick up techniques or weird social tactics like push and pull? Or have you just been mostly authentic?

2) Is there any girls that have taken a particular liking to you? And what did you do in response?

3) Have you ever seen a customer outside a host bar? How did that go? Was it weird and did they ask anything from you?

4) What do you think makes a good host? What qualities have you learned that all guys should have to make their ladies more happy?

1.My personality is the 'cute' type and I just act like myself honestly so i don't know any techniques or anything like that

2.I made them order champagne, I have to take advantage of them liking me

3.I see clients all the time outside of my club, we usually just say hi make some small talk and go on about our day

4.being able to communicate well with anyone and be good looking

Hey that's a mega64 poster. Did you ever get a chance to meet them at comic con?

I got a special edition DVD signed by them a few years ago :)

Can you send me some Awamori?

only if you send me some in n out

how long does it take to get your hair done?

About 13 minutes but im usually just on my phone while I'm getting it done

1. Do you think host clubs would be less popular if Japan was less populated?

2. A lot of outsiders see this as very...odd. In another documentary Vice did, they described Japan as compartmentalizing human experiences, so there's a girl you pay for sex, a girl you pay to cuddle with, a girl you pay to talk to, etc. Do you agree?

3. How is your English so good?

1.yes

2.yea and I don't think it's a bad thing really

1. I lived in San Diego for 13-14 years haha

If I remember correctly, Okinawa was not always part of Japan. What are Okinawans' attitude toward mainland Japan?

Hostility against mainland Japan increased in the Ryūkyūs immediately after its annexation to Japan in part because of the systematic attempt on the part of mainland Japan to eliminate the Ryukyuan culture, including the language, religion, and cultural practices. Japan introduced public education that permitted only the use of standard Japanese while shaming students who used their own language by forcing them to wear plaques around their necks proclaiming them "dialect speakers."\

From wiki History of the Ryukyu Islands

Well when I was born, Okinawa was already part of Japan so I have no hostility against mainland

Do hosts have to drink?

nope! I got buy on just water for a while

1. Do you plan on living in Japan for the rest of your life, or would you like to come back to American one day?

2. What do you like & dislike most about Japan vs America?

3. What are you studying?

Sorry I don't have any host questions, you already answered a lot of them.

1. no, I plan on traveling the world once I have enough money saved up!

2.Japan is my home so im going to be a little biased and say people here are a lot more nicer but I miss the mexican food...a lot

3.studying to become a programmer but Java is 2hard4me

Does Ouran High School Host Club inspire you in any way? Love that series 👀

No that anime is no where near the reality of what a host club is in my opinion

Have you ever fallen in love with a client?

Does it bother you that a large majority of your clients are prostitutes themselves? (and by prostitutes I mean hired company, I know you don't have sex with the clients. Most girl's in that profession do though)

No and no, I only see this as my job but hopefully it stays that way

1. the Japanese culture is a conservative one, even if you had sex with your client you will not reveal or tell-all.is this a near correct assumption or an inaccurate truth?

2. why do you move to Okinawa, do u host for men or strictly opp sex ?

3. aren't you afraid of radiation exposed?

4. what's your daily routine / workout / food / where you shop and hang out

1.yes

2.I was born here so I wanted to move back and men CAN come into the club but 99.9% of the time its ladies

3.wutlol

4.wake up/school/LoL/sleep/work I'd rather play league than work out haha

how are your servers in Japan? What are your thoughts on Gnar?

I play on NA so my ping is around 150~ ish and I haven't played Gnar yet since I main mid/bot

I used to live on camp lester right next to camp foster. Have they sold all the bases back to the japanese yet?

Nah there are still a lot of bases here

How's your English so damn good?

I lived in San Diego for 14 years, basically grew up there

If i wanted to go to Japan to find a girlfriend how terrible of an idea is that?

for the sole purpose of finding a girlfriend? terrible idea.