As I have written about straight Japanese host and hostess clubs in previous posts, I thought I would cap it off with information on gay host clubs too.

I apologise to anyone interested in lesbian hostess clubs. I would need to do a bit more research to see if they actually exist and how they work. I’m sure they are probably a thing too, though.

Jade’s Guide to Gay Host Clubs

What is a gay host club?

It’s a venue that gay men go to to receive personal attention from Japanese men. There are many booths and tables dotted around the room in which the guys and their chosen hosts sit, chat and drink together.

How they work

My best friend in Japan (Alex) is gay, and he has been to a couple of gay host clubs during his time here. I will tell you about his first time.

Alex arrived at the host club half an hour after his friend, James, who had invited him. All of the hosts that weren’t currently busy with customers were lined up behind the bar in front of him. He went to sit with James and the host that he had chosen. James had been very much enjoying his time with the host and had even gone as far as ordering champagne and the likes.

Choose!

Alex was then prompted for about ten minutes to pick the host that he liked the look of most. It took him ten minutes because he felt weird about the whole thing. Then the host club manager came over with a book containing all the photos of the hosts. He explained that if there wasn’t a host in sight that tickled his fancy, there were some in the book who were on-call and could be summoned.

Alex suddenly perked up at that moment. “No, it’s alright. I quite like the fit one up there because he’s looking at me with hungry eyes,” he announced. His chosen host thus came to join them at the table (host, friend, friend, host formation).

The hosts handed them moist towelettes to clean their hands with (because Japan). Then they gave Alex and James their undying attention for the duration of their stay. Alex said that he had to share any drinks he bought with the host he had chosen. The host then poured the beer into two separate glasses for them and continually topped them up. His host also rubbed his leg and held his hand for the time they were together.

He didn’t speak much English and Alex spoke no Japanese at the time, so they tried their best and Alex said he felt a lovely connection with his host (although, he adds that they are trained to do that).

Time’s up!

After half an hour had passed, they announced to the manager that they were leaving. Apparently it was ¥400 per fifteen minutes of time spent with the hosts, so I n total, Alex had to pay about ¥5,000. This is because he had also ordered two beers and drunk some of James’ champagne.

Meanwhile, James paid considerably more because he had been there an extra half an hour. He also paid another ¥10,000 (approx. £70/$90) to take his host out to a club with him to dance for an hour after they left the host club.

The types of host you will find

Again, very similar to those hosts found in straight host clubs, the majority look very feminine. They often wear make-up, and coloured contact lenses and have piercings and dyed hair to look more like westerners or anime characters.

They are aged anywhere between 18 and 50 (although they look nothing near that age) and dress very scantily so as to be as alluring as possible.

Surprisingly, many hosts that work at gay host clubs are actually straight. Hosts that cannot find work or get enough customers at the more-competitive straight host clubs turn to the gay host clubs to earn a better living.

Opening hours

In the case of the host club that Alex went to, you can hire hosts out overnight. If you do so, you can pay to have them stay with you until 10am. This all depends on the host’s schedule, however.

For the club itself, I would guess that they are open from around 7/8pm-midnight. Alex reckons they are open until about 6am, though. Sorry, I don’t actually know. What a smeg!

The hosts’ duties

The hosts must hand out moist towels, pour drinks, light the cigarettes of any customers that smoke, and give their undying attention to the men visiting their club.

The same thing as male prostitutes?

Refrain from touching a host if he does not touch you first. Also be aware that hosts are technically not required to do anything sexual with you at all during the drinking-together phase.

Oh, Alex told me that if you talk to the host club manager, you actually can hire the hosts out for sex, though?! Revelations for me because hostess clubs generally don’t involve sexual acts of any kind! Nichome (the gay district in Tokyo) has different rules…

Alex encourages anyone interested in that side of things to check out the Boys for Rent documentary. Apparently it’s all about the gay host clubs of Japan and how the boys are essentially male prostitutes. The more you know, eh!

Who goes to host clubs?

All sorts of people! Solitary gay men in search of a bit of TLC! Those who don’t realise that they are host clubs! People who want to go and see what host clubs are like (for example Alex)!

Can foreigners go to the clubs too?

If you can speak conversational Japanese, you are allowed to enter the host clubs. The aim of the game is for the hosts to chat and be flirty and alluring, though. So, it’s difficult for them to do their jobs if you can’t understand what they are saying.

Go for it and see, though. Like I said, Alex could barely say a word back when he went. I guess it depends on how willing the host is to try out his English skills…

What’s the catch?

Host clubs are not exactly cheap. As in the case of the host club that Alex visited, he had to keep paying to extend his time there. At the end of the day, the hosts are not your boyfriend. However, they try to act similarly to one to hook you into coming back to see them regularly.

How much for a drink?

The club that Alex went to charged ¥1,700 for entry plus one drink. From then, all drinks cost ¥1,000 or ¥1,300 for strong liquors, such as brandy. The host club also has the option to go the whole hog and purchase an entire bottle of whiskey etc. for ¥5,000.

Where to find a host club

For the gay host clubs, you should check out Nichome in Shinjuku. The club that Alex went to is called King of College and describes itself as a “high quality escort service.”

Smeg me! I just checked out the website for it (click on the hyperlink above to check it out for yourself), and it describes specific rules regarding sleeping with the hosts and everything!