So yeah, I walk down this busy street at least twice a week. During the day, it has restaurants, a little shopping, and lots of tourists. But at night, which when I am usually walking in this area, you can spot tons of bars, nightclubs, neon lights, and the trendsetters of Osaka. There is one intersection in the walking streets of Dotonbori, on one end of the bridge over Dotonbori-gawa (the Dotonbori river), where you will see very snazzily-dressed young Japanese men. Their ages range in the early to mid-twenties and they have hair like Ziggy Stardust! Honestly, these guys probably spend more time on their hair than I do...and that's a lot! These guys have the metrosexual thing down. They dress in suits and wear jewelry and walk up and down the area around this intersection. I found out recently that they are what the Japanese call host boys.
The job of a host or hostess in Japan is kinda like a barmaid/entertainer/prostitute. They work in a host or hostess bar and for a fee they will sit with you at your table and cater to your requests, chit-chat, and flirt with you. You pay for their companionship and if you have enough money you can have sex with them. There are hundreds of these bars in Osaka, but are mostly limited to native Japanese, no gaijin (foreigners) allowed. It's just another part of the crazy Japanese underground boomin sexual market.
So the host boys of the Dotonbori are walking the streets for one reason...they are looking for new customers. They scout out rich-looking female passers-by and approach them on the street, flirt with them, and get them to come back to the host bar for drinks. All Japanese are aware of their occupations, it's not a secret. If the women accept, they go to the host bar and proceed to spend upwards of 1,000,000 yen (=to a bit under $10,000).
At the bars they buy top top top-shelf booze and the women who pay the most get the most attention. Some of the regulars at the host bars don't even have crazy high-paying jobs, many are office workers. These host boys try to get these wealthy young women to fall in love with them, creating repeat business...it's essentially hustling. Some of these women spend so much money at host bars that they in turn get second jobs as strippers or prostitutes just to feed their host bar habits. It's a viscious cycle.
I don't really think it's immorality or corruption in Osaka. Actually it makes me love this city and the country even more. There are no limits...if the price is right. I'm intrigued by the underground culture here. Next time I'm in Dotonbori I'll try to secretly take some pictures of these host boys with my cell phone. But for the time being, I have attached a link to a youtube.com video. It's a teaser for a documentary that was actually made about the host boys of Osaka, released in 2006 called "The Great Happiness Space". I really suggest checking it out. It's soooo interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTWmuK6UgqA
Thought you might enjoy this.
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