Elite VIP clubs frequented by celebrities, doctors, lawyers and athletes are booming, reports Shukan Post (Apr. 4-11).
Known as “limited lounges,” the establishments, primarily located in the Nishi Azabu and Aoyama entertainment areas, are effectively kyabakura hostess clubs but registered as restaurants or bars so as to avoid problems with the nationwide adult-entertainment law regarding hours of operation.
A 20-year-old employee at one limited lounge tells the tabloid that though she only makes 3,000 yen per hour her mind is at ease due to the quality of customers. “It’s nothing like the scary people in Roppongi and Kabukicho,” she says. “We have a lot of smartly dressed, celebrity types.”
Unsurprisingly, the clubs are not cheap. A membership fee of around 100,000 yen is required, and basic rates start at 40,000 yen for two hours.
But, the magazine says, the positive effects of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic policies — collectively referred to as “Abenomics” — have caused the clubs to flourish, with a few dozen in operation in Tokyo.
Because men from the entertainment industry are regulars, some of them seek up-and-coming talent or gravure (pin-up) idols who are willing to sleep their way to success.
“Not long ago, I heard about a bikini model who became the mistress of the head of a big company,” she says. “That would be wonderful for me too.”
The manager of a such a club says about half of his girls are models or actresses attached to talent agencies. “These girls cannot make a living through their agency,” says the manager. “So there are conditions that if they have a job (through their agency) then we’ll give them a day off.”
In days past, such a “mistress bank” was referred to by the name “yugure-zoku,” or the night tribe. But nowadays “kosai kurabu” (meaning friendship club) is the preferred designation.
The quality of the hostesses is as high as ever, Shukan Post assures.
“The girls are carefully filtered out based on appearance and age,” says an event company manager. “There are 2,000 girls registered at my club.”
An introduction to a girl costs 20,000 yen. Crucially, subsequent moves along in the relationship require additional fees that are dependent upon negotiation.
“In my experience sex costs 30,000 yen,” says the event manager. (A.T.)
Source: “‘Keiyaku koibito’ ga hisokani fukkatsu shiteiru rashii,” Shukan Post (Apr. 4-11)
