TOKYO (TR) – A hostess working in the upscale Ginza nightlife district has lifted the lid on the daily barrage of bizarre, delusional, and borderline harassing Line messages she and her colleagues receive from middle-aged male patrons.
Writing under the pen name “Mizue-chan,” the hostess and freelance writer details the unsettling reality of digital communications in the nightlife industry to Nikkan Spa! (Sep. 11), exposing five distinct categories of “creepy” messages sent by older men who mistake paid hospitality for genuine romance.
1. The Bizarre Sexual Harassment
While working at a cheap cabaret club in West Tokyo, Mizue-chan recalled receiving late-night messages from a patron inspired by the hit anime Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc. The man texted, “Tonight is the infinite ejaculation arc with you,” followed by, “I can try harder in the morning (lol).”
The following morning, the man sent a pathetic, frantic apology so long it required four scrolls to read on her smartphone screen.
2. The Unsolicited “Daily News” Broadcasts
A major source of annoyance for hostesses is the unprompted daily update. Older men, assuming a mutual romance has blossomed after a few drinks, send mundane updates like “I’ve caught a cold and am in bed,” or “I’m about to go jogging around the Imperial Palace!” While seemingly harmless, hostesses view the messages as an exhausting extension of unpaid labor.
“Meetings”
3. Delusions of Grandeur
Mizue-chan noted that older men often use her side job as a freelance writer to arrange “meetings,” which are thinly veiled attempts at dates. Despite the reality of the situation, the men frame the invitations with startling arrogance, sending messages like, “I can make time to meet you at night,” acting as if the hostess is the one desperate for their company.
4. Fishing for Compliments
Many middle-aged patrons utilize weaponized self-deprecation to force hostesses into stroking their egos. By sending messages like, “I’m just an old man now (lol)” or “You wouldn’t want to deal with a guy like me, right? (lol),” the men aggressively fish for obligatory replies such as, “That’s not true! You’re young!” or “I love spending time with you!”
5. The Hostile Preacher
When older men are rejected, the situation can quickly turn hostile. Mizue-chan recounted an incident involving a female university student working at a cabaret club in Osaka’s Kitashinchi district. A man in his 50s relentlessly pressured the young woman to go on a trip with him. When she politely declined, citing job hunting and graduation trips, the man snapped.
“You’re underestimating this job,” the man scolded via text, adding the classic defense of the rejected patron: “I’m only saying this for your own good.”
Psychology of the ‘creepy’ patron
According to Mizue-chan, the root cause of these disturbing communications is a fundamental disconnect from reality.
Many of these men refuse to let go of their youth, using the Line messaging app as a risk-free way to play out romantic fantasies. Furthermore, they fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the nightlife industry, mistakenly believing that polite, professional responses from hostesses mean the women are genuinely interested in them.
“Even men who are isolated at home or work, harboring unfulfilled loneliness, can use Line to have women pay attention to them without spending a single yen,” Mizue-chan explained, describing the app as the “ultimate cost-effective toy” for lonely men.
She concluded with a stark warning to patrons who view cabaret clubs and hostess bars as safe spaces to live out their delusions without fear of retaliation, noting that ultimately, it is the older men who will end up ignored, laughed at, and alone.
