Last year, weekly tabloid Shukan Asahi reported on Victorian Queen, the nation’s first transgender host club in Osaka.
Now Tokyo can now make a similar claim. Meet Kyoya and Ren of Club A.C.T., suggests Friday (April 10).
Both ladies, each of whom is 20 years of age, endured periods of self-discovery just prior to joining the host club, which is located in the red-light district of Kabukicho.
Kyoya has had an interest in the adult-entertainment trade since entering university. She subsequently took up work as a hostess at a “girl’s bar” and a kyabakura club.
“But while working at both places I noticed that I have an attraction to women,” she tells the magazine. “Working at an onabe place” — where ladies on staff dress as men — “was of course an option but I’ve always wanted to work at a host club.”
Club A.C.T. is run by Takashi Aida, whose father established the popular Club Ai host chain. As a means of reference, staff members at a host club, often dressed in flashy suits and sporting spiky hair, pour drinks and provide pleasant conversation for female customers.
Kyoya joined Club A.C.T. during a recruitment period.
“With nothing to lose, I went for an interview,” says Kyoya, who has long gray hair. “I was told I was interesting, and they accepted me for employment.”
For Ren, she had been dressing as a man since entering college. Like her colleague, she also took up work in the adult-entertainment trade at a bar in Kabukicho.
“I then got invited to join the host club,” she says. “From the start, I was bewildered. It’s a man’s world, and I wanted to try to push this so-called ‘man’s power’ as far as possible. It’s been a month now, and the problems continue.”
Kyoya seems to be doing better. She has been at Club A.C.T. for four months. Since starting, she dropped out of school.
Both ladies reside in the club’s dormitory whose rooms accommodate three people.
“In living with the guys, I’ve found that I can be just like one of the boys,” Kyoya says. “There are no problems.”
There is, however, one problem that is continual: Each girl possesses an E-cup chest that must be concealed during working hours.
A bigger issue to Ren is bringing in customers.
“I’ve resorted to picking up women online,” she giggles. “I tell them I’m a host and ask them to stop by.”
Kyoya hopes she can attract fresh, good-looking and interesting women to Club A.C.T, with any success being a reflection of her talent. “I have faith that the demand for a female host is very real,” she says. (K.N.)
Source: “Nihon hatsu!? Kabukicho no onna hosuto ‘bokutachi no shucho,’” Friday (April 10, page 76)