Hostess bar

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A hostess bar is a bar or pub that employs primarily female staff and caters to adult males seeking drink and conversation. A similar and more recent establishment (specific to Japan) is a host bar.

[edit] Hostess bar

Signage for hostess bars in Kabukicho, Tokyo

Hostess bars can be found in many countries and take many forms. Many are tied to the sex trade, with the hostesses being little more than prostitutes who serve drinks. However, most simply have hostesses pouring drinks, offering conversation, and singing karaoke in effort to keep the customers entertained. They are distinguished from go-go bars, erotic massage parlors, and the like by the absence of dancing and illicit services.

In Japan, hostess bars are called kyabakura (キャバクラ, kyabakura^?), a portmanteau of cabaret and club. Hostesses are known as kyabajō (キャバ嬢, kyabajō^?) and are generally hired for their looks and/or personality. The bar will often also employ a female bartender, who is usually well-trained in mixology, and may also be the manager or mamasan. While drinks tend to be more expensive than at regular bars and there is generally a substantial cover charge, many places offer nomihodai (bottomless refills) for certain drinks such as whiskey.

While most establishments have male touts outside to bring in the customers, it may also fall upon a (usually new) hostess to do so. In addition to their on-site duties, hostesses are generally obliged to make customers their dōhan (同伴, dōhan^?) — a patron who will take them to dinner outside of the bar and regular working hours. This is system generates repeat patronage of a particular bar by developing attachments between particular customers and hostesses. And while hostesses may be deducted pay for not having enough dohan dates, most also run on commission systems in which they also receive a percentage of sales.

Patrons are generally greeted warmly at the door and seated as far away from other customers as possible. In some instances, a customer is able to choose who he spends time with, while most often is it decided by the house. However, the hostess will leave after a certain amount of time or number of drinks, offering the customer a chance to see a fresh face.

[edit] Host club

Signage for a host bar in Kabukicho, Tokyo

A host club is similar to a hostess bar, except that female customers pay for male company. Host clubs are typically found in more populated areas of Japan, and are famed for being numerous in Tokyo districts such as Kabuki-cho.

Male hosts pour drinks and will often flirt with their clients moreso than their female counterparts. The conversations are generally light-hearted and depending on the host, they have a variety of entertainment skills, be it simple magic tricks or loads of charisma with which to tell a story. Hosts are often aged between 18 and their mid-20s.

Pay is usually determined by commission on drink sales, or uriage (売上）, with hosts often drinking far past a healthy limit, usually while trying to hide their drunkenness. Because the base hourly wage is usually extremely low, almost any man can become a host regardless of looks or charisma (depending on the bar). However, hosts who cannot increase their sales usually drop out very soon, because of the minimal wage. The environment in a host bar is usually very competitive, with tens of thousands of dollars sometimes offered to the host who can achieve the highest sales.

Many of the clientel who visit host bars are often female hostesses, who finish work at around 1:00 or 2:00 a.m., causing host bars to often begin business at 3:00 a.m. and finish in the morning or midday, and hosts to work to the point of exhaustion. Drinks usually start at about 5,000 yen but can reach around 3 million yen ($US 15,000) for a bottle of champagne.

While hostess bars in Tokyo often have men out on the streets getting clients to come into their clubs, hosts often go out onto the streets to find customers, but these are usually the younger, less-experienced ones. A common look for a host is a dark suit, collared shirt, silver jewelery, a dark tan, and bleached hair.

There are many dramas, documentaries, mangas, animes and magazines revolving around host clubs, and catering to hosts, their customers, and host recruiters, such as Ouran High School Host Club.