My Life as a Japanese Hostess
I am a hostess.
I live in Tokyo and I am in my mid-twenties. I graduated a few years ago from university with no plan. I figured that life would work itself out, as long as I maintained my ambition and desire to eventually do big things in the future. I’m enjoying life in my twenties, and my hobbies include drinking with my friends and watching Netflix. My main passion is writing, and I aspire to become a full-fledged writer some day. Some of my aspirations include translating Japanese works of fiction into English, writing my own work of fiction, and after I’ve become big and famous, releasing a tell-all autobiography of my life. I’m committed to my passions and my future goals, but right now, I am a Japanese hostess. I spend all night talking to men, pouring them drinks, letting them indulge in things unavailable to them during the day. It’s a job that’s often shrouded in mystery, and I’ve decided to begin my writing journey by telling stories of my life as a Japanese hostess.
Honestly, the job leaves me with a giant twisted knot of feelings on a nightly basis. I leave for work in the evening and I finish when the sun has already risen. I ride the train home when most people are rushing to get to work on time. The train can be a lonely place when you know that you are doing the exact opposite of everyone else.
I have told many friends about what I do for a living. I try not to tell people I’ve just met or people I think wouldn’t understand my lifestyle. When you meet people for the first time in Japan, they’ll often ask you, “What do you do for a living?” I usually lie and reply, “I’m in the middle of jobs right now, so I am trying out all sorts of part-time jobs.” I feel bad for lying, but the world is still not ready to accept girls that work as hostesses.
The customers are hit or miss. There are customers that are genuinely just lonely and want someone willing to listen to them. They will become your friends and they will respect you. But there are also customers that come in wasted on alcohol and exhaustion and stress, looking to say the most hateful things to anyone they see. I don’t think I can count the amount of times I’ve been told how ugly I am, or how I should change this or that part of my appearance. It is always heartbreaking to be given so many nasty comments. It never gets easy. I make a point to remind myself that I am worthy and I am so much more than whatever these customers throw in my face. I can’t let my worth be linked to my job.
The girls I work with are both my friends and my competitors. We compete to see who can get the most customers, who can rake in the most money for the bar. Staying vigilant and alert is a must, because you never know when another girl will swoop in and try to steal away a customer. Still, they are the only ones who understand what we all go through each night. They are the only ones available to go out and drink at 5 AM in the morning. These girls are the ones who will gently rub your back and whisper words of encouragement into your ear as you slowly start to crumble from the stress of the job, from the stress of rude customers. It is always a difficult task to balance the competitiveness with the love and care we share for one another.
A hostess means that you’re an object of beauty, youth, and affection, that you’re a professional listener, a great conversation partner, and a bartender all rolled into one. It means that you have sacrificed a “normal” life to see the underside of Japanese society, a side that many prefer to avert their eyes from. If you’re willing to look though, you will find that the underside of Japan is nothing but a mirror, reflecting the dark and not-so-great sides of society.
It can be painful to be faced with that reflection. It can be difficult to see the things that we have hidden under our beds, in our closets. Seeing it all has changed me. It has changed my perception of Japanese society. I have seen so much of Japan that very few people are able to even glimpse. But, interestingly, everything I have seen, felt, and experienced while working this job is what has finally pushed me to a piece of paper and pen, to begin my writing journey.
This is my life as a Japanese hostess. This is the beginning of my writing career.

