JOEL CORNELL: Hello, I'm here in Tokyo, Japan.
I'm here to check out something called host bars,
which I'm told is a booming industry here.
Host bars are something that people can go to to enjoy the
company of boys or girls at a cost.
The company is platonic.
I'm going to meet somebody called Reiji who is the
self-proclaimed king of hosts.
He owns a place around here, and he's hopefully going to
show me what it's all about.
It's good that you're here, Akira, because I don't know
any Japanese.
AKIRA: OK.
JOEL CORNELL: Yeah.
So you're going to have to help me a lot.
AKIRA: OK.
JOEL CORNELL: Is that all right?
AKIRA: Yeah.
JOEL CORNELL: All right, cool.
Reiji-san!
REIJI: Hello!
JOEL CORNELL: Hello.
REIJI: Joe?
JOEL CORNELL: Joel.
REIJI: Oh, John?
JOEL CORNELL: Joel.
REIJI: Joe?.
JOEL CORNELL: Joel.
REIJI: Oh, nice to meet you.
JOEL CORNELL: Likewise, nice to meet you too, Reiji-san.
REIJI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
JOEL CORNELL: Yeah.
Is this OK?
REIJI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
JOEL CORNELL: Yes, I'm very sure.
REIJI: Heart OK?
JOEL CORNELL: Yes, my heart, very big.
REIJI: Oh.
JOEL CORNELL: Very big.
REIJI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
JOEL CORNELL: OK.
REIJI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
JOEL CORNELL: How long have you had Player's Club Dios?
REIJI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
JOEL CORNELL: So you're the king of
hosts, is that correct?
REIJI: Yeah.
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
JOEL CORNELL: How much does a host make a month now?
REIJI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
JOEL CORNELL: Right, OK.
So the hosts get presents.
REIJI: Yeah.
JOEL CORNELL: What do they get, rings and stuff?
Clothes?
REIJI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
JOEL CORNELL: Do you think I could get one?
AKIRA: Cars.
JOEL CORNELL: Cars?
AKIRA: Yeah.
JOEL CORNELL: And how long do you have to train
to be a host boy?
REIJI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
JOEL CORNELL: Will you give me a chance to try and be a host?
REIJI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
JOEL CORNELL: OK.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MASAHIRO: I would like you to make drinks.
JOEL CORNELL: Yes, OK.
MASAHIRO: OK.
JOEL CORNELL: Great, I definitely need to learn how
to do that.
Oh!
MASAHIRO: First, put the ice into the glass.
This is a Japanese alcohol drink.
And this is tea.
JOEL CORNELL: Tea.
Cheers!
MASAHIRO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
JOEL CORNELL: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
MASAHIRO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE].
JOEL CORNELL: So now, I know how to make a drink.
What do I do now?
What should I be saying?
You are beautiful.
Of course, that goes without saying.
Is there anything that I can't ask them?
Age, yeah.
OK.
Do you want champagne, do I ask her that?
MASAHIRO: Yes, yes.
JOEL CORNELL: Yeah?
MASAHIRO: Yeah.
JOEL CORNELL: Am I a servant?
MASAHIRO: Yeah.
JOEL CORNELL: You look beautiful.
MASAHIRO: Thank you.
JOEL CORNELL: I love you.
MASAHIRO: Yes!
JOEL CORNELL: Would you like a biscuit?
MASAHIRO: Yes.
JOEL CORNELL: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
MASAHIRO: You are number one.
JOEL CORNELL: Mm-hm.
MASAHIRO: My customer is coming.
JOEL CORNELL: Yes.
I'm obviously a bit nervous about this situation.
MASAHIRO: Ah, we'll help you.
Teamwork, teamwork.
JOEL CORNELL: Teamwork, OK.
Oh!
Sorry, sorry.
You look beautiful.
MASAHIRO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
-[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
MASAHIRO: Thank you, she says, thank you.
JOEL CORNELL: That's OK.
MASAHIRO: What do you want to drink?
JOEL CORNELL: A bottle of champagne?
MASAHIRO: Champagne, OK?
-OK.
MASAHIRO: OK.
JOEL CORNELL: OK.
MASAHIRO: Whoa!
You're great.
Champagne, yeah.
JOEL CORNELL: Yeah!
I did not expect that to happen.
I did not expect Masahiro to trust me with one of his
clients or customers or whatever.
I'm not sure if he was being sarcastic when he said great
job when I got the champagne.
But I think that was pretty good.
I was told by the guy in the back that that costs $450 US.
To tell you the truth, it actually felt--
I felt really comfortable in there with those guys.
The other boy hosts, they made me feel so welcome.
Like, they were really lovely.
I'm very ready to be a host tomorrow night.
Reiji's going to take me up to Masahiro's house.
MASAHIRO: Welcome, welcome.
JOEL CORNELL: Thank you.
So how many of you live here, just two?
REIJI: Yes, two.
-[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
JOEL CORNELL: Would you bring a girl
back here after working?
MASAHIRO: Ah, no, no, no.
NARUMI: No, no!
-[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
JOEL CORNELL: I'm going on my date tonight with a girl.
MASAHIRO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
NARUMI: Who?
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
MASAHIRO: Yeah.
NARUMI: OK.
JOEL CORNELL: I don't know.
I don't know what she looks like.
I've never met her.
Really?
Whoa.
Check that out.
That's my date.
NARUMI: Whoa!
JOEL CORNELL: Yeah?
NARUMI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
JOEL CORNELL: Yeah.
NARUMI: OK, OK.
JOEL CORNELL: Oh, yeah, it's the big day.
Hopefully the stylist is going to be here to do up my cravat.
MASAHIRO: No, no.
Today, yukata.
JOEL CORNELL: Hm?
MASAHIRO: Yukata, no suits.
Today's costume.
JOEL CORNELL: Ah, thank you.
MASAHIRO: OK, OK, yes.
JOEL CORNELL: That's fine, that's great.
MASAHIRO: You try!
YUDI: Konichiwa.
-[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
JOEL CORNELL: Reiji-san, yeah?
I think she is.
Customer?
MASAHIRO: You ready?
JOEL CORNELL: Yeah.
I'm nervous.
MASAHIRO: Yeah, OK.
JOEL CORNELL: Yeah.
MASAHIRO: Let's go.
JOEL CORNELL: Konichiwa.
YUDI: Ah!
Konichiwa.
JOEL CORNELL: Oh, hang on!
This flower is for you.
YUDI: Oh, thank you.
JOEL CORNELL: It's a present.
YUDI: Yes, thank you.
Oh!
JOEL CORNELL: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
Joel.
YUDI: Joel, yes.
JOEL CORNELL: What is your name?
YUDI: Yudi.
JOEL CORNELL: Yudi?
YUDI: Nice to meet you.
JOEL CORNELL: Nice to meet you.
You are very beautiful.
YUDI: Thank you.
JOEL CORNELL: It's OK!
Do you think that I'm beautiful?
YUDI: Hm?
JOEL CORNELL: Uh.
How was your day?
JOEL CORNELL: You walked?
YUDI: Yeah.
JOEL CORNELL: You worked?
YUDI: Yeah.
JOEL CORNELL: OK.
Um, uh, [NERVOUS LAUGHTER].
Um, sorry.
YUDI: It's OK.
MASAHIRO: Drink, drink!
JOEL CORNELL: Drink.
Would you like a drink?
YUDI: Oh, champagne.
JOEL CORNELL: Champagne?
YUDI: Yeah.
JOEL CORNELL: OK!
Great, my favorite.
All right, I'll go get some champagne.
I'm so nervous.
Champagne glasses.
-Yeah, champagne glass.
JOEL CORNELL: So do I bring the bucket over?
OK, I have champagne.
YUDI: Oh, thank you.
JOEL CORNELL: Whoa!
YUDI: Oh!
JOEL CORNELL: Here you are.
YUDI: Ah, thank you.
JOEL CORNELL: [SPEAKING JAPANESE].
YUDI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE], cheers.
JOEL CORNELL: Cheers.
YUDI: Cheers.
JOEL CORNELL: I come from Australia.
Back home, I am a musician.
I play in a band.
YUDI: Oh!
That's great.
JOEL CORNELL: Do you have any favorite bands?
YUDI: Uh, Led Zeppelin.
JOEL CORNELL: Led Zeppelin?
YUDI: Yeah.
JOEL CORNELL: Ah, yeah, Robert Plant.
YUDI: I love Jimmy Page.
JOEL CORNELL: Yeah, Jimmy Page.
Yeah, I'm a guitarist.
YUDI: Oh!
JOEL CORNELL: What movies do you like?
YUDI: Yeah, I like movies, I love--
JOEL CORNELL: Which ones?
JOEL CORNELL: Yeah, of course.
Well, I like action movies.
YUDI: Oh, action.
JOEL CORNELL: So I like Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Do you think I look like Bruce Willis?
YUDI: [LAUGHTER]
JOEL CORNELL: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
Do you like cocktails?
YUDI: Yes
JOEL CORNELL: Yeah?
YUDI: Mm-hm.
JOEL CORNELL: Do you think you'd allow me
to make you a cocktail?
YUDI: Oh!
JOEL CORNELL: Yeah?
YUDI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
JOEL CORNELL: And it's called a Shochu sunrise.
YUDI: Yes.
JOEL CORNELL: Yellow, red.
YUDI: Ah, image.
JOEL CORNELL: Yeah, yeah.
YUDI: Oh, thank you.
JOEL CORNELL: I'll go make it now.
YUDI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
-[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
YUDI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
JOEL CORNELL: It's OK?
OK, I have a Shochu sunrise.
YUDI: Shochu sunrise.
JOEL CORNELL: For you.
YUDI: Yes.
Mm!
JOEL CORNELL: It's OK?
YUDI: Good, mm.
JOEL CORNELL: Shochu.
YUDI: Shochu, mm-hm.
JOEL CORNELL: Is obviously Japanese.
In Australia, we call them vodka sunrise.
So east meets west.
YUDI: Nice idea.
JOEL CORNELL: Ah, thank you.
REIJI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
[MUSIC PLAYING]