As the city reopens following its soft lockdown, one establishment has made headlines for changing its operating style to fit the new normal that is post-COVID-19 Tokyo — and also opening itself up to a broader demographic ahead of its closure.
The host club Ai Honten (literally, Love Head Office) will open only on Saturdays and Sundays as a cafe. For once, male customers will also be admitted. So this is also a kind of education project, helping people experience what a host club is like without having to pay the usual costs entailed.
First opened in 1971 and one of the most renowned clubs in the Kabukicho district, the long-running Ai Honten will actually close for good at its current location the end of June, so this is effectively a kind of “last chance” for fans or the curious to see what the club is like inside. (Hint: it’s glitzy.) The building is set to be demolished as part of the ongoing gentrification and redevelopment of Kabukicho, though Ai Honten plans to reopen in a new location.
The hosts will not be on hand to offer their usual services per se, but will rather be hanging around to give information and floor guidance.
Despite the similarity of name (“honten” looks at a glance like “bookstore”), Ai Honten should not confused with the now-closed (and since relocated) Kabukicho Book Center, a love-themed bookstore operated by genuine hosts.
The Ai Honten cafe has a menu with the standard fare and prices (as opposed to a break-the-bank costs of a visit to a host club). You pay ¥1,000 for all-you-can-drink, which is a heck of a lot more reasonable than Starbuck’s. Alcoholic beverages are available for around ¥600 each.
Social distancing measures are in place, with customers having their temperatures checked at the door and asked to sanitize their hands, and with the tables properly spaced apart.
Ai Honten is famous from its frequent use as a location for filming. Its gaudy, flamboyant style seems to epitomize the garish host lifestyle. The interior is filled with chandeliers, mirrors, and gold statues. Subtle, this ain’t.
This promotion by the club is taking place at a point when the reputation of host and hostess clubs has been severely blighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with such nightlife establishments receiving much of the blame for spreading infections. The facts have, unfortunately or otherwise, continued to support this perception: of the 26 new infections in Tokyo announced on June 6, 12 were from a single Kabukicho host club.
Governor Koike will set up regular testing for nightlife workers to prevent a second wave hitting the city.
