Kabukicho Legend Hitoshi Shirosaki and Popular Writer Chihuahua Sasaki Special Dialogue: “The Hosts are Dangerous, Both Now and in the Past”

A dream collaboration was realized before the 3rd anniversary of the serialization!

An in-depth discussion between a Kabukicho legend and a popular writer.

What has changed between Reiwa and Reiwa? Two people who know Kabukicho inside and out talked about it!

Shirosaki: In my six years as a host, my peak monthly number of appointments was about 350, and my take-home pay was about 30 million yen per month. My highest annual income at that time was over 300 million yen.

Chihuahua: There are hosts who are making over 100 million yen these days, but in most cases they are paid by one very fat customer. There is no charismatic person who attracts so many people like Mr. Chirosaki.

Their conversation began with such a gory anecdote. The legendary Hitoshi Shirosaki (46), who once held the No. 1 position at Club Ai in Kabukicho for five consecutive years, and writer Chihuahua Sasaki, who is well versed in the current host situation.

The two, who both know the Heisei and Reiwa eras, talked about the changes in the host business.

 

Shirosaki: The biggest sales were in September 2004, just before I retired. It was my last birthday before I retired, and there were so many customers that we couldn’t even fill the affiliated stores, so we extended the period. It was like every day was my birthday that month, and I sold about 160 million yen.

Chihuahua: Isn’t that too much? There are hosts who sell 10 million yen but have no money at all.

Shirosaki: If you don’t question the method, there were many bad guys in my time. One of my senpai, who was a rough-and-tumble type, used to beat up women and take them to the ATM, saying, “I told you I would spend 3 million yen today.”

Chihuahua: That kind of thing happened, didn’t it?

Shirosaki: Of course I didn’t do that. In fact, one woman said to me, “Enough, go home with me!” and slammed 20 million yen on my desk. I thought this would be a good publicity stunt, so I kicked that desk away (laughs).

Chihuahua: What?

 

Shirosaki: I said, “I’m going to be a host who makes over a hundred million dollars, so I shouldn’t settle with such a low price.”

One saga after another. What do these charismatic hosts feel about the changes of the times?

Shirosaki: The first thing that has changed is the way we dress. In the old days, you couldn’t wear anything but a suit. I used to wear Gucci and Louis Vuitton suits that cost 300,000 to 350,000 yen each.

Chihuahua: Nowadays, there is a lot of street fashion. Sneakers are allowed in more places now.

Shirosaki: It was unthinkable in our days. I have an image that today’s girls often wear thick-soled Prada sneakers.

Chihuahua: Then there is Balenciaga. It is my prejudice, but I feel that the more unsuccessful the hosts are, the more they wear clothes with high brand logos that are easy to recognize (laugh).

Shirosaki: That’s true. There are other things that bother me as well. I worked at “Club Ai” for only one month in 19 years to return the favor. But the way I sat on the chair, the way I held my glass, my manners were not up to par. To top it all off, when my wife came to the restaurant before we were married, some of the guys started hitting on her after they knew about our relationship. It’s sad to see a host who can’t read, or can’t read context in customer service.

Chihuahua: I want my host to hear this. How much do I have to pay you to go to Hoskla with me and scold my host? (laughter)

Shirosaki: I’m not cheap (laughs). But don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to deny the current kids. The kids of today are also doing their best. That’s why I think it’s a waste to lose out on the little things.