Kabukichō Top Hostess Turned Businesswoman Shares Her Secrets in 600 Million Yen Mansion

Emiri Aizawa, who once ruled as the “No.1 Kabukicho Hostess,” is now a single mother raising her child while serving as CEO ofJoint-stock company / Corporation voyage. She runs six businesses, including apparel, skincare, and producing the Kabukicho cabaret club Forty-Five.

At the same time, she belongs to Platinum Production as a talent. Her blunt remarks on the YouTube program LAST CALLhave attracted attention, making her a notable figure as a player herself. We spoke with her about her multi-faceted life—from her peak nights to her life after.

Despite her image as a charismatic hostess, Emiri struggled when she first moved from her hometown of Yokohama to Tokyo at 18. At her first cabaret job, she didn’t sell at all.

“I spent two years at a Roppongi club, but it really didn’t go anywhere (laughs). When I transferred to a Kabukicho club at 20, the district and the manager I worked with clicked, and I started selling pretty quickly.”

How did she rise to become No.1 in Kabukicho?

“First, I never took a day off. Second, it’s all about the calls. I was dialing like a call center—around 50 calls a day (laughs). I also went on dates every day. Normally, it’s once a day, but I did it four times. I’d go have a meal with the first client, bring them to the club, say, ‘I’m going to change!’ and head back out to meet the second client for a quick coffee, then take them to the club repeat four times. Any hostess I tell this to says, ‘Unbelievable!’”

She also had a personal rule not to rely on a single high-spending client.

“Even though I had about 15 regulars a day, I always worked with free customers. In any business, acquiring new clients is basic. If you only rely on existing clients and neglect to get new ones, you’ll decline. I had confidence that as long as I work free, I can always get new clients! so my mentality never wavered.

What I was doing was basically sales. If SNS existed back then, attracting and keeping clients would’ve been easier. But because I was a hostess in an era that required gritty, hands-on sales, I think it’s what made me capable of becoming a business owner.”

Reiwa Hostesses Are Financially Savvy

Emiri notes that the biggest difference between hostesses of her era and today’s is visuals.

“The girls now have high visual potential. Plastic surgery is more common, so everyone looks beautiful. But because being pretty or cute is so standard and many girls have similar looks, it can be harder to show individuality.

Also, the types of women working have changed completely. Now you have current students from Waseda or Keio working part-time, or former employees of large companies quitting to focus solely on cabaret work. Back in the day, most were former delinquents or women who only had experience in nightlife jobs. The industry itself has changed a lot.”

She speculates the reason is that cash stays in hand the most.

“Many girls use the money they earn in cabaret to start businesses or invest. Increasingly, they see cabaret as a place to earn while it’s advantageous for their long-term life plans. With the industry itself inflating, I think now is actually the best time to work.”

Surprisingly, Emiri said that even at the peak of her career at 23, she felt, “This life won’t last long.”

“Since I came to Kabukicho at 20, I was obsessed with being number one and worked tirelessly. But because I pushed myself so hard, I realized that continuing at the front lines of cabaret work would be mentally and physically difficult. Back then, younger girls had an easier time succeeding in Kabukicho, so I vaguely thought, ‘I’ll quit before I’m no longer No.1.’”

At that time, starting as a model for the popular magazine Koakuma Ageha expanded her network and led her to entrepreneurship.

“People around me suggested, ‘Why not start a business?’ but I was at the level of thinking, ‘Start a business what’s that?’ (laughs). I didn’t even know the word, and I hadn’t particularly thought about becoming a CEO.”

Her achievements as an entrepreneur are as mentioned earlier. Emiri says her success as a businesswoman was greatly helped by her experience as Kabukicho’s No.1 hostess.

“Working in cabaret strengthened my mentality and honed my communication skills. I also became highly aware of branding. There are many factors that contributed to my success, but the biggest was consistently producing results. Continuously achieving results translates directly into business.”

“Although a hostess belongs to a club, she is essentially self-employed. You must generate sales and profits yourself. You think about how to sell, how to brand yourself, how to maintain sales, how to get new customers. You do all of this comprehensively on your own and deliver results. I didn’t realize it until I became a business owner, but what hostesses do is almost the same as what an entrepreneur does. Naturally acquiring those skills became my strength.”

She always wanted children

Emiri is a single mother raising two children, and she often shares about them on social media. When asked about her children, her voice softened.

“Honestly, it was like they were born with a bang ♡. I wanted kids since I was about 20, and after retiring from being a hostess at 30, I thought, ‘I want them to be born anytime!’”

Her frequently featured 600 million yen house on SNS was actually remodeled with child-rearing in mind.

“When I started seriously thinking about wanting children, during the COVID period I happened to be looking for a new place, and I came across this property. The moment I saw it, I thought, ‘What is this?! The layout is perfect!’ I fell in love at first sight. I originally wanted a rental, but I immediately decided, ‘I’ll buy it! I’ll pay right now!’”

She bought it almost entirely with cash. The capital was money she earned from working as a hostess. Profits from her businesses were reinvested into new ventures, and none of that money went into buying her home.

Although the 600 million yen price tag is astronomical, Emiri says that due to the COVID period and the previous owner’s urgency to sell, “It wasn’t an investment purpose, but the price was quite a bargain.”

“Above all, since the remodeling was done with children in mind, it’s incredibly easy to raise kids here. The biggest advantage of owning is that you can customize the interior exactly how you like.”

Emiri has been with her children’s father for a long time, and she laughed, saying she thought, “We were going to get married.”

“Getting married and having children seemed like the normal path, and I thought I would follow that. So I hadn’t discussed concrete plans for the future with him. What I consider normal isn’t necessarily everyone’s normal. Values differ from person to person. His vision of the future and mine were different.”

After discussing with her partner, she chose to be a single mother, thinking, “I want to have at least one child!” But worries didn’t stop there.

“I was prepared, but when I actually became pregnant, my hormones were off and my mental balance was unstable, and I had many days thinking, ‘Was this choice a mistake?’ or ‘Maybe I should have gotten married’”

However, when she had her second child, she said, “It was completely fine this time!” and laughed.

“I used to think having a partner was essential, but for me, it was just that I was doing something unfamiliar, so it was hard (laughs). Humans struggle when doing something inexperienced. Hormonal changes may have contributed, but for me, both giving birth and raising kids were just tough because I hadn’t done them before. The second time was actually much easier.”

Being a single mother was the best choice

Currently, she is not in a romantic relationship with her partner. However, they remain on good terms as the father and mother of their children.

“We get along really well, so when the kids grow up and realize we aren’t married, I think they’ll be surprised. Regardless of the form, I can confidently say, ‘Our children are living surrounded by immense love.’ As for my partner, to put it bluntly, I hope he is happy too.”

She does not regret choosing to be a single mother. But when asked about the opinion, “It’s better to be raised by a happy single parent than by parents who don’t get along,” she didn’t fully agree.

“I think that might be a little too extreme. There are actually children being raised by parents who get along well, so I wouldn’t say that’s always the best. But for me, choosing to be a single mother was the best decision at that time, and I have absolutely no regrets.”

Currently, Emiri hires a babysitter seven days a week, and says she spends around two hours with her children on weekdays. She laughed, noting that the monthly babysitter fee is about the price of a Hermès Birkin. Although deeply focused on her work, she firmly says, “I don’t work with the mindset of ‘I’m doing this for my kids.’”

“When I gave birth to my eldest daughter, I couldn’t stop thinking she was so cute. I didn’t want to leave her with anyone, and sometimes while working, I wondered, ‘What am I even doing?’ I even considered quitting and moving to the countryside.

But the people I work with—who spend as much time with me on work as I do—are amazing and I love them. They fully support me in raising my kids, and I really didn’t want to lose that environment. They’re like family. I felt strongly that I wanted to protect this place too.

It’s true that the time I spend with my kids is short, but seeing their mother fully committed to her work is inspiring. I hope that by seeing me pursue what I want to do, my children will also find their own passions.”

When asked again if she was glad she worked in cabaret:

“Working hard as a hostess allowed me to build a career and earn money. I really think that was a good thing. There was actually a time I considered going back to Roppongi, but someone told me, ‘If you think about the future, Kabukicho is better. It’s more straightforward,’ and I was convinced.

Being ‘Kabukicho No.1’ is clear and catchy, isn’t it? That’s why I worked so hard in Kabukicho, and it still defines my branding today. Some people might think, ‘She’s 37 and still going to Kabukicho’ but Kabukicho is the home that raised me. I owe a lot to it, and moving forward, I want to give back to this town.”