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.