An introspective journey into the glamorous world—and Dionysian temptations—of Japanese nightlife
The hard-drinking, drug-taking, all-night culture that dominates Tokyo's Roppongi district can be a surreal place. Intrigued by rumors of this strange subculture and armed with her 90-day work visa and new husband, Matt, Chelsea throws herself into the lion's den. Yet what she discovers about herself and about the inhabitants of this nocturnal life far exceeds her expectations.
October 1, 2009
The high and low times of a temporary hostess in Japan.
At age 20, former model Haywood decided to travel to Tokyo with her husband Matt to write a book about the curious profession of hostessing. She soon found herself in the city's infamous Roppongi district, where sex and other vices of all varieties are available for a price. With her blond good looks, she easily found a job at a club. Hostessing in Japan, she writes,"has very little to do with sex, quite a lot to do with psychology and nothing to do with prostitution." Haywood and the other hostesses—from Europe, America and several places in between—spent long nights in the club fulfilling the fantasy of an adoring girlfriend for an endless parade of lonely, overworked"salary men." Haywood lit their cigarettes, poured their drinks and listened with feigned interest to their complaints and dreams. There might be dinner outside the club, but it was all fantasy. For a lot of money, the author was"available but unobtainable," the hostess motto. Still, some customers became friends or more than friends, including Nori, a rich doctor who became obsessed with Haywood; Shin, who became like her big brother; Koji, who may or may not have been a serial rapist; and Yoshi, a handsome, dashing, cocaine-snorting multimillionaire with whom Haywood began to fall in love. The author's story begins to falter as it becomes more about her unconsummated affair with Yoshi and her struggles to choose between him and Matt. Beyond a discourse on burusera, the Japanese male obsession with schoolgirls and their uniforms, and a hilarious adventure as a dancer on a Japanese pop-music TV show, Haywood fails to delve into her encounters with Japanese culture. Ultimately the narrative becomes part bodice ripper, part teenage diary: e.g., Yoshi was a"groomed, polished, virile specimen…egotistical to the point of narcissism, yet he oozed an invisible nectar that made him irresistibly attractive." After three months, burnt out from booze, lies and endless partying, Haywood returned to Canada with Matt.
An entertaining but shallow read that reveals more about the author than Japan.
(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
Starred review from November 1, 2009
When night falls on Tokyos Roppongi district, harried businessmen find a welcome respite from the relentless pressures of work. Here alcohol flows freely, drugs are easy to obtain, and, for a price, they can forget their cares in the company of a lovely young womanor two or three. Canadian fashion model Haywood finds herself immersed in this surreal world when she begins a three-month stint as a Tokyo hostess. Being a hostess isnt about sex; these coveted women are prized for their engaging personalities, conversational skills, and willingness to sing karaoke (sometimes very badly). Of course, it doesnt hurt to be drop-dead gorgeous, which Haywood certainly is. Her very understanding husband (also a model) isnt bothered by the fact that his wife is surrounded by men who aggressively ogle her and ply her with drinks. Among them: Nori, a moody, possessive gastroenterologist; Koji, an obsessive, foulmouthed Oxford PhD; and cool, handsome and super-rich Yoshi, who brings out lustful feelings Haywood tries desperately to deny. Is it worth risking her marriage for a man who considers her little more than a commodity? Like Karin Mullers Japanland (2005) and Lea Jacobsons Bar Flower (2008), Haywoods candid, lively debut celebrates the cultural complexities of modern-day Japan.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)
September 28, 2009
Haywood, a Canadian model who was 20 when the events of this book occurred, reassured herself and her husband, Matt, that working as a Tokyo hostess in an upscale Roppongi bar was more akin to being a geisha than a prostitute. Once she got the temporary but full-time job as hostess at Greengrass, all she had to do was look hot in a dress and heels, keep the rich customers drinking, make conversation and occasionally sing karaoke, all for a couple hundred dollars a night. Or so she thought. As she quickly learned, she had to be popular with the clients by building relationships, going on dohans
, or dates, outside the club, and generally being at her favorites' beck and call. Some of the clients got pretty weird, such as the importunate, chatty surgeon Nori, who took the author on extravagant shopping sprees in the hope that she would love him, and the dangerously morose, cocaine-fueled Yoshi, the scion of a Japanese entertainment empire whose jaded diffidence Haywood began to fall for. Gradually, the mollifying of lonely older men's egos began to grate on the author, and she succumbed to a punishing routine of drink, drugs and late nights, rarely spending time with her husband (he also worked at a club), while declaring that Matt was “completely supportive.” Haywood's sulky pose at decadence is not quite convincing.