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Soon-to-be-demolished, historical host club opens up its doors to family-friendly fun

Jun 14, 2020 | News On Japan

Jun 14, 2020 (soranews24.com) - Next time the kids complain that they never get to do anything cool on the weekends, just take them to this host club.

Host clubs are entertainment establishments known to be staffed by silver-tongued, handsome men and catered towards women for nights of boozy, gallivanting pleasure.

While often stereotyped as seedy and full of scams which have purged many an unfortunate victim’s bank account, not all host clubs are made the same, and this especially goes for Ai Honten.

Opened up in 1971 by a former bed-selling business man, Ai Honten (Ai meaning “love” and Honten indicating it as the mothership store) is one of Tokyo’s oldest host clubs, located in the heart of Shinjuku’s Kabukicho district.

Though the host club is moving to a new location and will be demolished by the end of June, considering the density of host clubs and influential hosts in the area, it’s no small achievement to not only remain in business for nearly 50 years, but to also expand with at least seven sister host clubs in the process.

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