Product DescriptionAn introspective journey into the glamorous world?τ??µ?Ç?µ?£and temptations?τ??µ?Ç?µ?£of Japanese nightlife, by former model Chelsea Haywood.The hard-drinking, drug-taking, all-night culture that dominates Tokyo?τ??µ?Ç?µ?ãs Roppongi district can be a surreal place. Overworked Japanese business men will pay handsomely for the services of a hostess?τ??µ?Ç?µ?£someone to talk to, someone to provide hot towels and drinks, and sometimes just a companion with whom to sing karaoke with all night. 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?τ??µ?Ç?µ?ãs den. Yet what she discovers about herself and about the inhabitants of this nocturnal life far exceeds her expectations. Hostessing, she comes to find, has ?τ??µ?Ç?µ?Ùvery little to do with sex, quite a lot to do with psychology, and nothing to do with prostitution.?τ??µ?Ç?µ„Ï Her personality and conversation skills are her top commodity, and Chelsea quickly finds herself charmed by these billionaire men, many of whom are funny, intelligent, even kind, and often, very lonely. But as she becomes more and more attached to her clients, Chelsea soon finds herself getting burned at her own game, as the endless presents, compliments, and destructive atmosphere of alcohol and drugs threaten to take both her marriage, and her sanity, to the edge.From Publishers WeeklyHaywood, 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 ondohans, 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.(Dec.)Copyright ?Ï???µå© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.From Booklist*Starred Review* When night falls on Tokyo?τ??µ?Ç?µ?ãs 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 woman?τ??µ?Ç?µ?£or 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 isn?τ??µ?Ç?µ?ãt about sex; these coveted women are prized for their engaging personalities, conversational skills, and willingness to sing karaoke (sometimes very badly). Of course, it doesn?τ??µ?Ç?µ?ãt hurt to be drop-dead gorgeous, which Haywood certainly is. Her very understanding husband (also a model) isn?τ??µ?Ç?µ?ãt 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 Muller
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Author: Chelsea Haywood
ISBN: 9781845966096
Format: Paperback
Pages 304