Category Archive for Visual Kei + Music
JAPANESE HOST BOYS: KABUKI-CHO HOSTS HAIRSTYLE. SHINJUKU HAIR SALON, CLUB AI, JROCK VISUAL KEI TUTORIAL.
Hello, pretty host boys! I guest-hosted a Norway TV show about love in Japan, so of course, we explored the unique phenomenon of the host boy. Women pay these spiky-haired creatures to sing karaoke with them in Kabuki-cho clubs, drink copious champagne and whisper sweet nothings. A rent-a-boyfriend, if you will.
The Norway TV show went to the home of Club Ai’s #1 host boy (yes, they are ranked and their “bite-me” photos displayed outside the club). Keiju greeted Ari and Per in nothing but a bath towel.
Ari Behn, bestselling author and husband of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, is quite the Prince Charming himself.
But how can anyone compete with these slick-suited, vaguely foreign smooth-talkers?
Bracelet buddies. (Super Exclusive Lothario Host Friendship Club?)
Like many of you, the Norwegians wanted to know — what’s the secret to Japanese host boy hair? How do they get it so stylized? So we took them to Kurokami, a hair salon that specializes in these matters.
Ari and Per got host-ified!
The amount of hairspray used is unbelievable (almost a can a person). Using a small comb, the hair stylists sectioned, straightened and sprayed.
Voila: Ari Behn as a host boy.
We got a host-style wig just in case. The cameraman modeled it for us!
Naomi and I had so much fun working with Norwegian TV (she took these photos). Our coolhunting and trend consulting firm, La Carmina & The Pirates, helps film/TV crews shoot in Japan and elsewhere. We help with arranging locations, translation, business dealings and more. There’s more about our services on our website.
Do you swoon in the presence of host boys? Have you ever been to a host club? What was it like?
PS: I think my host boy is much more attractive than the ones on the Norway TV show…
Japanese Word of the Day: Makaseru = Coordinate
Song of the Day: Chthonic – Forty-Nine Theurgy Chains (A Taiwanese metal band!)
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STAR CAFE TOKYO: VISUAL KEI & HEAVY METAL JROCK BARS IN KABUKI-CHO, SHINJUKU. CURE MAGAZINE, POKEMON PILLOWS & TOYS.
Where am I? In a retro toy store with Luke of Chaos Royale? Not even close. We’re in Star Cafe, the Visual Kei bar in Kabuki-cho where spiky-haired groups like Anti-Feminism drink after playing a live. (For the record, they didn’t understand the meaning of the band name when they picked it…)
How typical of Japan… the cute and the hardcore, blended together seamlessly.
Naomi and I had a full day of shooting with Norway TV, but we still had energy left for an after-after-party. We decided on the vintage whiskey.
There’s a rack of Cure Magazines, so you can do shots while flipping through the pages.
Lolita rose headdress: gifted from My Velcroe by Emily Blong. (I wore it on the Norway TV shoot… more photos to come.)
Skull t-shirt: Super Lovers, from Closet Child
What’s the proper thing to do when a customer falls asleep at the bar? Take photos involving Cookie Monster and V-fingers, of course!
Star Cafe is well-stocked with alcohol and J-rock DVDs.
Mistress Maya, “Queen of Kabuki-cho,” comes here frequently.
Visual Kei band posters cover the walls, like in my bedroom.
STAR★CAFE is located at 2F 1-11-5 Kabuki-cho, Shinjuku, Tokyo.
How to get there: walk toward Studio ALTA from Shinjuku station (East exit). Cross the main avenue (Yasukuni Doori), walk in a front street (Kabuki-cho Ichibangai), and you will arrive at Shinjuku Koma Theater. Opens 11:00pm.
Want to see more photos from Tokyo Visual Kei bars? I visited Visual Kei Bar Zin, Fu-ki’s Bar Midian, and Osaka’s Moonwalk and Rock Rock.
What type of bars do you prefer? In addition to headbanger bars, I love retro/absinthe/burlesque establishments…
PS: come read my latest CNNGo article about 10 extremely extreme sports involving yaks, angry bulls and the North Korean border. Also, my CNN picks for best travel destinations in 2011. Sichuan, Himalayas, Bolivia and more.
Japanese Word of the Day: Sonzai = Existence or being
Song of the Day: Anti-Feminism – Tokage
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