Many women -- ranging from 20-somethings to those in their sixties -- lavish expensive gifts on their favourite hosts, buying them diamond watches, luxury cars, even apartments.
In a country which has lost its mojo, many wealthy Japanese women spend eye-watering sums on male hosts in return for an evening of sweet talk, flirting -- and often sex.
But some big-spenders splurge over $100,000 in a single night to have their egos stroked by smooth-talking rental Romeos who themselves can earn five times that amount in a good month.
There are a growing number of wealthy and successful Japanese women that have become frustrated with traditional dating and instead prefer to focus their romantic energies somewhere they are guaranteed to be treated well.
Host clubs are a $10 billion industry in Japan with some 800 venues nationwide.
Around 260 of those are located in Tokyo, most squeezed into Kabukicho's narrow streets where flickering neon signs display the air-brushed faces of hosts outside clubs with names such as Romeo, Gatsby and Avalon.
