Being a hostess had a bad connotation. Being a hostess in Japan, and it was even a worse. But the economy has changed all that around. Today in Japan, being a hostess is looking awfully good.
According to an article in the New York Times women from all walks of life are looking for hostess jobs. They pay well. A hostess can earn six figures, annually. The more prominent ones can earn triple that. Many women believe it beats being a temp or an office clerk where the pay is low and job security is practically non-existent.
Women believe they can parlay their jobs as hostesses into even more lucrative positions in the media. The job is now an element of pop culture. More than one television celebrity has emerged recently out service in one of the 13,000 nightclubs in Tokyo alone.
Of course, like anything else, when there is a glut on the market, salaries may fall. Hostess jobs may soon pay twenty-five percent less than they did before. But hey, the hours are less rigid than office work and the background checks are pretty relaxed.
Granted, this is in Japan where there is a long tradition of women serving men as hostesses. It is largely in a non-sexual capacity, but some here may still view it as an oddity. But in a country lost to a recession, where women cannot find work, they can make a buck as a hostess. Give these women credit. They uphold a tradition and fulfill a need.
Who knows? Maybe it will transition to the USA. Naw.
