Host club culture. Pedestrian crossing beneath illuminated host club billboards in Kabukicho, Tokyo

Photo: Alpgiray Kelem · Japan · 2026-06-08 · Editorial use

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Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan - June 8, 2026: A young man walks across a zebra crossing beneath a wall of illuminated host club billboards in Kabukicho, Shinjuku. The large panels show portraits of male hosts with styled hair and suits, under club names including TOPDANDY TOKYO, Dewl and Decent. A pink billboard for MAJESTY carries the logo of NEW GENERATION GROUP, and a row of smaller logos reads THE BUTLER'S CLUB, BLACK DIAMOND CLUB, CLUB SCARLET and CLUB BUBBLE. Bicycles stand parked along the base of the building while a man waits by the wall and other pedestrians walk down the lit side street. Kabukicho is home to a dense concentration of host clubs, where male hosts entertain female customers over drinks, alongside hostess clubs, where women entertain male customers. A revised Entertainment Business Law that took effect on June 28, 2025 banned host club advertising from using rankings and sales claims such as No.1 on billboards.

• City Life
• City Street
• Portrait
• Street
• Advertisement
• Bicycle
• Billboard
• Capital Cities
• Commercial Sign
• Crossing
• East Asia
• Entertainment Club
• Hairstyle
• Honshu
• Human Interest
• Incidental People
• Japan
• Japanese Language
• Japanese Script
• Kanto Region
• Logo
• Low Angle View
• Mobile Phone
• Neon Lighting