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HOST BARS

Another side of Tokyo womanhood disappears into one of the city’s 100 posh host bars. They may be kitsch, gaudy and expensive (£25 upwards for one drink), but it’s here that deeply entrenched gender roles are reversed and, for once, men serve women. And not just any men. Tall, beautiful, flirtatious Armani-clad men who will drink the bar dry with you — for a steep price — and are expert in making you feel like a queen. In a country where an estimated 70% of men are regularly unfaithful to their wives, it makes a nice change. Little wonder hosts report receiving presents of sports cars and designer clothes.

JPOP

They are cute, vivacious and workaholic, and if you’ve ever wondered what the 2025 equivalents of Girls Aloud or Atomic Kitten will be, these are they. JPop stars are the ultimate product of a perfectly commodified pop culture. Girls such as Hikaru Utada (who releases her first English-language album here this month), the duo Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi (described as “Led Zeppelin meets Hello Kitty”) and the band Morning Musume don’t just do pricey pop videos, in-store promotions and the odd fashion line. To be adored by Japan’s idol-worshipping masses, 100% media saturation is necessary. JPop stars are expected to be television stars, cartoon and video-game characters, models, performing dolls and film actors in blockbuster movies, such as last year’s cultish Kamikaze Girls and this year’s manga-inspired franchise, Nana. The goal: to rake in lots and lots of cash.

GEEKS

When the Japanese love, they really love. Fanatical nerds, or otaku, who devote every waking moment to the single-minded pursuit of one passion, are big news in Japan. Why? Because being mad for it — “it” being computer games, comics, animation, trains, fashion, pop stars, Paris Hilton, pink elephants, or whatever else inspires — means accessories. And accessories means an extra £2 billion pumped into the Japanese economy every year. Now, this once-demonised group of what, to us, sound like a bunch of monomaniacal no-lifers, are not only encouraged, but positively celebrated. Their influence has filtered down to become a lifestyle statement.

The only problem with spending 16 hours a day at your computer is that it makes it tricky to pick up ladies. Many otaku are crippled with shyness. The gaggles of giggling schoolgirls in short skirts loitering around their favourite hangouts — manga shops — don’t help matters either.

MAID CAFES

An oddity, even by Tokyo standards, are the “maid cafes” — establishments staffed by young women dressed in frilly aprons and short skirts. No touching is allowed, but the maids pamper their masters by chatting, wiggling their hips, bringing drinks and food, even insisting on spooning sugar into tea. Ceilings are mirrored so that the shy otaku can peek down cleavages, and in some cafes, air vents in the floor blow skirts up so they can catch a glimpse of knickers. To an outsider, there are shades of the geisha house about this. Until you ask yourself who is really in charge.

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