A former J-Pop idol made an unusual announcement regarding her career.
One of the first generation members of Keyakizaka46 (renamed Sakurazaka46), Manaka Shida, made headlines after announcing her new job on social media.
Manaka Shida
On September 26, 2022, she proudly told her fans on X (Twitter) and Instagram that she is now a hostess, someone whose job is to entertain guests with alcohol involved.
I am going to be starting work at [hostess bar] Next Ginza!
— Manaka Shida
She expressed her happiness at being able to meet her fans once again. Instead of the usual handshake event, they can now see her up close and personal if they frequent the club.
It’s a different way from how it was before, but I finally have a chance to see all of you again and I’d be happy if you’d come to see me. I’d be very happy if women came to see me too.
— Manaka Shida
Manaka Shida was one of the original members of Keyakizaka46 and is now among the first to publicly be in this line of work. Though hosting strictly does not include sexual favors in any official capacity, it is often accompanied by the stigma of being sleezy.
She acknowledged that her fans may be “surprised” about this decision, consoling them by saying she considered it for a long time.
Honestly, I think a lot of people are probably surprised about this. I really have wanted to try doing this kind of work for a long time but thought I wouldn’t be able to, so I never really actively tried to.
— Manaka Shida
In the end, she decided to live her life to the fullest and signed up to become a hostess.
But I asked for advice from people I know, and many of them were very supportive, and I decided ‘You only live once, and I want to do it, so let’s give it a try.’
— Manaka Shida
Called Next Ginza, the club Manaka Shida joined is located in one of of the wealthiest districts in Japan. It is a high-end host club that charges 6,000 JPY for a 60-minute session before 8:30 PM and 12,000 JPY afterwards. A a 35% “service fee” and 10% sales tax are added on top of the bill.
