Guide: Kousai Club

Japan’s sugaring scene called Papa Katsu, translated into English as “looking for a daddy,” is a popular form of pseudo-prostitution for women offering private companionship, usually with sex included, to men who have the financial means to do so in exchange for a private agreement.

A handful of domestic apps and intermediary dating clubs called “Kousai Clubs” facilitate these activities in the country. Popular sites internationally, such as Ashely Madison and Seeking having little to no traction due to their foreign origins with domestic services being at the forefront.

The most popular apps for sugaring in Japan being Patel, SugarDaddy, Love& are closer in their offerings to explicit sex shops than real sugaring platforms as the majority of female members on these platforms are day-time sex workers doing their side-hustle through one-off encounters that can earn them up to ¥30,000 to ¥100,000 for a few hours of sex. These apps lack quality control over the joining members besides the requirements for male members to pay to interact with members they are interested in meeting.

Kousai Clubs take a hands-on approach to the entire sugaring process. They are set up as any profit-driven business that aims to match compatible members together in an analog fashion. Members are required to appear in person at one stage of the registration process to be vetted by the dating club before joining. This old-fashioned approach weeds out undesirable elements when using a freely available app like the ones mentioned. This fosters a safe and controlled playing field for both parties to enjoy the matchmaking services by the intermediary company.

What is a Kousai Club?

Kousai Clubs are Japan’s most popular sugaring service. Female and male members register in person through an intermediary company. For male members, this involves paying all the associated fees to the club needed to get on the platform and interviewing a staff member to finalize the registration process.

Once registered, male members are given a login and password to access the private database of the club’s sugar babies. Female profiles are categorized by their physical appearance and the level of commitment they are willing to make with potential Sugar daddies at the time of registration.

Female members are only required to attend an interview, get their photos taken, and complete a simple questionnaire about their intentions and reasons for joining. Beyond this, the only communication they receive from the club is serious offers to meet in person by male members.

What services are offered at a Kousai Club?

For Men

• Anonymity – No photos or identifiable information posted on the public domain. Only a brief bio, such as your age, occupation, and ethnicity, will be forwarded to your sugar baby from the dating club when arranging a face-to-face meeting.
• Bespoke Matchmaking –Sourcing and arranging dates with compatible sugar babies on your behalf.
• Selection—The level of quality control over the registered sugar babies is paramount in making the associated fees for using these types of services worthwhile.

For Women

• Safety & Privacy—Photos taken by the dating app aren’t accessible in the public domain. They are only available to paying male members of the dating clubs, giving you a level of anonymity you wouldn’t get through a free app.
• Vetted Members—Being part of a dating club gives you assurance that the male members interested in meeting you have gone through a similar process to you joining.
• Efficiency—Making arrangements directly can be a time-consuming and stressful process, especially for sugar babies navigating the landscape for the first time. By utilizing the services of a dating club, only serious requests to meet are forwarded.

How much does a Kousai Club cost?

Prices vary widely depending on the club of choice and desired membership level. Desirable sugar babies are profiled into higher tiers judged by their social worth, and higher fees are demanded to access these prospects, so don’t expect to gain full access at the lowest membership tiers.

The primary costs, at minimum, when using a Kousai Club include:

• One-time registration fee
• Annual fee to maintain your membership in the chosen tier.
• Setting fee paid for each encounter arranged by the club with your desired sugar baby. Any private arrangements beyond the first encounter are made privately outside the scope of the dating club’s service, requiring no intermediary fees.

On your first date, the general etiquette is to provide the sugar baby with at least ¥10,000 for the transportation costs to and from the date, regardless of the outcome.

What are the differences between Kousai Clubs?

The main difference, besides the varying price points they charge members, is the network of registered sugar babies they offer domestically and internationally to male members.

The bigger clubs have a much bigger market share than their smaller competitors, with Universe Club having the biggest, with branches nationwide and internationally at its Singapore branch.

What kind of people can I meet through Kousai Clubs?

Kousai Clubs have a wide range of female members registered, including current and aspiring models, office workers, university students, nurses, and flight attendants—basically, women from all different socio-economic backgrounds and ethnicities.

In reality, many of the sugar babies who register for these clubs are sex workers looking to supplement their incomes through the side hustle of having a full-time sponsor.

What to expect when using a Kousai Club

Registration

Contact your desired dating club and initiate the registration process to set up an initial interview with a representative. Any questions about the process should be addressed at this point or in person. For non-Japanese speakers, three dating clubs offer their services in English

• Universe Club
• The Salon
• Club Versailles

Interview

At the first and only interview you will have with the dating club, they will go through the basic protocols on the clubs’ rules, associated fees, and types of sugar babies available at the various tiers of the club you can join.

The entire process involves:

• Presenting some form of Photo ID
• Brief introduction about yourself and desires in joining
• Payment for the initial registration and the associated annual membership cost for the tier you would like to join

Once the interview process is over, you will be given a login and password to access their private database of sugar babies, where appointments can be made online.

Requesting Dates

For each successful appointment made through the dating club, you will be charged an intermediary setting fee to the dating club for the appointment with your desired sugar baby.

First Encounter

Both parties will make their way to the agreed-upon location to meet each other. This is usually at a bar, café, or restaurant out in public, like a regular date. The male member will cover all costs, with an additional 10,000 yen given to the female member for the transportation costs to and back from the date, regardless of the outcome.

Negotiations

Any negotiations made privately are outside the scope of the dating club’s service and are strictly between you and the sugar baby. The market rate for a few hours of sex ranges between 30,000 to 50,000, with any ongoing arrangements beyond that to be decided on terms that both parties are happy with.

If contact details are exchanged by the end of the first meeting, future appointments can be made privately with your sugar baby without any intermediary fees from the dating club.

Kousai Clubs in Japan

• Universe Club (English)
• The Salon (English)
• Club Versailles (English)
• Aoyama Platinum
• Tokyo Ritzs
• Ginza Kousai
• Grammy
• Routina
• Crystal M
• Ten Carat
• Club Ange