# In Japan, Real Men Go to Hotels with Virtual Girlfriends **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 3, 2010, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467 "2010-09-03T05:28:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467/1 "2010-09-03T05:28:10Z")
It’s a little more literal than you may think. Story [here](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451414209658940.html). This seems a little creepy even for Japan. Excerpts: \*\*"After choosing one of three female characters—goodie-goodie Manaka, sassy Rinko or big-sister type Nene—to be a steady girlfriend, the player taps a stylus on the DS touch-screen in order to walk hand-in-hand to school, exchange flirtatious text messages and even meet in the school courtyard for a little afternoon kiss. Using the device’s built-in microphone, the player can carry on sweet, albeit mundane, conversations. "At the real Hotel Ohnoya, which opened its doors in 1937, the staff is trained to check in Love Plus+ customers as couples even if there is only one actual guest. Says Atsurou Ohno, the hotel’s managing director, ‘We try not to ask too many questions because we want them to be able to remain immersed in that game world.’ “Some devoted fans will go so far as to pay twice the rate—most hotels in Japan charge per guest not per room—to indulge the fantasy that they are not there alone. A night’s stay, at most, can cost $500 though many rooms are cheaper.”\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467/2 "2010-09-03T05:32:42Z")
I’m not sure why, but I find this disturbing and repulsive, probably more so than is logical. I mean, it’s pathetic for sure, but I don’t know why it’s so disturbing… Any ideas what makes this so weird? EDIT: Well I know what makes it WEIRD. But what makes it so disturbing? ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467/3 "2010-09-03T05:35:05Z")
I wonder if you could open a restaurant and charge them for two dinners. Bet you’d really clean up for Valentines day. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467/4 "2010-09-03T05:41:22Z")
Wow. This is weird even for Japanese people. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467/5 "2010-09-03T05:53:35Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > I wonder if you could open a restaurant and charge them for two dinners. Bet you’d really clean up for Valentines day. And for extra creepiness, there could be special events restaurants hold for White day where salarymen sit across the table from their DSes, longingly, and sadly, anticipating the チョコレート that will never come. :D:D:D I smell goldmine. ka-ching! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kasuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467/6 "2010-09-03T05:58:05Z")
What’s the dating situation like in Japan? I’m wondering what would lead men to do this. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467/7 "2010-09-03T07:29:51Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > Wow. > > This is weird even for Japanese people. No it’s not. Dating sims are all the rage there. All that’s weird is that they are trying the old immersive gaming technique thing again, that didn’t work that well here. Heck, the picture in the [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dating_sim) is from 1994. ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467/8 "2010-09-03T08:48:17Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > I’m not sure why, but I find this disturbing and repulsive, probably more so than is logical. I mean, it’s pathetic for sure, but I don’t know why it’s so disturbing… Any ideas what makes this so weird? > > EDIT: Well I know what makes it WEIRD. But what makes it so disturbing? I think the part about going out in public adds to the woooo factor. It’s one thing to sit at home and pretend, quite another to interact with other people (restaurant & hotel staff) who will politely allow you to pretend to be with another human being, even while everyone concerned knows beyond any shadow of a doubt that you are indeed alone, your happiness balanced delicately on the flimsy images on your handheld game screen. Paying double occupancy at a hotel? When there is clearly only one of you? One can almost taste the desperation. Also, as the article points out, Atami is the grand dowager of old-tyme seaside resort towns. It’s been in steady decline since the 1960’s, and comes complete with its own depressing faded-glory vibe. To bring lonely males and their entirely made-up fantasy 2-D girlfriends into the picture just adds to the gloom. What couple is going to want to visit this place now? A ghost town peopled with lone males, dining solo, staring down happily at their handheld gamers? I’m thinking this is the death knell for Atami. That being said, I wonder when the virtual boyfriends will become available… **cough** ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467/9 "2010-09-03T13:27:10Z")
Um… do they have one where you can pick Helen Hunt? I’m, uh, asking for a friend. ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467/10 "2010-09-03T13:29:46Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > anticipating the チョコレート that will never come. :D:D:D I smell goldmine. ka-ching! 😛 The _chocolate_ ? (remnants of katakana as learned in 1992 for Super Famicom games) ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467/11 "2010-09-03T14:13:12Z")
**In Japan, Real Men Go to Hotels with Virtual Girlfriends** On the other hand the ones that come to Thailand go for the real hookers and blow. Since I want to maintain a discrete veil of professionalism I’ll refrain from giving more details. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467/12 "2010-09-03T14:24:26Z")
> [@Khaki\_Campbell](#): > > > [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > > > anticipating the チョコレート that will never come. :D:D:D I smell goldmine. ka-ching! 😛 > > The _chocolate_ ? (remnants of katakana as learned in 1992 for Super Famicom games) Yep, but has a special meaning for White day. Also, depending on the sentiment with which it’s given, can be called 義理チョコ [girichoko], aka courtesy chocolates, which are given by women to men out of obligation with no romantic connotation behind it, or 本命チョコ [honmeichoko], aka chocolates of love, which are given by women to men, usually their boyfriend or someone they have feelings or desire for. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467/13 "2010-09-03T16:29:40Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > > [@Antinor01](#): > > > > I wonder if you could open a restaurant and charge them for two dinners. Bet you’d really clean up for Valentines day. > > And for extra creepiness, there could be special events restaurants hold for White day where salarymen sit across the table from their DSes, longingly, and sadly, anticipating the チョコレート that will never come. :D:D:D I smell goldmine. ka-ching! 😛 I love it. We could really clean up. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467/14 "2010-09-03T21:55:58Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > I’m not sure why, but I find this disturbing and repulsive, probably more so than is logical. I mean, it’s pathetic for sure, but I don’t know why it’s so disturbing… Any ideas what makes this so weird? > > EDIT: Well I know what makes it WEIRD. But what makes it so disturbing? Possibly because the virtual girlfriends look like young teenagers, and the men (according to the article) are all quite a bit older? So you have that whole quasi-pedophilia vibe. Just proves again that the Japanese are a deeply, unfathomably weird people. (Course, you can get “virtual porn star” DVDs, featuring digital women that do a lot more than flirt - I assume - at adult video shops here, so I guess we can’t throw too many stones. Still, at least _our_ lonely, pathetic horndogs are getting laid digitally. And yes, the pun is intentional.) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467/15 "2010-09-03T22:01:21Z")
That is the most depressing thing I’ve ever read. It’s like a cross between Phillip Roth and William Gibson only real. It makes me a sad panda. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467/16 "2010-09-03T22:52:15Z")
Even a rubber doll would be more fullfilling! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-japan-real-men-go-to-hotels-with-virtual-girlfriends/552467/17 "2010-09-03T23:15:48Z")
For some odd reason, I’m thinking of Jimmy Stewart and _Harvey_.