This reminded me of the discussion about upscale restaurants: roughly how much do you budget for meals from the second date onward?

On average, I’d say about 2–3. We go to McDonald’s and family restaurants too, but generally places in that price range. I’ve never been asked to go somewhere expensive, so I can’t say for sure, but if that kept happening, I’d probably end things because our values wouldn’t be compatible.

We mostly go to hotel buffets, so it costs about ¥10,000 for the two of us. We’ve been doing this for three years with someone who enjoys it too. I love it as well. Anyway, I’m off to a dinner buffet now.

I totally get where Joe-san is coming from lol. For me, 30,000 yen per person is about the limit too. Beyond that, I feel like the quality of the food no longer matches the price. Generally, anywhere that costs at least 15,000 yen per person will have a decent level of quality, so I’m not particularly picky about going above or below that lol. It’s also true that the same restaurant can taste better or worse depending on who you’re eating with. That’s more important to me lol. P.S. I didn’t actually answer the question lol. Why not try saying, “Can I choose the restaurant?” If your partner can’t notice that you’re no longer enjoying yourself, you’ll probably start having more and more frustrations about other things too. I think it’s okay to draw the line somewhere.

If it’s someone who keeps going to the same places she likes, it usually comes to around ¥4,000–¥10,000 for the two of us. If she finds a different place she wants to try every time, it’s usually ¥5,000–¥12,000 for two, though sometimes it can be ¥45,000–¥89,000. We also go to casual places that cost only a few thousand yen, and sometimes visit several restaurants in one day. Some girls are fine eating anywhere, while others want to enjoy really good food, so the places we choose depend on that. People naturally place different levels of importance on the allowance, adult relationship (intimate), meals, dates, and so on. When it comes to high-end restaurants, even if we’re going to equally expensive places, there are two types of girls: Those who are genuinely passionate about food and keep finding new places they want to try. If it’s somewhere she’s been wanting to visit for a long time and she’s clearly excited and happy to be there—much like when choosing a gift—I want to go too. And those who simply choose an expensive restaurant and order expensive dishes. The first type might take you anywhere from inexpensive restaurants to luxury establishments, and I can enjoy the experience too—sometimes it’s even genuinely moving. With the second type, the experience doesn’t live up to the price, so I can’t enjoy it and wouldn’t continue seeing her. > If a woman suggests a restaurant that’s too expensive, do you honestly tell her why and turn her down? I don’t turn her down. I just choose the restaurant myself and go there instead. Besides, if someone brings that up right from the start, she’s probably not worth dealing with anyway. If I can trust her choice of restaurant based on our relationship—whether she’s a woman I’m dating or even a male friend—and feel that I’d enjoy trying the place she found, then I’ll suggest we go. If someone really cares about food, there are countless places they want to try regardless of the price. So a girl who only talks about expensive restaurants when you’ve just met has no sense of taste, and there’s no point going out with her. People generally care about value for money, so there are very few high-end restaurants that truly deliver on that level. Something that surprised me when I started going to these places was that at moderately upscale restaurants, I mostly saw couples and groups. But once you get into the truly exclusive, reservation-only restaurants, you sometimes see not just men but women dining alone, with nearly half the customers being solo diners. I found myself wondering, “Why is that?” Well, if a restaurant costs ¥45,000 or more per person, who has friends they can go eat there with? And some people probably want to properly savor the food by themselves. Maybe that’s completely beyond the realm of a date? I once tried the food of a famous chef who appears on TV at an extremely expensive restaurant, but it was so distinctive—or perhaps just too unusual—that I couldn’t understand what made it delicious, since I’d never tasted anything like it before. One of my favorite restaurants became impossible to book and much more expensive after receiving a Michelin star, so I haven’t been able to go back and probably never will. I still wonder what the food is like now… It’s more rewarding to explore different neighborhoods and stumble across a genuinely delicious, excellent restaurant before it becomes famous.

Choosing a restaurant involves several factors, and that’s true not only when dining with a club girl. For Joe, price is just one of those factors. If the cost exceeds ¥30,000 per person, the price ends up overshadowing everything else, no matter how delicious the food is, and he can’t enjoy the meal. So he generally chooses restaurants that cost no more than ¥30,000 per person. That means quite a few sushi restaurants are ruled out when someone requests sushi. With Italian or French restaurants, he also has to be careful because some places mark up their wine prices ridiculously (lol). She isn’t a club girl, but Sacchan once requested a high-end Japanese restaurant in Kyoto, so I took her there. I was worried about the price from start to finish and couldn’t taste the food at all. It cost a little over ¥150,000 for the two of us. They didn’t accept cards, so I panicked (lol). The most outstandingly delicious place I’ve been to recently was Soshoku Nakahigashi, near Ginkaku-ji. It’s difficult to get a reservation, but considering what they serve, the price is actually quite reasonable. Lunch is around ¥10,000. I highly recommend it. The chef has also written a book called What Does It Mean for Food to Be Delicious?, so it might be worth reading it before you visit.

Does “high-end restaurant” mean somewhere that costs around ¥50,000 for dinner? In my case, I went to a place my date chose, and it came to ¥90,000 for the two of us… I panicked. For the first date, I think lunch somewhere around ¥6,000–¥7,000 is perfectly fine. From the second date onward, I think it’s fine to eat somewhere casual that you actually feel like going to. But please, whatever you do, don’t choose somewhere like Tully’s Coffee.

If I’m asked what I’d like to eat, I might mention a certain type of food, but I never choose the restaurant myself… I certainly wouldn’t suggest an expensive place only to find it’s not my papa’s taste or beyond his budget—I’d feel bad. I think meals are interesting because you get to see someone’s personal preferences when it comes to food. With my monthly arrangement papa, we go to all kinds of places, from fast-food restaurants to hotel dinners.

I go out with women to eat whatever they’re in the mood for, so I’ve never really thought about setting a budget. Sometimes it’s a few thousand yen per person, sometimes under ¥1,000, and sometimes ¥10,000 or even several tens of thousands of yen. When you say the restaurant a woman wanted was too expensive, do you mean she asked to go to Robuchon and drink Romanée-Conti or one of the First Growths? I think it’s cute when she asks to be given a little “field trip” experience, so if it was a request from someone I’d been seeing for at least around three months, I’d probably make it happen. I’ve never been asked on something like the second date, but if I were, I’d feel she was taking me for granted and would probably end things. There was also a woman who wanted to go to French restaurants every time, but since she never complained about reasonably priced French cuisine, it never bothered me. I was more concerned about the calories I was consuming than the bill.

If you want high-end restaurants or luxury brands, my approach is to get close to me, negotiate a higher allowance, and pay for them yourself. So if a woman wants to go to fancy places without offering anything in return, it’s goodbye. In that respect, my top girl is smart: we stay at APA Hotels, and for dining out, we go to Saizeriya or Sushiro. She gives up a little now to gain more in the long run. Women who aren’t as smart tend to get greedy for the allowance and meals right in front of them. Oh, was the person asking a man? Sorry. Hmm… in his 30s?