I’m a male member, but at this time of year, restaurants aren’t open in the evenings, and I don’t feel comfortable going to major train stations either. Would it be somewhat disrespectful to offer a date in a private room at a city hotel? I was thinking of ordering some light refreshments in the hotel room.

Maezawa from the Corporate Planning Office here as well. Actually, things are in much the same situation on the Universe side right now. We did discuss whether to allow room dates right from the start for a limited time, but ultimately decided against it because it could make it harder for women to say no. As a rule, going straight to a room date is prohibited. For example, lounges at city hotels are often fairly empty, so please start there by giving her 5,000–10,000 yen for her meal and transportation, then suggest having dinner together in a room afterward. Since you’ve already given her the transportation money at the lounge, what happens after that is up to the two of you. However, if you simply ask whether she’d like to have dinner, some women may misunderstand and think you mean dinner only, which can lead to trouble. Please handle things like a gentleman: be open and manly about the fact that you’re also considering spending time together afterward, or, if she says she plans to leave after dinner, don’t try to stop her.

I’m a male member based in Seattle. I don’t see any problem with that. You can set up the first meeting through an online offer, then meet at a city hotel starting from the second time. I think it depends on what both of you want.

I’m Hikōki, a male member. It may be difficult with an in-person date arranged through the club, but with an online date, you can meet up and go on a date anywhere, so a date like the one you’re asking about is possible. That said, at this time of year, it might be better to make new offers online but wait until after Golden Week to meet in person…