After COVID left me feeling lonely, I learned about clubs like this and joined one. My life, which used to revolve around spending money on my hobbies, has completely changed. Part of me wishes I’d discovered this sooner, but the costs of dating younger women often make me think, “Ah, I should work a little harder and earn more.”

I’m Paper Airplane, a stingy, poor male member who looked at the 188-yen milk at the supermarket again today, thought, “That’s expensive!” and hesitated until I couldn’t bring myself to buy it. In my opinion, you don’t need to give her a present. The reason is that gifts are only truly嬉しい when they come from someone you love and who loves you back. If you feel that she likes you too, then give her a present. You’ll probably want to, naturally. Ah, and you should also give her something when you find yourself wanting her to fall for you. You may be satisfying her needs at the moment, but perhaps you don’t actually feel that you want her to like you or develop stronger feelings for you. At a dating club, if you’re not careful, it can turn into, “I’m happy with anything as long as I get it for free.” And if she’s gotten used to asking for things, it could end up being limitless. With a romantic partner, her asking for things can be cute, and gifts eventually become necessary. But in a relationship involving an allowance, asking for things isn’t particularly necessary and can also be off-putting—while at the same time, it may serve as proof of a deeper relationship. It’s quite complicated.

I’m Flaren, a male member who knows he’s pretty stingy! When someone makes an obvious request for something, I don’t exactly get angry—I just lose interest. It’s like, “Okay, we’re closed.” That said, I do have someone living in one of my properties. So I guess I’m similar to the person asking the question, haha. > What kind of feeling makes you want to give someone a present? Have you ever thought, “I’ll get them a souvenir”? Not because you had to, but because you genuinely wanted to. It’s like wanting to share an experience with them. For me, giving presents is an extension of that “souvenir” feeling. So if someone can share the experiences and values represented by that “souvenir,” I think we naturally end up giving things to each other. At first, it might be something really small—even a single piece of candy. I start with a little gesture and use their reaction as a way to get a sense of what kind of person they are. Prices vary widely in every field, so it’s not always a small amount. But if the money would ultimately have gone toward their allowance anyway, I feel like there may not be much difference in the end. Oh, there is one advantage, though. Say someone is doing papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan) to buy a new piano. If you buy the piano for them upfront, then every time they play it, they might think of you at least a little. That could be a nice effect!

Maezawa from the CEO’s Office here. Thank you for your question. > There’s currently one girl I really like, and I pay her rent. What made you decide to pay her rent? I think the feelings you had at that time are connected to how you feel when giving her presents. Most people probably give presents because they want to see the other person’s happy face.

I’m Flagmaker, a columnist. I give gifts because I want the other person to be happy, but there are plenty of other reasons too: I want them to like me even a little more, raise my priority in their eyes, score some points, be seen as a good guy—and, honestly, show off a bit. Sometimes it just feels like the proper thing to do. As it happens, I’m going to visit a female junior colleague from work this weekend for a housewarming and baby celebration, so I just bought a baby poncho from Miki House. That has nothing to do with this question, though (^_^;) It’s simply a matter of good manners. Anyway, when I like a woman, I naturally want to give her something and see her happy reaction.

I’m Kazu, a male member. Sometimes, when I’m in the mood, I’ll buy and give her something I think she might want—usually costing up to around ¥10,000. I only buy a present when I happen to come across something and think, “She’d probably like this, but she probably doesn’t have one.” I give it to her as a surprise when we meet. Apparently, I’m always spot-on, because she’s amazed every time and asks how I knew she didn’t have it—and she’s always delighted. I give presents because I enjoy seeing her happy reaction when she receives something she wasn’t expecting. Like the person asking this question, I think I’d get annoyed if someone asked me for a present. I believe you give someone a present because you want to, not because they have any right to ask for one. There aren’t any particular benefits to giving presents. If I had to name one, it would be that once two people reach a relationship that goes beyond keeping score, they naturally do things for each other that go beyond keeping score. That said, giving a gift without calculating the pros and cons doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll develop that kind of relationship.