Who better than a kindly, middle-aged man to keep you company, give you sage advice, or give you a new perspective on life. Rented by the hour for around $10, they’ll do just about anything short of touching you (or so we’re told).
Hire-an-Ossan is the brainchild of Takanobu Nishimoto, 50 years old. On a train he overheard some girls making fun of middle-aged men as smelly with hairy ears. Shocked, he decided to do something to regain their honor, and thus the online rental service was born.
Ossan is a very casual, not really complimentary term for middle-age men. Owning the term elevates it, and charging the token $10 an hour lends a professional feel to the service. Providing an extensive range of services, Nishimoto hopes they will demonstrate their value to society.
Ossans who are ranked as most popular are very basic middle-aged men without any special skill except to be good listeners. But others list certain specialties:
1. Operator Ossan at IT call center in Chiba who can listen to any troubles or worries and even has an extensive knowledge of perfume.
2. Art director Ossan who graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts is a skilled listener, and also loves taking you for a ride and teaching arts.
3. Singing gay Ossan who holds a Master’s in vocal music from Tokyo University of the Arts. Sings for you and helps you with LGBT related issues.
4. Ossan who specializes in bar scene. Any troubles of hostesses are welcome.
Do you need someone to clap loudly at your recital? Move something heavy? Stand in line for you? Make your boyfriend jealous? Listen to you over a cup of coffee? Call an ossan.
Maybe you want a private tour of off-the-beaten-trail sites. Or maybe you want to practice your Japanese. You might need help filling out documents in Japanese. Perhaps you need to vent about how bad your boss is. Rent an ossan.
Maybe you want some professional advice. You might find an “uncle” that has already gone through what you’re facing. Maybe you’re going through a divorce and want a sympathetic ear from someone who has experienced the breakup of a marriage.
Nishimoto currently has 10,000 rentals a year and 78 ossans, but he gets at least 10 application a week from wannabe ossans. Nishimoto-san is careful about who he chooses, preferring those who are slightly quirky, not your run-of-the-mill guy, but he quickly eliminates any who seem to have a hidden agenda.
Interested? Check out his website: http://ossanrental.thebase.in/ and if you’d like to meet Nishimoto-san himself, you can make your reservation here: https://youpouch.com/2015/05/19/268698/.
