「ロイヤルホストってすごい！」＃67

How to Shop the Christmas Coffret Season

A listener wrote in wanting to give herself a holiday beauty coffret as a Christmas present but unsure how to choose. Kojima explained that releases begin as early as late summer—brands finish their campaign shoots by August—with multiple waves of lineups dropping in succession. Popular sets sell out on launch day, making it a genuine race. Her two-part strategy: search X to gauge which items are moving fast, then visit a department store like Isetan in person to place a reservation. The appeal of a coffret is the bundled value—a coordinating pouch plus limited-edition shades at a price lower than buying each piece separately. On the brand side, Dior has been riding momentum from its recent designer transition, with a cameo (medallion) motif now running through its beauty line; Chanel remains the other go-to, and checking both makes the decision considerably easier.

'Subtraction Makeup' and Her Lip To's Shinsaibashi Opening

Another listener asked what people mean when they say something is 'cute because of subtraction.' Kojima used one of her own published makeup videos to illustrate: a black outfit or accessory already reads visually heavy, so adding a strong red lip pushes the whole look into over-the-top territory. The fix is to dial the lip back to a natural color—mauve-pink, something close to your actual lip tone—which creates an airy, effortless quality. The concept is balance through deliberate removal rather than accumulation.

On a lighter note, a male listener emailed to say he blurted out the name Her Lip To (ハーリップトゥ) while walking with his wife past a large billboard, only to be accused of concealing a crush. The context: at the end of September 2026, the brand opened a street-level boutique in Shinsaibashi's luxury retail corridor—its second standalone store after Omotesando and its first in Osaka, arriving about a year after the Nagoya location. Kojima described the spot as 'the real heart of Shinsaibashi,' noting that the hoarding around the construction site had already been drawing attention for weeks.

Horumon Culture: Generation and Gender Gaps

A male listener born in 1996 (Heisei 8) kicked off a segment by asking that horumon be made as trendy as malatang. The responses revealed a clear split. A man born in 1994 reported that when reuniting with a friend back from overseas, horumon was the unanimous, instant choice. A 22-year-old female university student said she has loved it since kindergarten and has recently become obsessed with stir-fried gopchang (곱창) and Busan's famous nakkopse during trips to Korea.

On the other side, a woman wrote in to say she never orders horumon at a yakiniku restaurant—she just watches her boss work through it and sits there bored—though she does eat motsunabe hot pot. Kojima called her 'a representative role model for a large slice of society.' Her analysis: for young women in Japan, horumon at a domestic yakiniku restaurant carries a high barrier to entry, but the same offal eaten as Korean food or in a hot pot context is a different story entirely. She also introduced Azabu-Juban's legendary motsu-ni shop 'Abe-chan' (阿部ちゃん), in business for 93 years, noting that a staff member had no idea the signature tare pot at the entrance dated back to the founding—to everyone's amusement.

'Royal Host Is Amazing'—Two Visits in Two Days

The episode's centerpiece was Kojima's discovery of Royal Host's Sakura-Shimmachi location, prompted by her manager's insistence that it was 'seriously incredible.' Skeptical but willing, she drove roughly 30 minutes to check it out. The store sits close to Royal Host's corporate headquarters and carries a markedly upscale feel: a refined interior, counter seating, and framed chef portraits on the wall. The crowd skewed toward the calm, industry-adjacent type you find around Setagaya—Kojima compared the atmosphere to Wolfgang's, the high-end steakhouse.

She ordered the Japanese-style hamburg steak on the first visit, fell for its bold, pepper-forward adult flavor, and came back the next day to order it again. Also enjoyed: cream anmitsu and the tropical tea from the drink bar. Already lined up for future visits are the Java curry (a long-running keema-style house specialty), kale salad, pancakes, and French onion soup—and she has already placed an Uber Eats order for the hamburg steak. She closed by asking listeners to share reports on other Royal Host locations.

Inner-Sakai: When You Narrate Your Own Awkward Moment

The 'Inner-Sakai (インナー境)' corner—named for a variety-show personality known for perfectly timed follow-up quips—collected moments when listeners caught themselves adding an unnecessary self-commentary out loud. Three stories this week: a listener who bought a large haul of beer at a drugstore and, unable to contain the strangeness, told the cashier, 'Drugstores really sell all kinds of things these days.' A listener who transferred to a new high school knowing no one, only to run into a classmate from the same apartment building in the elevator on day one; when teased about broken glasses, they fired off a pre-loaded retort for that exact scenario—accidentally and completely out of context. And a listener who, on their first day wearing a blazer for work, was told they still had the basting thread in and, not knowing what basting thread was, replied, 'It'll get cut when the time is right.' Kojima wrapped up by admitting she has left home with tags still on her clothes—and on that note of shared obliviousness, the episode ended.