Where the Pretty Boys Are.

Byline: Kay Itoi

My friend Ako, visiting for the holidays, noticed immediately. The scenery in Tokyo has improved considerably over the past year. Particularly in the service industry. At designer shops, cafes, restaurants and even bookstores, she found more youthful male sales clerks, waiters and helpers than ever before--all more attractive than ever before. Our waiter at a trendy coffee shop in the posh Harajuku district was so divine that we had trouble focusing on the menu. "What happened?" she wanted to know.

It appears that Japanese businesses, recognizing the power and importance of female consumers, have stepped up their efforts to please them. And for many, that's meant hiring ikemen. "Ike" means cool, and "men" means both men and face. Coupled, they mean pretty boy. And apparently, that's who Japanese women increasingly want to have serve them.

You know something revolutionary is happening when the Japanese invent a new term. It means we're going beyond just faces here and signaling a big social trend. As best I can figure, the first high-profile ikeman made his splash in September, when a former model, Katsushi Yamaguchi, made history by becoming the first male receptionist at a stylish department store, Printemps, in Tokyo's Ginza district. The store also rounded up a posse of other good-looking salesmen, emphasizing that last syllable by flaunting them as "Printemps Boys" in its splashy promos.

Then, in November, Skynet Asia Airways inaugurated its "Men's Flight," a round trip between Tokyo and Miyazaki in southern Japan. In-flight service was provided by nice-looking male flight attendants--only. It was meant to be a one-time experiment. But owing to popular demand (high-pitched giggles and squeals from would-be frequent lady fliers?) Skynet plans to repeat the service in February and ...