In early 2000, 21-year-old Lucie Blackman and her long-time best friend Louise Phillips devised a plan to spend a few months living and working in Japan. The pair had lived seemingly parallel lives, with both working in an investment bank before commencing work as flight attendants for UK airline British Airways.

Lucie’s previous 9-to-5 corporate job in London had left her bored and her expensive spending habits had led her into debt. She craved a life of adventure where she could travel internationally and experience different cultures, but couldn’t afford to travel in style and the concept of backpacking held no appeal.

The initial appeal of her jet-setting career quickly faded. Lucie soon found the job tiring and monotonous, as her days became a blur of in-flight meals and generic hotel rooms. Her health began to decline as she was constantly jet-lagged and she had fallen further into debt by spending more money than she was earning.

Her best friend Louise Phillips was equally disenfranchised, and both girls craved a new adventure. Louise’s older sister Emma had previously been on a working holiday to Japan where she was employed as a hostess. Although Lucie wasn’t clear exactly what Emma’s Japanese job had entailed, she knew it involved bars, waitressing, and the potential to earn a lot of money. She became convinced hostessing presented a great opportunity to pay off her debts while seeing more of the world and decided to leave her job at British Airways to pursue the idea…