New Breed of Japanese Women Savor Life in Fast Lane

A new breed of young women is flocking to Japan’s bars, racetracks and golf courses--the “ oyaji gal.”

An oyaji is a successful middle-aged man, and an oyaji gal is a woman in her 20s who seeks to mirror his lifestyle.

Oyaji gals read sports tabloids in dingy bars, smoke cigarettes and drink beer. The morning after, they knock back a vitamin drink to soothe their hangovers.

On weekends, they head for the golf course or racetrack, pockets full of yen and eyes fixed on the jockeys.

“It’s OK to do anything, as long as it’s fun,” said Yutsuko Chusonji, who started a comic strip three years ago to chronicle the lifestyles of these women as they travel the globe spending money in fashionable places.

“If you haven’t got money, you can’t be an oyaji gal,” said the well-travelled Chusonji, 28.

The oyaji gal is the latest figure in the evolution of Japanese women that has seen the “body-con,” or body conscious woman with hip-hugging clothes; the giggling burriko, whose hallmark is everything cute, and the “O. L.,” or office lady, who serves tea and makes photocopies while waiting for Mr. Right.

Chusonji says the goal of the oyaji gal is to imitate middle-aged executives who can afford to spend their leisure time on the golf course rather than in noisy city pinball parlors.

Being trendy in Japan doesn’t come cheaply, and some cannot afford all the latest fads and fashions, even by living with their parents to save money.

“At first I played golf, but it was too expensive,” said waitress Erika Kawabata, 23, a self-proclaimed oyaji gal. “I like to spend money, just not too much.”

Kawabata, who goes to the races once a week, was speaking at Tokyo Racecourse on a wet Sunday, standing in her black leather jacket, chewing gum and gazing out over the rain-soaked track.

Near her a group of young women in the grandstand took notes as a man explained to them the ins and outs of betting.

The racetracks, long a male preserve, are betting on the oyaji gals, even spending money to attract them with such touches as pink tiles in the toilets.

The number of young women coming to the races has soared, said Ryoji Tachiki, a manager at Tokyo Racecourse. “They come to see the famous jockeys. Before the horses were popular; now it’s the jockeys.”

His track has installed two huge television screens to show the horses in the paddock and to screen close-up interviews with the jockeys, who are now as famous as rock stars.

The women tear posters from walls and run screaming to the track to embrace the winners.

The current heartthrob is stylish young jockey Yutaka Take, now reaching a wider audience via television beer ads.

The racecourse even has a souvenir toy--a cuddly, fuzzy horse called “Turfy,” the track’s mascot. Sales have been brisk.

“Horse racing itself hasn’t changed much, but it’s become a kind of fashion,” Tachiki said.

Oyaji gals bet small amounts--often the minimum of 100 yen, or less than a dollar--but they bet frequently and it’s important to think long-term, said Tachiki.

“In 10 or 20 years, when the women are older, maybe they’ll bet more money.”

Explanations for the oyaji gal phenomenon vary from feminism to boredom.

“Some say it is because women are now more equal and can do what they want to do, but I don’t think it is as deep as all that,” Kawabata said.

Others say it is because there is not enough drama in their lives--or enough good men.