So today I am writing about my experience getting a haircut. “A haircut?” you say, “Really Josh, is a haircut worthy of a blog entry?”. I respond that, well, there are more exciting things happening in my life, but I'm a bit too lazy to write about them so it's a haircut you get.
In Japan, when you want to get a haircut, you don't just get a haircut, you get a whole experience. I walked into the barber shop around 6:00, hoping it would still be open. Luckily for me, Japan is a culture of work, so fortunately (unfortunately for the barber) I was able to go in. There was already somebody getting their haircut when I got there, so the barber told me to wait in the waiting room. I'm used to waiting in waiting “rooms” which include a few chairs, some bad magazines, and usually someone smoking a cigarette sitting directly next to me. This waiting room, was, well, first of all a real room. The first thing I laid my eyes on was a big flat screen TV, followed by some very nice couches and some candy ripe for the taking. This was the epitome of Japanese service. In fact, just about every establishment you go to in Japan, the service is on this par. Everyone is super polite (to the point where I don't understand the Japanese language polite) and to top it off, tipping isn't allowed. I remember trying to leave a tip once and the waitress came running after me outside the store saying I had forgotten my money. I'm not sure why Japan hasn't caught on to tipping yet, but you won't see me out on the streets campaigning to allow customers to tip their waiter or waitress, I'm just fine getting great service and not having to tip.
Anyway, back to my haircut...experience. Yes, the waiting room. On top of the flat screen TV, comfy couches, and candy, there was tea and souchuu (which is Japanese vodka, it's actually not that surprising because my Island likes to drink it...a lot), a computer with internet, a guitar and Shamisen (Japanese banjo like instrument) all of which were free to use. I'm not sure who would break out into a guitar solo in the middle of a barber shop, but I guess you never know. After awhile the barber took me into the haircut room and told me to have a seat in the most intricate massage chair I have ever seen (apparently I needed to be massaged before the haircut). I have to admit, it was pretty nice, the thing did my arms, legs, back, the whole deal for around 15 minutes. Again, free. At this point, I was beginning to get a bit worried about how much this would cost me... I mean, Japan is a country about service and all, but this was getting a bit extreme. He sat me down in the chair and asked me what kind of haircut I wanted. Me, with my perfect Japanese, answered “uhh...short?”. Somehow he got the picture and went to work.
The haircut part was like a normal haircut (surprise surprise), but he then went on to shave my face. When I say face, I mean my entire face. Forehead, ears, nose and all. Which was a bit surprising, seeing as I've never had my forehead shaved before. I mean, I'm not complaining, but it's not like my forehead needed to be shaved or anything. I guess you can never be too careful with these things though. He finished up with a head massage, which quickly became a shoulder massage (which, to say the least, was a bit uncomfortable. I've never had a barber give me a shoulder massage...). During all of this, the most interesting thing that was happening was the music that was playing. He had asked me at first if I knew of the “beetorooz”? Ever heard of them? Ya me neither. I answered politely that I had not, and he, with a shocked look, asked if I ever listened to “Poppu”. I was starting to get the picture. Poppu = pop and so beetorooz (don't ask) = the beatles. He told me to wait a minute and went back to turn on some music. Dad would have been proud, out of the stereo came 50s and 60s pop music. Classic tunes such as “Sugar Pie Honey Bunch” by the Four Tops and “Take Good Care Of My Baby” by Bobby Vee. It was, well, much like the rest of my haircut trip, an experience that I soon will not forget. I ended up paying around 2500 Yen (about 30 bucks), not too bad I guess and walking out of there with a brand spanking new Japanese haircut and a clean shaven forehead – ready to take on the world (or at least my little island!).
Till next time
-Josh
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