Trip to the Barber

I've had heard about the meticulous nature of japanese barbers, and today experienced it. Theres a surprising number of hairdressers and barbers all over Japan, and I had been eyeing one down the street from my apartment. It has the traditional red/white barber pole, but you look in the window and it's all green. He has a fish tank, a fountain, and plants on the outside, then when you go in, they're all around. Sit down in the chair and you are framed in green vines and can see goldfish in a tank behind you.

I didn't catch his name, but to my eye, my barber looked like an old hippie, sun-worn skin, long black hair streaked with silver and pulled back tight into a knot. I sat down in the chair, had a blanket placed in my lap, multiple towels around my neck and an apron over it all. There was no chance of getting hair anywhere. I was not up to snuff with my haircut vocabulary, so I mostly gestured around my overgrown sideburns, the top, and repeated the word for little, as I really just wanted a trim and a shave. He started on my hair with a spray bottle, comb and scissors, using hair clips at times to get to the under layers, going slowly and not missing things. When he was done with the hair, he even shaved the back of my neck and around my ears with his barbers blade. Then came the shampoo and I didn't need to move at all as the fully-motorized chair turned me around and tilted me back into the sink. He put a covering over my eyes, and this was no quicky clean. It was more was like a deep scalp massage, then rinse, then another scalp massage.

Next came the shave. I've never actually gone to a barber for a shave, though I've thought about it and wanted to. I'm not a big fan of haircuts in general, but not of shaving either, so having someone else do it sounds pretty good to me! Again the motorized chair leaned me back and a head support came out. After the hot towels, I was lathered up and he went to work. He was thorough, even did my ear-lobes and eye-brows, but still missed spots. I can't blame him because those are spots I always miss, and feeling the steady hand and barbers' blade against my skin was an experience.

After the shave, he sat me up again, massaged some kind of herbal tonic into my scalp, brushed my hair, then a shoulder massage. During the shoulder massage he told me how his daughter had visited Boston last year and how he would also like to visit. He kept repeating the word for 'soup' and when I finally caught on and responded 'chowder' he got all excited. I did lie though, told him the chowda was delicious, though personally I never touch it. Cost of the haircut/shave was about what I'd expect for similar back home, though without all the extra care. Nice guy, I would go there again.