Yokohama Living

I can kind of understand men getting manicures and pedicures. Maybe some models want to have perfect nails for a photo shoot or perhaps a rich business man wants to look flawless during a meeting. I know that old men often have pedicures simply because they can’t reach down to cut their own toe nails. I’d like to point out for the Japanese people reading this article that manicures and pedicures are simply words for caring for your nails and doesn’t necessarily involve nail polish or special treatment.

Anyway, today I was doing a little shopping and I was in Marui Department Store in Yokohama when I came across this nail salon for men. The salon is open plan so you can see the staff and customers go about their business. There seemed to be only one customer at the time. A clean cut well dressed young man. He was having a manicure. Our guess is he was a sakura. A sakura is basically a fake customer to attract other people into the store. I have heard of restaurants in New York employing similar tactics to draw customers by hiring a good looking couple to dine in the window seat.

I picked up their brochure to have a look, just out of curiosity though. I have no intention of paying someone to cut my nails. Surprised as I was by the fact that there was a men’s nail salon, I was even more surprised by the courses they offered and the prices they charged. The most expensive course is listed first on the brochure. It is the appropriately titled Luxury Course. It costs ¥16,800 (about $160) and takes 120 minutes. The cheapest is a ten minute nail filing for ¥1,260.

Enough about the price. Anyway, the men paying to get their nails done obviously have more money than sense. But the services they offer… On top of filing and clipping and cuticle cleaning you can get coloring and nail art (from ¥630 per nail). They are also offering nail extensions. These services are all for men! Wow! If you are feminine enough to get your nails done why don’t you just go to regular nail salon.

This salon is on the 8F of Sky Building near Yokohama Station. It is in the space that was previously occupied by an oxygen bar. Perhaps only businesses that can be easily sneered at can use this space. I guess then it may be appropriate to say “Watch this space”.