Hello. Until recently, I’ve been living inside Tokyo. Whenever I needed a haircut, I could just walk to the nearest barber, show them a photo on my phone (standard mens buzz cut) and they’d charge me between 1,000-1,500. No problem.
Now I’m living in a slightly more rural area (Saitama) and I’ve been needing a cut. So I went to 9 different barbers and salons nearby my apartment and couldn’t get it.
5 of them completely refused service, even holding up the batsu arms once I walked through the door. Some of these had no customers at all and some had 1 or 2 customers.
4 of them offered to do the cut, but they wanted between 3,000-4,000, which is more than double what I would pay in Tokyo.
There’s nothing strange about me. I’m just a standard white American man.
Do I need to take a train back to the city just for a haircut?
6 comments
Are they open? Do they take people without appointments? Are you wearing a mask?
If you’re really having a problem, you could try making an appointment.
Google 理容室 埼玉 and see how many more are within range of where you are. It’s strange that they would all refuse you.
Are you making a reservation or trying to do a walk in? Most places are by reservation only. There are also tons of salon chains all over Japan that take reservations online so it’s pretty simple to do.
3500 yen is also fairly standard for a salon. Yeah there is cheaper places but the price generally reflects the quality of service you will get.
So you don’t want to pay the price? You might consider that includes a shampoo and shave, so it is actually a good deal. Once you find one you like, and they know you, kinda nice to walk in and be treated like a regular. I don’t mind paying more to get good service and I don’t have to explain anything about how I want my hair cut. Been going to the same place for about 15 years. Even bring them omiyage when I go on trips. Might be worth the effort to seek a out a place via a recommendation of someone.
I went to those 1000yen cuts and they bodged up big time, never again will I go to one of those. Now I just pay 4000yen and the guy cuts it to perfection.
If it’s just a straight buzz (same length all over), maybe consider just buying a pair of clippers and doing it yourself! I do mine myself in the mirror, takes about ten minutes. 🙂