Experience in an harajuku’s shop

I was in Harajuku and I stopped by a stop, before I talk futher I want to point out I use and speak Japanese while in Japan and rarely use English and I’m not even using French if Japanese people don’t try to speak it to me when they learn I know French.
I’m not Japanese or even Asian if it’s important for you to know that.

I went to this shop greet the sellers and went to pick clothes for a good while asked sometimes questions about where to find a specific article which was all good, but after I was decided with what to try, I went to the changing booth which took a bit of time but less than 5 minutes since a dress and skirt I picked up suit me but too large around the breasts and the skirt too small for my hips, these things take more time to put on or remove.

When I went out to show the dress to the person I was with, which was the third piece I was trying out the 3 out of 5, a seller came with something written on her phone in English “Please leave the dressing booth there is others people waiting” I only been here for 5 minute I wasn’t even done with dressing up.

What bothered me is that she came with something written in English even though I spoke in Japanese to her and we talked in Japanese with her coworker and her too.
Also I’m not sure if I can complain about that, but I remember people during our time here doing similar things sometimes with the person that accompanied me that doesn’t speak Japanese(speaking with a phone translator), but they always asked which language she speak to make the translator translate it (which is French), they directly assumed we speak English and didn’t bother to ask even though once again I knew Japanese and they knew it too why use a translator if you’re talking to me and not her?
but what bother me is the fact we had actual Japanese conversation, and yes the seller was Japanese.

Second thing that bothered me the most much more than the language, “the people waiting” was just one person, this wasn’t a busy hour.
There was another changing booth with a couple of Japanese but they been much more longer than I had been and no sellers came to see them to tell them to leave even though they were here when I go there and still there when I went to the changing booth.
I’m only there for less than 5 minutes and you want me to leave while the couple with only the girl trying clothes for more than 15 minute is fine? Why don’t you go to the couple who stayed in one spot for quite some time?

After that went to pay for the clothes because I didn’t liked the atmosphere of the shop, I felt like I was in Paris again and I hated it even just the way the sellers look at you that’s the literal Paris stereotype but in Tokyo coming from a inhabitant of Paris.
I’m in Tokyo because I don’t want to hear or think about Paris, Tokyo is much more cleaner and people much more polite than Paris and even in Paris I have seen sellers in shop nicer than that cause you know not all shop keepers are rude in Paris you know? Even as a tourist in Paris it’s mainly restaurants and waiters and it’s only if you go to high touristic spot.(which the shop I was in wasn’t I was the only Gaikokujin)

I won’t say the name of the shop for privacy and cause I think this one seller doesn’t represent the brand, but I know for sure I won’t return in this specific shop, maybe in another one if it’s chain of shops cause I really liked the articles but never this one again.

6 comments
  1. All your points are valid but you should have just raised the matter with the seller at that time, especially if you could speak Japanese.

  2. >the third piece I was trying out the 3 out of 5

    >. I’m only there for less than 5 minutes

    You change clothes -fast-.

    There could have been tons and tons of reasons about why the shop wanted you out. The customer next in line was a regular or a potential customer with a potentially expensive purchase compared to stuff you were trying on your side, same goes for the couple that were there for longer. Who cares, you did not like the shop anyway, maybe the feeling was reciprocal.

  3. Re: the language. Boohoo. Foreigners can be fluent in Japanese and will still get spoken to in English. “Foreigner = English speaker”. This happens around the world and isn’t specific to Japan.

  4. I won’t even pay for the purchase and will just leave the shop if I encounter this..

  5. I think it’s just a thing that Japanese people will always use English with a Non-Japanese looking person. Even when foreigners speak fluent Japanese, they will still act like they don’t know what they are saying and keep speaking to them in English despite the foreign speaking to them in Japanese.I’m sorry this happened to you, but I wouldn’t let it ruin your trip.

  6. While it absolutely sucks that this happened to you, I don’t know why you posted this here? It’s just a rant. But without knowing the shop name, no one would be able to learn from it or know which shop to maybe avoid (although I understand and agree with your reasons for not naming them).

    FWIW a lot of people who don’t look Japanese but speak Japanese get spoken to in English. It sucks but it’s not just you and it’s not just this store.

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