Job Discussion Forums

[rampo]

Where can the SO and I get cheap haircuts in Osaka? The hair salons are so expensive here!

[canuck]

[furiousmilksheikali]

There's also a QB House next to Loft in Umeda. You pay 1000 yen into the ticket machine which in theory allows you a ten-minute haircut. It usually takes longer but never costs more than 1000 yen. Most barbers in Japan are union-affiliated and must charge at least 2600 yen.

[Inflames]

There's also one in Namba. Same building as Subway (Sennichimae Dori and MidoSuji). The sign is by the Nomura Securities.

[SA_Massive]

QB are a bit Racist.

Just make sure you look like you can speak japanese even if you can't. As soon as you walk in put your money into the vending machine to get your coupon otherwise they might refuse you.

I know how to ask or a simple haircut in Japanese but the first time i went to their branch in Nishinomiya-kitaguchi station (Hyogo Prefecture), I wasn't sure of the system (didn't realise I had to pay in advance with the vending machine) and even though the two staff were completely idol at the time, instead of directing me to the vending machine, they directed me to a sign (in English) saying "If you cant communicate in Japanese, you may be refused Service" .

I replied (in Japanese) that I didnt want to chat, just a haircut and then explained that I would like it short, anything OK.

Long story short they refused me service and I got F-ing angry and got my girlfriend to complain to their call centre. In the end I got a letter of apology from their Head Office Manager in Tokyo. Bunch of tossers.

But I still go there (different branch). Can't beat that price. I feel sorry for their staff though. Their job is even worse than Eikaiwa.

[Chris21]

When I was in Osaka, I used to go to a place in the basement of Hep-5 that was pretty good. It's not as cheap or as fast as QB, but it's still reasonable (1,500). If you're in the shopping concourse below Hep-5 (Whity), it's pretty close to the Baskin-Robbins (just a few stores in the direction of Higashi-Umeda station).

[callmesim]

There's also a QB in Shin-Imamiya station.... I think.

[JimDunlop2]

[kinshachi]

How about any cheap barbers in central Nagoya?

[madeira]

Jim, I've been refused service at quite a few shops... even with a Japanese person along with me. Some just say they can't cut/colour gaijin hair. Haven't seen a sign, though.

The weird thing is, in Canada I've always gone to a Chinese shop. No problem with gestures alone for styling preference. Pointing at the samples for colour works fine.

Just a detail... I have long straight dark hair. Freakishly difficult and strange here..

[dove]

It is so interesting--wait, maybe it's pitiful--how some Japanese businesses would rather turn away business (money!) than risk a bit of awkward communication problems. This is so different from most of Asia. Why? What is it about the Japanese character that it must operate on the fear of what COULD happen? I see this manifested in so many ways: books are covered because one COULD be perceived in a certain way based on the content of the book. Students don't speak in English classes not only because they COULD make a mistake, but because they COULD be perceived as being a show-off if they speak too well.

I know someone is going to respond about how way back when Japanese communities had to work together to plant and harvest the rice and consequently there was no room for diversity of thought when the main purpose was providing for the welfare of the community....or how Japan is an island nation that was closed to the world for so many centuries. Get over it and grow a couple!

[sethness]

Kinshachi, in Central Nagoya look for places called "RCut".
(I cant' say whether the R stands for Rapid, Right, Racist, or Reasonable. You decide.) The shops have a red formica theme in their decorations, so they're easy to spot.

They operate on exactly the same principle as the QB barbershops. There's one next to the Ueda bus station / subway entrance, for example.

The staff there are grumpy, and seem a tad unwilling to deal with foreigners, but they have a way around it. They ask me to come in with a PHOTO (from a magazine, etc.) showing the cut I want.

That sounds like a real time-saver.

I've also seen a 1000-yen place in more-central-Nagoya, actually WITHIN the subway station, but can't for the life of me recall what it's called nor which station I saw it in.

[canuck]

[heathergray]

I suppose curly-haired people are okay with haircuts in Japan, then.

[canuck]