Monday, August 07, 2006

A great haircut

Last Friday I decided to have a haircut. One problem with short hair is that it needs to be cut every month to six weeks.

I decided to try a new salon because while I wasn't unhappy with my old one, I wasn't so happy either! The old place has good service, the price is good, hair colors are good BUT I wasn't satisfied with my hairstyle. I really want a haircut that looks good and is easy to take care of.

Anyway, H recommended 'Earth' salon in Ninomiya. This is a chain salon that has been around for about 20 years. I used to pass the original Earth in Aoyama (Tokyo) quite often, so when a salon opened in Tsukuba I was familiar with the name.

To be honest, I am not overly fond of chain stores or salons. Sometimes they are good because they offer a certain quality of service - kind of like a franchise, but that also means that the staff mightn't have much interest in the business. After all, they are just workers not owners. It means they can leave and find new jobs very easily. I HATE when you find a place you like but the staff keep changing!

Well I decided to go to Earth just once to see what it was like and to have the same stylist H has. The guy's name is Shimizu-san and certainly he looks the part of a hair stylist. Very fashionable and quite handsome! But most of all, he is a truly professional stylist and cut my hair superbly. I walked out of the salon the happiest I have been about my hair in many years!

Earth is a little expensive and I don't like that you have to wait for a long time. I suppose that is typical of many busy salons. Despite that, I think I will continue to go there because a good haircut is worth waiting for!

PS. If you do go to Earth, please say that I recommended Shimizu-san. I think anyone is really pleased when they find out they made one customer so happy that he/she tells others about it. Recommending somewhere to friends is the biggest 'thanks' you can ever give a business!