I needed a haircut today. Since I am not confident enough in my Japanese to make an appointment, I just wander in the day I want to get it cut and take my chances that at some point in the day I’ll be able to get in. I left the house around 11:15 am. As always, I was able to get in and we are converging on a style. Although I still look a little manga/anime-ish when I leave, I can handle it.

I still don’t have a car, and I live in an urban area. I get my hair cut in the main shopping area of Nagoya. Since I walk to the salon, while I walk I have time to conjure up ways to spend money, and then I have time to actually spend the money on the way back. Since I know various shops, I am getting quite efficient at it.

After my haircut, lunch was overdue, so had some good soup and bread. It is quite refreshing on a brisk (cold?) winter day. Between 2 weeks ago and today the weather has changed significantly. It is much colder, the ginko trees have shed all their leaves, the sun is low on the horizon, and it feels like winter.

Anyway, after lunch, I decided that I needed a new pair of shoes. I decided months ago that I needed a new pair of shoes. I’m still in a Dr. Martens kind of mindset. The only problem is, DMs are about $200 a pair here. Remarkable, considering they are $80 on Zappos.com. I had been avoiding buy shoes because they were just too expensive. Once again, brand loyalty is killing my wallet. I went to the store that I had seen Docs before, found exactly the shoe I wanted, so I bought them. All the while I was reminding myself that I have a cost of living adjustment to account for such price differences. Sort of.

Since it is the Christmas season, I needed a few more Christmas gifts and some wrapping paper. I never shop this early, but then again I’ve never had to ship things across the ocean. 1 “roll” of wrapping paper in Japan is less than 1 meter long. Every wrapped gift is a labor of love I guess.

Since it is chilly out, I thought I’d pick up a throw at BoConcept, otherwise known as a blanket. I found a really nice one that I liked. Of course, it was WAY too much. At least I think it was way too much. That one I had to walk away from.

My haircut trip ended up taking 4 hours and emptied my wallet, without a single fossil fuel consumed by me in the process.

As much as I might fret the prices in Japan, especially when considering where the dollar is against the yen, I still find a haircut to be quite economical. I’m sure some of my colleagues would disagree, but they are the Supercuts type. I’m only paying $15 more than in the States when I go to my salon (Toni&Guy) here in Japan. How does that make it economical? During the first shampoo, I get a nice scalp massage. I get a haircut that is meticulously executed, especially today. Then the fun begins. I get another shampoo to get rid of the loose hairs and another quick scalp massage during the washing. I taken back to my chair, and there I get a scalp treatment followed by a much deeper scalp, neck, shoulders and partial back massage. Finally I get my hair dried and styled (aka anime’d). There’s no upsell on the massage, there’s no extra tip. As a matter of fact, there is no tip at all. It is just the service. I wish I could get my hair cut once a week.