Japanese salons know how to give good salon service (at least most of them).
I love going for a hair cut. I usually try to hold out and time it so that I can have my hair done by Caity (who, if you haven’t had the pleasure, is amazing). However, distance precludes me from seeing her as frequently as I would like. Since I’ve been in Tokyo, I’ve been going to a place called Sin Den which initially wooed me in with a haircut/massage package. The first time I walked out of that teeny cramped salon, I felt fluid, relaxed, and ready to face down Tokyo. Since that first visit, though, the masseuse has left, the salon is more crowded, and because the salon is so small, people are constantly scootching around the chairs and it’s not a very relaxing experience. After my last visit, I decided that I was going to go elsewhere. And that’s exactly what I did Sunday.
It was terrific.
The name of the place: Who Ga Annex (what a name, eh?). The service: fantastic. The shampooer almost had me sleeping by the time she was finished her ten minute shampooing & massaging of my head. By the time she wrapped a hot towel around my head and lead me to my seat, I was one limp piece of spaghetti. She sat me down and then gave me a shoulder and upper back massage that sucked out a lot of the tension I’ve been carrying around. And I ended up with a good hair cut to boot.
After a relaxing hour at Who Ga, I stumbled out into the street wondering where I should go next. There’s a cemetery that has been on my list of places I want to see before I leave Japan. I don’t have a death obsession, but I do like to visit cemeteries and I will, in fact, seek them out when I travel. Aoyama Cemetery is the oldest public cemetery in Japan. The foreigner section is small, and the earliest graves I could find only dated back to the late-1800’s (although the most recent was 1991). The cemetery was, as cemeteries are, peaceful and quiet and dotted with homeless men.
I spent the rest of Sunday wandering from park to park until my legs tired. Then I hopped on a train and went down to my favorite sushi restaurant.
I love going for a hair cut. I usually try to hold out and time it so that I can have my hair done by Caity (who, if you haven’t had the pleasure, is amazing). However, distance precludes me from seeing her as frequently as I would like. Since I’ve been in Tokyo, I’ve been going to a place called Sin Den which initially wooed me in with a haircut/massage package. The first time I walked out of that teeny cramped salon, I felt fluid, relaxed, and ready to face down Tokyo. Since that first visit, though, the masseuse has left, the salon is more crowded, and because the salon is so small, people are constantly scootching around the chairs and it’s not a very relaxing experience. After my last visit, I decided that I was going to go elsewhere. And that’s exactly what I did Sunday.
It was terrific.
The name of the place: Who Ga Annex (what a name, eh?). The service: fantastic. The shampooer almost had me sleeping by the time she was finished her ten minute shampooing & massaging of my head. By the time she wrapped a hot towel around my head and lead me to my seat, I was one limp piece of spaghetti. She sat me down and then gave me a shoulder and upper back massage that sucked out a lot of the tension I’ve been carrying around. And I ended up with a good hair cut to boot.
After a relaxing hour at Who Ga, I stumbled out into the street wondering where I should go next. There’s a cemetery that has been on my list of places I want to see before I leave Japan. I don’t have a death obsession, but I do like to visit cemeteries and I will, in fact, seek them out when I travel. Aoyama Cemetery is the oldest public cemetery in Japan. The foreigner section is small, and the earliest graves I could find only dated back to the late-1800’s (although the most recent was 1991). The cemetery was, as cemeteries are, peaceful and quiet and dotted with homeless men.
I spent the rest of Sunday wandering from park to park until my legs tired. Then I hopped on a train and went down to my favorite sushi restaurant.
Japanese graves at Aoyama
Foreigner's graves at Aoyama
A homeless man resting peacefully between sections of cemetery
Statue at a Japanese grave
Fire Truck
Ken pops up in random places
Wood-paneled vending machine
Merry Christmas
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