The 1,000 Yen Tokyo Haircut

Getting a haircut in Tokyo can be expensive. Usually I go a guy who has been cutting my hair for a long time. I have even followed the guy when he switched shops from Harajuku and Shibuya. Well, times are tough for everyone and a 12,000 yen haircut is just not in my budget right now. I can style my own hair pretty good but I am not yet brave enough to do a DIY haircut. I decided the solution would be to break down and get a 1,000 yen ten minute haircut.

I had heard about the amazing 1,000 yen ten minute haircut for a while but never got one. I don`t let just anyone touch my hair but when money gets low and hair gets too long a ten minute haircut starts to sound like a good idea. So, while enjoying a night out I stopped at Kita-Senju and rolled into one these infamous 1,000 yen hair cut joints.

The deal is pretty straight forward. You walk in and feed a little machine 1,000 yen. After you pony up the 1,000 yen the little machine spits out a ticket. There are a row of about two or three people standing next to chairs. You choose the express barber of your choice and the process get underway. Now, there is no way in hell you can get a full cut in ten minutes. Rather, the deal seems to be a quick trim with no fuss. If your Japanese is not so good make sure to bring a native speaker along with you. There is no time to try and explain what you want in broken Japanese. Currently I have been growing my pomp out bigger so all I wanted was to trim up the back part of my hair. My gal told them what I wanted and before my ass evened settled into the seat it was all over.

I cannot say it was the best haircut I had ever received but the job got done none the less. So if you need a quick trim and don`t have the cash for a professional to attack your hair the 1,000 yen haircut is the way to go.

What Ever I Do in Life At Least I Did Not Marry A Video Game

Like most people, I have done several things which are not up to moral snuff. Sometimes people tell me, `You have lived a pretty unique life so far Ghost.` My response to this is, `If I wrote a book about my life, and was completely honest, no one would believe it.` If I ever write that infamous book one chapter will surely be missing: The Time I Married A Video Game. The reason said chapter will be missing is because I never have or will marry a damn video game. The same cannot be said for a Japanese man by the name of Sal9000. According to boingboing.com Sal9000 recently went completely off his rocker and married a video game girl from a popular game called Love Plus.

Some people may say I should be more understanding of post-modern Japanese culture. I do in many ways try my best to humor some of the more unique aspects of post-modern culture here in J-land, but marrying a fucking video game is pushing `We are Japanese and have a unique culture` attitude a bit too far. If anyone in Japan is still clueless as to why the population is decreasing they have to look no further than the case of Sal9000 and his video game wife. What the hell is going on inside the mind of some young Japanese guys these days? There is no way the women in Japan have become so strong willed that the men have been scared to the point of marrying video games. I live in Japan and I know these gal are not that all that hard to deal with usually. They might bitch and moan a bit more than gals back home but for the most part they are pretty easy going in most cases.

What are Japanese guys expecting? Do they really need a completely passive brain dead chick hanging off them 24/7 to feel secure? I am completely baffled as to the reasoning of marrying a video game women. The only positive I can make out is almost no fighting. I don`t think it is possible to get into a screaming match with a video game wife. Sex is also completely out of the question. I wonder if he considered the lack of crazy hot sex when he decided to marry a video game? More than likely this dude either has never had sex or when he did it was so bad he does not want sex anymore.

In a update Sal9000 wrote a email to reporter Lisa Katayama announcing his plans to introduce his wife his to mom and pop soon. I am sure his parents are gonna flip when his shows them his so-called wife. I would not be surprised if his pop beats the crap out of him and smashes his DS into pieces. His mother will more than likely cry and blame herself for her son`s social failure.

Someone is going to have to sit this guy down and explain to him that marrying a video game is not acceptable. I only hope he comes to his senses and gets a real women.

November was a Tough One

I have not been blogging much in the month of November. I must be honest and tell yall, November has been a tough month. A lot of shit has went down in the past 30 days. The level of stress has damn near broke me but here I stand all the same. I have seen a lot of crazy shit in my day but what has been going down recently goes beyond anything I have experienced. This dirty city I call home had finally decided it was `my turn` so to speak over the past 30 days.

I have learned something very important about Tokyo; when people become scared they get mean and brutal. Friendships and bonds melt away real quick. Humanity shows its true ugly side in Tokyo when times get tough. It seems rather than pull together in hard situations my fellow Tokyojin turn on each other. Loyalties are put into question and good people get hurt. It can be shocking at times the level of madness people will go to in order to save their own ass.

I try to understand all the things going on around me recently. Human emotion can be a funny thing sometimes. People do things out of fear or stress, which under normal conditions, would never dream of doing. Once people go into defensive mode all you can do is try to survive. It does not matter how hard you try to show you have not tried to fuck them over; they will think anyway they want. Emotion will take control over even the most mature person. Get caught in the cross fire and you are sure to suffer some injury. I am just glad this month is over. All I can do is focus on my job and manage my personal life.

Workaholic: Tokyo Style

It is well known that in Japan people tend to work long hours, and at times take very few days off. Many people live the workaholic lifestyle. In Tokyo the workaholic lifestyle is taken to new heights in a hyper reality sense of the term. I have seen people work late into the night and get paid very little overtime. Some folks will work a week or more before getting an off day. Now, it is my turn.

From November I will be working six days a week. My only off day will be Monday. When I first got the orders from my company I have excited and shocked. I was excited because, in truth, I really like working. The men in my family long ago ingrained the idea in me that A man`s life is judged by his hard work and achievements. My shock came from the long distance from my house to the three different branches I will be working. I will be going to Yokohama, Kokubunji, and Kamata every week. There will be a lot of traveling and working for me.

My record for working without a day off in Japan is 12. That was tough but I enjoyed it because I was out in the thick of things everyday. To be honest, sitting at home really drives me nuts sometimes. Maybe I feel a little `boxed-in` staying inside too much. I get this bend up energy when I am static too long. I must be `out in the shit` as much as possible.

The down side of a fast hard working lifestyle is the damage to my body. Little things add up over time. After too many drinking benders, lack of sleep, long work days and other such madness I start to get a little run down. Its all about balance I suppose.

Anyway, a six day work week will be fun for sure. It will keep things interesting. What is your record for working without a day off in Japan?

Come Here Boy!

Okay. Something happen to me this past Friday I think is worth sharing. I handled the situation cool as ice but it pissed me off beyond all measure. Yet instead of going off in a rant, I will simply report the event to internet land and allow judgment to be passed as such.

This past Friday I was in Shibuya. I was about to come out of a back alley onto center gai. I was feeling good just being out and enjoying hanging in Shibuya for a bit. It was about 2:00 p.m. and all seemed calm. Suddenly, seemly out of know where three cops on my ass like horny gay bikers. It is creepy how these boys can sneak up on people. They try to surround me but I was able to get myself a little wiggle room; just in case. Their gang consisted of two old men and one young buck.

The two old men spoke no English at all but the young buck seem pretty fluent. The young buck quickly said, `Sorry sir but this is a police check. Please submit.` I quickly answered, `Why are you doing this? I don`t understand why you are talking to me.` The only response I got was, `Police check. Police check. Submit sir.` A voice in the back of my head said, `punch one of them in the face and run` but I knew that would be a very bad idea. So I said, `Okay. What do you want?`

The old men started asking for my gaijin card(yes they actually called it gaijin card) and requesting I empty all my pockets. The young buck seem to have a different intetest in me. He wanted to talk in English with me. He made casual conversation with me while the two old men raped me from top to bottom. He asked me my nationality and what my hobbies were. He then went on to explain that his sister married an American from Milwaukee. The young buck says he favorite beer is now Miller high life.

Anyway, the two old men really had their way with me. They made me remove everything from my pockets. Even the bits of random paper had to go! They struggle to go though my leather jacket. My jacket has many pockets with strong zippers. I had to help them with the zippers. LOL!

In the end they got their fill of me. They gave everything back to me and let me go. They never explained why they stopped me and searched me from head to toe.

What do yall think?

Fucked up?

Japan`s Lost Generation

I have heard many references to the `lost generation` of Japan. I have also come across many attempts to define the meaning of the term. As I have discovered, most attempts to define Japan`s lost generation only touched on one part of a much larger and far reaching issue which shakes the very core of Japanese society.

A quick search on google and you can find countless references to Japan`s lost generation. Some articles focus on the growing problem of suicide among the youth. Others zero in on the Hikikomori; people who completely fall out of society and become hermits. From what I have learned about Japan`s lost generation, Hikikomori become hermits because society demands so much that they fall behind and `give up.` They locked themselves in their bedrooms refusing to come out. Instead of reaching out to these folks, Japanese society pushes on leaving the Hikikomori to becomes ghost in the shadows.

Before I go any deeper into this let me just say I am by no means an `expert` on Japanese culture. It is just that I live here. I see and experience so much living in the land of the raising sun. Japan is kind of my home. I feel that sometimes it is worth sharing my thoughts on the culture of this island called Japan.
*just had to go ahead and say this to prevent some asshole fucker coming along later and starting some shit. God Damn the Internet!

Anyway where was I...

The Hikikomori was just one part of a much larger group of young Japanese known as Japan`s Lost Generation. It seems there is an entire generation of Japanese being left in the dust and forgotten about. A lot of them are highly educated and intelligent. Yet, due to situations beyond their control they did not get a chance to live up to their true potential. Some of them have been working for a while now. They got stuck in lower paying jobs waiting for their `turn at the table.` Sadly, they got passed over. I have seen first hand people in their late twenties and early thirties get overlooked for higher paying jobs in favor of younger `freshmen` entering the work force. This is just not happening in the job market but from within companies as well. Again I have seen examples of freshmen entering companies and getting higher paying jobs and positions than the `lost generation` types who have been working for said company for several years.

Yet, the lost generation seems to be not just one generation of Japanese youth. It appears that the social ills which created the lost generation is effecting a new generation of Japanese. The video I linked to earlier in this post features a few shots of young Japanese hanging in Shibuya in a very down and out manner. I can offer witness that if you go to Shibuya any night of the week you can see these kids. They really have nothing better to do than hang out in Shibuya looking for something to get into. I can relate this these kids. I remember growing up damn poor in an area with little opportunity to get ahead in the world. I saw a lot of kids give up pretty quickly in the mountains of West Virginia. A lot of them would end up just hanging out everyday doing drugs and getting into fights. While a lot of Shibuya`s lost do not get into fights so often, I am willing to bet that a lot of them are living a lifestyle of daily drug use, at the same time, using sex to make a little yen and provide the majority of their entertainment. These kids have fallen though the cracks in a system which does not provide a place for them in society.

So, how can Japan`s `lost youth` have hope of a decent future? Well like I said, I am not the expert on Japanese culture. There are many sides to the problem of Japan`s lost generation. Yet, I think that there must be a change in Japanese society. It might be a good idea for Japanese society to be more accepting of people who think a little different. It seems that when the economy went bust during the 90`s Japan did not know what do to with their upcoming youth; so they did nothing. These people grew up without knowing what to expect; so they expected nothing. Maybe Japanese society should stop thinking there is only one way to live life and be successful. A little outside the box thinking would be good for Japanese society. You know, when a person cannot hang with the `social standard` there should be other options for them to live a happy successful life.

I struggle to understand the idea of `get with it or get left behind.` Where is the logic is simply leaving anyone who cannot keep up with the pace in the dust to fade away? In order to avoid the social ill of a `lost generation` other life paths must be developed for people who are a little different. Not everyone is going to be a future leader of society. Of course, everyone should be pushed a little to achieve the highest level of success but not everyone is interested in such a goal. It is these kind of issues Japanese society is going to have to face up to sooner or later.

The `No Pain Doctor` Yanked A Tooth Out Of Me

So, my good friend the `no pain doctor` yanked a tooth out my head today. He has been doing `a lot of work` on my teeth as of late. He actually worked on one tooth for an entire month! Well, today he pulled one of my wisdom teeth which had been cutting into the tooth beside it. He knew it had to be done, and today he finally did the dirty deed.

I have to admit I was not exactly looking forward to having a tooth pulled. Having one less tooth in my head kind of freaks me out. Teeth are not something I can grow back. I only get one set of teeth for my entire life. So you can understand why I felt just a little uneasy as I he reached into my mouth and started his work. To his credit, the good doctor was very concerned about my level comfort. He kept saying to me, `If you feel any pain please do not hesitate to express the pain.` Well I expressed the pain alright. He ended up numbing my mouth pretty good. I think the nurse got a kick out of me requesting more and more novacaine.

Actually, I was surprised by the care that everyone involved took in pulling the tooth. I got great after service. Instead of the `English speaking doctor` another doctor explain to me the meds and after care. She was a nice lady who spoke damn good English. For once I actually felt like they gave a flying fuck about me.

Anyway, I got one less tooth in my head. Although, the epic is not over yet. He still has plenty of work(money) to do(make) before he is finished with me.

Don`t worry I am getting good and drunk this evening. I think I deserve it. He told me not to drink but fuck him. The bastard pulled a tooth out of me. I went down to the local supermarket with the gal and bought a six back of cheap ass beer to ease the pain. I am also popping a few of those pain killers the doc gave me as well. Pain killers and beer are usually a good combo as long as I do not over do it. Like my grandma always said, `you can take the boy out of the country but you cannot take the country out of the boy.`