As the market keep going to shit and everybody either getting fired or scared of getting fired, us Tokyojin are finding unique ways to keep our heads above water. When times get tough you just have to tighten your buckle and carry on. Many things we would not considering doing to save a few yen in the past now seem to made a lot more sense.
I was out in Ameyoko recently and ran across a rather interesting kind of Japanese pawn shop. They seem to understand that times are hard for the people of Tokyo. The bills have got to be paid no matter if you have a job or not. When you get really hard up this pawn shop will buy the metal right out of your teeth!
I am not sure how this whole exchange goes down. Do they remove the metal for you or do you have to have a dentist do it? If they remove the gold/silver for you it would be make the process a whole lot faster. Hell, you could most likely stop in during your lunch break, get the money making tooth removed, grab the cash and be ready for your evening shift. The only problem would be any pain issues involved. You always would run the risk of getting doped up too much and making a fool of yourself at work. I could see a situation which some hard-up salaryman took a bit too much pain killers at the pawn shop and passing out during a meeting. How does he explain? `Sorry sir. I sold my gold tooth on my lunch break. The guy at the pawn shop must have given me too much pain killer.` An awkward situation for sure.
Well, if we have to sell our tooth fillings to make ends meet then so be it! I got some silver in my teeth. I wonder how much I can get for it?
