日本髪

While here in Japan, my hair has not stopped growing. Normally, I usually get my hair cut every three months, because that's when I go back to Hilo and my usual barber (my father). But it is far to expensive to go to back to Hilo, so my hair hasnt been cut at all. My last haircut was sometime in September; it is now March. Quite possibly, this is the longest my hair has ever been. The most obvious place to see how much my hair has grown is my bangs. Normally, they're somewhere up by my eyebrows; right now, they brush the upper part of my mouth. Many people have already commented that I really need a haircut. I couldnt agree more. In windy weather, my vision is obscured by a mass of black, and it takes about two hours for my hair to dry completely (no, I dont have a hair dryer). I dont even know why I bother trying to arrange my hair these days, because it is simply shapeless and gross. However, the reason why I havent cut my hair yet is because I havent picked a hairstyle yet.

Because my father cuts my hair, I've never gotten a real "hairstyle". It's only been trimmed to stay short. Unlike guys here in Japan (and some people on the mainland), I've never colored it, had it permed, or used any type of product to style it in the mornings. Since this the first time I've been in Japan for a whole year, and thinking that I should make it somewhat memorable, I've decided that I want to get an "Asian hairstyle". I asked my good friend Google for help, and I found a website with all sorts of different hairstyles, for both men and women. After looking at about three hundred and sixty images, I found two hairstyles I really like. I know I cant rock the crazy Asian hairstyle, the one with daily straightening and liberal amounts of wax, so I stuck to very simple styles.


There are images from different angles here and here respectively.

As to where I'm going to get it done, and the cost, I have absolutely no idea. For whatever reason, there is no shortage of hair salons near the university. There's a simple barber across the street from the univeristy, the one with the sexy stylists by 味しん (I dont think so, but the girls do), and one near 7-11. But the one that I have a small inkling of desire to go to is Defrag, which is on the way to the supermarket. It's a new establishment, that only opened up sometime this month, and I imagine because it's new, it is always very empty (though I suppose it could also be simply because it has so much competition). I feel sorry for the owner (whoever that is), and thus feel like I should give them my business. However, because it's new, I cant ask around to see if there is a better shop. They may charge too much, or maybe they will make a mistake. Then again, I suppose taking a risk is the whole point of this excercise.

Since my Japanese isnt precise enough to describe what kind of hairstyle I want, after I choose a hairstyle, I'm going to print up the page with all the information on it. The multiple pictures can probably describe the hairstyle better than I ever could, and there are short notes on the left side of the page about the style. To cover my bases, I'm hoping I can get/drag a Japanese person with me, so that I wont look like a complete idiot, and I imagine some of the remaining Americans will tag along to offer moral support. I could act like a crazy person and just go by myself, but I have no 根性 (cojones), so that's highly unlikely. If you have any advice or opinions on this whole thing, I'd appreciate it so much.