KITADOKO Barber Shop, Established in 1871, History, Respect and Care for the Little Big Things

The Super Bowl Kick Off Time for fans living in Japan is painfully early and convenient only to Parties serving Breakfast, Mimosa, Bloody Marys and Cold Draft Beer for the intrepid.  We woke at 6 AM, traveled to our favorite Sports Bar in Hiroo, enjoyed a spicy breakfast conducive to cold beverages and witnessed a Great Green Bay-Pittsburg Championship Football Game (inclusive of the Black Eyed Peas half time show).  

The question:  what do you do at 11:30 AM on a Monday Morning after leaving a Super Bowl Party? You guessed it; your wife goes to Hot Yoga and you try out a famous Traditional Barbershop in Shibuya. 

The Kitadoko “Hair Salon” dates back to the Japanese Meiji Era (1871) and has been owned and operated by five generations of the Funakoshi Family.  As a student of Things Japanese it was a rare opportunity to look over artifacts proudly displayed and experience the same professional service and skill as Japanese Men whose names grace History Books. It is quite a list including Natsume Soseki (Author) , Nitobe Inazo (Statesman), and Hirobumi Ito (Japan’s First Prime Minister). 

On display was an original Congress Hydraulic Chair imported from the Dellar Barbers Supply Company of  1321 First Avenue, Seattle, Washington, USA.  They gave me a tour of antiques that included photographs, the Dellar Barber Supply Catalog, a Meiji Era Porcelain Shaving Bowl, old coins, bills and tobacco tins.  The mirror at the front door dates back to the original shop located in front of the Prestigious Tokyo University where much of the clientele worked or studied. 

From the early years of the shops existence the Funakoshi Management practiced the philosophy of caring for a customer’s physical and mental well being. Natsume  Soseki set the trend for a quiet atmosphere by replying to a Barber’s comment on the weather by saying “who cares, I’m here for a haircut and to relax.”  Until this day a customer will enjoy his experience without unsolicited conversation or hint of rush or urgency. My Hair Cut was indeed relaxing and was accompanied with a shave, shampoo & followed by a short face, shoulder, head and back massage.  The “Cut Course” took about 80 minutes and the fee was 5460 Yen.

Little Big Things: 

-Mr. Funakoshi took my glasses and cleaned them perfectly.

-A humidifying mist was sprayed on my face during the massage portion of the course.

-The staff use combinations of scissors, straight edge blades and electric clippers accordingly as results and patient comfort trump speed and efficiency at the KITADOKO Hair Salon.

-Customers have their choice of Tea or Coffee after the Course is finished.

-The KITADOKO accepts Credit Cards

-Mr. Funakoshi and his daughter kindly allowed photos and gave permission to Post them in this Blog.

Time spent at the KITADOKO was really a treat.  I’d recommend it to anyone ready to relax and enjoy time tested professional service.  When you start by caring for the top knots of Samurai and are still in business after 142 Years; you are doing a lot of things right.

Hair Salon Kitadoko  http://www.kitadoko.com/

Recruitment & Retention is A Never Ending Challenge for Foreign Companies in Japan

Interviews with Multi-National Expatriate Executives in Japan eventually come around to Recruitment and the difficulty of hiring & retaining Excellent Japanese Employees. Small foreign businesses in Japan fair no better with less attractive resources. We’ve had various degrees of success bringing in Employees thru referrals, newspaper ads and direct solicitation when situations and opportunity present themselves.


Our batting average improved when we starting working with a Web Site Based Recruitment Firm called Career Cross. The Site Targets Bilingual Japanese Job Seekers and offers prospective employers the option to Post Advertisements and send direct interview offers to candidates listed in the extensive Career Cross Data Base.


Our recent advertisement for a Project Coordinator Position resulted in a record number of quality applications. Our experience confirms that difficult economic times are favoring employers in Japan. For the first time we had the luxury of interviewing candidates interested and motivated by our application rather than trying to sell a position by emailing offers for interviews to someone in the Career Cross Data Base. We ultimately faced the enviable problem of having to make the difficult selection from a talented and motivated group of people qualified for our employment short list.


Finding Career Cross was a major step in creating a model for successful searches for employees. Some other effective and time saving practices learned over the years when hiring in Japan include: telephone interviews to confirm English Ability, job specific translation tests that can be offered after a telephone interview and administered thru email, and finally face to face interviews conducted by both Japanese & English Speakers. As Professional Japanese is an acquired skill; an experienced interviewer is essential to determine a candidate’s ability to articulate in a formal business setting. At the end of the day, our Consulting Team admits that when selecting people, it’s often “better to be lucky than good.”


Our positive experience with the Career Cross Recruitment Web Site can be largely attributed to Mr. Justin Kay, the Senior Sales Representative who takes care of our account. His follow up and over the top assistance has made all the difference.


Mr. Kay agreed to survey his colleagues and some clients to assemble a Top 5 List of Considerations for Foreign Companies hiring Japanese Nationals. We hope you enjoy his perspective:






1. Focus on job content not language skills - The best Japanese professionals don't speak English and don't want to.


2. Inquire about how they were managed and how they were evaluated - Good workers had good managers. Bad workers usually had bad managers.


3. Give projects/assignments - See how they work, some Japanese are horrible at interviewing but great at working.


4. Have a detailed job description - Most companies don't. Make applying easy for candidates, as Japanese read carefully, have lots of input about the job.


5. If you are interviewing, and cannot speak completely fluent Japanese, have an interpreter, from an OUTSIDE company present - The interpreter's job is to interpret, not make judgments. Your "right hand man/woman" should be taking notes on answers not trying to bang out translation. Worst yet, they may not translate everything said!






CareerCross http://www.careercross.com/en/

A Lesson from an Auto Body Shop in Kawasaki; the Best have Universal Qualities

After a Fender Bender in a Parking Lot near Yokosuka Naval Base, my Car Insurance Agent directed me to an Auto Body Shop near our home.  Upon arrival at SATO JIDOUSHA. Inc. (Sato Automobiles),  a Franchisee of Car Conveni Club. Co., I was astonished by the size of the Service Center.  It maximized every square inch of a 4 Car Garage and the side street adjacent to the business.  From this point forward, the interaction (all in Japanese) was text book professionalism.  Courteous reception from everyone within ear shot, computer generated proposal immediately upon request, offer to contact and subsequent follow thru with my Insurance Agent, and finally receipt of my vehicle and repair of its back fender.  The job was done satisfactorily and costs ran true to the estimate.

Prior to picking up my Toyota Harrier my wife informed me that the SatoCar Repair Company was ranked number one by their franchise (1200 shops) two years running.  When mentioned to the General Manager upon receipt of my car he stated:  “It’s all about the men on the floor of my shop.  Your thanks and appreciation will be passed on to them.”  Right out of Jim Collin’s “Good to Great” – The very best businesses share Universal Qualities wherever they’re run.

Sato Jidousha  Inc. (Access)  http://www.satoucar.com/outline.html