Little Japan

Taiwan was occupied by Japan for an extended period of time, for around 50 years until 1945. Still some older people speak Japanese. Despite the occupation period, Japan seems to enjoy a rather good reputation in Taiwan, as opposed to other countries that have seen Japan as an invader. The fact that the Japanese lay the foundation for the country`s economical success that followed later by remodelling its infrastructure, namely transportation may have contributed to this.
There is a heavy presence of Japanese companies and brands and their popularity is soaring among young people especially. Japan seems to be considered cool and hip and technologically cutting-edge from what I have heard. Tokyo is an extremely popular destination for short trips, especially shopping trips. Japanese pop music is very popular. Japanese fashion is sold in hip boutiques and is considered super trendy among the young. Luckily though they show a bit more restraint in expressing their fashion sense... The large Japanese department stores and clothes brands have jumped on that train and opened branches in Taiwan`s cities. Mitsukoshi and Co. can be seen all over Taipei and other cities.
Japanese food is equally en vogue. Sushi now also features the menu on the night market where you can grab some dirt cheap nigiri. Some Japanese chain restaurants like Yoshinoya or the Japanese competitor to McDo, Mo`s Burger are very present and popular too.
The title of the article is provocative to a Taiwanese for sure. And it certainly isn`t "Little Japan" that much. But the influence of Japanese culture is visible and does not seem to be rejected. Is it a genuine love for all things Japanese? Or is it rather a second worst alternative for a country that tries to distinguish itself from the threatening "homeland" China from where most of its culture comes from? Obviously, the leaning towards America is strong as well. Besides all Taiwanese having an English name as well they also are quite keen English learners and way more successful than the Japanese. The Japanese language seems to have lost almost all significance, young people focus on English study and skip Japanese. However, Japanese words such as "sugoi", "kawaii" etc. are very trendy and you hear exclamations of those by the young generation very often, so again Japan provides the fashionable element.

Hip H(ip)&M

One of the latest international clothes chain that opened a branch in Japan is H&M. Not surprising that this is a highly interesting consumer market for international fashion companies. Japan is THE super fashion-conscious nation and you certainly do not want to miss out on Japanese consumers. Numerous international chains have branches here, from the very high end to casual clothes like GAP, Banana Republic or Zara.
The stories about Japanese women spending the night in front of the new Louis Vuitton flagship store have made it to world news already. This brand is iconic here, the name has made it to literary fame even like hip young author Hitomi Kanehara`s heroine Lui ("Snakes and Earrings", Hitomi Kanehara, 2005) who is named after Louis Vuitton. Questionable as it is to spend the night in front of a store that sells products that you can, well, get for a fraction of the price and in millions of copies from China... But queing in front of H&M?!
H&M opened it`s first shop in Japan last October in the high end shopping area of Ginza in Tokyo. There were endless queues in front of the store in October obviously. I went there in late November, having heard about the phenomenon and still had to queue to get inside. 15 minutes, but it seemed absurd to do that to have a look at mass ware from China and India. The second shop was opened this spring in trendy Harajuku.
Both shops look decidedly more upscale than those in Europe. Despite selling the same cheap clothes, the interior design of the stores and the fact that clothes are not so much crammed into the shelves makes it look much more boutique. H&M certainly did not save on interior and exterior design and on rental cost, considering the expensive locations those shops are at.
An article from the Japan Marketing site that was issued before the opening of the first shop predicted H&M would fail here: http://www.japanmarketingnews.com/2006/12/in_japan_the_bi.html Japan is an attractive, but difficult market as consumers are quality concious and hyper fashion sensitive. The article also points out that the expensive locations will make it difficult for a narrow margin brand as H&M to make profits. It remains to be seen. I have so far neither heard that they are behind expectations nor that they plan to open new stores, so remains to be observec. Regarding the quality issue I would say that Zara should face the tougher situation. From personal experience I have to say that their clothes are lower quality generally than H&Ms and by far more pricey, so should be less attractive to the Japanese customer even. And they do have numerous branches here, so seem to be faring well with the customers. They have to starting advantages: they are new and foreign, that sells.

Favourite read (- or the modern samurai)

... is a Japanes men`s magazine. Why the hell would I want to read a magazine that is destined to men and which texts I can`t entirely understand? Well, maybe because this magazine is a mirror of a phenomenon on Japanese streets that amazes, amuses, baffles me over and over again. It`s the gyaru otoko which translates to "girl man". This is a funny expression, but right smack on the money... They are also called "Centaa Guys" which stands for "Shibuya Center Guys". That`s because Shibuya is their Mekka, that`s where you find them in the greatest density and where their favorite stores are located, like the 109 shopping mall at Shibuya crossing.
Shibuya is the absolutely, unchallengedly best place for people watching I`ve ever been to. For someone who is not yet used to Japanese style, it would probably be a visual overkill... I sometimes fo to Shibuya for studying Japanese. There`s a nice cafe with tables along the window, a perfect spot to study in peace and quiet and still be able to have some fun when you get a little tired of grammar exercises. The parading Shibuya fashion crowd is the best possible break from studies.
But back to the magazine for the modern samurai... It`s content? 90% Fashion, fashion, fashion, hairstyles, accessories and cosmetics. Besides a few pictures of hot chicks in bikinis to prove that the magazine is not destined at gays as one might suspect. And street style pictures from, yes Shibuya to demonstrate that the looks in the fashion pictures are not magazine fiction, but coming directly from the streets. The magazine is completed with adds from fashion brands of course, beauty treatements and plastic surgery to top it. I sent a copy of the magazine to my sister as a gift and she found it hilarious despite not understanding a written word. I am somewhat used to that style, so it`s less shocking to see those pictures, but still very funny.
It`s a certain age group (students) that shows those styles, because applying for any white collar job you would much probably be refused for displaying those " `80s rockstar" hairstyles. Although I know guys who had to cut their hair and dye it back to black for the office, but still maintain the rest of the "bling" when being off work. Bling meaning the over-lenght shoes with sharp toes pointed upwards, supertight, preferably torn trousers, prints being an asset, fur lines short jackets, over-sized sunglasses (day and night), bracelets, piercings, rings, armrings, big girls handbags, etc... Try walking around like that at night in certain European cities and you can be sure that you will get beaten up from some homophobes.
Not that the Centaa guys are gay, appearances are very misleading here. They are usually the ones who do "Nampa" as well, a kind of random pick-up on the streets. The technique is the following: Gather a couple of friends who look equally hot as you around you and stand next to a place that attracts lots of girls. Shoe shops, accessory shops, etc. Whenever a reasonable looking girl approaches you quickly decide which one of you attacks and your candidate then steps out to get her number. Talk to as many girls as possible, don`t be picky. Nampa is success through mass not class, it`s the mass mailing of flirt techniques. Needless to say that watching Nampa from a distance is quite hilarious. I gave up thinking that the girly guys are gay after being asked by one of them early in my Japan stay last year whether I wanted to play some sex games...
In Japan the men`s hairstyling business could be equally profitable as the women`s. I mean the Japanese do have really good thick hair and they have lots of cool looking hairstyles. But there is definitely a too much. That fringy long blond dyed hair, sticking out to all sides due to massive amounts of styling foam worn over a "trying hard to be lascive" facial expression is somewhat on the edge... "Gatsby" the most popular hair styling products brand is represented by the omnipresent Kimutaku (see Post "The talented Mr Kimura), Samourai shows a more target group face - the modern samurai is obviously looking nothing like those warrior types as seen in the movies. The modern samurai however is daring as well, daring by wearing that metro look with pride...
That look seems to be rather popular with Japanese women though. Most popstars have at least some of those attributes, younger tv stars as well. And in the "rent-a-boy" industry, the host clubs - according to the large adds and the groups of hosts you sometimes see in Shinjuku, this is the look that "sells".
In all fairness I have to say that this is not the look of the majority of young Japanese. But they are certainly one of the phenomen that you notice first and gasp at even after a longer stay here. While the stereotype of Japanese back home is that they are all wearing business suits, have the same hair cut and look plain - or the nutsy tourist type wearing sandals for a mountain treck, you quickly notice that people here are extremely fashion concious. Actually like nowhere else I`ve been before. Saying that Japan is the most fashionable nation on the planet probably holds true. Very daring, very fashion-forward and a lot of really, really cool styles. So the excesses shall be forgiven...

Sun protection

How popular are suntans in Japan? Well, from what I see they're not at all.
You might see the odd surfer (-girl) on the beach who is deeply tanned and proudly showing it off. Otherwise white skin seems to be the desirable thing here. You see a vast assortment of whitening lotions at drugstores. Malls sell elbow length sunprotection gloves and leg"warmers". And women all either wear a big sunhat or carry an elegant sun umbrella. Malls sell these in all kinds of fabrics, colors, sizes and price ranges. It's much harder to find umbrellas against rain actually.

I decided to go with the trend, although I'm not opposed to having a little tan. As I would inevitably loose the umbrella given the first opportunity and since I consider these a bit ridiculous, I went for the hat. There are tons of beautiful hats on sale. Found mine in a small shop in Daymio quarter and I really think I picked a nice "kawaii" (cute) one. Don't you think so?

My first Yukata

I bought a beautiful yukata (summer kimono) today. On Friday there is a huge party with 1.5 hours of fireworks at Ohori Koen in Fukuoka. So right around the corner from where I live. Plus it's August 1st, so our Swiss national holiday and it's cool to see some fireworks here too. Reduces homesickness (if I had any)...

For this festival you are expected to dress in a traditional Japanese dress. The school has some yukatas they rent out, but I wanted to have my own and a really nice one.

So I went shopping after school. I found a really lovely light blue yukata with flowers on it, a matching obi and geta, the wooden "flipflops and a undergarment. The price included a fitting - or dressing rather. So I will go there on Friday to be dressed up. I'm not sure I'd manage otherwise, especially getting the right knot into the obi would be tricky.

I never thought I had fat feet, but trying on the geta I started thinking I have... They are really really tight and I had to squash in my feet. But I will wear them!