Since Ikuna has been in Spain for a while now, she’s walked all over Barcelona and Madrid and tried all kinds of restaurants…and found three particularly remarkable ramen restaurants that she wanted to share with you. She got her vaccine and her vaccine passport and followed all of the recommended and required precautionary measures, and has now been in Spain for about a month.īeing away from home so long, her family and friends inevitably ask her, “Don’t you miss Japanese food?” But in Spain, the answer is actually, “Not at all.” That’s because the big cities in Spain are chock full of sushi and ramen restaurants. Our world-traveling, Japanese-language reporter Ikuna Kamezawa is at it again. (weekdays), 11 a.m.-10 p.m.Ikuna has tried tons of Japanese restaurants in Spain…but these all stood out for very different reasons. Now that she realizes her initial apprehension about this ear-cleaning salon was unwarranted, Ikuna is already looking forward to going back again, and maybe next time she’ll splurge for the 60-minute course.Īddress: Tokyo-to, Chiyoda-ku, Soto Kanda 2-1-2, Toshin Honkan Building 2nd floor Luckily, Tsubasa’s schedule was open, so Ikuna and Takashi swapped places so he too could experience the joy of hizamakura mimikaki. This was truly money well spent (the 30-minute course costs 3,200 yen ), and when her time was up she had such a satisfied smile that Takashi Harada, her cameraman for the day, was sitting there with an expression that clearly conveyed the question “Can I try too?” Out of curiosity, Ikuna asked Tsubasa to show her the amount of wax she’d removed, and she was startled at how much less earwax she was leaving the salon with. On the contrary, the process felt liberating and refreshing. Ikuna was amazed by how she used the exact right amount of force to get the job done without causing any pain or discomfort. With deft and delicate movements, Tsubasa began skillfully scraping out wax. However, guests can request a certain amount of adjustment to those times to meet their personal needs or preferences, and Tsubasa herself suggested that she spend a little extra time on cleaning Ikuna’s ears, since they had quite a bit of buildup. The ear massage is followed by five minutes of cleaning for each ear, and the remainder is for additional massaging of the head, shoulders, or eye sockets. The 30-minute course starts off with a relaxing five-minute ear massage, and right away Ikuna realized she’d made the right decision by scheduling an appointment. “Don’t worry, that’s not a problem at all,” Tsubasa gently reassured her, and beckoned for Ikuna to lay her head in her lap. Though Tsubasa didn’t ask, Ikuna felt compelled to warn her that she has particularly moist earwax. She was then introduced to her cleaner, a kimono-clad woman named Tsubasa. Yes, Yamamoto Mimikakiten is happy to welcome female customers, and their salon isn’t about titillation at all, just relaxation and comfort.Īfter climbing the stairs to the reception desk on the second floor, Ikuna was shown to her room, where the tatami reed floor mats and soft lighting gave off the atmosphere of a cozy Japanese apartment. ▼ The salon’s entrance, with a sign advertising its hizamakura mimikaki (“ear cleaning with someone’s lap as your pillow”) serviceīut it turned out that Ikuna’s concerns were unnecessary on both counts. Every time she sees the sign for the salon, she finds herself craving a deeper cleaning, but since the customer lays their head in lap of the salon worker, who’s pretty much always a woman, Ikuna wondered if this was a sexual thing, and wasn’t sure if they even accept female customers. However, with Ikuna being a grown-up single woman, she’s been cleaning her own ears for the past 10 years or so. Drug stores here sell all sorts of bamboo or metallic picks for cleaning out wax and other buildup, and it’s not only common for parents to clean their kids’ ears, but also traditional for couples to clean each other’s. That might sound like a strange service to offer, but Japan is pretty particular about inner ear hygiene. If you look across the Kandagawa River to one of the buildings on the other side, you’ll see a sign for Yamamoto Mimikakiten, an ear-cleaning salon. Our female reporter gets her ears cleaned by someone else for the first time in years, and loves it.Įvery time our Japanese-language reporter Ikuna Kamezawa passes by Ochanomizu Station in downtown Tokyo, the same thig catches her eye.
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