lifestyle

Tokyo pub offers discount for bald customers

17 Comments
By Scott R Dixon

A Japanese pub deep in the heart of white-collar Tokyo wants to help out their customers whose heads are showing the consequences of too much stress and hard work (and perhaps a bit of genetics too).

The restaurant hopes that instead of covering their heads with a complex comb-over or taking a cue from monks to shave it all off, “salarymen” white-collar workers treat their thinning hair as a badge of honor and proof of their dedication to help the struggling Japanese economy. And to show their support, the restaurant has announced a generous “balding discount."

“Otasuke,” which translates roughly to “huge help,” opened earlier this month in the Akasaka district in central Tokyo, and has grabbed national attention for their customer outreach efforts. A sign outside the shop declares their full support for “hard-working fathers losing their hair” over their stressful jobs.

Restaurant manager Yoshiko Toyota said that she and the owner came up with their business idea after volunteering in the recovery efforts to rebuild the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan. Toyota saw how the hard-hit area was being helped economically by the rest of the country and wanted to find a way to support those white-collar workers who in turn are helping to rebuild Tohoku.

Toyota explained that she thinks thinning hair is a “badge of honor” and wanted to say thank you to all the salarymen who are driving Japan’s economy. To say thanks, Otasuke gives a special “balding discount” to any person who comes in and admits their baldness to the waitstaff. The restaurant seems to accept a wide definition of “balding” and will give the discount to anyone who “shows their baldness” to a server.

The discount is aimed at groups of customers who eat at the buffet (which includes all the alcohol or soft drinks you can handle in two hours) on the second floor, where all the tables sit six people. The buffet normally costs 3,780 yen for men and 3,240 yen for women, but bringing along a balding friend can score you quite a bit of yen off the group’s final bill.

The somewhat complicated discount works as follows: having one bald customer in the group will take 500 yen off the total bill. Two bald customers saves the group 750 yen. Three bald customers nets the group a 1,000 yen discount. Four bald customers results in 1,500 yen knocked off the group’s bill, and having five bald or balding customers will give the group a voucher for one free buffet.

But the ultimate discount is saved for a group of six bald diners who get a yet-to-be-determined “top secret” surprise.

The bar on the first floor of Otasuke also offers an informal “balding discount,” which is determined at the on-duty manager’s discretion. The restaurant may give balding customers a free appetizer or a free sampling of their many Japanese sakés from the Tohoku area.

Also in the works is some sort of special “balding menu,” Toyota said. One of her ideas is a hard-boiled eggs with some cut seaweed on top to resemble a comb over. (We suggest a creative use of broccoli sprouts)

Although some Japanese netizens wondered how strict the restaurant would be in their definition of baldness and whether skinheads are welcome, many applauded the restaurant’s very unique form of support for the Japanese economy and the reconstruction of Tohoku in particular.

“Let’s assembly a balding army and go!”

“My time has finally come!”

“I want to send this to my friends, but I’m afraid they’ll be offended…”

Source: Yahoo! Japan News

Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- Bizarre Comedian Egashira 2:50 Publishes Bizarre Yoga Book -- The secret to happiness: Unemployment and poverty -- 3-Minute Flip Book Animation “Pendulum” Has Japan in Tears

© RocketNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

17 Comments
Login to comment

Some cocktail suggestions for their "balding menu": High Bald, Gin-and-Hair-Tonic, and of course, No Sex on The Beach.

10 ( +11 / -1 )

When I go there I'll wear my T-shirt that reads, "It's not a bald spot. It's a solar panel for my sex machine."

5 ( +7 / -2 )

"customers whose heads are showing the consequences of too much stress and hard work (and perhaps a bit of genetics too)."

I'd say it's mostly genetics.

“Let’s assembly a balding army and go!”

Hee hee!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

treat their thinning hair as a badge of honor and proof of their dedication to help the struggling Japanese economy.

Give me a break. There are plenty of full head of hair men working themselves to an early grave for 'the economy'

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Hope they start offering this kind of discount at the pink salons too!!!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Asaksaka

Maybe Akasaka ? Or Asakusa ?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Stress, genetics and/or improper care of the scalp?

Washing your head every day is not good, Japanese definitely wash too much (hello atopy). So many shampoos and conditioners for sale are no good either. Water quality can also be a problem.

I started losing a lot of hair last year. I changed everything. I now only wash my scalp with filtered water that I put in a bucket to let the chlorine evaporate. I use baking soda for shampoo and vinegar rinse (precise details on the net). I wash my head only twice a week. Hair loss has stopped and I think I got a little back.

Why go to this trouble? Because having hair beats the hell out of this measly discount.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

treat their thinning hair as a badge of honor and proof of their dedication to help the struggling Japanese economy.

It seems that someone doesn't understand why people go bald. She did get the bar name in the paper though so well done on that one.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

"Balding day"? really? How will this help with business, please do tell me, when a general discount couldn't help a lot more.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

i will shave all my hair and will get full benefit ,no hair vs full treatment

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Prince Charming

I agree ! My mother always told us that washing one's hair too often takes out all the "natural oils". I also wash mine only once (cold weather) or twice (hot weather) a week.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Well, I am in my 60's and have washed my hair almost every day for 40 years with no hair loss so no discount for me! ☺ Actually, when your hair follicles get clogged up with natural skin oil or the hair products you may use, that is what promotes hair loss.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I like this idea. It makes up for the fact that balding guys have to pay as much for a haircut as guys with a full head of locks - even though their haircut takes less than half as long. And it also makes up for balding guys having to listen to unsolicited advice from non-baldies about how to prevent hair from falling out. As though it's all their doing. Newflash: It's called genes. Your shampoo/scalp massage/diet/superior-intelligence most likely had nothing to do with it. It's rough enough for a guy to lose hair without people implying it's somehow his fault. If a free drink is his only consolation, then why not cheer it on? Though I do agree that fake baldies (shaved heads) should get the same offer.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

And here I am with a full head of hair...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Don't know if it's true but I have heard that "baldies" are pretty "hot" in bed...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Genetics

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites