Every morning at around 9 o'clock, Naoko Hayashi arrives at the Toni & Guy Japan hair salon in Tokyo's smart Minami-Aoyama district. The trainee, who joined the salon in April, sets to work on a wig, practicing how to curl hair. Just along the street at rival salon Kakimoto Arms, Noriko Yagi, a second-year apprentice, perfects the look of a wig she began styling an hour earlier.
As the two 22-year-old aspiring stylists literally brush up their skills, senior hairdressers are on standby to check on their technique. Other stylists start arriving one by one. Finishing practice about half an hour before their shops open (at 11 a.m. and noon respectively), both Hayashi and Yagi, along with their colleagues, tidy up and prepare for another long, busy day.
Soon the doors are open and the day's customers stream in. Smartly dressed staffers welcome them with friendly smiles and greetings, then move quickly to the business at hand -- beautifying the clients.