Nice Nail Shijo Kawaramachi — Local services in Kyoto

I did not want to write this review but there is no worse feeling than wanting to go back to a nail salon right after you had left one.

I speak very little Japanese and it is true that the nail salon makes it VERY CLEAR to you that you should NOT come if you don’t speak Japanese. First, they send you an email. Then, there is a sign at the door, in case you forgot about your language ability, that their technician has no time to deal with translation if you don’t speak Japanese. I’ve never seen such discriminatory business practices in the many places I’ve been to in Asia, let alone Japan. It’s a matter of time that this business shows up in social media and gets reported to the local authority. I’ve also never really needed to speak much to any nail technician after showing a picture, so I couldn’t understand the big deal.

When I arrived, my technician asked me if I spoke Japanese and was clearly disappointed when I said “chotto” or “a little”. While the place was empty with no other customer waiting, it seems that she just mechanically wanted to speak more Japanese to me and did not seem happy to repeat into my google translate app. Perhaps due to company culture of being tolerant to not serving foreign customers, it seemed that the staff doesn’t try to communicate with body language either. I have a picture ready to go with the style that I want and the only other question is 1) length and 2) shape. We concurred at 1) little shorter and 2) same shape. It turned out that my inability to speak Japanese had led to shaping some of my nails round and others pointy. I have to ask her to amend a few times. This lack of artistic coherence continued to get discounted as she kept asking me during the making of our ombré nail design whether it is “okay”. At some point I have to believe that it’s not a language barrier but just a poor quality job. I came out of the salon with my nails unevenly shaped, the ombré all look different, most of them lost the gradual effect, all my cuticles still untouched and untreated, and I’m ready to immediately remove this gel for a new one.

You may see other reviewers appraising that the price is a steal. It’s true. You are paying someone about USD 30-40 for an hour of your time and leaving with nails that you’re not about to show off to anyone. Do yourself a favour, respect your time during vacation and go to a salon that may cost a bit more but accommodates to trying to communicate with people of all races and also does a good job.

The first photo is a picture posted by the Nice Nail ig and what I used to tell the technician. The last 2 photos are my nails walking out...

Best manicure experience! I made my reservation online and they sent a confirmation email, and if there were any designs they couldn’t do as listed in your reservation notes, they contact you. I speak English and we were able to overcome the language barrier through Google translate easily! Kana F. did amazing work on my nails, seriously the prettiest set I’ve ever gotten! I showed her some inspiration photos and AirDropped them to her and she not only delivered exactly what I wanted but added her own creative touches that made them even better. Her attention to detail was incredible, and she made sure everything was perfect. On top of that, the price was super reasonable for the quality and care she put into it, it is cash only payment though so just make sure you have enough! I’m honestly obsessed. Highly recommend Kana F. if you want beautiful,...

If you know basic Japanese and have a sample photo of what design you’d like, then this nail salon is perfect for you. My manicurist (Keiko Sakai) was very nice and polite, and let me change a sample design from the salon’s nail catalogue to match exactly what I wanted. And she free-hand painted all of these maple leaves in just an hour; she’s amazing!

Most of all, it was only ¥5080 for the nails (I got the アート放題 course and she also removed old gel polish). That’s a steal where I’m from!

I highly...