Top Coat — Local services in Tokyo

Loved getting my manicure with Ayumi! I was visiting from USA (October 2019). I was referred by a friend who found Top Coat on Airbnb experiences and highly recommended her. My hotel had helped me call several nail spas but they were all booked for the date I was looking for, which was over a week away. I messaged Ayumi (pronounced like “I-you-me”) a few days before the date of my appointment and she booked me no problem. I had a couple of reference pictures she asked me to send prior to my appointment. She did an excellent job at collaborating the 2 pictures that originally didn’t match that well. The pictures were inspiration; I told her I didn’t want an exact copy. I loved that she made it unique with her own personal touches.

In Tokyo I was expecting to not be able to communicate well with my nail tech, but Ayumi is very comfortable with English which made it much easier to explain what I wanted and get her recommendations. I did an abstract design with a seashell design on 2 nails that included pearl-like stones! I got gel polish and I was SHOCKED how long they lasted! I had them on for 7.5 weeks! They were almost perfectly intact when I got them removed — only 1 nail started to show minimal lifting 7 weeks in. In the picture attached it’s obvious they’re grown out, but the design I chose happened to be very forgiving for growing out nails so in person it still looked really good. At first I was nervous the pearls would fall out but wow they were not going anywhere. I received so many compliments on my nails. If I had known how long they were going to last I would’ve gotten a gel fill after they started growing out.

My friend that recommended me agreed Ayumi’s products were top quality and loved her gel extensions. Ayumi’s salon is super cute and not hard to find. If coming from Omote-Sando station take exit B1, B2, or B3 and walk southwest. Her building is directly facing the big intersection. Take the short flight of stairs up to get to the elevators. I look forward to going back to Top Coat next time...

Very disappointing. Disclamer: this was only my second time in a nail salone and I have short nails.

The booking: booked for a gel+mini art, without any explanation of what mini art Is, maybe this can be improoved

The nail artist: I expected here to be more fluent in english, i think this problem made It difficult for me to explain what I wanted.

The nails: i have short nails, I asked for a minor filing to just round out the corners, but she really filed a lot and now my skin hurts. Overall not Happy with the nail prep.

The request: I showed some nails as inspo, asking her to stick with a mini art including elements from the inspo as possibile in my budget. At first She did not understand, and told me that those nails were going to be literally double my initial price. We then found a compromise. Ok, but She did not explain what was mini art... Again this could have been helpful

The result: After the color, She started with the nail design. I asked for some thin silvery lines. She used a quite thick brush and the lines were just not well defined. At the end I asked to Just stick with the color. As top coat She put a very very thick layer of gel, which make my nails very puffy. Why did She have to make them so thick overall?

Im not Happy, at all. I understand It can also my fault in part because maybe i do not have much experience. But overall i did not see much attention to the nails, especially the filing. I already feel One of my nails growing in the skin in the corner and kind of hurst

So sad about It, ill not...

I highly, highly 11/10 recommend Rio from Top Coat to do your nails! I booked online about 2 weeks in advance with the date & time. I was getting engagement nails done the day before the big day, so I was very nervous. I also messaged their WhatsApp for their prices and sent them reference photos of the design I was thinking of. They responded promptly and the estimate was very close to what I actually paid.

The nail salon could use some cleaning, as it does look like an apartment with a small area to wait for your turn.

My nail tech, Rio was absolutely amazing! She took pics of all the reference photos I had (they were all different) and took design ideas from each pic to put onto my nails. Prep, gel-x application, nail shaping, color and each gem placement was very precise. She asked me if it was okay or if I liked it with every step. Rio also drew a sketch of what design she had in mind (I said artist's choice).

The total came out to be $122 USD (no tips woohoo!) As I requested gel-x medium almond extensions and medium artwork with artist's choice. It's a bit pricey but still not as much as compared to the states.

The photos i've attached is right after I got my nails gone (9/8/25) vs today (10/3/25). It's been almost 4 weeks and my gel-x has not lifted or budged AT ALL. The gems are all still in tact. AMAZING WORK & RETENTION!!! You can also see my natural nail growth in the 2nd...