Takashiyama
Takashiyama is a famous department store chain in Japan. It’s similar to (RIP) Marshall Field’s or Macy’s. We wanted/needed to go because the Pokémon Mega Store was inside on the 5th floor. And this Auntie has two Pokémon-loving nephews who are going to be pretty excited when they see what they are getting this Christmas.
But Pokémon is not the subject of this blog post. It’s the unbelievable experience I had walking into Takashiyama when it opened to the public on a Wednesday morning at 10 am.
Japanese culture is extremely polite. The phrases “onegaishimasu” and “kudasai”—which are two forms of the word please—are used all the time.
Japanese culture also takes immense pride in working or having a job—some would say too much actually. Everyone has a role to play and everyone’s role is important, from the Prime Minister to the person who cleans trains (more about that in another post).
Takashiyama is on the higher end of shopping, so it’s one of the more formal shopping experiences. Again, like Macy’s or Marshall Fields with perfume counters, makeup counters, jewelry departments, (sorry, all my references I suppose are more feminine in nature).
So, imagine walking into a department store entrance at precisely 10 am after the official opening announcement is made and the doors are opened. You see a man dressed in a fashionable black suit, who is at the entrance to greet everyone as they walk through the building. “Ohayōgozaimasu,” (Good Morning) he says. With his hands behind his back, he gives a slow bow of about 45 degreees in the general direction of the crowd without making eye contact with any one person.
“That’s so thoughtful,” you think. “What a lovely display of customer service and respect.”
You take a few steps into the first area of the department store. Then you see it. Nearly 10....no, about 25 staff members behind various counters of the jewelry department. And there are more. People standing in the back near where the clothing section begins. They are all standing still with their hands behind their back looking straight ahead, not making eye contact with anyone. As people pass their area, each one of them gives the same slight, slow bow and says “Ohayōgozaimasu.”
This continued with every Takashiyama staff person we saw on the first floor of the store, past the jewelry and the makeup and the perfume counters until we got to the escalator.
It was one of the most incredible things I had ever seen.
But Pokémon is not the subject of this blog post. It’s the unbelievable experience I had walking into Takashiyama when it opened to the public on a Wednesday morning at 10 am.
Japanese culture is extremely polite. The phrases “onegaishimasu” and “kudasai”—which are two forms of the word please—are used all the time.
Japanese culture also takes immense pride in working or having a job—some would say too much actually. Everyone has a role to play and everyone’s role is important, from the Prime Minister to the person who cleans trains (more about that in another post).
Takashiyama is on the higher end of shopping, so it’s one of the more formal shopping experiences. Again, like Macy’s or Marshall Fields with perfume counters, makeup counters, jewelry departments, (sorry, all my references I suppose are more feminine in nature).
So, imagine walking into a department store entrance at precisely 10 am after the official opening announcement is made and the doors are opened. You see a man dressed in a fashionable black suit, who is at the entrance to greet everyone as they walk through the building. “Ohayōgozaimasu,” (Good Morning) he says. With his hands behind his back, he gives a slow bow of about 45 degreees in the general direction of the crowd without making eye contact with any one person.
“That’s so thoughtful,” you think. “What a lovely display of customer service and respect.”
You take a few steps into the first area of the department store. Then you see it. Nearly 10....no, about 25 staff members behind various counters of the jewelry department. And there are more. People standing in the back near where the clothing section begins. They are all standing still with their hands behind their back looking straight ahead, not making eye contact with anyone. As people pass their area, each one of them gives the same slight, slow bow and says “Ohayōgozaimasu.”
This continued with every Takashiyama staff person we saw on the first floor of the store, past the jewelry and the makeup and the perfume counters until we got to the escalator.
It was one of the most incredible things I had ever seen.
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