Getting a tattoo in Japan

Kyoto – March 2018

I got my biggest tattoo to date in Japan. A country, notorious for its internalized ink-phobia. I‘ve been thinking about putting a world map on my body for a couple of months but wasn‘t exactly sure about the design and placement. Only a few weeks before my first trip to Japan, it finally came to me. I was gonna go for a very simple and clean Eurocentric view of the globe. The only missing piece in this puzzle was now the artist to do it.

After a quick internet research of tattoo studios in Kyoto (there weren‘t many), I find Harizanmai Tattoo Studio (Scrow Art on Google Maps). I look at their website and Instagram account, which mostly show traditional Japanese pieces and black work. Considering that I want a fully blacked-out globe, I decide they should be capable of doing that. I might have had more options if I looked for studios in Tokyo too. However, we wanted to go to a hot spring in the Japanese Alps between Tokyo and Kyoto and it‘s not recommended to swim with a fresh tattoo. Additionally, public Onsen are not very welcoming to people with tattoos. (Read about my visit to a public hot spring bath in Kyushu here).

After a few emails sent back and forth between Switzerland and Japan, the artist and I agree on the size of my piece and I send a down payment of CHF 80 to his PayPal. The day of my departure is coming closer and closer, and suddenly I am in Tokyo. A few days later, Tina arrives, and we have a magnificent week in Tokyo. Almost everything goes to plan (read here about my worst hangover) and after a tedious day of train rides, we arrive in Kyoto with only a few hours to spare before my tattoo appointment.

Fortunately, the studio is not too far away from the guesthouse we’re staying at. So Tina and I take the opportunity to get a first impression of the former Japanese capital. Once we arrive at the designated street, we almost miss the entrance to the studio. It’s a small, traditional Japanese sliding door made of light wood. We squiggle it open and step into what looks like the entrance hall of someone’s house. On the right, there is a small reception area with different artwork hanging on the walls. And straight ahead, a narrow staircase leads up to a second floor.

The tattoo artist greets us and ushers us into the reception area. I introduce myself, and we quickly discuss the final design. He already has a stencil ready and after confirming the size, the three of us head upstairs. It dawns on me, that the artist mostly relied on a translation service when we were in contact through emails. But we somehow figure out the right spot on my triceps for the tattoo and a few minutes later I am laying on the tattooing bed, trying to get my arm into a position that’s comfortable but also accessible for the artist.

Thanks to the language barrier, exchanging small talk is not really an option. So I spend the next hour in a somewhat meditative state, listening to the sound of the tattooing machine. The area I chose doesn’t really hurt (at least for me) and I’d really say this is my favourite tattoo experience yet. While I am getting inked, Tina is thinking to get a tattoo too. Fortunately, we’re the only clients this afternoon and a few minutes later, it’s Tina’s turn on the tattoo bed. As she chose her rib cage for the two kanji characters, she’s suffering a lot more than I did. However, it takes a lot less time than mine and shortly after we’re done and heading to the closest McDonalds to try their Japanese specialty burgers.

Temple run in Kyōto