Some people love to get their hair cut and set. They love the scent of shampoo and the touch of the beautician's hands on their scalps, or the subtle snip-snip of the barber's shears and the reassuring dampness of a hot towel; the whole sensuous, tactile experience augmented with light conversation and unforced cameraderie.
Then again, some people absolutely hate all that, and for those people there's QB House, whose business model is as simple as styrofoam: 10 minutes in the chair for ¥1,000. No shampoo, no shave, no small talk. Just a haircut. Does that look OK? Get outta here.
Presently QB ("Quick Beauty") Net Co., Ltd. runs 401 outlets throughout Japan, as well as shops in Hong Kong and Singapore. The first one opened near Kanda Station in Tokyo in 1996 and the QB approach caught on very fast.