A Look Inside the New Ginza Muji Hotel Complex

By now you must have heard about the new Muji Store/Diner/Hotel in Ginza. It’s the first Muji Hotel in Japan and more. We wrote a “coming soon” story about it in this blog last July. Well, now Muji Ginza is open for business and we had a look inside.

First, we had to wait for the crowds to thin out. On opening day, April 4, there were lines down the block with rent-a-cops holding signs saying “Line Forms to the Right (now that Muji’s back in town)” or something like that. I don’t stand in line for ramen, donuts or even ATMs. I’m happy to walk farther or come back another day, so I certainly wasn’t going to stand in line for Muji. Come on, it’s Muji.

Yet, because I like all things new, I had to take a gander. Plus, I watched the construction with bated breath for months. So, I bided my time, and it didn’t take long for the crowds to dissipate. This isn’t Krispy Kreme after all, it’s Muji.

Muji croissants are selling like hot cakes

About a week after opening day, we we made it inside, and here’s what we found. First of all, the ground floor retail space is a bit cramped, including some aisles that are barely wide enough for one, and I'm skinny. After I got over a mild claustrophobic panic attack, I was able to make my way around without losing my cool.

The ground floor is mostly food, including a corner bakery, which, when we visited, sold only fresh croissants. One day, there were guide ropes, like at Disneyland, for a long queue of ladies waiting to buy croissants. Yes, waiting to buy Muji croissants. Go figure. There are also fresh vegetables and fruit, a neat selection of smartly packaged bento, all sorts of dried fruits and nuts, ready-made meals, condiments and a smoothie and soft ice cream bar. Although, the only ice cream flavors were vanilla, chocolate and vanilla-chocolate swirl. That’s Muji in a nutshell.

Would you like a cup of coffee or a coffee cup?

At the back of the space, wide stairs lead down to the Muji Diner, which is like a premium cafeteria, except, and I kid you not, there is retail space set aside along one wall to sell cutlery and kitchen utensils. You know that feeling, you’re digging into your curry rice and you start thinking, “Gee, I wish I had a spoon like this at home.” Well, at Muji you don't have to wish, you can buy it, right on the spot.

The Diner features a display of fresh fish and well-appointed salad bar, which is a nice touch considering salad bars are kind of rare in central Tokyo. The dining space offers a range of seating options, from semi-secluded lounge-like corners to standard coffee shop tables and wall-hugging counters for singles.

On the upper floors (2-5), which are a bit less cluttered, you’ll find all the Muji standards. Blue jeans, shoes, socks and underwear, racks of nondescript clothes in neutral colors, housewares, linens, furniture, kitchen goods, stationary, luggage, large appliances and more.

On the 6th floor there’s a modest library (500 titles) called Muji Books, which features, not ironically, a book about, you guessed it, Muji. The floor also features Salon, the Muji café that offers alcoholic beverages as well as standard café fare, and “Wa” an upscale-leaning Japanese restaurant. Perhaps the best feature of the entire complex, is that on every floor there are lots of nooks and crannies, corner lounges and counters for people to relax and have a coffee or a beer, or just fiddle with their electronic devices, even without making a purchase. Free indoor chill space, is not easy to find in Tokyo, especially not Ginza.

Fancy a spin around town on a Muji bike?

Another nice feature is a bike rental service. For a 3,000-yen deposit you can cycle 5 hours for 500 yen or all day for 1000 yen. In fact, there is a wide array of services spread across these floors such as product customization (embroidery). Interestingly, the bike rental and other services are not explained or even mentioned on the English-language website.

The hotel lobby looks liked any decent hotel lobby. Design-wise, it definitely does not say “business hotel” but rather upper middle range. Lots of stone and wood. We did not check the rooms, but you can be sure they are well appointed with Muji furniture, towels, linens and amenities, hopefully, without price tags. One feature we envisioned that the hotel offers is that you can buy anything you forgot (socks, underwear, tooth brush, curling iron) or get a quick meal without ever leaving the building. That’s a big plus for both busy and shy travelers.

Between the smoothie bar, the Diner, the Salon (café), the restaurant “Wa” and the hotel lounge there are plenty of places to enjoy an adult beverage, a nosh or even a full meal. Thus, it appears that Muji’s strategy, in addition to attracting tourists from China who are already Muji Hotel fans (the other locations are Shenzhen and Beijing) is to provide a space for relaxing, browsing, dining and, of course, shopping. Because whether you’re sipping coffee or browsing a periodical in the library, Muji products, all with price tags, are never out of eyesight. Well, that’s Muji, for ya.   

Japan Does Christmas (Sort Of)

My first Christmas in Japan. I remember it like yesterday, even though it was nearly 30 years ago. As Advent unfolded everything seemed to be going according to plan. Shops played Christmas carols. Advertising took on holiday themes. Christmas cakes (a Japan thing) went on sale.  Corner Salvation Army troops rang their bells for the poor.

Then the big day came, and I had to go to work. There I sat on December 25, proofreading an annual report. Heck, even Bob Cratchit got Christmas Day off. The only other Christian in my office, a Japanese woman who went to Catholic school, sat at her desk like it was any other day. And it was. Unlike the Grinch, the Japanese did stop Christmas from coming. Sure, we had all the fancy packaging with ribbons and bows, but there was nothing inside. And I felt just as empty. That day I made a vow that when I started my own business, I would always take Christmas Day off.

Even Bob Cratchit gets Christmas Day Off

Back in those days, it was a thing to go out with your sweetheart to a fancy Italian restaurant on Christmas Eve and then attend mass at the Sophia University chapel. One year I did this with my future wife. It was nice, but still I had to work on Christmas Day.

Today, Christmas is bigger than ever in Japan…well, as a branding and marketing vehicle. Sidewalk Santas abound. Christmas movies are launched. Many commercial and public spaces feature the most amazing, outrageous and sometimes beautiful illumination displays and Christmas trees. Some animated installations are so popular you have to wait in line for up to an hour to see them.

Don’t Forget to Order your Kentucky Fried Chicken

How about the food, you ask? Can you imagine Christmas without Kentucky Fried Chicken? Most Japanese can’t. Yes, the country where turkey is scarcer than reindeer in Whoville, has made chicken, specifically the KFC variety, a Christmas tradition. Tell an American friend you were looking forward to KFC on Christmas, and they’d probably think you were either homeless or crazy.  

Yes, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go in Tokyo. Just don’t expect to get the 25th off. Come in bright an early and make sure you get that important file to me ASAP. You may even have to work overtime. As for me, I’ll be home drinking eggnog and watching It’s A Wonderful Life.

Yo! Can I Get Some Service Over Here?

What is service and where can I find some? In Japan, the katakana version of service or “saabisu” often means getting something extra, as in a baker’s dozen, and therein lies the problem. With inbound tourism skyrocketing, the Rugby World Cup coming in 2019 and the 2020 Olympics bearing down on Tokyo, let’s explore the idea of service. And I don’t mean “omotenashi” or that unique style of Japanese hospitality (snicker).

Perhaps it’s best to start with a definition, if I may. Service is getting what you want, how you want it, when you want it. A dash of warmth and kindness and maybe a smile is nice, but definitely not necessary. During my summer holiday in Italy, I had the opportunity to experience Italian service for the first time. Italy is a country that thrives on tourism, so you might think they know a thing or two about service. This is what I found.

In Italy, almost without fail, you get what you want, how you want it and when you want it, but the style of delivery various wildly. Sometimes it was warm and gracious. Sometimes it was brusque. Sometimes it was downright rude, but I always got what I wanted. That’s satisfaction. 

I should note that my Italian language skills are basically nil, but the people serving me didn’t mind. They would communicate in Italian or, more often, in varying levels of English, with full eye contact, until they figured out what I needed and delivered it. I always walked away a satisfied customer, with a story to tell about the kind of interaction I experienced. Most importantly, I never got that “deer in the headlines” stare that so many foreigners in Japan have experienced.

You want it when?

Coming back to Japan, I started wondering “is English ability really that important?” Was that the key to my pleasant experiences in Italy? I note this, because Japan Inc. and Japan Academia seem to think that English is the key to better everything with the rest of the world. First of all, it’s true that way more Italians speak passable English than Japanese folks. Before I left for Italy, my friends who’d been told me I wouldn’t need to worry about speaking any Italian. But what was reinforced during my travels is the truth that good service is about more than language and communication skills, it requires acceptance  

Going back to our definition of service. What, when, how. No frills necessary. Acceptance. How does Japan rate?

Without question, service at top level establishments in Japan is tops in the world. It’s almost embarrassing how well you are treated by waiters, clerks and concierge in those places. However, it drops off sharply, very sharply when you get to mid-level establishments, enough so, that it’s hit or miss. Usually, the miss is a misunderstanding and the result is not getting something how or when you want it. Sometimes you will reach a painful impasse. Throughout, there will be a lot of bowing and fake smiles. I believe that’s what “omotenashi” generally is. All style, no substance and very often frustration.

In Japan’s lower level establishments, service isn’t really an issue because you are seeking an authentic experience. How you are treated depends on the personality of the proprietor. Sometimes you get great service. Sometimes it’s funky. Sometimes it’s bad, but you’re not expecting much anyway. And most often, navigating service relationships at low-level establishments is the fun part of being a tourist or a foreigner in Japan. No expectations. No worries.

I’ll have whatever she’s having

It’s the mid-level establishments that worry me. Any foreign resident of Japan has had this experience numerous times. You are dining with your Japanese friend or spouse and the waiter refuses to make eye-contact with you. No matter how flawless your Japanese is, all questions get referred to your Japanese acquaintance. It’s beyond exasperating.

For this reason, I have found phone services to be much easier and more fluid. Here we are connected by devices. You can’t see me. I can’t see you. We’re going to make this work. What’s the point? It’s often the mere sight of a foreign face that unnerves most Japanese service providers.

They see you and think, “Uh-oh, here comes trouble.” Perhaps they think your Japanese won’t be good enough and fear their English won’t be good enough. From the get-go, all communication breaks down, and you haven’t even said a word yet. 

Most foreigners who live here have also had the experience of ordering in a restaurant by voice, striving to make eye contact, and having the waiter cast their gaze down and point to a picture on the menu. Maybe this is an effort to satisfy our definition of service without fail. However, it is annoying, because you feel like you are being dismissed while any chance for human interaction is eliminated.

Not all foreigners are created equal

The point they are missing is that all foreigners are not the same. Some of us speak Japanese. Some of us don’t. In fact, some who look Japanese, do not speak Japanese. What I enjoyed in Italy was undivided attention and eye contact, not a presumption of who I was or what I needed. No one took me for Italian, but no one took me for an idiot either.

If Japan wants to step up its mid-level service, it needs to teach service providers to treat each customer—white, black, Asian, whatever—as a unique individual. Look them in the eye. Speak in whatever language you are most comfortable with. Communication is about more than words, more than language. Good service begins with an attempt to understand. Understanding leads to acceptance which leads to better communication and better service.

Meet the Tokyo Olympic mascots: Whatchamacallit and Suchinsuch

Once again, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic committee has failed mightily, in terms of global credibility, with a PR event that could have gone so much better. I’m talking about the announcement of the names for the Olympic mascots, Miraitowa and Someity. Say what? You have to wonder if there are any English native speakers on Japan’s Olympic creative team. Actually, no need to wonder.

Any branding professional working in Japan knows that one of the essential steps in approving names for global application is making sure the Romanized versions of the names (if originally from Japanese) work from a global perspective. That means the Roman character version of a Japanese name should be easy for Westerners to pronounce and spell, especially Americans, British and Australians, who are notoriously bad with foreign languages. Like it or not, the U.S. Olympic contingent, of both athletes and media, is going to be enormous, and communicating with those folks should be of paramount importance.

With the initial Olympic logo debacle well in the rear-view mirror, it appears the committee has learned nothing from their mistakes. Granted, the logo issue was more about bad design and plagiarism, than global appeal, and you have to give the committee props for making good when they got a do-over.

Perhaps you may think it’s silly to be grousing about mascot names while the world appears to be in turmoil in all fronts, with deadly floods in Japan, killer wildfires in California and bungling Brexit in Europe. In fact, the importance of mascots alone is debatable, but this is Japan and mascots we must have, so mascot names we will debate.

Mission not so impossible: make sure no one can understand these names

It appears as if the Tokyo Olympic committee willfully (or even gleefully?) decided to create the most difficult and cumbersome mascot names they could imagine. Names that have absolutely zero chance of being properly pronounced or even spelled by English natives. Furthermore, without the katakana, I’ll bet you a casino bill that many Japanese would be clueless as well.

Talk to any bicultural couple in Japan in which one of the partners is Japanese. When naming children, often one of the first priorities is making sure both sides of in-laws can easily say the name. “Sorry, honey, I know ‘Lorelei’ was your beloved granny’s name, but it doesn’t work in Japan.” That’s probably why you find so many biracial girls in Japan named Mia and not Katsumi.  

This is what the official Olympic 2020 website has to say about Miraitowa.

“The name MIRAITOWA is based on the Japanese words "Mirai"(future) and "towa" (eternity) connected together. This name was chosen for the Olympic mascot to promote a future full of hope forever, in the hearts of all the people in the world.”

As you can see, it appears that they didn’t even bother to ask a native to check the copy that they “connected together.” However, it’s good to hear that we’ve got “hope forever” going for all us “people of the world.”

Next up is Someity, which for some reason reminds me of Hermione of Harry Potter fame. The website copy clears it up for us, kind of.

Someity is not so mighty

“The name SOMEITY comes from "Someiyoshino", a popular cherry blossom variety, and the phrase "so mighty". Someity has cherry blossom tactile sensors and can show enormous mental and physical strength. The mascot represents Paralympic athletes who overcome obstacles and redefine the boundaries of possibility.”

It’s a lovely sentiment, no doubt, but who’s going to get “so mighty” from Someity? Some have even suggested it could read like “so matey,” which isn’t necessarily a bad sentiment, but “mighty” it's not.

One could easily brainstorm a few names that would better represent Japan and also please foreigners. How about “Toki” and “Kio”? Or maybe “Fuku” and “Shima,” giving a nod to the Fukushima disaster victims and displaced, which the government has clearly failed by most practical measures. I know what you’re thinking about “Fuku”. Stop it.

We’re just brainstorming here. That that’s something the Olympic committee clearly failed to do. Like the failed attempt to shove “Yokoso” down visitors’ throats, it appears that the people in charge of the creative for the Japan Olympics are living in their own “omotenashi” bubble. You got the Olympics, Tokyo. Now, it’s your chance to show off the global credentials of a country that most people in the world admire, if not love, already. It shouldn’t that difficult.

It's not like this country doesn't have creative people who can develop excellent names that work well in both Japanese and Romanized versions. These people are out there and they are talented. Case in point is the name for Tokyo Skytree Town, the shopping arcade that circles Japan's tallest tower and newest tourist attraction. Japanese name: Solamachi, which in Japanese roughly means "sky town," and is a name that would easily roll of the tongue of most any foreign visitor. The logo-type is also well depicted, seamlessly combining Roman, kanji and hiragana characters.

Perhaps, we should give the final word to the Japan Olympic committee, who leave us with this tantalizing proposal.

“Let’s create summer holidays memories with the Tokyo 2020 mascots Miraitowa and Someity.” Pronunciation guide not included.

Hotel, Motel, Holiday In Japan

What goes up, up, up? Taxes, no doubt, but in Tokyo, right now, “buildings” is the answer. More specifically: hotels. In a frenzy of construction that seems aggressive even for Japan, old buildings are falling like dominoes and new ones are springing up like weeds. It’s not a stretch to say that there’s a major construction project on every corner in Ginza and most corners in the Nihonbashi-Marunouchi area right now.

With tourism skyrocketing and the 2020 Olympics right around the corner, the race to add beds and baths to the metropolis is heating up. Most residents will agree that the streets of central Tokyo are crawling with tourists and the figures back it up.

Inbound tourists reached 2.7 million in May, which is an increase of 16.6% compared to the previous year and April 2018 was the best month ever for overseas visitors. Those people have to stay somewhere. With tourist numbers increasing by leaps and bounds every year since 2011, and the Olympics on the horizon, there appears to be no ceiling on how many rooms the market can bear.

Make room for MUJI rooms

Ready to answer the call, is the minimalist retailer MUJI (Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd.). MUJI is well known in Japan for its “no brand” line of products that includes stationery, clothing, appliances, home furnishing and dry goods and most recently cafes, but not hotels.

MUJI is also popular in China and that’s where it opened two hotels this year. In January, a 79-room facility opened in Shenzhen, featuring a MUJI store and diner. It was followed by a Beijing property of 42-rooms combined with a café, diner, book lounge and business centre, opening on June 30.

What about Japan? Covered. The “Maroniere x Namiki Yomiuri Ginza Project,” scheduled to open in the spring of 2019, will feature 10-floors, including 3 basement levels, housing a new MUJI world flagship store, with 3,000 feet of retail space and a hotel spanning the top 3 floors. Of course, all the furniture and amenities in the rooms will be MUJI products.

You have to hand it to the MUJI business strategists for opening the brand’s first hotels in China and enticing tourists and brand loyalists to follow them to Japan. Chinese tourists were the largest group of foreigners visiting Japan in 2017 at 25.6%, slightly edging out Korea’s 24.9%

A blogger recently posted photos of Chinese, who were apparently not guests, taking selfies in front of the Shenzhen MUJI Hotel. According to the hotel website, the "no-brand” brand has “arranged a reasonable price space in which you will sleep well, restoring both mind and body, as well as services that naturally connect you to the locale.” Sign me up.  

Bigger, better and more

Another brand answering the call for rooms is the Mitsui Garden chain, which is planning to open the Mitsui Garden Hotel Nihonbashi Premier (its 9th Tokyo hotel and 23rd in Japan) brazenly on a corner just down the street from the Mandarin Oriental.

Scheduled for a September opening, the Nihonbashi Premier will feature 264 rooms, a large Japanese style “public bath,” an open terrace café, several restaurants and a “table tennis salon diner.” Ping-pong diplomacy? Perhaps, but aiming for more well-heeled tourists, the rack rate for a room is ¥20,800 a night.

Not to be outdone is Japan’s ubiquitous APA brand, which as of July has 385 hotels in Japan and is known to be popular with both business and budget travelers from China, Korea and Taiwan. APA plans to open 5 new hotels in 2018, with 13 more openings slated for 2019 and 2020. Phew. That’s a lot of concrete and linen.

Will there be a vacancy glut? Only time will tell, but to be on the safe side, best to book your 2020 rooms well in advance.

Japan’s “Hit Man” Tackles “Shotime”

For a few days in June, for all the wrong reasons, American football was big news in Japan. Bigger than sumo. Bigger than 2020 Olympic prelude puff stories. Bigger than MLB slugger-pitcher Shohei “Shotime” Ohtani. The reason? You might call it "the hit heard round the world."

That hit was delivered late by Nihon University linebacker Taisuke Miyagawa on Kosei Okuno, a quarterback from Kwansei Gakuin University. Footage of the blow was soon blasting across all of Japan’s major networks, the lead story on every newscast. Eventually, it was picked up by the BBC and other international news bureaus.

Why is that impressive? According to Mark Schreiber, writing in the Japan Times, “American football is about as popular [in Japan], as curling is in Jamaica.”

In the same article, Schreiber also noted that depending on the media outlet, Miyagawa’s tackle was depicted by Japanese news reports as ranging from “illegal” to “vicious” to “homicidal.” Homicidal?

 

When does a tackle become “homicidal”?

In fact, on June 7, the weekly tabloid magazine Shukan Jitsuwa even went as far as to run this headline “Homicidal tackle by Nihon University American football team will have a major impact on the Tokyo Olympics.” Really? That's quite a tackle.

That reminds me of another American football player.  Former NFL Oakland Raider, Jack Tatum, who in retirement penned the best-seller “They Call Me Assassin.” Tatum, a.k.a. “The Assassin” is infamous for a devastating hit that left an opposing player paralyzed for life.

American football is violent. Very violent. And very dangerous. That’s part of its appeal. What’s surprising is that Japan’s media has suddenly realized this in 2018 with a moral outrage that seems wildly out of proportion. Especially, considering that Okuno, the QB who received the homicidal blow, was soon back on his feet and playing again.

So please forgive American football fans for feeling bemused by the reports coming from Japan’s media. Perhaps Americans are just used to football violence.

“You try to stay within the rules for the sake of the game, but you can always turn up the intensity,” said Lawrence Taylor, former defensive end for the NY Giants, NFL Hall of Famer and probably one of the most popular Giants of all time.  He also said something about knowing he had made a good hit when he “knocked the snot out of a player.”

Apparently, that intensity was turned up to 11 one night on a nationally televised NFL game when he broke Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Theisman’s leg with a legal hit that produced a replay clip featuring a level of graphic violence that would make most fans of "The Walking Dead" cover their eyes. Feel free to Google it.

However, it’s not like Japanese society is averse to violence. You could even make a case that Japanese relish violence. Sumo, Japan’s iconic sport, considered a cultural treasure, is one of the most violent martial arts in the world. Most matches begin with a loud concussion of behemoths, a thrust to the wind pipe or a mighty mitt to the head. Seeing a 150 kg man tossed on his back like a beached whale into the first row of seats is not an unusual way for a match to end.

Japanese anime and manga are soaked in blood and replete with the most vicious and even ghoulish forms of violence. Decapitation. Cannibalism. Rape. Mass murder. It’s all on display in vivid color in heaps of manga, anime series and movies that are aimed at teenagers.

 

Little violence on the streets, lots in the media

On the other hand, street fights and bar room brawls are quite rare and guns fights are almost nonexistent, thanks to strict gun control and even stricter social controls. Society frowns on confrontations that disturb the peace, which is what makes riding crowded trains and traversing jammed cities bearable and often pleasant in Japan. If on the rare occasion you see someone talking on their cell phone, or even having a loud conversation, on a train or in a restaurant you will surely see most everyone else tut-tutting and tsk-tsking the perpetrator. But rarely will you see someone confront the person. That would create an even bigger disturbance.

Baseball is much less violent, except when bat meets ball or ball meets player. Shohei Ohtani, lovingly given the nickname “Shotime” by the American media, has been throwing and hitting the ball as hard as possible, until a recent injury landed him on the disabled list. He's certainly living up to and exceeding the enormous expectations that preceded his MLB career.

Japanese players who make it big in Major League baseball often do so with larger than life dimensions, with hitman Ichiro, who broke the single season hit record and is a certain first-ballot Hall of Famer and Hideki “Godzilla” Matsui ,who helped both the Tokyo Giants and NY Yankees win championships, having ensured that their legends will live on forever.

Ohtani is the type of story the Japanese media loves. Local boy makes good on the global stage. So, it was surprising to see this minor American football story push Ohtani out of the headlines. Perhaps the media is just as blood thirsty as the rest of Japan, forever voyeurs, yet rarely participants. That's not a bad thing, just sayin'.