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Leaving everything up to top Tokyo stylist — Mr. Sato’s first haircut in four years blue us away

Casey Baseel Aug 16, 2024
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We aren’t sure what we were expecting when he told the Shogun “do whatever you think is best,” but we weren’t expecting this.

You might have noticed that it’s been a while since our last article abut SoraNews24’s ace reporter Mr. Sato getting a dramatic new hairdo. For a while, this was a regular part of his lifestyle as he built up a hairstyle resume including Japan’s old-school “punch perm” and recreations of the hairdos of J-rocker Hyde and two different U.S. presidents.

So why hasn’t Mr. Sato been showing off any new haircuts recently? Because it’s been almost four years since the last time he got one.

Since he was a kid, Mr. Sato had wanted to try growing his hair out, and being a full-grown adult means that no parents or teachers can tell him he can’t. These last four years have been his longest stretch ever between haircuts, resulting in the longest hair he’s ever had in his life.

But as Japan’s hottest summer on record continues, Mr. Sato is finding all that hair to be an uncomfortable hassle, especially when he’s out walking around under the midday sun doing field work. Since so much time has passed since his last haircut, though, Mr. Sato has no idea what sort of style will look good on him anymore, so he made the decision to head to Tokyo hair salon SHEA.aoyama and reacquaint himself with the staff.

Specifically, Mr. Sato wanted to enlist the help of SHEA.aoyama’s head stylist, who also happens to be named Sato. Stylist Sato has helped our reporters out on numerous occasions, and in addition to multiple Mr. Sato makeovers he’s also the guy behind our reporter Seiji Nakazawa’s Kyojuro Rengoku and Leonardo DiCaprio cuts.

▼ Stylist Sato

So skilled is stylist Sato that Mr. Sato has taken to calling him the “shogun” of hairstyling, and he cut a dashing, manly figure with his determined expression and headband as our reporter showed up for his appointment.

“It’s been a long time, Shogun!” said Mr. Sato. “It really has! Been taking care of yourself?” Stylist Sato replied as he guided him to his seat.

“Today, I’d like to leave all of the styling decisions up to you, Shogun,” Mr. Sato explained. Stylist Sato took a few moments to gather his thoughts, and then began to explain his vision. “OK, so I’m thinking of doing something like this,” he started to explain, but Mr. Sato reassured him “Please, do whatever you think is best, even if that means chopping everything off.”

“OK then, here we go,” Stylist Sato acquiesced. “Bring it on!” Mr. Sato called out, and then…

-SNIP!-

Mr. Sato tried not to think about how much time it had taken to grow his hair that long, all of which had just been undone in seconds. But hey, he said he was leaving everything up to Stylist Sato, so there was no turning back now.

▼ Mr. Sato couldn’t help feeling a little like a retiring sumo wrestler getting his topknot cut off.

Next Stylist Sato stated trimming the sides, cutting them very short. At the rate he was going, Mr. Sato wondered if the plan was to give him a buzz cut.

Mr. Sato now appeared to have at least as much of his hair on the floor as on his head, but the surprises were just getting started, as two other SHEA.aoyama staff members appeared, ready to dye his hair…

…with blue dye?!?!?

And no, that intense color isn’t some trick of the lighting as it reflects off the container. This dye is absolutely azure. Honestly, if they’d told Mr. Sato they were just straight-up painting his hair with art supplies, he’d have believed them.

OK, so Mr. Sato now knew that his hair was going to be much shorter, and much more blue, than it had been when he walked into the salon…

…and when Stylist Sato and the rest of the staff were finished, he looked like this!

Honestly, if Stylist Sato had said “I’m gonna give him a soft blue fauxhawk,” we might have been tempted to step in and try to convince him to give Mr. Sato something a bit less unusual. But you know what? We would have been wrong, because we can’t deny that the guy looks very stylish with his new ‘do.

▼ Before and after

It’s also a lot more comfortable in the hot weather we’ve been having here in Tokyo. Sure, Mr. Sato could get a little more of a breeze by tying his hair up/back in a tail, but with his new style trimmed and tidy around his neck to begin with, it helps him keep cool all the time.

But…why blue? Was this just a case of Stylist Sato simply using the carte blanche he’d been given to give someone a weird hair color?

Nope. On the contrary, Stylist Sato chose the color based on what he knows about Mr. Sato’s lifestyle. In particular, he knows that Mr. Sato is an avid pole dancer, which means that he’s not entirely averse to standing out, and is someone who enjoys and seeks out occasional flashes of attention-grabbing showmanship. That philosophy also fits with the half-wild, half-laid-back soft fauxhawk.

Hearing how much kind consideration Stylist Sato had put into his choices, Mr. Sato was touched, and knew that, while he was already looking pretty good in his Starfield T-shirt, for the full effect he needed to change into some higher-style threads.

And for the final check, he slipped on the outfit he’s already got picked out for his next pole dancing event.

So once again, SHEA.aoyama and Stylist Sato have come through, and Mr. Sato’s got an extra spring in his step to go along with the blue on his head.

Related: SHEA.aoyama
Photos ©SoraNews24
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