Database
Of
Neglected
Ecology
Hair/Nail Salon Street NARA/JAPAN


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Hair/Nail Salon Street is a street full of hair/nail salons located in between Kashiba-city and Koryo-town, Nara, Japan.
This 1.7km (1.05 miles) long street has 25 hair/nail salons, which is far too many in proportion to the population of the area (Kashiba: 77,603, Koryo: 33,747) and the flow of people coming into the street. Although the second largest city Osaka is only 23min away from the nearby station by train, the area is ultimately a commuter town and does not require this many hair salons unlike Osaka city centre. When this street was researched 2 years ago, it had 19 hair/nail salons but another 6 had newly been made ever since.

Phenomenon
This street clearly demonstrates the estrangement between utility and the circulation of money. If you look at each hair/nail salon, it seems to have some sort of benefit but when seen as the whole (25 hair/nail salons within 1.7km/1.05 miles), it reveals they have a deplorable effect on society. Starting a hair/nail salon is inexpensive comparing with other businesses such as restaurants in terms of equipment. It is also low risk regarding stock control as they don't handle any perishable goods, enabling them to easily make profit as customers appear. The area is moderately wealthy therefore a constant flow of customers to pay for their pricey services is promised. However constituting a street this way damages the cultural value of a community. Focusing too much on formal value exchange caused this tragedy.