One of Japan’s recent innovations for battling the ongoing recession is providing consumers with products or services that can be paid![\"\"](\"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/thumb\/7\/73\/500_yen_obverse.jpg\/150px-500_yen_obverse.jpg\")
for with just one coin (the phrase \u30ef\u30f3\u30b3\u30a4\u30f3 that refers to this phenomenon has been getting a lot of traction lately).\u00a0 Today there was a feature focusing on 500 yen (or one coin) health related services and how they are boosting business for many establishments.<\/p>\n
One location profiled was a place where you can get various health factors evaluated.\u00a0 Here they provide a “one coin menu” which offers options such as cholesterol, height\/weight, blood pressure and blood sugar level.\u00a0 You can get each checked for 500 yen each, or all of them checked in a 1500 yen package that allows you to save 500 yen (one coin).\u00a0 The interesting aspect of this clinic is the self-service angle, meaning that the patient has to prick him\/herself to draw the blood for testing.\u00a0 If you are able to do this, the nurse takes it from there by measuring it on a strip and giving you the results a few minutes later.\u00a0 If you opt to take advantage of the one-coin saving 1500 yen deal, the whole process takes about 20 minutes.<\/p>\n
The self-service theme runs through many of the services.\u00a0 For example, an esthetic clinic in Ginza called Myqua (\u30df\u30af\u30a2) has treatments such as a 20-minute nose pack and natural gel therapy, but you apply all the necessary materials yourself after being instructed by an employee.\u00a0 The store manager of Myqua revealed, “The one coin appeal is what gets customers in the door.\u00a0 When they don’t have time, that is what go for.\u00a0 During other times, we offer a different menu so they can mix and match and hopefully spend more money.”<\/p>\n
The final service profiled was a 500 yen professional teeth cleaning.\u00a0 This is different from a regular dentist, in that when you walk in you see a shelf filled with numerous types of toothpaste.\u00a0 The first step is to choose the one you want, and from there the clinic takes over.\u00a0 You sit in the dentist’s chair but there is no pain, only gain, as a professional brushes your teeth while teaching you techniques to improve your own method.\u00a0 The visit concludes with a flossing and according to a freshly brushed customer, “My mouth has never felt so good!\u00a0 They went in at all different angles and to back areas I never reach.”<\/p>\n
With our currency, the equivalent concept would likely have to be changed from “one coin” to “one bill,” though I wonder if this would have the same psychological impact…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
*********************************************** WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter\/Translator\/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03).\u00a0 Recently she\u2019s been watching Fujisankei\u2019s newscast in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations. One of Japan’s recent innovations for battling the ongoing recession is providing consumers with products or services that can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[30,18,1,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-japan-trends","category-translatinginterpreting","category-uncategorized","category-wit-life"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t