Everyone was wearing face masks to hide their faces...
And once the class started everyone took them off? - Yes.
Is there a lot of peer-pressure to buy more expensive clothes?
Yes that's a thing!
Everyone spends a lot of money on appearance.
Hey guys and girls on Ask Japanese, it's Cathy Cat.
Studying beauty and fashion in Tokyo seems to be like a dream come true.
I met students who went to Beauty and Fashion colleges here in Japan
and asked them what their problems are and what studying these subjects is like.
Let's go and Ask Japanese.
You are studying right now? - Yes we're students.
What are you studying?
Styling.... - And Fashion.
We both want to become Stylists.
What's the toughest part of wanting to become a makeup and fashion Stylist?
We have to think about a theme and create fashion shoots based on that.
Getting all those clothes together, is the toughest part.
We have to lend or buy the fashion items.
You have to buy clothes for assignments? - We do.
That sounds pricey. - It is.
To pay for it we have to work part-time.
How much money do you have to spend on one assignment ?
Over ￥10,000 (Over $100) at the least.
But then they become part of your future collection?
We might be able to wear some of those clothes ourselves but...
These fashion items have to work with the assignment's theme...
We often have to buy clothes we would personally NEVER wear.
Looking at them like "I wonder if we will ever use them."
That's an issue.
So every assignment costs you over 10,000 Yen each.
Well, might be a bit too much. Sometimes we can lend clothes from other students if they work.
But if we can't find anything for the theme, we have to buy it.
That means you're paying your student fees and a lot on top of that.
That's right. It costs a lot.
Do you save up by doing room-share and such?
I live by myself. - Me too.
What's tough about living on your own?
The money...
Not having enough money is tough. We have to work a lot for it.
Then go home, pay for utility fees... I feel like I never have enough money...
When I hang out with students who live with their parents...
I envy them.
They say their mothers bought them clothes. I envy that.
They buy them their clothes on top of all! So jealous!
They are getting a lot of help.
When I go home... nobody prepares food for me.
Thanks to that, I realized how good it is to live with your parents.
They prepare the meals and such...
You have to pay for clothes you don't wear and...
also the makeup you use in class? - Of course.
We have to be able to do a model's hair and makeup by ourselves.
The makeup tools and items, even if we don't need them ourselves...
If I need silver colors.... I have to get silver lipsticks and such.
We can't use that in daily Japan, but they work on the model in the shoots.
Even if we buy flashy makeup, we can't wear that out on the streets.
Is there peer-pressure to buy more new clothes and such?
Yes there is. Everyone is spending so much money.
But it's not about spending the most money.
If you can find something cheap that looks great that's ok.
But everyone is bringing new items to class.
And we can't lose to that either...
We can't.
Especially in our class, there is a lot of rivalry.
Listening to that, sounds like from an anime.
Are you from the same college? - Yes.
What type of college is it? - A Beauty college.
That's why you both look so stylish!
What's tough about studying at a beauty college?
Practicing towards passing our state examination is really tough.
Trying to find work afterwards.
Do you practice by cutting a doll's hair?
We cut hair too but also....
Tell us what you also have to do.
We have to do "winding" which is creating permanently curled hair...
Using special products to change the shape of a person's hairstyle...
We call it "all wave".
How many years do you have to study to be able to take the exam?
Our college goes for two years.
First study two years, then take the state examination...
and then first work as assistant...
That's our common career route.
Both of you will graduate and go to work as assistants? - Yes.
What's the toughest about job hunting for you right now?
Do you have too many rivals?
We do have many...
I find it hard to search and find places I really want to work at.
What are your criteria? What do you want?
I am good at cutting hair, so I'm looking for a salon that focuses on that.
And there you can become even better at cutting hair? - Exactly.
I want to do so many things. I hope I can do makeup and other things at my future job.
Are there some typical "beauty school" issues?
We have some wellness lessons. We all can't wear makeup for those.
Is that tough for you? - I am used to it now.
I tried my best to get used to it
Were you nervous on your first "No makeup" class?
We were all hiding our faces, remember?
We hid all behind face masks and didn't take them off until the start.
You classroom was full of masks...
And when the class started, everyone took them off. - Yes.
What are you careful about as a student?
We have to look good ourselves.
I have to change my clothes every day...
and think about what makeup style to wear every day.
I try to arrange it well and then go to class like that.
Working on your self-presentation. - Yes.
Did you have this current style in high-school or
did your style change since you started studying at your beauty college?
I wasn't allowed to look like this in high school...
Once I started studying I changed a lot.
What changed the most?
My hair used to be really long.
I cut my hair short, made it brighter...
that's about it.
Can you volunteer to get your hair done by the students?
We go to elderly people's homes and help our teachers with cutting hair there...
We also give them a little wellness program.
Your school is very kind.
Those were all our questions. Thank you girls.
You don't only have to look your best,
You also have to make sure that you bring the best items.
What you heard is that the students will have to
pay themselves for the items they are presenting, which means
you have to start working on collecting a wardrobe and then
not always the cheapest items will win. So you have to
spend a lot of time and a lot of money
to prepare all those items.
I think....
that will probably UP the prices of the already pricey colleges here in Japan
I really don't envy
the girls for having to do that, and the guys will have to do the same.
That's one of the big pitfalls: financially because also
colleges are generally not cheap here in Japan as well.
Also what I have heard in past interviews
many students say, that they themselves also have to work a lot on their personal appereance
Which means they have to dress their best and wear brands and items
People come in with Lois Vuitton items to class...
It's really hard to keep up with that if you don't have that amount of money.
They have to put a lot of money into that. Also their visual appearance...
If you look back at this video all the girls here had very good hairstyles, looked very very
groomed well and that's also another thing you have to look out for that you look beautiful and fashionable at all times.
If you are curious to find out, we went to bunka fashion college
which is one of the most famous fashion colleges here in Tokyo.
And asked them a couple of questions in our interviews
If you type in the search bar "Ask Japanese and Bunka"
BUNKA you'll be able to find some of the videos where we asked
the actual students about life in Japan, about renting and similar things. Be sure to
check that out. I hope you enjoyed this video.
If it helped you guys, don't forget so subscribe for more stuff
here from Tokyo and leave a like on the way out. Leave us a comment. Catch you soon! Bye.