I woke up at 11. Today was the day I would get a perm and a haircut in Kyrgyzstan for the first time in my life.
Last night I found a hairdresser through Instagram hashtags. His work was incredibly beautiful, and I thought I wanted him to do my hair. Everything was in Russian. I typed Japanese into ChatGPT to translate it into Russian and sent that. His replies were also in Russian. After repeating that kind of exchange, I somehow managed to make a reservation.
The hairdresser I found through hashtags
The hairdresser first asked me to send photos. He said he wanted to judge whether a perm could be done.
From our exchanges alone I could tell he approached his work with the eye of a researcher and took pride in being a hairdresser. That's precisely why I wanted him to do it.
The price was 6,500 soms (about 10,000 yen). It was cheaper than in Japan, and honestly more than fair. Very reasonable.
I headed to the address given by taxi. A few minutes after I arrived he came out and led me to the salon. We shook hands and he said, 'Nice to meet you.' His name was very complicated and I couldn't remember it in one go.
At a salon that only spoke Russian
When I entered the salon, it was just me and the hairdresser. He seemed to like communicating, and from the moment I saw his Instagram I had the impression he ran his business seriously. Apparently he's both a model and a hairdresser.
He washed my hair and I sat down. Feeling the warm water run over my scalp eased the fatigue of travel. He asked if he could film with his iPhone, and I, of course, said yes. I felt a little nervous thinking it would be posted like the photos on Instagram, but I decided to be myself.
The treatment began. He spoke only Russian. I've been gradually getting better at the language recently, but there were still many things I didn't understand because of the technical terms. Even so, I enjoyed it including that. Going to a hair salon entirely in Russian is an experience you don't often get. That alone felt valuable and made me happy.
We talked about many things during the treatment—his business, his family. He's Uzbek but was born in Kyrgyzstan, and he's 20 now. Apparently he started working as a hairdresser at 16. Just that alone seemed incredibly impressive. When I was 20 I was only working part-time at a 7-Eleven.
When I asked if he knew how to ride a horse, he showed me pictures of himself riding as a child. We asked each other questions like 'What's your favorite country?' and 'Which country do you recommend?' He said we're already friends and that he'd like to meet again if he ever goes to Japan; I replied, of course, I'll show you around if you come to Japan.
Just setting the perm solution in my hair took an hour and 30 minutes. He did everything carefully, and I was so impressed by his heart and passion that I felt I would be willing to pay 7,000 soms just for that.
The sharp smell typical of perm solution brushed my nose. Feeling my head gradually warm under the net, I waited 40 minutes after he applied the solution.
He applied the neutralizer and left it for another 10 minutes. Then he rinsed. The cold water flowing over my scalp felt pleasant. Finally he set up the camera again and filmed my reaction the moment the towel was removed.
I tense up when people expect a reaction from me. If there's an invisible pressure to react well, I actually can't do it. But I realized that's just my habit and that I want to meet his expectations that much.
A perfect finish and a new friend
The perm turned out exactly like my ideal hairstyle, and I was extremely happy. His work was so perfect there wasn't a single thing wrong with it.
At the end, perhaps for filming, he applied wax and mousse and set my hair thoroughly. Each time his fingertips blended the wax's tackiness, my hair slowly moved closer to the ideal shape. He even trimmed the sides on his own judgment without me saying anything. That alone conveyed his professionalism.
After the treatment we had about ten minutes of shooting. He kept filming my hairstyle with his iPhone from the back and the side. At the end we took a photo together, and I told him in Japanese, 'Thank you for cutting my hair! Thank you for cutting it so beautifully!'
I paid 6,500 soms and had him write a message in my travel book. At the end we hugged and shook hands. I said, 'Have a good day, thank you, I'll show you around when you come to Japan,' and we said goodbye.
After that I walked to KFC. The price was high, but I ordered the L set. The crispy coating and the scent of spices gently sank into my body that hadn't eaten anything since the morning. It was my first meal of the day.
Finally meeting Polina in the park
After that was the day I would finally meet Polina. She was the first friend I made in Kyrgyzstan online about 1.5 years ago. Since I was able to come to Kyrgyzstan this time, we had arranged yesterday to meet in the park.
When I arrived at the park, she was waiting near the fountain. We smiled, said 'Hi!' and hugged.
For three hours, walking through the park and the square, we talked about everything we could. Her college, the fact that she had no friends, that she likes to spend time at home, her dreams for the future, and her pet.
She was very young and rarely asked questions. So I constantly took the lead and asked many questions. At first she seemed nervous, but gradually she opened up and we were able to have many slow, varied conversations. It was really fun.
When I said 'Shall we go soon?', she said, 'Not yet, it's okay, there's still time.' She seemed to be enjoying the time spent with me that much. I was happy that she, an INFP who is shy and introverted, was enjoying herself.
Apparently she likes warm ice cream—melting ice cream in the oven and eating it. I couldn't help but think that's a bit weird (laughs). She doesn't speak Kyrgyz, only Russian and English. She was good at geography and disliked math, same as me. I told her that since she was self-taught in English and spoke so fluently, she would absolutely be able to learn Japanese too. She said she wants to live in Japan in the future, so I told her the possibilities are endless and she can definitely make it happen.
We enjoyed our short time together taking photos of each other in the park and the square. Then we walked together to the bus stop, hugged at the end, said thank you, and said goodbye.
I was very happy to have made a Kyrgyz friend. It was also the moment an online friend finally became an offline one.
The late-night stolovaya and Aya's gaze
On the way back to the hostel I wanted sushi, but in the end I picked up something that caught my eye at a 24-hour stolovaya (canteen) and ate it. Drawn by the steam rising from the tray, I chose a warm dish. It wasn't quite enough, but since I was full I figured it was fine.
When I safely arrived at the hostel, Aya, who had handled my check-in on the first day, was there. She told me various plans like 'You should go here, this place is amazing.'
She was used to communicating and very relaxed. At the same time she guided you firmly. As expected of a former tour guide. Her sense of distance and communication style were something to be respected. She's always talking to someone, interacting with various guests in either Russian or English.
What I noticed in a town where people don't look at their smartphones
What I felt walking around the streets of Kyrgyzstan was that people weren't walking around glued to their smartphones. Everyone was lively, natural, and humane.
In today's world, thanks to technology, many people can't live without their smartphones. But when walking the streets of Kyrgyzstan, there really were no people looking at their phones. People walked by lively and smiling, or chatted happily with friends as they walked. I thought it was a country where encounters and connections with people within that inconvenience are deeper.
Cherishing the present moment and valuing communication with the people who are here now over exchanging messages. I felt that both while walking the streets and while talking with Aya at the hostel.
She too, before I knew it, wasn't at the reception but was talking with someone. Whether guest or staff, whoever it was, she was talking anyway, and the guard who is always at the reception ends up having to call her over (laughs). She might not even realize it herself, but I strongly felt that she truly values the 'now' and the person in front of her.
I think this is what it means to live like a human. She's probably quite happy, and talking with her I felt she doesn't have many complicated parts in her heart; she seemed like a pure, uncorrupted person. I wondered if it's because she often goes hiking to clear her mind.
It was a day full of many discoveries.
