Otasuke pub in Tokyo is handing out a hefty "balding discount" to balding men
Photo: Screen shoot. Courtesy: Davide Lorenzo /Reuters
Tokyo: In a first of its kind offer, a Japanese restaurant here is handing out a hefty "balding discount" to customers to encourage them to flaunt their receding hairlines as a "badge of honour".
"Otasuke" which translates to "huge help" opened earlier this month in the Akasaka district in central Tokyo, and has grabbed attention for their customer outreach efforts.
The restaurant hopes that instead of covering their heads with a complex comb-over or taking a cue from monks to shave it all off, "salarymen" white-collar workers treat their thinning hair as a "badge of honour" and proof of their dedication to help the struggling Japanese economy.
To show their support, the restaurant has announced a generous "balding discount", the Japan Today reported.
A sign outside the shop declares their full support for "hard-working fathers losing their hair" over stressful jobs.
Restaurant manager Yoshiko Toyota was quoted as saying that she and the owner came up with their business idea after volunteering in the recovery efforts to rebuild the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan.
Toyota explained that she thinks thinning hair is a "badge of honour" and wanted to say thank you to all the salarymen who are driving Japan's economy.
The restaurant seems to accept a wide definition of "balding" and will give the discount to anyone who "shows their baldness" to a server.
The discount is aimed at groups of customers who eat at the buffet on the second floor, where all the tables seat six people.
The buffet normally costs 3,780 yen (USD 37) for men and 3,240 yen (USD 32) for women, but bringing along a balding friend can get the customer a bit of yen off the group's bill. The complicated discount works as follows: having one bald customer in the group will take 500 yen (USD 5) off the total bill.
Two bald customers saves the group 750 yen (USD 7 approx), three bald customers nets the group a 1,000 yen (USD 10) discount, four bald customers results in 1,500 yen (USD 15) knocked off the group's bill, and having five bald or balding customers will give the group a voucher for one free buffet.
The ultimate discount is saved for a group of six bald diners who get a yet-to-be-determined "top secret" surprise.
The bar on the first floor of Otasuke also offers an informal "balding discount" which is determined at the on-duty manager's discretion.
( Source : PTI )
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