When we grow weary, we tend either to stop caring about appearances or to resist decline by caring all the more—roughly two camps, I feel.
So, though not simply because it is New Year, a word about grooming. A five-minute walk from the Palaceside Building, at the Chiyoda Public Library (1-2-1 Kudan-Minami, Chiyoda-ku, 9th floor of the ward office), professionals shine shoes on the first Monday of each month. Titled "Polish Your Shoes and Yourself at the Library—BOOTBLACK at Library." The first session of the year was held on the 7th—the 44th cumulative event since it began in June 2009.
Why shoes at a library? Since reopening in May 2007, the library has held events leveraging an area with many businesspeople. It is part of creating a space where "business ideas grow," one of its concepts—or so they say. I sort of get it, sort of don't... According to the library's news release, "Wearing well-polished shoes naturally straightens your posture and builds confidence. And we believe information gained through study and research with library materials further raises real confidence."
I still don't quite get it, but setting that aside, the event sets up a shoe-shine counter inside the library where professional craftspeople polish your shoes while you wait at the counter. You may leave your shoes and research inside, or watch and chat with the craftsperson. A little past noon on the 7th, a middle-aged gentleman was having his shoes polished—it was his fourth visit, a New Year "reward to myself," he said.
The "standard shoe-shine course" removes dirt and old cream, applies cream suited to the shoes, nourishes them fully, and polishes until the shoes look their best. About 20–30 minutes per pair: men's shoes ¥1,500, women's ¥1,200, boots ¥2,000 (tax included). Watching, the shoes really do begin to shine like mirrors. The finishing wax cream is applied with a little water—that's the trick for shine. See how the shoes in the photo gleam?!
Who does the polishing? Craftpeople from "Shoes Lounge Brift H" in Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo—a counter-style shop where they polish like a performance before your eyes. Brift H was opened in 2008 by Yūya Hasegawa, who taught himself the craft. Hasegawa is well known in this world as an entrepreneur who made shoe shining his business. "BOOTBLACK" is an old English word for a shoe shiner; it is also a shoe-cream brand and the name of Hasegawa's company. I found an article introducing Hasegawa on a fashion site (http://www.boq.jp/special/2006/sp_shoenintoiro/vol010/index.html). He seems quite remarkable and sometimes demonstrates in person at the library; he is scheduled to come again on February 4.
You might hesitate, thinking "these aren't shoes worth polishing," but staff say, "Applying cream softens the leather and makes it last. Once polished, a quick wipe keeps the shine for about a month."