Sector Guide · Hair and Beauty Salons
English Google Maps and AI Checklist for Hair and Beauty Salons in Tokyo
Foreign residents and visitors look for a salon where they can explain what they want in English, and some now ask AI for "an English-speaking hair salon in Shibuya".
A great salon can still be overlooked. If your menu and listing are in Japanese only, those English searches may not match you.
General information, not legal advice. We are not lawyers, and we don't check licenses, products or treatments.
Looking for an appointment? We can't book for you; please contact the salon directly.
Salon ads in Japan fall under Japan's general advertising law (景品表示法), the rules on cosmetics and medicines (医薬品医療機器等法) and the rule on showing tax-included prices (消費税法 第63条).
Hair, lash and barber work needs a license in Japan (美容師法, 理容師法). We don't advise on licenses.
We don't work on medical treatments, such as medical hair-loss treatment or laser hair removal.
For questions about your own menus, prices, products or ads, ask a lawyer or your local health center (保健所).
The Short Answer
Make your English facts complete and consistent:
- What you offer, with an English menu
- Prices, with tax included
- Which staff speak English, and when
- How to book, and your cancellation policy
- Hours and closed days
- Payment methods
- Where you are and how to find the entrance
Keep every claim factual.
Your Google profile, your English menu and your Japanese pages should say the same thing.
Not sure where you stand? Get a free snapshot or see a sample snapshot.
How Clients Search for a Salon
Clients may search by area, service and language. Example searches (written by us for illustration, not taken from any data):
- "English-speaking hair salon near Shibuya Station" on Google Maps.
- "Where can I get curly hair cut in English in Tokyo?" in ChatGPT or Google's AI Mode.
- "Nail salon in Ebisu with English-speaking staff, open Sunday" in Gemini.
If your listing and menu are in Japanese only, those English searches may not match you.
Key Takeaway
The answer depends on the facts the assistant can find about each salon.
Why It Matters
- In Japanese-language local searches in Google's AI Mode, about 70% of answers referenced Google business listings. Hair salons were one of nine sectors where those listings made up most of the sources the answers cited. Source: GMO TECH (a company that sells Maps marketing), study of about 109,500 Japanese-language queries in 21 sectors, May to July 2026, published 2026-08-06. English queries were not tested.
- In one large study outside Japan, AI answers about local businesses named about 2 to 4 businesses on average. Source: BrightLocal, local AI visibility study (September 2026) and directory sources article (August 2026; same data; US, UK and Australia, not Japan).
- 52.3% of people in Japan aged 15 to 69 use generative AI to search. Source: CyberAgent GEO Lab, Japan survey, August 2026 (n=9,278).
Key Takeaway
If your English facts are thin, the answer may name someone else or get your details wrong.
The Facts AI and Clients Look For
| Fact | Where It Should Appear | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Business Name | Google profile | The real-world name, in one script only. No extra words such as "English OK" or "Best Salon": Google doesn't allow unnecessary information or service details in the name |
| Menu | Website, Google services | An English menu: cut, color, nails, lashes, what each includes and how long it takes. Mention hair types you work with, such as curly or textured hair, only if your stylists really do |
| Prices | Website, menu | The tax-included total, the same in English and Japanese. If there is a stylist fee (指名料), a long-hair charge or a removal fee, say so next to the price |
| English-Speaking Staff | Website, Google profile | Who speaks English, and on which days. Facts only, no names you don't have permission to use |
| Booking | Google booking link, website | How to book in English, and your cancellation policy in plain English |
| Hours | Google profile, website | Last appointment and closed days, plus holiday hours, the same everywhere |
| Payment | Google profile, website | Cards, cash and other payment methods you take |
| Location | Google profile, website | Nearest station exit, floor and a photo of the entrance |
Many salons also take bookings on a salon booking site. Hot Pepper Beauty, run by Recruit, lists more than 67,000 hair salons. Source: Hot Pepper Beauty (Recruit), listing information page, as of April 2026 (Recruit's own figures).
If you use one, your listing there should give the same facts as your Google profile and website.
Rules for Prices and Ads
| Rule | Do | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Prices Show the Totalsource 1 | If your business pays consumption tax, you must show prices with tax included, the same total in English and Japanese. Our advice: next to the price, say charges only some clients pay, such as a stylist fee (指名料), a long-hair charge or a removal fee. | Leaving a charge every client pays out of the shown price, because it can mislead. |
| Discounts and "Usual" Pricessource 2 | As a rule, only cross out a "usual" price you really charged for most of the 8 weeks before the offer. | A "usual" price you charged only briefly or long ago, or any price that looks much more favorable than it is. |
| "No.1" and Results Claims Need Proofsource 3 | Keep proof for any "No.1" or results claim; for "No.1", a fair survey of the right people that matches the claim. Treat English pages, posts and profile text like Japanese ones: the law is not limited to ads in Japanese. | Before-and-after photos that show a lasting effect, such as thicker hair or longer lashes: they are a results claim, and a cosmetic can't claim hair or lash growth even with proof. |
| We don't write "No.1", growth or before-and-after results claims. | ||
| Products You Use or Sellsource 4 | Our advice: keep to the wording on the product's own label. | False or exaggerated effect claims for shampoos, hair treatment products and lash serums, which are cosmetics or quasi-drugs. Claiming that a cosmetic makes lashes or hair grow. |
Sources for This Section (4)
- 消費税法 第63条; 景品表示法 第5条第2号.
- 景品表示法 第5条第2号; Consumer Affairs Agency, 不当な価格表示についての景品表示法上の考え方 (last revised 2016-04-01).
- 景品表示法 第5条第1号, 第7条第2項; Consumer Affairs Agency, No.1表示に関する実態調査報告書 (2024-09-26).
- 医薬品医療機器等法 第66条; 国民生活センター, まつ毛美容液による危害が急増 (2019-08-08); 厚生労働省, 化粧品の効能の範囲の改正について (薬食発0721第1号, 2011-07-21; 別表第1 lists no hair-growth effect).
Key Takeaway
Tax-included prices with any extra fees shown, and factual claims only.
Rules for Licenses, Reviews and Photos
| Rule | Do | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Licensessource 1 | Make sure hair and eyelash work, including eyelash extensions, is done by a licensed beautician, and barber work by a licensed barber. Ask your local health center (保健所) about licenses. We don't check licenses or advise on them. | — |
| Medical Treatments Are Out of Scopesource 2 | Check Japan's medical advertising rules before you advertise them: see our clinics guide for clinics. We don't work on them. | Offering laser hair removal, injections, medical hair-loss treatment or tattooing (such as eyebrow アートメイク): they are medical, and only doctors may do them. |
| Google Profile Limits | Keep the profile description to 750 characters, about your salon, not promotions or prices. | Links in the description. See our English Google profile guide. |
| Reviewssource 3 | Ask every client the same way for honest feedback, with no reward: no discounts, free treatments, gifts or staff quotas, and never only the happy clients. Thank reviewers in general terms, and never confirm that someone was a client. If you give someone a free treatment or pay them to post, mark the post clearly as an ad. We don't arrange or write such posts. | Rewarding reviews: a rewarded review can count as your own advertising (ステマ規制). |
| We never suggest discounts, free treatments or gifts in exchange for reviews. | ||
| Client Photossource 4 | Our rule: get that consent in writing, and ask again before you reuse a photo somewhere new. Use only photos you took or have the rights to, and don't edit a photo of your work so it looks better than it was. | Photos of clients, or of their hair, nails or lashes where they can be recognized, without their consent: a photo that shows who someone is counts as personal information under Japan's privacy law, and Japan's Supreme Court has recognized a legal interest in not being photographed without good reason. |
Sources for This Section (4)
- 美容師法 第6条; 理容師法 第6条; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, まつ毛エクステンションの危害.
- 医師法 第17条; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, notice 医政医発第105号 (2001-11-08).
- ステマ規制 (stealth-marketing rule), in force since 2023-10-01; Consumer Affairs Agency, Japan (stealth marketing Q&A).
- Supreme Court of Japan, 2005-11-10 (最高裁 平成17年11月10日); Personal Information Protection Commission, 通則編 2-1.
Key Takeaway
No rewards for reviews, and, as our rule, client photos only with written consent.
How We Work With Salons
- What We Do
- We keep your English menu, prices, hours and review replies right.
- That includes categories, services, attributes, hours and holiday hours, and a description in English and Japanese.
- It also includes up to 10 of your photos with captions, with no client in them who hasn't agreed in writing, and replies to your reviews, in the reviewer's language.
- With the monthly retainer, we draft one English FAQ or service page a month for your website: your menu, booking, payment, how to find you.
- We work with hair salons, barbers, nail salons and eyelash salons.
- We work with Manager access to your Google profile, never your password.
- Our AI work is in English. The Japanese side is limited to your Maps listing.
- What We Don't Do
- We don't publish anything until you approve it: profile text, pages and reply templates.
- We don't check licenses, products or treatments, and we don't give legal advice.
- We don't work on medical or clinic treatments, such as medical hair-loss treatment, laser hair removal, injections or eyebrow tattooing (アートメイク).
See Services for prices and terms, what Step 1 and the monthly retainer include, and the work guarantee.
Common Questions
Can We Give a Discount for a Google Review?
No. Google's rules ban rewards for reviews, and a rewarded review can count as your own advertising in Japan.
Ask every client the same way for honest feedback, with nothing in return.
Can We Post Before-and-After Photos?
Photos of your real work are fine with the client's written consent, as long as you don't edit them to look better than the real result.
A before-and-after photo that shows a lasting effect, such as thicker hair or longer lashes, is a results claim that needs evidence, and a cosmetic can't claim hair or lash growth at all. We don't write results claims.
Can We Call Ourselves the Best Salon in Tokyo?
Only with a fair survey that backs it up, and the claim must match the survey. We don't write "No.1" or "best" claims.
Do Prices in Our English Menu Need to Include Tax?
If your business pays consumption tax, prices you show to consumers must include it (消費税法 第63条).
Show the same tax-included total in English and Japanese.
Can You Promise More Clients?
No. Nobody can honestly promise client numbers or a place in AI answers.
We guarantee the work, not the result, and we report how often AI names you out of a stated number of answers. See how we measure.
General information, not legal advice.
See What AI Says About Your Salon
Send your business name and Google Maps link. We ask ChatGPT and Google's AI two questions an English-speaking client would ask and check your listing. Free, no obligation. More: Who We Help, FAQ, and the full guide.
