BEST FOR… Perfect portraits
An American-owned nail and beauty salon with English-speaking staff, Joli Nails offers a full range of beauty treatments. In terms of nails, their talents extend from basic French nails to artistic 3D art to copying an image you show them in exquisite detail. Besotted pet owners, take note.
We recommend 2015 NailPro World gel art champion Kikuko Asagami’s elaborate nail art. Besides pets and humans (one customer recently had their grandchild’s face painted on a nail to celebrate the little one’s birthday), she can also handpaint your favourite anime characters.
The vibe What makes this salon extra special is that they offer a beauty package including child-care service. Tired moms (or dads!) can treat themselves while the kids play in the spacious playroom downstairs. Booking for this service is essential and it costs ¥1,030 per hour.
Cost From ¥4,645 for one-colour gel nails, ¥5,500 for design gel nails, and from ¥4,320 per hand-painted nail.
Tokyo has long been a trendsetter in the world of nail art and you can get pretty much anything you want on your tips, from over-the-top 3D art to more subtle diamanté designs. Many locals visit nail salons on a monthly basis – as often as they visit hair salons – and you'll find gel nail patterns marketed according to the seasons, on-trend colours, and special occasions like Valentine's Day and Christmas. If you're a nail art newbie or you just feel like trying out something different, we've picked out five salons that offer unique nail art, along with two options for those who like the idea of DIY nails.