I was 20 years old at the time and I had 12 piercings in various places on my lips and ears before even considering a navel piercing. A lot of consideration went into getting this piercing. I tend to like things on the non-mainstream side so getting a navel piercing was definitely on the back burner for me. However once I moved to Tokyo, I saw many more pierced young adults than I had ever seen at once in the States and I decided to give it a go. If I didn't like the piercing, I could always take it out later.
At A Glance Author Ren Contact Ren@bme.anon When Two years ago Artist Mukoyama Gen Studio Extreme Body Piercing Location Tokyo, Japan I asked a close friend about local piercers and if she knew any good places to go for a friendly, clean environment. She said that she herself had asked around while in Harajuku someone recommended that she check out "Extreme Body Piercing." She got a lip piercing done there and said it was a positive experience so I decided to go give the place a look.
Extreme was conveniently located near Takeshita Doori, the main shopping drag for almost all of Harajuku's visitors, so it was easy to find. I stepped into the shop and was welcomed by three very friendly staff and a clean atmosphere. One girl worked behind the counter, and two guys did the piercings. Although I do speak Japanese, I was relieved to see that one of the piercers was absolutely fluent in English. He introduced himself and asked what I what I would like to have pierced. I told him I'd like to have my navel done, and he took a look at it to make sure there wouldn't be any problems for piercing. He went over after-care instructions with me, and I paid at the counter before getting the piercing.
I walked towards the back of the studio and lay down on a padded table while Gen prepped everything, and opened all of the tools out of their sterile packages. Lying down, I noticed a neon pink stuffed bunny had been pinned onto the ceiling; nice touch. It reminded me of when I was a kid getting stitches and my mother was constantly waving stuffed animals in my face to get me to calm down; I suppose Extreme was going for the same effect. For the piercing, Gen even wore a surgical mask which is actually a great idea; I hadn't seen them used in my previous studio experiences. The process of the piercing was virtually painless. No clamps were used, the needle just went right on through the top of my navel smoothly and a 14g barbell was slipped in. I was no stranger to the pains and pinches related to piercing, and this time was no more painful than any others. I would actually say that the navel is a relatively less painful area to pierce (versus the ear cartilage for example).
People normally tense up when they are about to knowingly have a needle shoved through their flesh, and this is interesting to me. During some piercing experiences, I have had artists ask me to take a really deep breath and let it out slowly, then bam, they're piercing you. In this particular case I was told that the needle was indeed coming and I was given a three two one countdown. To be honest, I'm not which method I actually prefer; they both have their pros and cons.
After the piercing was through, I admired it in the mirror and Gen advised me on which soaps to use (surgical soap can be a bit difficult to find at your local drug store in Japan, so I was advised to use a mild Clearasil face wash; it's antibacterial, yet gentle and dye/scent free), and a good topic came up; sea salt soaks. I wasn't familiar with Japanese salt brands and what they contained so he was nice enough to write down the kanji for the recommended sea salt; I located it easily at my local grocer just by showing the slip to an employee.
All in all, I would say this was a very positive experience, and I ended up going back to Extreme for many more piercings. It was great. During the following week I frequently found myself stretching back in my chair during class extra long just to admire my new piercing, while stealthily trying to show off my new equipment.
Following the initial piercing I came back several times to talk about the piercing and get adjustments. At one point the skin around the piercing seemed to be reacting poorly to the steel, so Gen took the barbell out and replaced it with a soft silicone thread. The cause of irritation could have been because I tend to sleep on my stomach without realizing it and that could have easily irritated the piercing. After the skin healed around the silicone, I had the barbell re-inserted and I had no problems with irritation after that.