LENGEN: a New York–style neo-barber in Takamatsu

A third-floor “neo-barber” on a back street behind the Takamatsu Art Museum: a hair salon with a barber’s skills. Owner Isami Amitani has worked in both hair salons and barbershops. I went for a cut, and it came out exactly as I’d pictured it.

What I hadA cut that matched the picture

I went for a cut in summer 2021, about a week after LENGEN opened. The room has the pleasant scent of a classic barbershop. You wait a few minutes on a chair in the shop, then get shown to your seat. Isami asks exactly what you have in mind, then suggests how to adjust it to the shape of your face. Then a shampoo, the cut, a second shampoo and styling. The cut came out exactly as I’d pictured it.

You can add an eyebrow trim to the cut.

While he worked, we talked about Kagawa, how the new shop was going, culture, brands and clothes. Weekdays are quieter than weekends. First haircut in Japan? No need to be nervous: bring a photo of the cut you want.

The ownerIsami Amitani

Isami has 18 years of experience. He worked in hair salons, spent two years teaching for Shiseido Professional, and worked at well-known barbershops before coming home to Takamatsu, where he opened LENGEN in July 2021. In Fukuoka he was at MERICAN BARBERSHOP. Because he’s worked in both hair salons and barbershops, he’s comfortable with a wide range of styles, from a tight fade to longer, softer cuts.

He’s a gentleman and easy to talk to. In December 2025 LENGEN won the Greaty∞ award for men’s style, Shikoku salon category, at KAMI CHARISMA 2026, a national hair award.

The styles below come from LENGEN’s own photos. Swipe through, and if one is close to what you want, screenshot it and show it before the cut.

The roomA room he designed with care

The shop takes up a bright floor with tall windows, bare concrete and shelving framed in pale wood. Isami put a lot of thought into the interior. On the shop blog he has written about the bonsai and the carved wooden ranma transom he chose for the room, as places where nature meets craftsmanship.

He calls the shop a place for grown-ups to meet, the kind of local shop where you pick up news about the town. In 2024 LENGEN worked with OHLOY, a Takamatsu brewery, on a craft beer called FADE, named after the haircut.

LENGEN also brings haircuts, music and food together in town. In September 2025 Isami took part in PROPS, an event with daytime cutting demonstrations and talks at the GAMO Takamatsu studio, followed by DJs, craft beer and haircuts at VITAMIN COFFEE, alongside Yuto Numata of WELLNESS BARBERSHOP, who also came up through MERICAN.

Related field note → WELLNESS BARBERSHOP, Fukuoka and Tokyo

Before or afterArcades, udon, Konpira

LENGEN is a few minutes from central Takamatsu’s covered shopping arcades, so a cut fits easily into a walk around town. Make a day of it with an udon crawl, Kagawa’s real speciality, or take the train out to Kotohira and climb the steps of Konpira-san.

Point and showTap a card, show the screen

Getting thereAddress and stations

About 8 minutes on foot from Kataharamachi or Kawaramachi stations on the Kotoden line, and about 15 minutes from JR Takamatsu Station. Walk down the Marugamemachi arcade, turn toward Chuo-dori at the 7-Eleven, and look for the K’s Gallery building on the street behind the south side of the Takamatsu Art Museum.