I think Japanese nail artists have a great reputation, and I have always wanted to get my nails professionally done here, but been too scared.
My co-worker recommended a place in Nara, i-Nail it’s normally ¥4000 for the basic nail but ATM its only ¥3000!
My Japanese is still terrible but I managed to book an appointment and do ok. The nail artist was very kind and tried to speak English for me.
First my nails were buffed with two types of files, cuticles removed, shaped, cleaned and then had two layers of clear base, 4 layers of glitter and 2 top coats. My nails are soooo thick!
This is what I asked for…
And what I got!
I’m very happy with the results, and 9 days later they are still looking perfect. I’ve run across a few minor problems like not being able to scratch my mosquito bites or open the charging port on my phone. Lol.
I have a voucher to get the many layers of polish removed or discount on my next polish in August which is very good as usually removal is another ¥1000.
Edit
My nails 4 weeks on.
They’ve grown out quite a bit, but still no chips or major damage. Time to get them removed!
liemzie 
So cool ! I wanted to have my nails done too while I was in Japan, but they are way too short for this kind of nailart T_T… Gotta stop biting them for next year \(èoé) !
Two of my nails were v short too, she was like, what do you want me to do with these?! Lol. They are so strong with the layers of varnish now that it is easier to grow them with them painted. x
Haha, it’s easier for them to work with longer nails ^^;.
It’s a great method to let nails grow, but it also makes them more “weak”. But yeah, I’ll try to have them longer for next year so I can at least try to have a pretty manicure when I’ll be in Osaka again (and you’ll still be there ;_;) !
Pretty!! I love the gradient effect – and wow that they’ve lasted so long! It’s so wild how many things they do to your nails during a manicure haha, when I was younger I knew nothing about base/top coats and what the heck cuticles were haha – but I guess if nothing’s happened to yours in 9 days, it must be worth it!
She did a really good job, expensive but worth it! :D I tried to do my toes with my own uv nail kit following her technique they lasted 24 hours before two chipped and fell off!x