TAKE Singapore is a Japanese hair salon on Arab Street, built around the philosophy that "hairdressing is not a job, it's a craft." The salon's stated aim is to deliver Japanese hair and beauty techniques to the world, with a team of stylists who each bring years of experience from salons in Japan.
The salon was founded by director TAKE (Takeda Tomoaki), who arrived in Singapore in January 2017 after 17 years working as a stylist and salon manager in Minami Aoyama, Omotesando and Harajuku — widely regarded as the centre of the beauty industry in Japan. He has been featured in Japanese hair catalogues and magazines including Fine Boys, Oshare Hair Catalog, Best Hair Catalog 800 and Otokogami Musou, appeared on Sony's digital camera a7 homepage, and took part in the 2019 Milbon Singapore Spring/Summer Collection. To keep bringing genuine Japanese trends to Singapore, he returns to Japan several times a year to work at brand salon K.e.y hair & make in Omotesando.
The rest of the team includes Aki, a beautician of 20 years who trained at Shiseido's make-up school and worked as a hairstylist and make-up artist in Japan; Kanako, who spent 23 years working in Minami Aoyama, Omotesando and Harajuku (including with celebrity clients) before relocating to Singapore with her daughter in November 2023; and Ina, a hairdresser of 20 years who has lived in Singapore for 6 years, offers customer service in English, and specialises in perms and highlight or natural colour work.
TAKE Singapore opens with a simple statement of intent: hairdressing is not a job, it's a craft. That philosophy runs through how the salon presents itself — less a quick-cut shop and more a team of career stylists trained in Japan's beauty capital, aiming to bring Japanese hair and beauty techniques to Singapore.
The salon takes its name from its founder and director, Takeda Tomoaki, known simply as TAKE. He arrived in Singapore in January 2017 after 17 years working as a stylist and eventually a salon manager in Minami Aoyama, Omotesando and Harajuku — the part of Tokyo widely considered the centre of Japan's beauty industry. During his time in Japan, his work was featured in several well-known hair catalogues and magazines, including Fine Boys, the Oshare Hair Catalog, Best Hair Catalog 800 and Otokogami Musou, and his hairstyles appeared on Sony's digital camera a7 homepage. In 2019, he took part in the Milbon Singapore Spring/Summer Collection.
Even after moving to Singapore, TAKE has kept close ties to Japan's beauty scene, returning several times a year to work at K.e.y hair & make, a brand salon in Omotesando, so he can bring back the latest trends. In between salon work, he has also filmed hair arrangement videos for his YouTube channel and Instagram across seven countries and twelve destinations, including at Angkor Wat.
TAKE Singapore's team extends well beyond its founder. Aki has worked as a beautician for 20 years, training at Shiseido's make-up school before working as a hairstylist and make-up artist in Japan as a freelancer; she focuses on hairstyles that suit a client's mood and personality through the lens of makeup and fashion.
Kanako brings 23 years of experience from Minami Aoyama, Omotesando and Harajuku, where she also worked with a number of celebrity clients. She moved to Singapore with her five-year-old daughter in November 2023, reconnecting with TAKE — a former colleague from her Tokyo salon days — to join the team.
Ina has been a hairdresser for 20 years and has lived in Singapore for 6 years. He offers customer service in English, works with clients to choose highlight-centred or natural colour based on what suits them, and describes perms as a particular strength.
Across the team, the salon's core offering centres on hairdressing — cutting, colouring (including highlight and natural colour work) and perms — along with piercing services also available at the salon. Between them, the stylists cover a broad range of specialities, from Ina's perm and colour-matching expertise to Aki's styling informed by makeup and fashion sensibility.
TAKE Singapore is located at 92 Arab Street #02-01, Singapore 199788, and is open daily from 10am to 9pm. The salon can be reached by phone, SMS or WhatsApp at +65 9181 6531. For anyone wanting to see the team's work before booking, the stylists are active on their own social channels, sharing hair arrangements, styling videos and behind-the-scenes updates from the salon.