Story about a shaving cream -Afternoon on the Islands of Langerhans-　Haruki Murakami

  I love using shaving cream. When I'm in a taxi and realize I don't have enough change to pay the fare, it's happened before that I only have a 10,000 yen bill in my wallet and the driver doesn't have any change. In the past, I used to say "Please stop in front of the tobacco shop" and buy cigarettes to break the bill. However, since quitting smoking a few years ago, I can't do that anymore. So now, when that happens, I usually ask the driver to pull over in front of a cosmetics store and buy a can of shaving cream to get change. Why shaving cream, you ask? Why not shampoo or talcum powder or aftershave lotion or cologne, which are all also cosmetics? I'm not sure myself. I guess I just happen to like shaving cream. That's why I reflexively buy shaving cream in those situations. So, even though I was able to pay for the taxi fare, I end up walking around the city with a can of shaving cream in my hand for the rest of the day. It's a strange situation, but when I'm walking around the city with a can of shaving cream, the city looks a little different than usual. I once read somewhere that when you walk around with a gun in your pocket, the city looks completely different than usual. I'm not saying it's the same thing, but a can of shaving cream does make the city look a little different. It's also quite fun to go into a bar, place the shaving cream package on the counter, and have a whiskey.

It doesn't really serve any purpose, but it's still enjoyable. Whenever I go abroad, I always make it a point to go into a local supermarket and buy shaving cream. I then place it on the shelf in my hotel room's bathroom next to my razor and toothbrush. It's then that I start to feel like I'm really in a foreign country. My personal favorite is Gillette's "Tropical Coconut" shaving cream. When I use it, I feel like I'm on Waikiki Beach.