The Jakarta Post - Weekender

This trip to visit with my daughter Dior was also an opportunity to get a glimpse of what Indonesian teenagers and hip parents could be coveting in the months to come.

Will the party crowd at Red Square be chugging the latest assortment of fruit-flavored shochu (potato wine) drinks?

Would young people patrolling Jakarta's malls soon be wearing the newest creation of Japanese retailer Uniqlo - white pants made of special material that doesn't allow underwear to show through?

Or would badminton-crazy fans finally catch onto American baseball now that pitcher "Dice-K" Matsuzaka is the new international poster boy of the Boston Red Sox?

Maybe. But I know one trend that definitely won’t make it here, mainly because of religious beliefs. I found it on a stroll of an upscale Tokyo neighborhood. And it's enough to make you sit up and howl.

Let me set the scene.

It's a gorgeous spring afternoon under the late-blooming cherry blossom trees along the Meguro River. Families are riding bicycles. Young couples are soaking up the red sun on the hillside of Saigoyama Park.

And pet owners are walking their unbelievably pampered pooches.

How do I know they're pampered? Easy.

As I got out of my friend's car for our leisurely stroll, a sign posted on the adjacent wall immediately jumped out at me. It read:

"Dog massage. 3,000 yen."

Dog massage? You've got to be kidding.

“Here, people do anything for their dogs,” said acquaintance Chinami, who joined us for the walk along the riverside.

The concept of massage therapy for pets, and even acupuncture, has actually been around for several years. But it’s now evolved from being for medical purposes to providing true creature comforts to human companions.

Further down the pathway, as sakura petals fluttered to the ground, a bright storefront caught my eye. Tiny, colorful outfits filled the display window.

“No baby is that small,” I said to no one in particular. “Or that long.”

And as I said that, I looked in to see that the customers in the store were all on leashes. It was a dog clothing store. From chic two-piece outfits, to accessories ranging from hats to booties, this is where canines come for fashion.

“Because of low birthrates and unfulfilled adulthoods, people here treat their dogs like their kids,” said my longtime buddy Mike, a third-generation Japanese-American who’s going on his 25^th year in Tokyo. “It’s not considered strange here.”

Well, it certainly would be considered strange, and extravagant, in predominantly Muslim Indonesia.

“I love my dog, he’s like one of the family” said Rie, a TV personality and owner of a six-year-old King Charles spaniel. “I even pay 2,500 yen ($21) a month for insurance for him.

“And when I get married, my husband has to like dogs. Or I won’t marry him,” she declared.

I was getting hungry as our group reached the walkway’s end and posed for photos in the postcard setting. As I scanned the immediate area for someplace to dine, I couldn’t believe what I spotted across the way.

It was a restaurant. And, yes, it’s for dogs.

Low-salt, tasty treats are promised for your famished French poodle or parched Pekinese. I learned that in nearby Setagaya, the Komazawa Restaurant allows owners to eat at the same table as their pets. I hope they don’t confuse the doggie bags when they get home.

“They are looking to be looked up to,” says my friend Mike of the catering humans on the other end of the leash. He’s not a fan of what he sees as overindulgence toward domestic animals.

And I’m not either. My daughter has a small Chihuahua that she picked up after moving to Tokyo. He’s not invited to dinner.

Hawaii native Dalton Tanonaka is the co-anchor of Metro TV’s Indonesia Now program, seen on Friday nights at 7:30 p.m. He can be reached at dalton@metrotvnews.com.

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