Living Life in the Slow Lane.(mom and pop establishments compete with big corporations)(Column)

Ogikubo, at the western end of downtown Tokyo, is known for low-key neighborhood bars, noodle shops and friendly little stores. They're part of the reason why I've lived there for more than a decade. Sadly, though, the spread of chain stores has begun to wipe out those beloved mom-and-pop establishments, just as they have in the United States.

One of those remaining shops is a tiny dry cleaner run by two chatty and maddeningly giggly old ladies. I don't know how long they've been there, but their beat-up shop sign features a seven-digit phone number. (All of Tokyo's local numbers went to eight digits 12 years ago.) The women are probably in their 60s, which isn't all that old. But it takes forever to peel them away from the TV in the back to come to the counter. Or to check your laundry, determine the price, write it down on a slip, take cash and give you change. Or to dig up my clean sweaters. I'm there every other week and they never remember my name. My husband calls them Slow and Slower. We can't decide which is which.

I'll admit: they try my patience. Once I had to go back three times to pick up a couple of items. They weren't ready for almost two weeks. "Wow, you are in a hurry," they cheerfully said. "How bad of us! We are terrible!" Just a few days later, I had to drop off something else. Feeling proud of myself for giving them another chance so soon, I put a coat on the counter. Then I realized it was the same coat I'd taken home earlier in the week. I had brought the wrong coat! Secretly, I debated whether to cover up my mistake by having it cleaned again, or to lug the bulky, heavy thing with me to work. Slow (or was it Slower?) recognized my dilemma uncharacteristically quickly. "Leave it and pick it up on your way home," she said. "If I'm not here, my sister will be." And that's how I learned they were sisters. No ...