Chapter Five: Do You Know Where I Can Find Some Sailors?
Trash found Danny near the entrance to the store. He was deeply engrossed in a large box that was full of animation cells. These were a popular item, but Trash was surprised that Danny had taken an interest in them.
“Hey, do you know if they take credit cards here?” Danny asked when he noticed Trash standing beside him.
“I don’t think so. Let me ask.”
Trash went over to the register and flagged down the manager. Trash had been a steady customer, and the manager gave him a friendly nod.
「Need the key?」
Trash shook his head.
「Nah, it’s ok. It’s been a slow week. Do you take credit cards? My friend over there might be interested in buying something.」
「Sorry, We’re looking into it, but the owner is against it. Margins are too tight, and we would have to pass the fees on to the renters. It’s a pain in the neck. Bank transfer is ok, though.」
「Yeah, I figured. Thanks.」
Danny was looking expectantly at Trash, who shook his head and crossed his arms to indicate that the answer was no, then walked over to stand next to the American.
“Sorry, most of these small shops don’t take credit cards. Especially these types of specialty shops. It’s still a cash-only system. Did you bring any cash with you?”
Danny looked disappointed. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a long, thin wallet.
Pulling out a slip of paper, Danny handed it to Trash.
“How about this? This is all I have.”
Trash examined the strange document. It looked like fake money. It indicated a value of 10,000 yen, but it wasn’t any type of currency he had ever seen.
“What is it?”
“Travelers check.”
Trash looked at the paper again. He had heard of traveler’s checks before. They said you should not take cash to some countries because you would attract thieves, so travel agencies always advertised them, not that Trash had ever had the need.
He was surprised. He had assumed that they would be in US dollars, but this one appeared to be valued in yen.
Handing it back to Danny, he went back over to the manager.
「Any chance you can accept a traveler’s check? It’s in yen, I think.」
The man waved his hand in front of his face and shook his head.
「No way. Those things are useless. You can only get those exchanged at banks or fancy hotels. We get tourists who try to pass them off onto us all the time. Sorry, even if it’s your friend, I can’t take them. Please understand.」
The manager was eyeing Danny nervously. Trash wondered if he expected the American to make a scene. He got the impression that similar incidents had occurred in the past, prompting the man to revert to a more polite, formal demeanor.
「Don’t worry. I’ll explain it.」
Trash wasn’t as confident as he let on. He had already seen the man lose his temper, and he had no idea how he would respond to being told his money was useless.
“Sorry. He said that they can’t take traveler’s checks either,” Trash explained cautiously.
“They aren’t very common in Japan, so most people don’t know what they are.”
“Figures. My assistant picked these up for me and said they should be fine. She doesn’t know crap about this kind of stuff. I can probably get the hotel to cash some out for me later. But that leaves me broke.”
Danny grinned but thankfully did not laugh.
“Don’t you have any cash?”
“Nope. Stupid assistant got me these instead of exchanging cash. I’m gonna let her have it when I talk to her next time.”
“Then how did you get here from the hotel?”
“The hotel arranged a car for me. I just gave them the address to the restaurant, and it dropped me off. I guess the taxi will just bill the hotel.”
Trash nodded his understanding, but his mind was racing. He thought he would take man around, but if he had no money, it would be pretty inconvenient. He could stick to the big chain stores. They definitely took cards, but they were pretty boring. TRADERS should be okay, but it might be better to skip the smaller shops.
“Maybe you can come back another time if you want to purchase something. Or if there is something specific you want, I can pick it up for you later.”
Danny thought it over.
“Well, maybe. This is not really a shopping trip after all. But this store concept is interesting. I’ll want to check it out again sometime. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
“Should we move on then?”
Danny nodded, then looked back into the store with a regretful expression.
On the way out of the building, Trash showed Danny the other, larger box store on the first floor. They just looked at it from the outside, but he explained that the different stores catered to slightly different clientele. The first-floor shop had much greater foot traffic, but also less serious customers. The boxes were more expensive to rent and higher prices items didn’t do as well, so the profit margin was lower. The boxes here were mostly a mix of gachapon hauls, anime goods and toys.
Trash decided to take Danny to look at the Radio Center. He doubted the man would want to buy anything there, but it was certainly an interesting sight.
“Come, let me show you something else.” He suggested, then led Danny outside and across the road. Nestled between the station and the main street was an old building that housed the old electric parts market. The famous Radio Center.
Essentially unchanged since it had opened half a century ago, Radio Center was like the fish market in Tsukiji, just for electronic geeks. The cramped, low-ceiling, space divided into narrow rows of tiny stalls. Each offered a staggering array of goods. Wires, transistors, resistors, plugs, lights, even old-school radio tubes.
A modern-day geek, Trash didn’t even know what most of the items on sale here were, but they also had shops that specialized in security cameras, speaker components, and radio transmitters. As soon as they entered, Trash could see the look of surprise and wonder on Danny’s face.
“What the heck is this place?”
“Old marketplace for electricians. This is the old Akiba, from the days before the anime shops and maid cafes. You can buy almost anything here, but you have to know what you are looking for. The shop people aren’t big on customer service. Don’t expect them to explain what anything here does or help you find something.”
Trash knew this firsthand. He had come here to source some special components for Pazu’s live-streaming setup. He had needed some custom wires and fittings made, but asking one of the shop owners questions had been a harsh lesson. The old man had practically chased him out of the building for “wasting his time” with “ignorant questions.” Ultimately, he had done more research online and then tried again at the market across the main road.
Eventually, he learned the rules and found a shop on the second floor that gave him the best price, but he still avoided that first shop to this day.
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“See that stall? It only sells switches, and that one has every size and color of LED bulb you could want for a DIY project.”
He led Danny up to the second floor where the wiring specialist shop he used was.
“This place will make any wire you want. Any material, any length, and will add whatever connectors you need, but you have to provide them with wiring schematics. Whatever you give them, they will make it, but if it doesn’t work, it’s all on you.”
Next to the wiring store was yet another box store. This one was slightly different, however.
“This is E-Box. Another rental box store, but this one only sells antiques. Like old electronics. Cameras, radios, even old cellphones.”
Danny’s eyes went wide as he started to peruse the boxes. There were old portable televisions, a box full of dummy display cellphones, another with several expensive binoculars, and one even had an old antique rice cooker.
“I once found an original working Sony TR-55 here. It might be even more rare than that Mcdonald’s DS game I got you.”
Danny looked at him with a questioning look on his face. Trash felt a bit of pride that he could show off his knowledge to someone who might appreciate it.
“The first Sony transistor radio. It was made before they even officially named the company Sony. I saw one sell on auction for over 100,000 yen. I still regret not buying it, but I couldn’t line up a buyer in time.”
“You can get stuff like that in a place like this?” Danny asked incredulously. Indeed, the building and the store were both showing the years, and calling it dilapidated would be generous.
“Some of the best stuff you can only get in a place like this. A lot of old sellers don’t trust the internet. I just focus on Akiba, but there is a network of hunters like me all over Japan.”
“Well, you haven’t let me down yet. So…” Danny turned away from the antiques to give Trash an appraising look.
“How are we going to handle the Sound Princess?”
Trash flinched. He had an idea, but it wasn’t fully formed yet. First, he had to talk to Pazu.
“I have an idea. Maybe I can find someone to help. To broker the deal? Is that the right expression?”
“Yeah, something like that. I need someone to act as an underwriter, but not just anyone. After all, it’s not exactly a straightforward business deal, right?” Danny locked his eyes on Trash, who immediately looked away.
“Yeah. I know. It’s got to be someone with discretion. I might know someone. I need to talk to my contacts. I can let you know later tonight. After I meet with Ryo.”
Danny kept his eyes locked on Trash for a few more seconds, then he broke his stare and started to walk back to the narrow, unlit staircase.
“Let’s move on. This place is too cramped. I have to walk hunched over.”
Trash realized that it must have been uncomfortable. He had to stoop to walk around in this building as well, but he had grown so accustomed to it that he did it naturally now. Realizing his error, he followed the tall American out of the building to the main street in front of him so they could both stretch out and stand upright again.
They walked up the main street, and Trash pointed out some of the more interesting shops and the big arcade game centers. The street was crowded with tourists and shoppers. Girls dressed up as maids stood on every corner, handing out flyers enticing customers to visit their cafe. Standing several meters behind them, Trash picked out their minders. Always on guard to intervene if any ignorant tourist tried to get a two-shot picture without paying the participation fee.
It was a hot and humid day, and Trash could feel the rain coming. There was the distinct smell of iron mixing with the dirt, auto exhaust, and fragrant smoke coming from the kebab truck on the corner. He had some late-night business, and he hoped it wouldn’t rain too much.
They walked slowly, getting bombarded by the loud music and announcements coming from the stores and game arcades. The sidewalks were cluttered with crates selling discount goods and other useless junk. In most places, people avoided buying used items. Akihabara, on the other hand, was where no obsolete, defective, or impractical item was unworthy of a place in a sales display.
It wasn’t until they reached TRADERS that Danny showed any great interest. This had been Trash’s main destination anyway, and he was glad that he had anticipated Danny’s interest.
As the largest used game store in the area, TRADERS main store was an impressive sight. Seven full floors full of nothing but used video games and accessories of every genre, platform, and era.
TRADERS wasn’t exactly a mainstay for a hunter like Trash. It was far too mainstream. With impressive foot traffic, anything rare wouldn’t even make it to the shelves, and the prices were slightly high at best. Still, for your average game shopper, it was hard to beat the convenience and selection of this Akihabara anchor store. Besides, he could hardly show a client his secret sources.
Trash confirmed at the front that credit cards were accepted and was happy to note that purchases were tax-exempt for tourists with a passport.
Danny and Trash spent the next two hours in the store, starting in the basement and going up, one floor at a time. Trash helped Danny navigate the different sections, but he was yet again surprised at how quickly the man picked up the system. By the time they had fully canvassed the store, they had filled up three shopping baskets full of CDs, cartridges, and even a couple of limited-edition box sets.
As the clerk was processing the items they selected, Danny was checking out the used handheld game machines they kept behind the register.
“I want one of those GameBoy’s with the old Famicom color motif. Also, those PSP Go’s. They are new ones, right? With the games preloaded? I want three of those. Two black ones and one white.”
Trash relayed the orders, which the bored clerk took without reaction.
First, he took a box with one of the limited edition GameBoy Micro, Famicom 20th Anniversary edition. Trash had to give Danny credit for taste. This was an excellent piece, and they were starting to get hard to find in good condition.
As it was a used handheld, the clerk took it out of the box, confirmed all the accessories were in place, and then held it out to Danny.
“He wants you to check it before you buy it. To make sure it’s not scratched or cracked,” Trash explained.
Danny nodded appreciatively. He looked the device over, then handed it back to the clerk, who repackaged it.
“Japanese service. Not bad,” Danny nodded and smiled at the clerk who continued to prepare Danny’s purchases without emotion.
The PSP Go units were brand new. They had plenty of used ones for sale, as the model was turning out to be a disappointment for Sony. The price for the re-release was still fairly close to the used price, and the new units now shipped with ten free games. He was surprised that Danny even knew about that, as it was supposedly a Japan-only offer.
Since they were new, there was no need to open up the boxes for inspection, so after placing all the purchases into two large shopping bags, the clerk rang up all the items and gave them the bad news.
Trash swallowed hard when he saw the number. Nearly 200,000 yen. Rich people really shopped differently. It was hard for someone in his line of work to look at the spending habits of others critically. After all, he knew that others looked at him the same way; someone who wasted all their time and money on toys and games.
But looking at the ease that Danny casually handed over the credit card to make a purchase that could keep him fed for months made Trash realize that the some people lived in an different world.
He fantasized about what it would be like to have that kind of money. To not worry about the future, and if you needed something, you just went out and got it. What would his business be like if he could buy things in advance instead of always needed to line up a buyer first? He could increase his margins and in turn make some real money.
Trash knew his days were numbered. The money from this deal, even if it went through, would only buy him a few months at best. He was getting evicted in a week, and even the cheapest rent would push his income into the red. He envied Pazu for his passion, and he really envied this American for his wealth.
Trash knew what he was. He knew what people called him; a social drop-out. One of those creepy, geeky guys who lived on the fringes of society. He even lacked the determination of the hard-core anime fanboys that Akihabara was famous for. His uncle and aunt had lectured him for hours about his lack of drive, direction, or prospects before dropping the bomb and cutting him off.
Unbidden, Trash picked up the bags holding the shopping haul. Danny followed behind, stretching again and rubbing his shoulders as soon as they had space on the sidewalk. Trash could see the fatigue had taken its toll, and the low ceilings and cramped aisles could get painful for people over 175cm until they got used to it.
“Let’s take a break. I know a good place to sit down. You should like it,” Trash promised.
Danny gave him a grateful look and nodded his agreement.
They walked up the street, just another block or so, then Trash pulled them into a narrow side street. Another half block, and they stood in front of another old building. The narrow, gray structure was rather boring other than the strange, garage-like shop on the first floor. A large yellow sign above the shop sported simple black Japanese characters that Danny couldn’t read, but after looking into the store, he gave Trash an interested, though confused look.
“It’s a gatchapon store,” Trash answered before Danny could ask.
“Kind of like gambling for kids. You put in money, and a small random toy comes out. A lot of the cases in the box stores are full of them. People selling off full sets or rare pulls or just all the leftover trash pulls. Think of them as geek slot machines.”
Danny walked in and got a closer look at one of the machines. They somewhat resembled a water cooler from an office or a giant gum-ball machine. A large tank on top was full of small, colorful plastic balls. Below that was a place to put in coins and a dispenser large enough for one of the balls to drop out. A poster on each machine advertised the various toys and goods that could be won from each unit.
There were dozens of the machines in rows and several large trash cans in the back overflowing with empty plastic balls.
“Many people just buy what they want in the box stores if they don’t want to gamble, but others prefer to risk it. You can also just keep pulling until you get what you want and try to sell the extras off at some of the shops in the area.”
Danny nodded, but his stamina was wearing down, and the jet lag was starting to hit him again.
“Anyway, this isn’t why I came here,” Trash confirmed, then proceeded to walk to the back of the store.
In the back corner, there was a small elevator next to a staircase. Before he had a chance to hit the up button, the doors opened, and a young couple wearing high school uniforms came out. They chatted cheerfully as they walked through the store and out into the street.
Trash shook his head. The normies were everywhere these days. He and Danny had to squeeze in to fit into the small elevator. Danny hit the button for the 6th floor, then waited as the slow box leisurely brought them to the top floor.
Once they exited the elevator, there was a tiny landing and a strange door. It had a hand-painted sign hanging below a small window with lace curtains.
“Welcome to another world,” Trash promised as he pushed open the door and motioned for Danny to enter.