170 minutes @ Akihabara
The reason why I write this blog in English is, Well, I can’t tell you I visited some audlt DVD stores in Akihabara(Let me call it AKB for short) that day in Chinese, with my wife. During the journey in Japan, the guide wasted too much time in places like Ginza, Shinsaibashi, and some tax free shops. I have to admit it’s a half shopping group exactly.
If I don’t note it down now, I will probably forget some detail, or add some more distorted memories to make it more like a unreal dream.
Before we arrived AKB, I told my wife and another girl we met in the group,
“If Ginza means 1 to ladies like you, then AKB means 10 to me”,
Yes I overstated my feeling about AKB. My wife kept on noding to agree, then asked “What should I do to help you?”
“Nothing, just keep quiet.” I said.
Actually, I was totally pointless and helpless that day, I mean that morning. If only I read some guide books before I got there, I wouldn’t be such chaotic like a fly on the central street of AKB that day.
We arrived at 9:12 am, and the guide took us to a small remote tax free shop, and explained this shop can be a bit more cheaper than others because it is remote. That costed another 20 minutes.
Eventually we could start our explore, I found that lot of shop wouldn’t open till 10:00 am. “Hobby 天国” is worse, it would be available till 11:00. WTF! What the hell should we do during 9:30 and 11:00 ?!
Me and my wife decided to hang around anyway. We passed by SEGA’s theme shop, seeing Sonic was rolling on the LED screen. And some guys were standing in queue wating for Love Live’s new Album launch event. Every one of them was diving in some kind of happiness.
And the AV DVD Shop just appeared suddenly then. I was so excited, and for sure wanting to get in and explore it. I’d been watch pirate AV for more than 15 years. I never paid for any one of the products. Plenty of questions poped up in my mind.
Will they prohibit women to visit the store?
How do they control nonage kids visit the store?
Do they list all the DVDs by actresses or by themes?
I saw some photo albums about girls around 10 years old. Is that illegal in Japan?
Well the questions were just keeping poping out out my mind. For some of them. I found the answers subsequently. But some of them, I might need more time to figure out. One thing I can sure is, this was just a common shop, the 1st and 2nd floor were selling common DVDs like concerts, TV Animation, and CDs.
But from 3rd floor, there was a curtain hanging, and printed with “18禁”, even you don’t know any thing about Japanese, you must know what does it mean.
I got in it with no doubt, and Ayami Syunnka’s poster was appearing there. 3rd floor was for normal Audlt Videos. I mean, there’s no gay, no old actress (over 40), no special sexual feature. Just young girls. They were naked or half naked, having sex or sucking dicks.
“Shining on the shelves.” that the words came out in my mind.
I never saw so much covers of AV in the same time. So I felt dizzy. And my wife, she was acting like a kid watching a freak show, everything was so fresh, freak, creepy and also funny. She looked at those covers, sometimes took one down, see what is inside it. She took some pictures too! I remembered one of them is showing that: I was facing a wall of AVs, and reflecting like a mentor.
I think there’s rarely female customers visit a store like this. Because all the other customers I met there were totally male. A typical kind of customers is, middle-aged man, wearing stripes shirt and a baseball cap. You can barely see their face, because their eyes are covered by the shadow of cap’s brim.
Most of them were wearing glasses. A big backpack can be a sign of these guys, I was so curious what are inside there.
I was aware that, everytime me and my wife got closer to them, they just turn around, avoid facing us, especailly my wife.
The mischievous part of me was triggered, I stood next to an older guy. my wife stood on the other side. That guy was so nervous, and peep me with a expression of horror. But we didn’t do nothing, just picked some DVD, and read the desctiption, that guy cover his face slowly with the DVD, so Ai Uehara was smiling at me from the cover. That looks like a surrealism painting.
I didn’t buy any DVD. I was not sure what if I can bring it back to China. So all I’ve done is to watch as much as I can.
Unfortunately, the staff came to me and my wife said “あの,お客様,ここで写真を撮ってないでください！”
He looks like a collage student, so young, so shy. I’ve no other choice, just deleted all the photos captured in the store.
We got out of the DVD shop after about 40 minutes. Get a Gacha of 杯缘子(I should get more). Then I found a book store there, I brought the 8 episode of “Baby, please kill me”.
Of cause I was not satisfied!! I don’t wanna give a hurried and cursory glance at AKB. But I just can’t get more there. So sad.
Even we finally entered “Hobby 天国”, and got three anction figures.
Rei from EVA.
Minami from Love Live.
Azusa from K-ON.
But they are all second-hand, mediocre, I put them in the chest after back to China. It’s like a rite, like some one carve his name on Egypt’s god Anubis to prove that he has been there.
It was not weekend, and before 10:00 in the morning. Normal company employees were sitting in the office, students were in the school, Otakus were sleeping, no special events. So the majority of pedestrian were tourist, especially tourist from China.
I prefer to call them ‘Obasan’ instead of ‘Old lady’, cause they are not lady at all. They were crying, shouting or laughing to each other, carrying two or more than two rice cookers both hands, two or more Canno DC were hanging on their neck, some of them filled their backpack with dozen of Panasonic Razors.
They don’t care about action figures, or digital idols. They are not interest in any animation, manga, or whatever.
We got back to the tourist bus, and realized that we were late for 20 minutes, that was the only one time we were late. One of the Obasans came to me, asked “I heard that you are so intereted in ACG, let me see what did you get there!” I just reluctantly showed them some of the anction figures.
“Ah, so, beautiful, I can’t imagine a tough young man like you have hobby of litte dolls~”
Alright, dolls, I smiled.
You’ll never understand what I got @ AKB, and you’ll never understand what I lost there.