The day I can confidently say that black is black
At 7:15 a.m., I strode swiftly through the passageways on the first basement floor of Tokyo Station, heading for the Marunouchi Underground Central Exit. This terminal station, which has the largest number of platforms in Japan, is simply huge.
No one would have guessed that it was the size of “the Tokyo Dome 3.6 times the size of the Tokyo International Exhibition Center”. No one would be able to imagine what it must be like to walk through the station.
On weekdays, I am a business person who can enjoy the rough ride of being jostled by a packed train with a smile on my face, but today is Saturday. It is a day when I can confidently say that black is black.
On this important day off to relieve my tired body, I wash my face while rubbing my sleepy eyes and jump on a train that is one train behind schedule.
I lose my sense of direction at the famous meeting place, Gin-no-Rin square, and head in the direction of Zopf, the best curry bread in Japan, you will see “Hitotsubukanro Gransta Tokyo“.
30 decibel whispers
My wristwatch reads around 7:20. There was still more than 40 minutes to go before the store opened at 8:00 a.m.
Convinced that my hard work today would pay off, I gracefully walked past Boulanger Asanoya, a long-established bakery in Karuizawa, only to be greeted by an unbelievable sight: a line of people standing in line along the wall of the bakery!
This is not the Michelin-starred Chuka-Soba Ginza Hachigo, nor is it the Apple Store, which is having its first sale of the year. Many of the tenants have yet to open their doors, and the sound of footsteps can be heard inside the station on a Saturday.
“Why do people climb mountains?“
George Mallory, a British mountaineer who reached the summit of Mount Everest in his mid-30s, replied, “Because that’s where the mountains are. It’s no wonder.
There must have been something that lit a fire in his heart.
I hate crowds and lines. At least, I don’t have the courage to go through the pain of standing in line on holidays.
So, I stood at the end of the line and caught my breath, admiring those who had made it as far as the stairway. I have to burn my heart with the breath of fire, because I don’t think I will be able to cross the mountain in front of me.
It is said that when a person’s enthusiasm for what he or she wants grows, the “dopamine” effect, a motivational hormone secreted by the brain, can ease the pain.
I will definitely buy “Gummy Cheru” a new type of gummy product with a crispy outside and a moist inside. I chant in my mind, I’m going to buy it.
Unfortunately, the sound of an old man’s chewing may give me chills, but it will not be able to convey comfort. Still, I would like to try the trendy ASMR.
Around 7:50, Kanro’s staff began passing paper that looked like a cautionary note the front of the line to the back.
I feel a strange sense of nostalgia as I watch the books being handed out one after the other, like handing out handouts to elementary school students. I must have been so exhausted that I stopped thinking.
“What’s written on it?” It doesn’t seem like much, but as the paper approaches, I get curious. The person in line in front of me was a young couple in their 20s.
If the person handing over the paper is a man, he’ll say, “Please.” and if it’s a woman, she’ll say, “Hi!” as I wait for the moment, doing some boring image training.
“The cautionary note won’t come around!”. I’m not sure if it’s true for the general public, but each group should take about 15 to 30 seconds to review the main points and pass it on to the next person.
I don’t know the exact time because I haven’t bothered to look at the clock, but 1 minute and 18 seconds have passed. Isn’t this an act that completely deviates from the circulation guidelines?
When I peeked behind my back to see if the warning was written in hieroglyphs or something, I saw a young man from today’s generation (the man on the couple’s side) who didn’t know whether it was Yutori or Satori, holding a piece of paper in his hand and doing something on his cell phone.
Perhaps he has told interviewers, “My weakness is that I get so focused that I can’t see what’s going on around me! ” in his job interview. But this is not an interview room. It is a dimly lit staircase landing.
“What is this? ” The madam in the back, who was also a member of the average viewer, was clearly angry.
It was whispering something at a volume of about 30 decibels, which was loud enough for me to hear. Kitcho Senba is a “whispering madam tactic”.
“Excuse me”. “Could you please pass the paper around?” I asked out of necessity, but the two of them didn’t seem particularly apologetic, and handed me the paper with a no-look pass similar to former NBA player Magic Johnson.
Neither “Please.” nor “Hi!” and handing it over silently at less than 20 decibels, which is absurd in terms of conventional wisdom.
If it weren’t for me who has mastered anger management by inhaling for 4 to 5 seconds and exhaling for about 10 seconds, I would have completely cut off these two demons with the “Flame Breathing Secret Technique Kuno-type Purgatory” It must have happened.
Kanro Caution Article 14
It seems that each person can only buy two items of “Gummy Cheru”, which is in short supply.
One box contains 6 different flavors: grape, orange, La France, soda, grapefruit, and peach, so 12 pieces in total, 2 of each.
Since I have three people in my family, we can’t distribute the gummies evenly, so it’s first come, first served. With the four-piece quota per person, I can’t try two flavors, but that doesn’t matter. All you have to do is enjoy the sound and texture.
Before I knew it, it was past 8 o’clock and the line had finally begun to move. Of course it goes without saying, but the couple in front had 4 boxes. Me and Madame Whisperer in the back got 2 boxes.
Since the amount of time it takes to endure pain is the same, “Article 14 of the Kanro Cautionary Note” should set forth the number of items each group can buy to make it fair.
It’s finally my turn. It’s been a lot of trouble, but I’m finally free. Today is Saturday, an oasis of the soul. If I brought back the much-talked-about “Gummy Cheru“, my family would look at me with envy as I entered the house.
When I said, “Two please,” in a slightly sour voice similar to that of Akira Kawashima, the television comedian, from Kirin, the manager handed out a numbered ticket with the time written on it.
“This is a company that loves handing out paper”. Apparently, if I don’t come back to the store between 9:00 and 9:20, I won’t be able to buy the gummy candy that resembles the German-originated “pretzel” bread.
It was truly a bolt out of the blue. What would have happened if I had something to do after this?
“We still have to wait about 45 minutes.” This is inside Tokyo Station, where the average number of passengers per day exceeds 500,000. Needless to say, there are no attractions to kill time.
While trudging back the way I came, I bought some freshly fried Zoph curry bread and sat down on a wooden bench in Gin-no-Rin square without hesitation.
“Forty minutes left. I’m really annoyed by the flimsy numbered tickets. “It’s not that I live here…“
