Walking around Akihabara gives you all kinds of experiences.
Some are the big, obvious ones that come from full-on otaku activities. Others are smaller, almost like short jokes you collect by accident. If you are reading this, you probably have your own story too.
This is one of mine. It is a strange one.
I have more, so I plan to turn this into a series. Some will be normal Akihabara moments. Some will be the kind of thing that makes you stop and say, no way, that cannot be real.
Anyway, here we go.
Akihabara Stories: Kumao on the Move
Akihabara is the city I end up walking through in every possible way.
Sometimes I wander with no goal. Sometimes I am there for work. Sometimes I am there for serious otaku shopping and hunting. And yes, sometimes I do the thing that makes no logical sense: I stay at a business hotel in Akihabara and spend hours on my laptop.
There is no real reason to do that in Akihabara, but I do it anyway. That is how much I like the area.
My usual pattern is simple. I work until my shoulders get stiff. I walk outside to reset my head. I eat something. I watch the street. And in the evening, I go to a massage place. A normal, legitimate massage place. After that, dinner. Then I enjoy the city a little more and go back early.
This story happened at that massage place.
I will write it like a short story so both Akihabara veterans and first-time visitors can enjoy it.
The Moment I Thought: Oh. This Is Akihabara.
Prologue
That day, I was tired.
The forecast had already warned me. Tokyo would get heavy rain. No sunlight. No break.
From morning to afternoon, I moved across the city and worked in short gaps of time. Laptop in cafes. Laptop during travel. Laptop between meetings and property searches. Laptop while trying not to get soaked. Laptop while worrying about deadlines. Laptop while silently hoping my phone would not ring with another urgent message.
And then, finally, I reached my last stop for the day: Akihabara.
I checked in at APA Hotel near the Electric Town Exit. The moment I entered my room, I went into full typing mode and forced myself to finish what had to be done.
It ended.
I finished my work for the day. It was still before sunset. The tension left my body, and the relief turned into a clean excitement: I could go outside in Akihabara.
I looked toward the shower room and said, quietly,
Let’s go.
At the Bic Camera crossing, I looked up at the rain that had been falling all day and thought about going home later. Even if I found something good while hunting, I did not want to carry it in the rain and get it wet. I was staying two nights anyway. Today would be a light walk. No shopping bag. Just the street.
My body still wanted rest. Once I noticed that, my plan was fixed.
Massage first. Dinner after.
The moment that mode activates, my range becomes small. I stay near Akihabara Station, and I return early.
First, I needed a reservation. I took out my iPhone. On the home screen sat the Hot Pepper Beauty app. I use it because I get tired often. I used it even back when my usual area was around Kanda Station.
I do not love the idea of a big company tracking my behavior, but coupons are coupons.
Head spa, shoulders, or legs. What does my body need. Do not panic. I am just tired.
Then I found a coupon plan and stopped.
Repeat customers OK.
That is rare. Most plans are first-time only. This one was a lucky find.
The earliest slot was one hour later. The shop was close to the station. I had been there before. I also knew the chain well because I used their Kanda location often. For this story, I will not write the shop name.
Alright. Done.
I booked it and checked the confirmation email. On the way there, I could also stop by a ramen shop I like.
That might be perfect.
For a second, a ridiculous idea crossed my mind: a place near Radio Kaikan where maids do massage. A normal place, of course. But I shook it off. It was raining hard, but I started walking with a little energy anyway.
Main Story
After ramen, I was sleepy. Full stomach, heavy eyes. I let myself lean into the sofa.
This was the waiting space of the massage shop I came for. But calling it a waiting room might be too kind. It was more like a corner of the reception area. When you got off the elevator, the shop was right there on the immediate right. There was no hallway. No separation. Because of that layout, the sofa was placed where you could see customers entering and leaving.
Even after ramen to pass time, I still arrived earlier than my reservation. I asked the staff, and they let me rest on the sofa while I waited.
Outside, it was getting dark. Inside, office workers finished their sessions and left one after another. I watched them from the corner of my eye.
I thought, quietly,
I guess I am not the only one who is tired.
While I was thinking that, a staff member spoke to me.
We can take you soon.
Because I arrived early, I answered with an awkward little politeness.
Please take your time. No rush.
Then I heard it.
A curtain opened with a sharp sound, fast and loud. My eyes went there without thinking.
Thank you very much. My body feels so much better. That was amazing.
The voice belonged to a young man. He was clearly a customer who had just finished.
The reply came right away, from a young female staff member.
Thank you very much.
Yes, this is still a normal, legitimate massage shop. Just to be clear.
The young man kept talking at full volume.
Today you focused on my legs, so next time I want you to focus on my back. This place is great. I can come here again and again.
He sounded like a regular.
In my head, massage shops are full of office workers and tired adults. That is the image. So a young student-type customer like him felt a little unusual.
Then he said, brightly,
See you again.
He walked toward the exit where the shoes were lined up. He was wearing a hat that looked like something a rock band would use as a signature item.
Whatever. He was loud, but he seemed like a good kid. In my head, I told him, good work.
And then it happened.
The incident.
Huhhhhh?
The shout was so big that both the staff member and I turned our eyes at the same time.
Why. Why.
This was supposed to be a quiet space. There was even faint healing music in the background. But the shouting cut through it.
I felt a jolt and almost stood up.
The staff member spoke first, carefully.
Are you alright, sir. What happened.
She had been about to prepare for the next guest, but the shouting pulled her back. She turned toward him and tried to understand what was going on.
Then he shouted the line that made the room freeze.
My umbrella is gone.
The staff member made a small sound like she could not believe it.
And I could not believe what I was hearing either.
But my curiosity rose at the worst possible time, and a certain mode activated in my head.
Kumao Brain Battle Mode: Activated
An umbrella.
It had been raining for almost the entire day. At times it was so heavy that even my shoes needed to dry later. So yes, this young man almost certainly entered the shop with an umbrella. If it was missing, it made sense that he was shocked.
But the volume did not make sense.
If this happened to me, I would tell the staff quietly. I would check the umbrella stand. If nothing came out of it, I would ask if I could borrow a cheap vinyl umbrella and deal with it.
This young man did not do that.
He could not do that.
He was shouting because he wanted everyone to know something important had happened.
That means the umbrella was not cheap. Or it was not replaceable. Or it was not his. Or it had emotional value.
The staff member asked the question I was also thinking.
What kind of umbrella was it.
He answered immediately, almost cutting her off.
It was an anime character umbrella. A specific girl character from a specific anime.
The room went silent.
The staff member went silent. I went silent.
So this is what a freeze feels like, I thought.
And in my mind, one image appeared.
The type of umbrella children used to carry. Bright plastic. Character prints. The kind you do not see much anymore.
Is it that kind of umbrella.
That cannot be it.
But maybe it is.
I was confused, and in that exact moment, a feeling dropped into my chest with perfect clarity.
Oh.
This is Akihabara.
Epilogue
Still.
Could something like this really happen in real life.
I can almost hear what smart readers are thinking right now. But this is not the kind of thing you should dismiss with a simple line like truth is stranger than fiction. It is too good for that.
And there is a reason.
This story has a second half.
Yes. This was a real thing that happened to me.
After some time, I finally changed clothes and was allowed to throw myself onto the treatment bed.
I lay face down and let the session begin. Normal, legitimate shop. I will keep repeating it.
After a short consultation, the staff member who tapped my head lightly—because I mentioned a mild headache—was the same young woman from earlier.
Are you here for work today.
Yes. I finished early, so I came.
It looks like this is your second visit. Thank you very much.
She was the friendly type. I did not dislike it. Before I noticed, I was talking about my long, chaotic day in the rain. The time became slow. I relaxed completely. From inside the shop, you cannot see the street, so it was easy to forget I was even in Akihabara.
It felt great.
Then she said something that surprised me.
One nice part of this job is hearing customers talk about their day.
That is not just polite. That is real attention. When I stopped myself from talking too much and went quiet, I answered honestly.
That kind of care is impressive. You must meet all kinds of customers. It sounds hard.
She paused, then replied in a careful voice.
Yes. We really do get all kinds.
In my head, I thought, wait. Is she going to tease the hat guy from earlier.
No. That would not match how considerate she seemed. If anyone teases him, it should be me. That is fair.
I finally said it.
About the customer who lost his umbrella earlier… I felt bad for him.
And the moment I said it, she exploded.
Seriously. It is terrible. If you know it is important, how can you just take it. I am shocked people do that. What are they thinking. If someone took my favorite goods, I would be the same. And also—
Her emotion was stronger than I expected, and it pushed me back into that same clear feeling again.
Oh.
This is Akihabara.
And the series continues
That got long.
In this story, nobody was truly unpleasant. Everyone was basically decent. And the staff member’s care was real. That is also part of what I wanted to write.
This blog is mostly about Akihabara itself, plus games and anime. But experience-based stories, real scenes, and observation are the best part of writing.
So yes, I will keep writing this series.
Quotation and reference
I quoted and referred to the information from this article.
We deeply consider and experience Japanese otaku culture!
A small incident that happened in Akihabara! Experience story of “This was Akiba” felt in the city of geeks｜akihabara.site Official
All Write: Kumao
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