Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle, Vol. 3 by Hiromu and raemz

Author:Hiromu and raemz [Hiromu and raemz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Yen On
Published: 2023-02-22T00:00:00+00:00

Takada Baba was reassuringly small-scale compared to Tokyo Station, but it was as crowded as everywhere else we’d seen so far. Although, there did seem to be quite a high proportion of college-age people about.

Incidentally, when I saw the station name placard, I realized it didn’t read TAKADA BABA as I’d thought, but TAKADANOBABA, apparently. Where did the no come from? Were they mocking country bumpkins with that country-sounding name or something?

We exited the station, and my first impression was: Is this a circus?

Brightly colored billboards and advertisements jostled for attention. My eyes slid over them. People and cars were going every which way. I felt on edge and out of my depth.

Asuka seemed to be feeling the same way, and she was blinking rapidly at everything around us.

I fired up my map app and entered our destination. It didn’t look like such a complicated route, which helped reassure me a little.

“So it seems we head down this big street and just go straight.”

Nod, nod.

“Let’s try to acclimatize already, okay?”

We started walking, and while there were plenty of convenience stores and chain restaurants that we also had in Fukui, there were also a lot of establishments I’d never heard of before, all crammed in together and lining the road.

There was a Yoshinoya and a Matsuya almost right next to each other, both fast-food beef bowl joints—there was just one other store sandwiched between them. How did they survive the direct competition when they were so close together? I wondered.

“Asuka, what’s this Hidakaya place? Is it a ramen shop? Chinese food? I like the lantern hanging outside; it’s kind of cool.”

“Oh yeah! I wonder if it’s a long-standing establishment? Let’s add it to the list of lunch candidates!”

“And why are all these restaurants so small?! No parking, either. Fukui’s Matsuyas and Yoshinoyas are so much bigger.”

“Y’ain’t kiddin’. Fukui ain’t to be beaten.” (Translation: Indeed. Fukui can certainly hold its own.)

“Oh look, there’s a Starbucks, too! That’s the big city for you.”

“Wow! You can get coffee to go on your way to classes!”

“By the way, aren’t there a lot of convenience stores around? There’s a 7-Eleven right here—and then another one just over there.”

“Tokyoites must be too busy to cross the street, I guess?”

“I thought all these restaurants might just have been concentrated near the station, but they just keep on going along with the road.”

“With all these choices, I feel bad not trying every single one.”

“Oh, apparently we turn here. Asuka, look, there’s a cool vintage clothing store here! I bet it’s pretty popular! Shall we take a look inside?”

“Yeah!”

…And that’s all the excited babbling from two Tokyo newbies you’re going to get out of me.

We entered the small side street, gushing excitedly together, and stepped into the store.

The smell of old clothes was in the air.

It reminded me of summers spent visiting my grandmother’s house, a smell I actually kinda like.

The store was tiny. A few steps inside was all it took to reach the back wall. It didn’t have random racks of old clothes but instead carefully curated selections arranged artfully.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.