A day I went out for sales and realized it really is about people

The other day, I went to Umeda in Osaka to do some sales work, carrying the 2026 GREEN STUDIO calendar.

It had been a really long time since I last went around Umeda for sales.
I only had as many calendars as I could fit in my car, so it wasn't a huge number, but I went around carrying as many as I could.

Ideally, I would have liked to bring information about our off-site rentals for when live house equipment breaks, but it was raining that day.
So, for this time, I decided to just go around with the calendars.

That was when I realized it all over again.

In this day and age, I think social media marketing is incredibly important for announcements and getting people to know about you.
That is certainly true.

But yesterday, I really felt that it wouldn't do to rely only on that.

To put it in one word, yesterday was an 'Avatar' experience.

That doesn't make sense, does it? Haha.
Even as I say it myself, I think, 'What are you talking about?', but honestly, if I had to use the closest words to describe what I felt yesterday, that was it.

What I felt at the ESP Custom Shop

The first place I stopped by was the ESP Custom Shop.

It's a musical instrument store that has been taking care of me since I was in my late teens.
I've been going there since I was young, so it's a place I've always known.

Back then, there was a young staff member named Mr. Yoda, and after many years, he has now become the store manager.
When I contacted him, he said, 'I'm free,' so I went over there thinking, 'Okay, I'll bring the posters.'

It really makes me happy when someone accepts them directly.

Mr. Yoda and all the other staff members welcomed me so warmly,
'Wow, it's Kiyoshi-san!'
They were all excited and making a fuss.

They even said about the poster,
'I'll put it up.'
'Maybe on the back of the wall or something?'
'No, why would you do that? Haha.'
Even including that kind of trivial banter, I felt incredibly happy.
It's hard to explain that kind of time well, but it definitely enriches the heart.

I think human connection is one form of happiness.

But you can't explain that well with logic.
That's when the movie 'Avatar' popped into my head.

In that movie, don't tentacles come out from the tips of their hair, and by connecting them to others, they become one?

That feeling of connecting with a vehicle to fly, or connecting with someone else.
I remembered that and thought,

'Oh, I just 'Avatared' with Mr. Yoda and the others.' Haha.
It's a bit creepy even as I write it, haha, but that's really the feeling I had.

I 'Avatared' again at ESP Entertainment

The next place I headed to was ESP Entertainment.

I spent a huge amount of time there, working as an instructor for two years and as a staff member for about two and a half years.
It's also the place where I first properly experienced being a working professional and learned a lot about what that means.

I was also a homeroom teacher, so I interacted with the students very closely.
I worked as an instructor and as a staff member, and I received so much stimulation from that, and there are many songs that were born from the time I spent there.

When I went to such a place after a long time, my former colleagues happened to be there.

Mr. Ushida, Mr. Shimamoto, Tadokoro, Komae-kun, and a few others were there.
At that moment, my excitement just shot up.

'Wow, my friends are here!'
'This time is still properly remaining!'
That was the feeling.

From there, we just got all excited.
'Kiyoshi-san, what did you come here for?'
'No, I just brought the studio calendar.'
Like that, we were all excited there too.

We took photos, talked, and I was incredibly happy.

I thought, 'Ah, I 'Avatared' again.'

This feeling is really strange when put into words, haha, but there are things that can only be born when people meet directly, share the air, and laugh in the same place.

The small richness I felt at Quattro too

Well,

After that, I also went to Quattro.

Some places like Shangri-La and Odyssey were closed, but Quattro was open.
Honestly, I didn't have the image that Quattro would easily accept something like this, but I decided to give it a try.

Then the receptionist staff member treated me very kindly and said,
'Yes, that's fine.'
And accepted it.

That also made me happy.

And from the hall, I could hear some very nice, gentle acoustic music.
I wondered what it was, and when I looked, it was Humbert Humbert.

'Wow, I want to see that.'
'Should I go back and buy a same-day ticket?'
I thought about it for a second, but since it was a sales day, I held back.

To be honest, I wanted to 'Avatar' with Humbert Humbert too, though. Haha.

Things I think about precisely because it's the digital age

I went around to several places while parking on the street in the rain.
Parking in Umeda is expensive, you know.
It's a world where it's 400 yen for 10 minutes, so you can't take your time.

But in the midst of that, what I thought again was,
Whether it's the age of social media, the digital age, or the AI age, there is no substitute for people connecting directly.

There are things that can only be born there.

It might be inspiration, a sense of security, or richness of heart.
I can't name it well, but it's definitely there.

There are places that efficiency, diffusion power, or convenience cannot reach.
Yesterday was a day I really felt that.

That is why, from now on, while using digital tools properly, I don't want to rely only on them, but want to meet people properly and connect properly.

I think in the end, it really is about people.

And I decided to call that feeling 'Avatar' yesterday on my own. Haha.
It's a bit creepy, even for me, haha, but somehow that felt the most fitting.