Tokyo: Debt Collection, Industry Insiders, and the Laughter of a Gatekeeper of Hell

It was the spring break of my third year of junior high school.
This is a story about when my older brother and I went to visit my older sister, who was living alone in Tokyo at the time.
That was my first visit to Tokyo.

Coming from a rural town in Kyushu, I first landed at an airport—though I've forgotten whether it was Haneda or Narita.
When I got on the airport elevator, my uncle's family, who lived in the Kanto region, stepped out of that very same elevator.
I thought, "So when you come to Tokyo, you just happen to run into relatives who live in the Kanto area like this."
But that's not the case at all.
That has never happened again.
It was just a coincidence.

We headed to the apartment building where my sister lived. By that point, I was already completely intimidated by the sheer number of people in Tokyo and the thin, tall buildings.
The apartment building my sister lived in was also thin and tall.

It's a heartwarming detail, but since we had been entrusted by our parents with a gift for the building manager, we went to greet them first.
I remember them being a kind-looking elderly person.

After that, we went up to my sister's room on a high floor.
It was my first time ever going to such a high floor in an apartment building.
Tokyo is a city where the balance between rent and floor space is bizarre, so I was simply stunned by how cramped my sister's room was.

Still feeling somewhat intimidated, I left my sister's room and waited for the elevator with my brother.
Then, I heard a "ho-ho-ho" laughing sound from behind us.
Because I was so terrified of absolutely everything in Tokyo, for some reason, that sound instantly registered in my mind as the laughter of a gatekeeper of hell.
I screamed, "Eek!!!" and jumped away.

It wasn't a gatekeeper of hell at all; the owner of that voice was the building manager from earlier.
They had been laughing as a way of saying, "We meet again."
The building manager and my brother were even more surprised than I was, given how incredibly startled I had been.
We all got into the elevator together, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just got a bit of a fright..."

After that, I believe we went to Shibuya. It was incredibly crowded there, too.
I was in no state to enjoy it.
It wasn't just a case of "I'm not really a fan of Shibuya~♪"
It was the ultimate "not a fan."
What is everyone doing here?

While walking aimlessly through Shibuya, my brother and I entered a multi-tenant building for some reason—perhaps we wanted to use a restroom.
And inside one of the rooms,
...they were likely collecting a debt.
A man who could be described as elderly was sitting in a chair, his head tilted at about a 45-degree angle, his mouth set in a grim line, clearly in trouble. About three tough-looking men were standing in front of him, speaking with scary expressions on their faces.
In other words, they were cornering him.
...It was incredibly scary.
I thought to myself, so this is how debt collection happens in the corners of Tokyo.

For the night, our parents had booked the Shinagawa Prince Hotel, so we moved there.
When it came to going out for dinner, we didn't know where to go, so I believe we went to a restaurant inside the Prince Hotel or one very close by.

During the meal, the conversation of a pair of women at a nearby table was audible with strange clarity.
They were talking about the massive superstar Kimutaku (he's still popular now, but his popularity back then was immense). Moreover, they seemed to have quite a professional connection to the industry.
They were industry insiders.
How should I put it... I even felt like they were talking loud enough for us to hear.
I thought, so when you come to Tokyo, industry insiders are just sitting at the table right behind you like this.

My first trip to Tokyo was like this, and for a while, I was terrified of the city.
However, I've had various connections to it and have visited many times since.
I'm in Tokyo this Golden Week, too.
(To be precise, I'm in the Tokyo area as well.
To me, the Tokyo suburbs are Tokyo.)

Even so, I think about it.
That first trip to Tokyo was just too chaotic.