Abuse of Power

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 In the 2000s, I was a part-time library assistant in a university. It was the most comfortable job ever. Librarians basically sat down on their chairs. Sometimes we stood up and walked around to return books to the shelfs or finding closed books. Jobs that require both sitting down and standing up are hard. We sat down and stood up once in a while. A librarian’s job is a well-balanced one.

 Furthermore, I had a great side benefit.

 In those days, the Harry Potter series was quite popular even in Japan. There were over 200 on the waiting list at the city library. One day, the newest Harry Potter book was delivered to our library. I checked the waiting list, but no one reserved the book. I knew many students want to read it. The neighbors around the university could use the library. They want to read the book. But most people didn’t think the university library had Harry Potter books.

 I should put the book in the shelf for new books, but I abused my power as a librarian. I didn’t store the book; instead I completed formal procedures so that I can borrow it. I was the first in our library to read the newest Harry Potter book. I borrowed the book from the library, but it was completely new.

 I think all jobs should be allowed to have these kinds of side benefits.

Picture by Pinkari

Laughed at by a Child

 

 My grandaunt didn’t have a child. Her husband passed away. She had Alzheimer’s disease. I have been taking care of her since 2007. I called her every day. I visited her every week. I took her to the hospital every month.

 We used to go to a small internal medicine clinic. The clinic was always crowded. We had to wait for a quite a long time to see the doctor.

 Taking care of an Alzheimer’s patient requires this kind of wasteful time. In my case, I used this waiting time to study foreign languages, English and Chinese. I brought a clipboard. I always wrote down example sentences.

 One day, my grandaunt and I were sitting on the seat in the waiting room. I was studying. A child who sat next to me started to laugh. She seemed to be a third or fourth grader at elementary school. She laughed and whispered to her mother, who sat opposite to me. Her mother tried to calm her down. I was sure she was laughing at me. I didn’t know why.

 I went to the restroom and checked my appearance on the mirror. Nothing was on my face. My nose hair didn’t show. My fly was not open. It could be my misunderstanding. She was not laughing at me. A young girl could laugh without reason. I came back to my seat and continued my studying. The girl kept laughing. I ignored her.

 The front-desk clerk called a patient’s name. The mother and daughter responded. I solved the mystery.

 Their name was Chinese. The girl’s father or mother, or both of them, was Chinese. They lived in Japan. The girl could be a natural-born bilingual.

 OK, I was studying Chinese. I started it at over 30 years old. So for Chinese people, my studying level could be at first or second grade at elementary school. Of course I am sure I made mistakes on my clipboard. I was a middle-aged man. It must be funny to her.

 I should not have ignored her. I should have talked to her in Chinese. She could have been the best teacher ever. I missed a great chance!

Picture by Pinkari

Leaving My Mother at a Short-Stay Facility

 

When I lived with my mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease, I always looked forward to leaving her at a short-stay facility. I was able to take care of her at my house for more than ten years because the facilities helped me.

I used to assume that expensive facilities provided good services while cheap ones gave low-quality services. But I had an experience that made me realize that things were not that simple.

In those days, we used to rely on an expensive short-stay facility. We were satisfied with the services. But then the facility started to change. Initially, I had had to reserve a place at the facility for my mother two or three months ahead of time. But about one or two years in, I could get her a place at the facility without making a reservation. I was glad about that. But it would turn out that it was a result of the change.

My mother looked depressed after the short stay. The caregivers who drove her to and from the facility looked depressed too. When I visited the facility, I saw that the number of caregivers had decreased. I felt that some of them worked sloppily. My mother couldn’t tell me about the facility because of her illness, but I was sure that some bad things were happening there. After talking with my wife, I decided to use a different facility.

The changes I observed at the expensive facility were not completely unusual. For example, a sports team that won the championships last year could be at the very bottom this year, and a highly paid team might not always win. The facility where excellent caregivers had worked had clearly experienced some kind of problem. Then it had become an expensive but terrible facility. That could have happened in any organization under certain circumstances.

We don’t leave an aged parent at a facility building. We leave an aged parent with the people who work for the facility. So the people matter. Subsequently, I started to leave my mother at a nursing home that was our best available option. But I paid attention to the nursing home. I visited it every week and tried to communicate with the caregivers who worked there. A friend of mine, who worked for another nursing home as a caregiver, had told me that visitors to the nursing home kept the caregivers motivated.

Dear friends, let’s visit nursing homes. I am sure they are not attractive places. But if we familiarize ourselves with them, it could help us a lot when we will ultimately move into them.

Picture by keko-ka

My Father and Samurai Dramas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My late father loved to watch TV. His favorite programs were the news, baseball games and samurai dramas. He worked for a newspaper company, so he liked to see what was on the news. And the newspaper company owned a baseball team, the Dragons, so he liked watching their games. But it seemed strange that he liked samurai dramas as he was not interested in any fictional stories and most samurai dramas were fictional.

A few months before he passed away, we had a party with our relatives. At the party, he shared a secret that he had never told anyone before. Apparently, he had worked with a star actor on a stage production when they had been students. The star’s name was Gou Katou. He mainly acted in famous samurai TV dramas, and most of the Japanese knew about him. He was a superstar. My father and he studied in the same theater department at the same university. Gou was his classmate.

At that point, I understood why my father used to watch samurai dramas. He was supporting his classmate by watching TV. Gou Katou acted in almost all the samurai dramas on TV. But I didn’t understand why my father had had to keep it secret. Maybe he hadn’t wanted to boast about it?

Dear friends with whom I have worked on the stage, I hope some of you become famous like Gou Katou. I will secretly support you, even as an old man. I want to be able to boast about you right before my death.

Picture by Chipori

Are Males Not Good at Caregiving?

 

 When I took care of my mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease, I was surprised at the unexpected responses. Some people who worked for welfare facilities treated me like a layperson. 

 My mother once needed 24-hour care. We used day service and short stay. My wife supported me. But I had taken care of my mother as the main caregiver for over 10 years. I was an expert at least in taking care of my mother. How could they treat me like a layperson?

 In most cases, caregivers are females. The care manager and most helpers who took care of my mother were females. I attended a governmental mutual-aid society for caregivers. The members were all females as well. Even a national TV station had come to our home to interview us because I was a rare male caregiver. There is an assumption that males are laypersons when it comes to caregiving.

But even I also had an experience in which I assumed that males are not good caregivers.

One day, I took my mother to a hospital for an X-ray. The radiographer was male. When my mother needed to move from the wheelchair to the bed, I was going to support her. But the radiographer said, “Not necessary. I will take care of her.” In a short moment, I suspected him and thought, He is a man. Can I trust him? But he moved my mother from the wheelchair to the bed better than I might have done.

That hospital was specialized for elderly patients. Of course he was a professional expert. I unconsciously assumed he was a layperson because he was a male.

If many males take part in caregiving, this assumption would fade away.

Picture by Shintako

Domed Stadium

 

 Many people from theater say, “The most important ability for an actor is not saying lines. The ability to listen is more important.” There are many ways to describe this concept. Acting is reaction. An actor has to react to his or her co-actors and the atmosphere of theater. Therefore, most theater actors have an insight into the human mind. They can read people’s minds through movement, tone of voice, facial expressions, and so on. Some of them are almost psychics.

 By the way, we have a domed baseball stadium in our town. When I take the subway, sometimes I encounter masses of baseball fans. The trains are so crowded especially after a game.

 Then I imagined that I was an actor and tried to read the atmosphere of the baseball fans and guess whether our home team won or lost.

 In those days, I believed I was a good actor. So I tried to guess every time I saw a crowd of baseball fans. After guessing, I would check the result of the game on TV. I would also check my insight as an actor.

 The results were terrible. In most cases, I guessed our home team won, but when I checked the news, sometimes our home team was beaten really badly. I lost my confidence. My ability as an actor could be lower than that of average actors.

 But I recently thought of a different idea. I had been a caregiver for my mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease, for over 10 years. I had become seriously ill. I had experienced many kinds of misfortune.

 The baseball fans who were on the way from the ballpark to their home were special people. They had enough money to buy tickets. They were physically tough to watch the game, which took three or four hours. Baseball’s rules are complex. They have the intellectual power to understand and enjoy ballgames. Most of all, they love baseball. The result of the game was not important. They had just enjoyed their favorite sport.

 I was not completely wrong. I read the happy atmosphere, the happy people. They were always winners.

 Now, I have left my mother in a nursing home. I have recovered from my serious illness. I am kind of well-off. A few months ago, I visited the stadium and enjoyed watching baseball with my wife. There were tons of happy people in the stadium. I was a one of them.

 Dear friends! Let’s go to a ballpark to affirm our happiness.

Picture by jimsy

Linear Motor Train

 

 In 2005, we had the World Exposition in our prefecture. We had linear motor trains from our city to the venue. The linear motor train line is still running. We call it “Linimo.”

 A few years later, I shopped near the terminal station of Linimo. I told a shopkeeper, “This area has changed so much. I hope it would develop more and more.”

The shopkeeper answered, “It must be developing. Because some people had to face tragedies.”

I was shocked. I only recognized the bright side of the World Exposition; I had never thought about its dark side. I was curious and asked the shopkeeper, “What do you mean? What happened around here?”

Then the shopkeeper surprisingly looked me and said, “Are you a journalist or something?”

I told him I was not a journalist, but I still asked him about the tragedies. But he stopped talking. He didn’t say another word to me.

 Dear journalists! There is an issue you need to report!

Picture by 8suke

Conversation Partner

 

 In 1998, I studied in California.

My university had a conversation partner system. Each overseas student introduced a local student who wants to study foreign language. We taught our own language to our partners.

My conversation partner was Ms. V. She was a beautiful girl.

One day, she invited me to a wedding ceremony because she would be a veil girl. Of course I attended. I was so excited to attend a wedding ceremony abroad. I bought a new formal suit for it.

Most Japanese love wedding ceremonies in churches. But most of the time, the church is not a real church. Even more, the priest is not a real priest in Japan. Sometimes, the priest is a foreign actor who pretends to be a priest. So I believe that was my first time to attend the real wedding in a real church with a real priest. It was a great experience.

Finally, the bride and groom arrived in the church. Behind the bride, Ms. V followed. But I was confused. There were two Ms. Vs behind the bride.

I didn’t know she had a twin sister.

 After the ceremony, I told Ms. V, “I didn’t know you were twins.”

 Surprisingly, she denied it. “No. We are not twins.”

 I couldn’t understand what she was talking. She continued, “We are triplets.”

 She introduced her two sisters to me. I was surprised twice.

Picture by Kintomo

 

Local Newspaper versus National Newspaper

 

In the beginning of 2000, I had a unique hobby. In those days, we could already read newspaper articles on the Internet. On Japanese newspapers, we can read a short essay on the front page. I didn’t buy any newspaper, but I could read the front page essay for free. Then it became my hobby. I read two essays every morning. One essay was from the local newspaper’s front page, and the other was from the national newspaper’s front page. I compared them and personally decided which one was more interesting.

I had continued this hobby for a year. As a result, the winner was the local newspaper’s essay. The local beat the national by a score of 6–4. It was just my opinion. It was a completely personal hobby. I didn’t tell the result to anybody, except one person, my father.

Since my father worked for a local newspaper company, I believed he might be happy to hear the result.

When I returned to my hometown, I told him the result. But instead of being happy, he got mad. He said, “The guy who writes the essays is writing just one short essay a day! That’s why he can write a good essay!”

I guess he didn’t like the person who wrote the front-page essay.

I was a stage actor. Let’s think about this in the context of the theater world. If a member of my family would come and see my performance, after the show, he or she would praise the actor whom I hate. The family member would say,

“It was a wonderful show. This was better than what I watched in Tokyo. Actor X was especially wonderful!”

We are hostile a near enemy than a remote enemy.

Picture by Igor Sapozhkov

All-You-Can-Eat Sushi

 

A friend of mine works for a sushi place. When I worked for a steakhouse, the shop owner never let us eat steak. But the owner of the sushi place is generous. All the workers can eat sushi as much as they can. What an envious workplace! That must be the most ideal place to work.

But my friend does not eat sushi anymore. He goes to the convenience store and buys precooked food as his lunch and dinner. At the beginning of the job, he enjoyed sushi every day. But two or three months later, he started to get tired of it. His coworkers also didn’t eat sushi.

Sushi is delicious and expensive. But if we eat it every day, we may get tired of it. We dream of eating expensive special meals every day, but it should not be like that. Most Japanese love to eat sushi, steak, and boiled eels, but we should not eat them every day.

Dear friends, even if we become rich, we should not eat the same thing every day as it would reduce the value of our favorite dish. We should eat our favorite dish once in a while. It makes the dishes special to us.

Picture by g-san

The Privilege of a Relative

 

One of my relatives runs a pediatric clinic near my home. The clinic doesn’t accept consultations for adults. I am a middle-aged man, but I have the privilege of a relative. When I catch a cold, I can see the doctor in the clinic.

 

One day, I caught a cold, so I visited the clinic. When I was in the waiting room, a nurse said with a high-tone voice, “Hello, Honey-Bunny Shu! Our doctor is waiting for you!”

 

She looked around me and asked me, “Where is Honey-bunny Shu?”

 

Then I answered, “I am Honey-bunny Shu.”

 

She was a new nurse. She didn’t know the doctor and I were relatives. She never suspected I was the patient. It was a pediatric clinic.

 

I was very embarrassed. It was almost laughing-stock.

 

Should I see a doctor in another clinic when I catch a cold? I did it once, but my relative got mad when he learned that I visited another clinic.

 

What should I do?

 

In most cases, privilege and laughing-stock are two sides of the same coin.

Picture by Keiigo K

My Brother-in-Law Is Depressed

 

My wife’s sister married a British man, so my brother-in-law is an English gentleman.

 

Shortly after I married my wife, my parents-in-law, my brother and sister-in-law, and my wife and I visited Kyushu, which is located in the south part of Japan. Many of my wife’s relatives lived in this area. We traveled almost all around Kyushu. During our travel, I left my mother at an elderly welfare facility. I was released from taking care of my mother who had Alzheimer’s disease. This was my first visit to Kyushu. I was overjoyed to travel.

 

However, my brother-in-law looked depressed. I worried about him. Maybe he was tired. Or he had a jet lag. Or he hated Japan. But my assumptions were all wrong.

 

My brother-in-law really loved Japan. He had studied Japanese every week in England, but he couldn’t understand most of the Japanese conversations during our travel. It didn’t mean he was lazy in studying Japanese. It also didn’t mean the language school taught him wrong Japanese. Actually, even I couldn’t understand half of the Japanese conversations I heard.

 

In most cases, language schools would teach standard Japanese. Usually I use standard Japanese, but when I talk to relatives and childhood friends, I speak the Nagoya dialect.

 

People in Kyushu have a strong accent. My wife’s relatives met us when we went there. They knew each other well, so they omitted some details in their conversations. They spoke in short sentences in a strong accent. This type of conversation is difficult to understand for outsiders, including me.

 

I was a stage actor. Actors are trained to speak in standard Japanese. If an actor is offered a role who speaks in a dialect, the actor learns the dialect. However, based on my experience, learning dialects is very difficult. We have to train hard with a dialectologist. Native dialect speakers can easily recognize fake dialect speakers. In my opinion, mastering a dialect requires a person to live in the region for a long period. I had lived in Osaka for six years and tried to learn the Osaka dialect. But sometimes some native Osaka dialect speakers would point out, “What are you saying? Your Osaka dialect is so fake!”

 

Dialects are the final hurdle for language learners.

 

My brother-in-law was a beginner Japanese learner, but he tried the final hurdle. That experience could be valuable. I believe he will have remarkable progress in the future.

 

Picture by Furainyan

The Shut-in Emperor

 

I was a sociable person. When I was a stage actor, I used to spend all day in many types of fields. Then I would come back home just to sleep.

When I started to take care of my mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease, I had to become like a shut-in. I had to watch her all day at home.

When I got used to being shut in, I found it could be a comfortable lifestyle. We could do many things at home: reading books, playing games, etc.

I know young people’s withdrawal from society poses a big problem in Japan. Some people are seriously struggling. But I believe some are genuinely shut-in people: They are not good at face-to-face communication. They love to ‘face’ inanimate materials instead.

The second emperor of ancient Roma, Tiberius, could have been a shut-in type. When he was young, he was expected to support the then emperor. But he withdrew to Rhodes island. After becoming the next emperor, he withdrew to Capri island. He was not exactly a shut-in then. He lived with his close friends on the small island.

Shut-ins have always had a bad reputation Tiberius was specifically believed to be a bad emperor in those years and over the next many centuries. At the end of the 17th century, people started to think about him differently. Some started to think he might have been one of the great emperors of ancient Roman history.

Tiberius might have been a shut-in, but he didn’t withdraw from all of his responsibilities. He made a system that centralized information from all round Roma, and his orders reached all over Rome. As long as this information infrastructure was working, his location was not very important. He didn’t care about his popularity. He had never done popular policy. But when a disaster took place, he quickly made a decision and reacted properly. He had a reputation for about 1,700 years.

Now, there are many shut-ins in Japan. People find fault with them. But we can do many things at home. One thousand, seven hundred years later, someone will discover a person with great achievements in our world. But the person will be looked down upon in the way that shut-in people are now.

Picture by vectorpocket

Starting with the Surface Aspects of Things

 

My wife was sickly skinny before our marriage. But she subsequently gained weight. I also gained weight. We both put on weight due to married life. It could have been stress-induced weight gain. We were taking care of my mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease.

My wife decided to start jogging. She started with the surface aspects of running. She bought high-grade running shoes, running wear, a cap, and a watch. She had the appearance of a perfect athlete.

A huge park with a circumference of four kilometers is located near our house. One day, on my wife’s way there, a stranger talked to her. The stranger was an EKIDEN road relay team manager. They had an annual road relay competition in the park. My wife was scouted to become a member of the team. The manager assumed that she was an advanced runner because her equipment was perfect. My wife gladly joined the team.

On the first training day, the coach said to the team members, “Let’s make today’s training a piece of cake. We will run just six kilometers.”

My wife was shocked because she had never run more than three kilometers! Her outfit was that of an advanced runner, but she was a beginner. It was a double disgrace.

But that situation turned out very well. People who trained during the holiday with the goal of winning a road relay competition had to be advanced runners. Even if they won the competition, they would never get prize money for it. Those runners worked hard for an unpaid competition. They were extremely advanced runners. There were bound to be exceptions, but really advanced people were typically very kind to beginners. They had plenty of knowledge and experience. Their advice was accurate. My wife advanced very quickly.

My wife did not elect to run in the road relay competition. But she took part in the Nagoya Women’s Marathon. She ran the whole distance. It could not have been easy for a beginner to complete a 42.195-kilometer run, but she made it. She was given a Tiffany’s necklace as a prize. Only the runners who reached the finish line were able to get one. She was very happy. If she had trained alone, she would not have made it.

Some people look down on those who start with the surface aspects of things, but it could be a good way to start something. It’s a way of announcing, “I will do this!” It makes it easy to be supportive.

The next time I start something, I will start with the surface aspects of things.

Picture by sh240

Illumination

 

 At the stage performance, an actor switches on a light, and then the stage becomes bright. Generally, at these scenes, the actors don’t turn the lights on. A lighting crew member does the job. Of course, we can make real switches on the stage with cords. But it complicates the scene changes. Stages are high traffic areas. We have to worry about cable disconnection and so on.

 This is common sense to theater people. Having a good combination of lighting and sound skills is necessary among stage actors.

 It is so. It is natural. But I was also tricked by that. If I had thought about that, I could practically find that out by myself.

 Decorative illuminations are very popular among Japanese local governments. At a lighting ceremony, mayors or celebrities turn on a huge switch for the illuminations on stage. But in most of the cases, they don’t actually turn on the real switch. A lighting crew turns on the real switch. The switch on stage is just a dummy.

My wife works as a lighting crew for stages. A few days ago, she turned on the real switch for an illumination ceremony. She was very nervous because if she made a mistake, it would embarrass the VIP. The VIP should believe they had the real switch.

 She told that secret to me. Until I heard it, I had also believed that the VIP turns on the real switch. But I still believe that in some lighting ceremonies, the crew members really connect the huge switch on stage, and the VIPs turn on the real switch. I believe there is Santa Claus.

 There are some information we should not know.

Picture by makaron*

Encounter

 

 At a farewell party of a performance, a person whom I was very interested in was near my seat. The person was so interesting because I couldn’t tell the person’s gender. The person was skinny. The person had short hair and looked like a boy. The person was a crew member of the performance. Most of the crew members wore unisex clothes, so I couldn’t identify the person’s gender from the clothes.

 Once someone said to me, “In those cases, you should watch the person’s hands and neck.” I watched the person’s hands and neck. The person’s hands were bony. I could see the person’s Adam’s apple. But it was possible that it appeared because the person was too skinny. I couldn’t find the conclusive factor.

 I guessed the person might be male. But I wanted to hear the person’s voice first before I make a conclusion.

 The person was not the talkative type. The party was fun, but the person didn’t say a single word. I waited for a long time.

 Finally, the person uttered some words, but the person’s voice was very low. I made a conclusion and said to the person, “I assume you are a girl.”

The other crew members who knew the answer laughed.

 Actually, the person was a lady.

 Now the lady is my beloved wife.

Picture by sanno

My Father’s Car

 

              About seven years before my father’s death, he bought me a new car because he wanted me to drive him to the hospital as he underwent artificial dialysis three times a week. However, I was not interested in cars. I was afraid to drive, so I didn’t touch the car for a few years.

              One day, the doctor asked my father not to drive. Hence, I needed to drive the car. Later on, I found out that the hospital had shuttle services, so I only drove to the hospital a few times and just drove around the neighborhood.

              After my father passed away, I decided to sell the car. One elementary school and junior high school friend of mine ran a garage. I asked him to estimate the cost of the car. He checked it and said, “This is about $2,300 to $2,500. If you sell it at $2,300, I want to buy it right now.” Actually, we were not close friends, so I suspected him.

              I tried another company. I visited one of the most famous secondhand car shops in Nagoya. The shop was advertising on radio and TV. The clerk estimated my car from a computer and said, “This is $450.” I was shocked. I started to regret that I suspected my old buddy. I decided to get out of the shop and go to my friend’s garage immediately. I wanted to sell the car for around $2,400 to my old buddy, but the clerk kept me. He repeatedly asked me to sell the car.

              The clerk said, “Please say the price you want to sell it. Just say that. This is a do-or-die job for me!”

              “$2,600,” I finally said so we could end the conversation.

              He became silent for a while. Then he started to complain about the price. But he still bought the car for $2,600.

              I had no idea about the secondhand car industry. So I started to think that I needed friends in all kinds of industries.

Picture by Shintako

Diaper

 

              My mother has Alzheimer’s disease. I started to let her use a diaper. Generally, finding the right timing of letting patients use a diaper is one of the most difficult points in taking care of them. If it is too early, the patients get mad. Most of the patients don’t realize their disease, so it might deeply hurt their pride. In my mother’s case, the care manager recommended using diapers at a good timing. My mother agreed to use them.

              My wife and I carefully avoided using the word “diaper” in front of my mother. That word could hurt her pride. We used the word “rehab pant” instead of “diaper.” That idea was also recommended by the care manager.

              About ten years after my mother had the diagnosis, communicating with her was sometimes difficult. But we always avoided the word “diaper.” One day, because of carelessness, my wife and I used the word in front of my mother. She suddenly got mad and screamed, “Who uses a diaper? I will never use a diaper!”

              I quickly responded, “We are talking about my diaper. I still use a diaper.”

              My mother peacefully said, “You are talking about your diaper? That is OK.”

              I was almost fifty years old, but my mother never minded that. If she said it was OK, it was OK.

              An expert caregiver for Alzheimer’s disease said, “If you want to be a good caregiver, you should be a good actor.” My experiences as an actor, like doing ad-libs and improvisations, were very useful in taking care of my mother.

Picture by hermandesign2015

Scalper

 

 

In 2001, I lived in Tokyo. The most wonderful thing about Tokyo is it has many theaters and theatrical performances. I went and watched many plays almost every weekend.

 

One day, when I was on my way to a theater, I saw a scalper near the theater.

 

He said, “I have tickets. I have tickets . . .”

 

I was surprised because I have never seen any scalper near the theater before, especially in the mini-theater that I loved to visit. The scalper was also a bit strange.

 

I grew up in a house located near a big-domed stadium. I was used to seeing scalpers. Scalpers are very sensitive about the popularity of performers. For example, if there are enough tickets for a big-name artist, they never show up. They show up only if there are a few tickets left. They have bought tickets earlier and sell them later at expensive prices.

 

The performance that I was going to watch at the theater that day was not similar to an artist’s performance. I could easily get tickets. Furthermore, the scalper was selling tickets alone. I know scalpers work in teams. It was the first time I saw a scalper working alone.

 

Furthermore, his aura was different from other scalpers. He looked more like a crew member of a theatrical group.

 

The most critical clue was a black packing tape he was wearing on his belt. Black packing tape is one of the most useful items in the theater. Scalpers would never use them when selling tickets.

 

I believe he was a crew member of the theater group who just pretended to be a scalper. I guess there were some vacant seats for the show, so the theater group asked one of its crew members to sell tickets near the theater.

 

So many people visit Tokyo. Some go there for sightseeing, others for business. Some just wander around to kill time. If they find a scalper, they would be interested in him because everyone knows scalpers show up only during super-popular performances. They could buy tickets from them.

 

I already bought my ticket, so I didn’t buy from the scalper. I guess he sold tickets in reasonable prices because the theater group would want to sell all tickets. It would increase the group’s income. Furthermore, if the theater was full, the actors would be comfortable to act.

 

My dear friends, especially theater people in the local region, this could be a useful idea! If you plan to perform in Tokyo, you could sell out all tickets. However, scalping is illegal, and your crew member could be suspected by policemen.

 

Picture by Skillinformations