As I venture farther south there are fewer and fewer people. I also notice the increase in wheelie carts full of garbage bags, ragged clothes, toes poking out of shoes, and the distinct smells of cheap sake mingled with pee. Something in the back of my mind tells me I won’t have to go past Shin-Imamiya station, and when I see the signs for it, I breathe a sigh of relief. I don’t have to go farther than this; I remember telling myself I wouldn’t when we went out after Zozo that night.

Don’t worry, you’ll be perfectly safe. Think of me as your “bodyguard.”

I walk down the next wide street for a minute or two, stopping at a Family Mart to pretend I’m shopping for food. I do end up buying two cans of hot corn chowder and a bottle of peach water after ten minutes of loitering. Now, if anything happens to me, someone can report to the police that yes, they did see a gaijin in pyjamas and a white winter coat tonight. I chug down the peach water and slip the soup into my pockets. They’re small enough to fit next to my wallet and pocket Wi-Fi, and they make nice hand warmers.

Now, where did we go from here?

My instincts guide me toward a smaller shoutengai. I can hear guitars playing medieval-sounding rock music. It’s quite beautiful. Lyrical. Now I feel like I’m truly on some kind of adventure. The music is leading me in the right direction, it has to be. Maybe it’s a group of buskers or students playing; maybe they can guide me the right way.

The shops here are all closed. I can’t tell where the music is coming from. I keep walking. The music is coming from all around me, mostly over my head. Wait. I’ve been down this shoutengai before, once, when everything was open. I vaguely remember this one sells jewellery and watches, and in that one a man had a pig on a leash. There wasn’t any music playing at the time, or maybe there were just too many people to hear. And I remember now; I wasn’t alone. I was with him.

Right on cue, the music changes. The light guitar becomes heavy and guttural, cut through with a deep growl and foreboding lyrics. Is that “One” playing? It is. “Great. Now I’m scared.” This better not be some kind of foreshadowing.