It was another Sunday afternoon, and Matsumoto Taro put on his carefully prepared jeans and bell-bottom pants. Although the weather was cold, it still couldn't stop his flirtatious and restless heart.
Before leaving, Taro Matsumoto looked at himself in the mirror for the last time, brushed off the fluffy hair on his forehead, and then whistled with satisfaction as he went out.
Fifteen minutes later, at Harajuku Street in Shibuya, Taro Matsumoto stood at the intersection with his hands on his hips. He looked around and it seemed that no one had arrived yet.
He took off his sunglasses and walked around by the legs of his glasses, looking a little bored.
So he put his sunglasses into his pocket and took out a delicate amber Walkman from his pocket.
After untying the soft wire wrapped around the body of the headset, Taro Matsumoto lightly grasped the amber earphones with both hands and casually stuffed them into his ears hidden under his fluffy hair.
This set of movements was so smooth and fluid that the young people who were also waiting on the side were stunned.
What is this? It's so beautiful, so small, and it has earphones that can be put into your ears. It's so cool.
The young man wanted to ask if it was Sony's new walkman, but he saw Taro Matsumoto nodding his head and enjoying the music.
In order not to cause trouble to others, he suppressed his curiosity.
During this period, a large number of young people slowly gathered from all directions on the streets of Harajuku. At a rough glance, there were nearly a thousand of them.
Most of them, like Taro Matsumoto, were dressed in strange clothes, and some of them were carrying a giant stereo recorder that was so exaggerated that it was almost half a person's height.
"Matsumoto-kun, your hairstyle looks great today."
Ken Shimizu, who was familiar with Taro Matsumoto, saw Matsumoto shaking his head from afar.
"Shimizu-kun, your clothes today are also very cool."
Taro Matsumoto tilted his head slightly, casually took off a small pair of headphones, and let them fly out from under his fluffy hair.
"Hey," Shimizu Ken's eyes were immediately attracted, "Is this... a headset?"
"That's right." Seeing the vague glances cast at him from all around, Taro Matsumoto felt a little proud.
The desire to show off came to him, and he could no longer hold back. He simply took off his two earphones and took out the Walkman in his pocket.
"Inside the country of Sri Lanka~"
The amber-colored fuselage shining brightly in the sunlight made Qingshui Jian a little dazzled.
Not only him, but also the young man who had been curious, and the many people in strange costumes who were gradually gathering on the street, some of them also noticed this place.
“It’s so beautiful!”
“Is this the new Walkman that Sony is launching this year?”
"It doesn't seem like it. I remember the Walkman was blue, and it seemed a little bigger than this."
Seeing the people gathered around and asking questions at once, Taro Matsumoto's vanity was greatly satisfied.
After letting them feast their eyes and listen to a few words of flattery, Matsumoto Taro remembered that he still had a task to complete.
"Everyone," he cleared his throat, attracting everyone's attention.
"This is Flashman! It's Shirakawa Electric's Flashman, not Sony's Walkman."
Taro Matsumoto held up the machine in his hand and turned the side with the lightning logo and the Shirakawa Electric logo to face everyone.
"Hey, I've never heard of Shirakawa Electric."
"But this Flashman is much cooler than Sony's Walkman."
“Yes.”
"Of course, because this is flash," said Taro Matsumoto, and made a Rock gesture.
To be honest, Taro Matsumoto didn't quite understand what the gesture meant, but he thought it was cool.
Yes, it is cool!
Flash! And this cool hand gesture, and the eye-catching lightning symbol, instantly filled the hearts of the young people around.
These young people call themselves the "bamboo shoot tribe", which means they are something new that has just emerged from the ground.
Because they grow in groups instead of just one or two, they are called the "bamboo shoot tribe".
They gather on the streets of Harajuku every Sunday and dance to the music played by giant recorders.
Most of them are high school or college students, and their academic performance is not bad.
Some people come here to seek fame or to vent, but most people come here to seek spiritual sustenance.
Being independent, pursuing new things, and at the same time longing to be noticed by others.
Regardless of the psychological reason, the instantly captured their hearts.
There is also the unique and cool body, and the pocket-sized headphones that are full of technology and can be crumpled up and stuffed into your pocket.
These elements came together and instantly struck their hearts.
But such a beautiful machine must not be cheap.
They were short of money, so they looked at Taro Matsumoto enviously as he fiddled with the Flashman in his hands. It was so nice to watch.
"That ~ Matsumoto-san" finally couldn't resist the temptation in his heart after paying attention to the young people here from the beginning.
"Where can I buy a Flashman? How much does it cost?"
Everyone pricked up their ears when they heard someone ask the question that was in their heart.
No matter you can afford it or not, it's good to listen to it and take a few more glances at the charming Flashman.
"Oh, this one," Matsumoto Taro waved his hand nonchalantly, "25,000 yen, very cheap.
However, it is said that this is a new product that Shirakawa Electric is preparing to launch, and it has not yet been launched on the market.
You’ll probably see them in stores a few days before Christmas.”
25,000 yen?!
No one else noticed it, but this number caught everyone's attention.
"25,000 yen? Isn't that cheaper than Sony's walkman?"
They were a little bit unbelieving because this so-called Flashman looked more advanced than Sony's.
And what about those unheard-of earbud headphones that can be plugged directly into the ears without affecting your hairstyle?
This... all this for only 25,000 yen?
"Yes, it's 25,000 yen. Anyway, it's only two days until Christmas, so you can go to the store and see for yourself."
Taro Matsumoto's voice once again confirmed that everyone had heard it correctly, it was really that cheap.
Those who had recovered looked at each other in bewilderment, and then they all looked at their strange clothes.
Why?
Because as the bamboo shoot tribe, they would buy themselves a new set of clothes every once in a while.
They claim to be fashion pioneers and disdain to wear the same clothes every time.
So every week or two, I would come up with another weird-looking piece of clothing.
This outfit costs about 10,000 yen, which they earned by doing odd jobs in their spare time.
If you do some odd jobs and don't buy too much clothes, this flashman will be right in front of you.
Considering the time until Christmas, it seems... we can still make it.
Then a strange scene appeared on the streets of Harajuku again. Some of the young people who had just gathered here began to leave in a hurry.
Not just one or two, but they left in groups.
Curious people around asked what was going on, and the news spread by word of mouth.
Soon a rumor began to spread that a very cool but cheap cassette player called Flashman would be released soon.
We are all students, rushing to work and save money, and then buy this legendary Flashman as soon as possible.
Amid the chaos, they even thought about why some people already had the product before it was even launched.
Once the herd mentality arises, sometimes people will fall into a blind spot in thinking.
So the organizers of the Bamboo Shoot Tribe gathering still haven’t figured out what’s going on.
There were hundreds of people in the place just now, but now there are only a few people left.