THE long, narrow book shop appears to be in total darkness as you enter from the sunlit street in downtown Sapporo, writes Jeremy Walker.
Spotting a gaijin (foreigner) in the doorway, the elderly shopkeeper pays no attention and continues reading his newspaper, leaving the visitor to fend for himself among the rows and rows of dusty, over-flowing shelves.
But any attempts to find what you are looking for - in this case what has been suggested as the possible source of the J.League - prove fruitless.
There is no alternative but to interrupt the shopkeeper and, slowly and clearly, to utter the magical words Captain Tsubasa.
In an instant the shopkeeper is on his feet, a smile on his face and he's homing in on a stack of comic books.
Captain Tsubasa was first published 10 years ago and creator Yoichi Takahashi produced 36 different stories during the comic's lucrative five-year run.