This must be the third staircase I've gone up. I'm disoriented and have lost count. Just as soon as I climb a set of stairs, head down some dark corridor and pass an elevator leading to Lord-knows-where, there are more stairs. Occasionally, the stairs lead outside or back inside. Sometimes they go up and sometimes down. But, there's always some guy in a blue coat directing traffic.

"Why's this so complicated?" I ask a blue coat.
"Don't know," he says.

I continue on, following behind a troop of mothers and children. We surface again and this time for good. A lone line snakes around the side of the Osaka Dome, leading to another line and then to what looks like the line for Space Mountain. "There's an hour wait," announced a blue coat.

We're all trying to get into the World Hobby Fair — actually, it's the Next Generation World Hobby Fair. Whatever they call it, the game show is kicking off here in Osaka. It's like the Tokyo Games Show, but for nine-year-olds. Reaching into my wallet, I take out a business card and show it to a blue coat.

"Do I have to wait in line?" I say, like some spoiled child. "I'm a journalist."
"I don't know."
"Can you find out?"

Geez, I'm a real prick. Another blue coat comes over and ushers me past the people waiting in line to another staircase. He tells me to go down this staircase, then walk about ten feet and go up another staircase.

"Are you serious?"

He bows herky-jerky and apologizes, as I descend the flight of stairs. I do just as he says: down, walk and up again. There are a couple of folding tables and several blue coats standing behind them.

"I'm a journalist."
"Have you registered?"
"No."

I hand him my business card, which he shows to another blue coat, who kinda shrugs. "Here's another one," I say, giving them my Wired business card as a backup for press creds. Another shrug.

For a "New Generation World Hobby Fair", we've suddenly gotten very provincial. I explain what Kotaku and even what Wired is, but everybody's looking at me sideways. Never heard of 'em.

"Do you want to interview anyone?"
"I wasn't planning on it. I was just going to walk around."
"Then you'll have to wait outside."
"I'm working," I say.
"Do you want to interview anyone?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"Somebody at Capcom about Rockman."

There's a pause. He exhales slowly and gives me a sheet to fill out, which I do in passively aggressive messy handwritting. A press pass is placed in my hands.

"Convention center is that way," he says.

I head down the hallway, when another older man chases me down and asks if I know how to get to the convention hall.

"As long as there are no stairs, I'll be fine."
"Huh?"
"This way, right?"

"Yes," he says and bows. "Have a good show."

Thanks. I'll try.

Not Everyone Was Frosty [Whobby]

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