A Fukuokan's Notes from Sapporo

I used to get some free magazines  at Junkudo bookstore in Tenjin. But due to the COVID-19 mess, it has been feeling awkward to visit bookstores, not to mention browsing shelves full of books that might be "contaminated". 

 I missed them so much as they let me know something I would never know until I read them, and are good to read while brushing teeth in terms of not only the contents, but also the size. 

Then, one day I suddenly got an idea: Could I subscribe to them? It may be a much easier and and less costly way to get them than going to the city center that inevitably involves a couple of cups of coffee and snacks and sometimes transportation fees (even if it is 100 yen for bike-parking lot), and of course the possibilities of getting infected. 

To begin with, I decided to subscribe one issued by Tokyo University Press, which costs 2000 yen per year (=12 issues) .  However, I was a bit nervous to get in touch with them. They might ask which college I am from, or my score for certain exams and coldly turn down my request, saying that I am not qualified to be their reader. OK, then I could bitch about how terrible they are here.

Despite my fear, things went through unexpectedly smoothly. When I phoned and asked them how I could subscribe, someone on the phone told their bank account number. Nothing was scary. The man on the phone spoke just as a regular business person. No question about my academic background.  Within a week after I send money through the good old bank transfer, I received a copy of the latest issue with previous three  issues for free. What impressed me was the fact that they handwrote my address and name.

 I would not have been impressed to this extent if it was not from the publisher with a link to Japan's most prestigious university, though. 

This experience encouraged me to subscribe to a couple more of this type of publications. Through a quick googling I found some publishers still offers paper-based free magazines which I could subscribe to online. 

Most of them still accept payment through bank transfer, which I believe the most reliable and safest way to pay money.  

 A bookstore even requests payment by stamps.  

This experience has made me realize that there are always something I do for the first time. Now I am looking forward to receiving them, which will feel like monthly present from someone!