Jun looks up at the half-faded augmentations floating around the entrance as he unlocks the front door. The big sign overhead reads Yojimbo Ramen-ya. Jun taps at it to reactivate it for the day, and the noodle mascot glows into colour and begins to move in the morning light. He also refreshes some of his favourite graffiti, some of which have come to feel like part of the restaurant over the years.
The lunch hour is busy as usual, and a queue has formed outside as customers wait to be seated. Someone has activated a game of Space Invaders and many of the customers in the line have joined in, all trying to be the first to shoot down the flying saucer when it appears in the sky.
A large group of foreign exchange students have just left one of the big tables in the center of their restaurant. Jun and Shota quickly clear the plates and wipe the surface ready for new customers but clearing the AR content is not so easy. The area is littered with translation notes that were shared back and forth between the students, and auto-translations of menu items are fixed in front of the AR menu Jun posted at the table this morning. Shota helps Jun move and defresh each piece of junk content to clear the table.
The lunchtime rush has started to die down. Jun leans against the counter and glances over the scene. An older couple are making 3D postcards to send to relatives back home as a neighbouring customer leans over and passes them a handful of local landmarks to add to their holiday itinerary. A businessman glances into his virtual pocket to privately answer a message from the office. A family add a loop the loop section to a marble run on a nearby wall.
Although it sometimes feels chaotic, he always loves the buzz of the full restaurant. Yojimbo isn’t just a place to eat - it's a local institution, where people from all backgrounds come together. The restaurant is quiet now, but there are still the reminders of all of the locals and visitors, in the diverse augmentations that linger in the air.
As Jun locks up for the evening, the virtual part of the city has mostly faded away into the quiet of the night - ready for a fresh day to begin again in the morning.