Okay, so we're back in Taro's living room after getting into Group A. We're now Rank 51.

As seems to often be the case, completing the division has triggered the next stage in Taro's dating story.

: Should I go pick up some girls?

Taro man, can you just keep it in your pants and let us focus on finishing this damn game?

: But I've never had any success.

: How on earth can I make this work?

: Hmmm

: Anything that might be helpful?

: I wonder.

Oh, we’re back in control.

The usual job / parts / racing shortcuts don't seem to be responding to clicks anymore, so I guess our mission now is to find something here that will help Taro have some success in dating.

Honestly Taro. At this point I think you're beyond help…

I clicked around a bunch and eventually it triggered a clue.

: Hmmm … how to pick up girls. It's embarrassing to ask someone.

: I wonder if they sell it somewhere…

Sell what? Sell girls? Now, it might be seedy but perhaps it's your best option.

If Yakuza taught me anything there should be plenty of hostess clubs around.

Oh wait, he means sell the ability to increase his chances to pick them up?

Maybe we'll find something on the map?

Hey, there's a new building in here we haven't seen before.

: That's right.

: Maybe maybe not. It's a bookstore!

: Recently, dating manuals are common. Because they sell it.

: A surefire way to pick up girls. They sell things like that too.

Okay. A bookstore that sells books on picking up women. That will be a good start.

Let's go goons!

: Um where is it?

We're in what looks like a small bookstore, and have once again been given a cursor.

I guess we're supposed to find which one of these books is a how to date book?

…. We might be here awhile.

First off. Let’s try to take the cash from the register.

: This is wrong.

Well, good to see Taro has a moral conscience.

How about we select the books next to the register there?

: This is wrong

Oh, it wasn’t Taro’s conscience. It was just the generic message for ‘you selected the wrong thing’

How about those pink books? That one looks like it has the universal symbol for woman…

: This is wrong

Good lord, do I have to click on every, single book here??

…I guess I do.

Truthfully, I actually got stuck here.

I clicked on every, single, book. None worked. The cursor is really finicky since it uses a gamepad, not a mouse, and a single tap moves it a long way.

I'll admit, for the first time in this game, I looked up the Japanese fan site for hints. Luckily they had a walkthrough.

An event will occur when you reach A class. First, head to the bookstore. At the bookstore, read the book near the cash register.

Read the book near the cash register? I did that! Multiple times!

: Ah, this is it!

: “Dr. Imamura’s Surefire Pick-Up Strategy!”

Ugh FINALLY.

If was this bastard right here. The hit box was really small. I guess I missed it the 16 other times I tried.

: But I'm embarrassed to buy this.

Goddamnit Taro, don't back out on me after we just went through all that….

: Just browse!

I think Taro is proud that he's figured out he can read the book in the store without buying it.

Standing around reading a ‘how to pick up girls’ book in public because you’re too embarrassed / cheap to be seen buying it is much sadder than just buying it and reading it discreetly Taro, but hey, you do you.

: Picture

: Oh.

: Hmmm

Taro seems to be one of those people who read through making noises with their mouth.

: "The situation is important when picking up girls.

: Any place with a nice view is 100% OK.

: Girls are also waiting to be picked up."

: "It's best to avoid areas like Hanka-gai."

Ah, so, according to the book, we need to go somewhere with a pretty view, because girls congregate there waiting to be picked up by eligible suitors. That sounds legit.

I looked up Hanka-gai- it means ‘downtown’ and is otherwise used as a general term for a busy area. So it seems Taro's method of hanging around shopping centers asking every female in sight out for tea is ill advised.

Who’d have thought it?

: Until now, a place where there are lots of girls, I thought it was okay.

: Is that why...Is that why it hasn't been successful until now?

Yes, I'm sure it has everything to do with the location and nothing to do with your behaviour towards women.

: Once you know that, it's time to start picking up girls.

: Go home for a while.

: Take care of your appearance.

: Well then

: I wonder where there are some scenic spots around here?

: Maybe I should look on the map…

Oh! I know exactly where to go. There's a tower on the map that I've always assumed we'd end up on at one point, but it hasn't been selectable until now.

: This is it!

: It's the Minato Tower.

: The view is great here and the situation is perfect!

I have actually been to an observation tower in Minato Tokyo, and was curious whether this was the same one, so I looked this up.

According to Google AI, Minato Tower is the Tokyo Tower, the famous landmark.

Google AI, as usual, is wrong.

I'm pretty certain that it's supposed to be the Tokyo Skytree observation tower.

I didn't go to Tokyo Skytree, but I went to Sky Deck, also in Minato - which, effectively just an open air helipad with a view of the sprawling metropolis that is Tokyo.

I prefer that sort of viewing platform because of the thrill to feel the wind blowing on your face however many hundreds of metres up.

The best bit about being that high was playing around with the toy filters on my camera / zoom lens. Everything looks like scale models at that height.