Collector box pre-order · first batch, limited
Some houses are empty for a reason.
Fukuoka. Hokkaido. Nagano. Three standalone thrillers set inside Japan's nine million abandoned homes, bound together in one hand-numbered collector box, packed and shipped by the author himself.
The manifesto
01
A family flees the city for a quiet house in rural Fukuoka, certain the old warnings about the property are just local superstition. They're wrong. The house remembers what happened inside it, and it's patient enough to make sure the family never forgets.
02
A couple retreats to an isolated Hokkaido farmhouse to save what's left of their relationship. The ancient masks left behind on the mantle have been alone in that house a long time, and they don't intend to share it, or each other, with anyone new.
03
Malik and Nia built their following on a curated version of Japan. Renovating an abandoned love hotel in the Nagano mountains was supposed to be their biggest post yet, until a blizzard hits, the smart locks seal shut, and a voice through the speakers orders them to read from the hotel's guest books, live to 11,000 strangers, or freeze.
Reader reviews
"A thrilling and otherworldly quest amongst the art and artisans in Japan."
Joel V.L.
Canada
"Like the works of Confucius told by Tarantino."
Dohai
Amazon Customer
"Intense, thoughtful, and deeply rooted in the real Japan."
Scottie
Amazon Customer
Pre-order tiers
I'm packing and shipping the first batch myself from Florida, so quantities are genuinely limited. Only 47 boxes exist across all three tiers combined. The counter below is live and shared. When it hits zero, every edition is gone. Every box arrives by early October.
Own the trilogy.
Collect the evidence.
Enter The Akiya.
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The Evidence Locker
Years of research, photography and audio gathered inside Japan's abandoned homes, sealed behind a collector key. Signed Collector and Patron editions get full access.
Field note 014: The house on the lane had been empty eleven years. The family altar was still dusted. I photographed the calendar: March, the year it stopped.
REDACTED: The name on the shrine register does not appear in any municipal record. The key was cut twice. The second copy was never claimed. See appendix VII for the survey photographs the prefecture asked me not to publish.
Unlocks with collector key
+ one item we won't list here
Some evidence only makes sense inside the box.
The route to your shelf
Now
Only 47 boxes exist across every tier. The counter is live and shared. When it hits zero, every edition is gone.
01
September
Readers vote on the final collector box design, then it's bound and hand-inspected.
02
Late September
Brandon numbers, signs and packs every box himself from Florida.
03
Early October
Boxes ship. U.S. shipping is included in every edition.
04
Itoshima · Fukuoka
The author
Brandon Chin is a Jamaican-Chinese hybrid born in the US who sees the world just the same: a mash-up of different stories. He spends his time asking questions through his writing. He's been featured on NHK World (4x times), Yahoo Finance, Navitime Travel, Business of Fashion, and FluentU for his experience in Japan. After living all over Japan for close to a decade, he's now based in Itoshima, Fukuoka.
His mission is to funnel his experience in Japan through his books to both entertain and challenge readers.
As featured on
3
Prefectures
9M+
Akiya in Japan
10
Years in Japan
Questions
Early October. The first batch is packed and shipped by Brandon himself from Florida, in numbered order. Patron Editions go out first.