Billy Galaxy
From Moshi Moshi
811 E Burnside

Billy owns a hotspot for Japanese toys and apparel, plus Billy Galaxy's Vintage Toys. He knows Japan, and here are his Japanese favorites:

• Ninjas: "Possibly the most dangerous mammal in the world. Moshi Moshi is having an art show featuring them in February."

• Kappa: "Cryptozoological water sprite that can be helpful to farmers, but also enjoys eating people's livers after tearing them out through their anuses."

• Japanese vending machines: "These are everywhere, and contain anything from coffee to whiskey to used panties!"

• Pachinko: "There are huge pachinko parlors all over Japan. The whole thing is rather confusing and you can win or lose a lot of money really fast."

• Shigeru Mizuki: "Amazing WWII Japanese artist who lost an arm and decided that the only worthwhile thing that he could do with one arm was to draw."

Caitlin Cherry
From Powell's Books
1005 W Burnside

Caitlin loves bowling, beer, and of course, books. Here are some of her favorite authors:

• Charles de Lint: "Fairy tales for grownups. The writing kind of surrounds you and makes you feel anywhere from warm and fuzzy to scared out of your pants."

• Charlaine Harris: "She writes the Southern Vampire series and has a new novel called Grave Sight. She brings a new twist to vampires, and her characters are amazingly real, funny, and honestly the kind of people I'd like to meet."

• George R.R. Martin: "He just came out with A Feast for Crows. There are dragons, magic, swordplay, and epic battles."

• Laurell K. Hamilton: "One of the most inventive writers I can think of. She has a modern twist on monsters we grew up with."

• Neil Gaiman: "I started reading his Sandman graphic novels and have been hooked ever since. He recreates old myths, weaving cultures together."