Omar Karlin would be blind today if it weren't for that crazy, half-baked business scheme of his.

It was the summer of 1998. Karlin arrived in Osaka with a discount plane ticket and two suitcases stuffed with old blue jeans. Back in Canada, he had heard on the radio that Japanese young people were paying hundreds of dollars for used, red-tab Levi's. Karlin thought a trip to Osaka sounded like a great way to spend his summer vacation and make some money, too.

When Karlin reached the trendy America Mura shopping district of downtown Osaka, he discovered he had been misled. American jeans were plentiful and cheap. To make matters worse, he couldn't communicate well enough with the local shopkeepers to sell any of the jeans he had lugged with him. The business plan was quickly aborted, and Karlin decided to just enjoy himself during his remaining time in Osaka.