But to make good music, you need good gear: electric guitars, keyboards, speakers, mixers, synthesizers, amplifiers, consoles, and all kinds of gizmos and gadgets you can't begin to imagine. And good gear is insanely expensive, not least because the store owners have to pay off Henry Sy or the Ayalas, in addition to paying for those imported goods.

To the rescue comes an unlikely hero, a middle-aged transplant from Hyogo Prefecture in Japan. Takashi Fukawa has been coming to Cebu since the days before either bridge existed, and settled for good recently. He operates a store supplying second-hand musical instruments and other gear, shipped in at irregular intervals from Japan.

Mr Fukawa, who is an accomplished bass player, claims he opened the store, named Sanda Trading after the city in Japan whence he hails, to give himself something to do during early retirement. "I just wanted something fun to do and meet people with interests similar to mine," he says.

It's possible that he's telling the truth. Mr Fukawa spends most of the day parked on a bench outside his store, fiddling with a guitar - which he's lately been trying to add to his repertoire - or chain-smoking his way through Marlboros, while chatting with customers and friends.

But to his surprise - though not to ours - the business clicked. Mr Fukawa doesn't advertise, but word spread by word of mouth, even attracting customers from afar afield as Manila, and currently Mr Fukawa's main headache is that he is constantly running out of stock. "Uh-oh," he'll say as a white Nissan pulls up. The Nissan belongs to a local artist and Mr Fukawa knows that he's running thin on the kind of product the musician likes.

While there has been intense demand from the local music scene - Wa'y Blima! witnessed a steady stream of customers dropping by to inquire whether new stock has arrived - the problem is exarcerbated by the fact that Mr Fukawa has not been able to resist the temptation to diversify. In addition to musical gear, Sanda Trading sells laptop computers, digital cameras, and other consumer electronics, which tie up capital and hog space in the freight containers.

There is one other product line on offer, but only nominally. The store is littered with characters from Japanese cartoons (known as "anime"). Plastic figurines sit scattered atop amplifiers, nudged in-between digital gadgets, or atop keyboards. Mr Fukawa freely admits that these toys are for his personal pleasure, and names outrageous prices when asked to price the figurines.

I ask if it is possible to have something specific ordered from Japan. Without hesitation, Mr Fukawa, who speaks excellent English on account of having worked as a stockbroker in New York, says that he'll be glad to take the order if the product matches his interest. "What kind of a businessman are you?" I say, and Mr Fukawa reminds me that he's running the business just for fun.

Wandering through the aisles crammed with all sorts of products, I am impressed by the quality of the stuff on offer. It looks brand-new.

"How do you manage to get this stuff?" I ask.

Mr Fukawa smiles, tells me, but then says the answer is off the record. Suffice it to say that, thanks to an extensive network within Japan, Mr Fukawa is in a unique position to do what he does. I don't even bother to ask if he is afraid that someone might copy his success; I know for a fact that it is virtually impossible for anyone to assemble the kind of shipments he does at the prices he charges.

Instead, I ask Mr Fukawa what music he prefers. "Jazz. Blues." Such as? "Miles Davis, Coltraine." Ooh. The man clearly has good taste. Mr Fukawa likes to hang out at the Jazz n Blues House - for obvious reasons, plus there's the fact that it happens to be operated by a fellow expat from Japan - but has also been seen jamming on stage at bars in the city, with his customers/friends.

We talk a little about Mr Fukawa's previous business in Japan, which had nothing to do with music. We agree that what he is doing now is more fun and satisfying. Clearly, Mr Fukawa has found his spot in Cebu, doing what he loves with a passion - and surely all of Cebu must be grateful that this is so.