Tales and Treasures of Tokyo... Tattoos, Too!

Sorry it took me so long to get this posted. I went to Tokyo, came back, and have been busy as hell ever since.

It was a short, hectic trip, but I had a LOT of fun!

I landed at Narita on Wednesday afternoon.

Far be it from me to complain about white people (I have a family full of them), but I had just got in when this drunk Australian...

Okay, maybe he was in a sun burning bed that turned every inch of him bright red, and maybe he used Old Beer mouthwash, who knows?

This florid drunk walks up and says "You just got off the Air Canada flight, didn't you? You look f@#$ed."

I told him no, I got in from Hong Kong, where I live, but I don't sleep much, and thank you for noticing.

I took the Airport Train into Tokyo Station. Because Japan is not the most bilingual place, I ended up sitting in the wrong part of the train. Oh well.

I switched at Tokyo and soon was in Ochanomizu. It was raining, but I didn't care. I found my hotel, the St. Hills:I checked in, dropped off my bag, and walked right back to Ochanomizu and began looking at guitars!

My hotel was in Bunkyo City, and to get to the guitars I had to walk past a shrine. I took a few pictures:Guitars... where are the guitars...?

Over this bridge, that's where:By this point, I realize that I will probably never buy a guitar in Japan again. Not because they're not fantastic, but just because the necks are (understandably) smaller than I am used to.

But that doesn't mean I can't look!

Besides, I had a very short list of very specific things that I was willing to pay very specific (read:low) prices for. I saw a few of those things that afternoon, but decided to wait at least a day before losing my mind.

After a couple hours, I caught the JR line to meet up with Mio and Taiga for dinner.While I was waiting to meet Mio and Taiga, I took this photo.It was a very nice restaurant, and I enjoyed the meal (and the company) a lot.

All too soon, I was returning to my hotel, but the air was pleasant and I was just very grateful for the chance to meet up with friends.

The next morning, I took off for Shibuya and Shin Okubu.

To look at guitars.

I also needed to scout an address in Shibuya, which I did. Luckily, it was next to a guitar shop I had been to before.

The guitar shop had closed, but the address hadn't changed. The address I needed to find was found.

More on that later.

I also spent time looking for (and buying) used CDs and DVDs in Book Off and Union Disk.

Wildhearts CDs and a Shakalabbits single:Tokyo suits me too, Ginger.I admit that I enjoy knowing how to get to exactlywhere I want to go in Shibuya and being able to go there.

I am sure there are plenty of things I didn't see in Tokyo. But I wasn't there for that. I was there to look at guitars and CDs and DVDs.

But no AV...

Nevertheless, I did end up talking dirty that day. I had no sooner bought those two Wildhearts CDs than I saw a flyer for the October 6 Tokyo stop of THE 2009 WILDHEARTS TOUR OF JAPAN...

I dropped a really loud F-bomb in the middle of Union Disk. I had no idea about this, and in truth its just as well since I had a class to teach on the 6th.

I was still bitter, though.

By mid-afternoon, I was headed back to my hotel to bathe (and drop off all my purchases) because I had another dinner date.

I've been to Tokyo 3 times. Only the first time did I get to meet Natsume Nana. But I met her manager the last two times I was in Tokyo, and he is a very nice, funny man, and so I made sure to tell him I would be in Tokyo this time.

We met at the Gaienmae station and I got to meet his wife and daughter. The little girl was 2 and terrified of me.

Not that I blame her.

I attempted shameless bribery with a stuffed McDull. It sort of worked.

Mr. Hashiguchi says he is no longer Nana's manager, but of course he still sees her from time to time. He said she was out of Tokyo at the time, so she couldn't join us.

Frankly, I was just glad to see him again, and to meet his family. I guess I am intrigued and amused by the seeming contradiction of the family man who is an obviously devoted husband and doting father who just happens to be a pornographer.

Hey, he never put melamine in baby formula...

We had a nice dinner and talked about lots of stuff. His wife used to visit Hong Kong on business and spoke some English. So we all managed to communicate and had a blast.

Turns out he knows the people who make movies like Machine Girl and Tokyo Gore Police. I asked him about Sasori's release in Japan, and told him that a UK DVD with English subs was now available.

I found a few screen caps of what I think is one of the best scenes in the film, the fight between Nana and AnD's own Miki Mizuno:" I don't care if you belong to the same website; he's mine!!!""Mud wrestling scenes are so much easier than bukkake..."Nana's not used to being the one in the back...I asked Mr. Hashiguchi if Samurai Zombiewas on DVD yet; Nana has a small part in it (and her hair is bright red, which I find... noteworthy):What's that you say? A wig? She don't need no stinking wigIs this some sort of arcane signal that the hat and the purse match?

I'd proposeinstantly...He said that he would send a DVD to my hotel the next day. I was very impressed, but told him that if it didn't have English subs, I could just as easily get one from a US distributor.

I grant you, the dialogue of a film with a title likeSamurai Zombie is probably pretty unimportant, but I like to know these things...

The restaurant was near Tokyo University (if I recall correctly), which is where Mr. Hashiguchi went to school. He used to work in the restaurant, and has visited it ever since. I was very impressed by this, because it is the kind of longevity and familiarity that my own peripatetic lifestyle does not permit.

I met the latest student employee, Kindaichi, who had been to New Zealand for a year and spoke very good English. He seemed very surprised that I would come all the way to Japan just to see a Japanese band.

Dinner went by much too fast, and soon enough we took pictures and left.The Hashiguchis and me in back, the owner and Kendaichi in front.That little girl is very, very cute.We walked back to the station, and out of nowhere Mr. Hashiguchi handed his daughter to me. By this time of the night, she was too tired to be terrified and just went to sleep on my shoulder. I changed trains a station or so later, and said goodbye.

After giving Sala back to her Dad, of course.

It's nice to feel like I have friends in other cities. Especially such nice and interesting friends. And even though I steadfastly refuse to procreate (though I am not above 'going through the motions'), I enjoyed being around Taiga and Sala. They're both great kids.

I spent a lot of time on trains this trip, and I have to say,I wanted McDonalds more than I ever have before:

Every time the door opened at  a station, I would weep until she came back.

I'd eat that phoneif she promised to kiss me afterward.Or promised to promiseto thinkabout kissing me.

[ed. note] 'Big Mac' or 'Whopper' jokes are just so... easy.

[ed. other note] Someone isreally lonely!

The next morning I got up, dressed in comfortable clothes, and went to Shibuya.

I had an appointment.

Here:I had emailed a few shops in Tokyo, and this was the only one that had replied.

I sent them what I admitted was a lousy image to work with. It was something I saw in this photo:Specifically, this sticker:I had wanted to get a tattoo in Tokyo for a while, and I figured it would be fun to commemorate this trip with an image germane to my visit. It's a Shaka Labbits sticker!

Besides, I really liked the picture. It's the Angriest Rabbit in the World.90 minutes and Y31,500 later, I was the proud owner of a very, very well-done tattoo, shown here with a week of healing:

The bottom image is closer to what it looks like; given its position on my arm, movement distorts it easily (like if you pull a towel by opposite corners).But this tattoo healed very quickly, a sign of good work, and it looks incredible considering the utterly crap photo he had to work from.Sunsqlit Tattoo in Shibuya gets my hearty endorsement I spent my afternoon wandering Shibuya with a head full of endorphins from the tattoo and trying not to bump it on myself. I went to Book Off and HMV to get some used and new DVDs:Let me make it easy and just tell you, rather than make you try to read...1.Shakalabbits - Video Music Awards Greatest Hits Vol.12.Shakalabbits- The Bouncing Family (Live 2007)3.Shakalabbits -Live and Let Live Tour 2003 4.Shakalabbits -Between You and Me Show Final 2005 (at Budokan!)

Look at this archive photo of a t-shirt from that tour. Note the date of the Budokan show.That's my birthday. Dammit.5.Shakalabbits -Riddle Glide Soundsystem 2008-2009 (at ZEPP Nagoya)6. Mr. Big - Back to Budokan  including free commemorative towel (the show I didn't try hard enough to go see!!!)

5 and #6 were bought new at HMV; the others I got used at Book Off.

 

Later on, I went back to Ochanomizu to check if the things I wanted were still there.

They were!

I got this effects pedal case (just the case) for Y4100. That's a steal. It was slightly too big for my bag, which was luckily on its last legs anyway.

When I got back to Hong Kong, I got the case out by Caesarian. It takes approximately 30 seconds for the signal from the guitar to go through all this sh*t. Oh, I did also buy the white pedal, 2nd from right on the bottom row. It's a BOSS NS-2 Noise Suppressor.

Ooooh, thrilling huh? Here's a stock photo of an NS-2 since I am sure I would otherwise be deluged with demands for a peek at this uber-sexy thing: Sexy knobs on this baby. And three of them! One store had a 'junk' sale going. Japanese junk is a Chinese resident's treasure! A Bigsby-style vibrato tailpiece; Y3500. Of course, I'll build a guitar around it and negate any and all savings achieved by buying the bridge cheap. A set of custom-color-knob Goth tuners, for about 2/3 of the price for a standard set (with chrome knobs instead of brown. Again, will probably build a guitar around them...

I had another brush with Stupid White People, too. I was wearing a shirt that says "Rehab is for quitters," a sentiment more nuanced than one might first think.

Such subtlety was lost on this acid casualty shuffling along the street. He looked like a middle-aged version Neal from The Young Ones, overgrown hair and all.

But not as smart. Or as clean.

"Nice shirt, man..." he said.

I ignored him and kept walking.

It really is a major f@#$ing miracle that Japan lets white people in at all, given the representative population.I went back to the hotel to put all this stuff away, bought some 7-11 food and curled up with a book. It was early, butI knew my next day would be a long one.

I woke up early on Saturday and headed for Zepp Tokyo.It's on the man-made island in the middle of Tokyo Bay.

I was there to use this:I got there early enough and took up my place in the first line I found.Turns out the line was to buy merch. Which is rock slang for t-shirts, tour programs, etc. I was one of the first 20 people through the line. Which was good, because I wanted to be sure and get an XL shirt. I chose this one:No surprise here, eh?Japanese XL is still not American XL, but I will say its bigger than Chinese XL. Buying merch; I had already been through the line.Zepp Tokyo is at the base of the Ferris wheel. I mean the base !I started to notice what would be an all-day festival of "Look at the gaijin; what's he doing here?" Eventually, when it got to the point of ' stare, whisper to friend who then also stares,' I took to waving at the people in an animated fashion. They were either amused or mortified, so it worked for me.

Besides, who really cares? I was here for the same reason they were.

It was a long wait to get in, but I had already put my bag in the lockers they have outside the venue. I was lucky enough to be standing next to someone who was kind enough to give me change for the Y500 coin that I had.

I suppose I could say I was lucky she was a girl, too, but she was probably 17.

I thanked her profusely and made my way back outside to wait to get into the venue.

In Japan, the sooner you buy your ticket, the sooner you get in the venue. It's all very orderly, which is kind of nice. I was very graciously assisted by two Japanese girls in figuring out just when I was supposed to enter. I showed them my ticket, then stood there 'til they nodded at me.

Zepp Tokyo is a really nice venue. It has wood floors, and the main stage area has a slight incline so that people can see over each other's heads.

The venue also has railing installed so that the crowd basically keeps from becoming a human crush. It also gives people something to lean on if it's a show with a lot of bands on the bill.

I ended up at the back of the room, but obviously I had no trouble seeing. I would have liked to have been closer, but it was already a minor miracle that I got this close, so I ought to simply be grateful to my friend Kazumi who not only bought my ticket but EMSed it to me.

And I am, believe me!

There were six bands on the bill. All of them were good at what they did, even if some of the music was not to my taste. A lot of the crowd either knew these bands or was pleasantly surprised, as most of the acts got the crowd going up to and including crowd surfing. It was obviously hot, rowdy and frenetic near the stage, and I began to think that me and my middle-aged body parts were better off where we were; back in the safe part of the room.

The crowd was occasionally enthusiastic, but unfailingly polite. The last band before the headliners was simply not connecting with the crowd.

With me either, but I'm a visitor...

Still, the room applauded nicely.

One nice thing about Zepp Tokyo is that the sound system is crystal clear up to remarkablevolume. I could feel my pants legs moving from the sound.

It was great.

After the last warmup band left, you could feel the room getting excited. I was getting excited. I had traveled to another country to see this band, and I knew it was going to be good.

I was pleasantly shocked to find out I had grossly underestimated just how f@#$ing good it would be.

The band walked out onstage, looked at each other, and launched into "Sheep Glide Carnival" from 2008's Shakalabbits.It was interesting to watch the room absolutely come apart. It was nice to see kids go crazy withone another, not onone another. It was nice to worry if the floor could stand up to a couple thousand lunatics jumping up and down as if their life depended on it.

You could tell that the kids loved the band and the band loved the kids, and they wound each other up and took off. I was glad to be along for the ride.I've seen a lot of great bands in my life. October 3, 2009, I saw another one.

I knew it was a great show when it was over after what seemed like 10 minutes; it flew by because all of it was great.

The band tore through their set with conviction, skill, energy and fun. Imagine this, but for about 80 minutes:

It was sucha great feeling to be in the room with that energy.

It was invigorating to feel so musically intimidated by musicians who could stop and start so cleanly you felt the air get sucked into the sudden silences. They were phenomenal. I wish I could say I took these pictures, but I was never that close. Uki

King

Take-C

MahAfter the show ended, I walked out to get my bag out of the locker. I made my way past lots of other people in front of their own lockers, which was not easy since naturally the space was designed for Japanese people and not 120kg freaks like yours truly.

It was only after I started walking back to the train station that I realized I had a huge grin on my face that wouldn't go away.

My ears were ringing, but I felt great.

I had just seen a monsterrock and roll band, and right at that moment, all was right with the world.I went back to my hotel and went to sleep. I got up early and headed for the airport.Wearing that t-shirt.

True to my non-Japanese speaking form, I got on the wrong car again for the Airport Express, but did eventually go where I was supposed to.

Standing outside the bathroom in one of the non-seating cars.

I was tired and at this point I really just wanted to get to the airport. I was not necessarily in a good mood. But that was no one's fault, so I didn't act the @ss.

And I'm glad I didn't.

Because at the initial security that you pass through to go from the train to the terminal, I was lucky enough to have to speak to a young, pretty woman in a uniform.

She looked at my Shakalabbits t-shirt, then at me, and smiled. 

I found myself in a better mood instantly.

She asked me what I had in the saxophone case I was carrying.

"A guitar," I said.

She smiled even more, and I fell in love with Japan all over again.

I'm so easy.

I ran through the airport, grabbed some snacks with the last of my yen, and boarded the plane.If not for my friend Kazumi, I would never have managed this trip. I want to again say thank you to her and try to make her understand how much it means to me and just how incredible that band is.Kazumi, Shakalabbits really are that great.

And so areyou.

Thank you again!