Yesterday evening I was lamenting to a Japanese friend of mine that I was suffering from the Sunday Night Blues. I’ve had this problem off and on since school days. Sunday night rolls around, and I didn’t have my homework done, or maybe I didn’t have enough fun over the weekend, or maybe I just didn’t want the week to start because I wasn’t ready to deal with what the week had to offer. Usually, the feeling was mostly a general malaise, but punctuated with occasional dread, and even physical manifestations of anxiety like an elevated heart rate, the shakes, and other fun symptoms. Sound familiar? It would have been nice to have outgrown that feeling but it carried on through work as well. And after the ridiculous email I just got and foolishly read on my BlackBerry I understand why I still get this anxiety even as a seasoned worker.

Actually, in 2010, I wasn’t actually lamenting to a friend in person, or even by the telephone. This lament came by iPhone instant messaging. You can lament and respond at your own pace it seems [wait, let me check Twitter to see if anyone responded to my latest 140 characters or less … nope … OK, continuing …] using instant messaging. Two hours after my complaint, I got a response, “It’s Sazaesan syndrome in Japanese.”

Hmmmm. I tried to look up Sazaesan in my dictionaries. About the best I could get was, “サザエ” which apparently is a “turban shell (any mollusk of the family Turbinidae, esp. the horned turban, Turbo cornutus).” That doesn’t really apply at all. It was late, I was tired, and I didn’t want to bug my friend anymore, but I fell asleep wondering what the heck a mollusk had to do with my anxiety.

In the morning, I asked my colleagues, “Does anyone know what Sazaesan Syndrome” is? “No, but Sazaesan is TV anime show that has been on forever.” Google was my next resource. Finally, from Wikipedia,

Sazae-san (サザエさん) is a Japanese comic strip created by Machiko Hasegawa.

Sazae-san was first published in Hasegawa’s local paper, the Fukunichi Shimbun (フクニチ新聞), on April 22, 1946. When the Asahi Shimbun (朝日新聞) wished to have Hasegawa draw the comic strip for their paper, she moved to Tokyo in 1949 with the explanation that the main characters had moved from Kyūshū to Tokyo as well. The comic dealt with contemporary situations in Tokyo until Hasegawa retired and ended the comic on February 21, 1974. As one of Japan’s longest running and oldest comic strips and animations, the series is known to nearly every Japanese person, young and old.

The comic was very topical. In the beginning, Sazae was more interested in being herself than dressing up in kimono and makeup to attract her future husband. Hasegawa was forward-thinking in that, in her words, the Isono/Fuguta clan would embody the image of the modern Japanese family after World War II.

Sazae was a very “liberated” woman, and many of the early plotlines revolved around Sazae bossing around her husband, to the consternation of her neighbors, who believed that a man should be the head of his household. Later, Sazae became a feminist and was involved in many comical situations regarding her affiliation with her local women’s lib group.

Despite the topical nature of the comic, the core of the stories revolved around the large family dynamic, and were presented in a lighthearted, easy fashion. In fact, the final comic, in 1974, revolved around Sazae’s happiness that an egg she cracked for her husband’s breakfast produced a double yolk, with Katsuo remarking about the happiness the “little things” in life can bring.

Today, the popular Sazae-san anime is frequently taken as nostalgia for traditional Japanese society (since it lacks modern marvels such as video games and otaku culture), even though it was leftist to the point of controversy when it originally ran in Japanese newspapers.

In October 1969, Fuji Television started an animated comedy series, which is still on the air today and currently in production (making it the longest-running animated TV series in history). It has been broadcast every Sunday from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. and contains three vignettes. The animated series has some characters, like Katsuo’s classmates, who don’t appear in Hasegawa’s original works.

Well, I’m not Japanese but now I know too. But what does this have to do with a syndrome? Note that the TV show broadcasts EVERY SUNDAY from 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm. For many, it is a reminder that the weekend is quickly ending and the work week is approaching. The gloom they experience (as I described above) around this time on a Sunday night is Sazae-san Syndrome. Pretty cool, huh? Here’s a good article about Hasegawa, the strip, the TV show, and the syndrome.

This is covered in multiple blogs and mine is just another one, but it was new to me and that is what this blog is about. And now instead of saying, “The Sunday Night Blues” I now can label my melancholy as a syndrome.

 
 
But that’s not the only syndrome that I know either. There’s another great syndrome, metabolic syndrome. Folks use it a lot in Japan for drinking too much beer and getting older, not exercising, and generally getting squishier.

I thought it was a just a Japanese thing, but then I checked in, yup, Wikipedia and found it is, “a combination of medical disorders that increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes.” I won’t link because there is a really gross picture.

August is Festival (まつり) time in Japan. On any given weekend in August, you can be sure to find a festival somewhere in Japan. This year I missed the Nagoya Castle Festival, but I made it to the Hirokojidori Matsuri (広小路道まつぃ). Basically, several city blocks in downtown Nagoya are blocked and you have a big street party.

A matsuri in Japan is much like a county fair, or any one of a number of festivals that you can have in any small town in the US. It’s a way to get out, have some fun, eat some unhealthy food, and wonder why you went. In Japan, there are matsuri throughout the year (for instance, the fertility festival which I posted about that some people declared NSFW, or the naked man festival– the two posts that are responsible for the most number of hits to my website), but August is by far the most popular time. I think it is because it coincides with school holidays and Obon, so there are lots of reasons for people to take a little more time. The weather is incredibly hot and humid, so it is probably also a really good excuse to get out of the house because the house will be boiling hot anyway.

Unfortunately I forgot my camera, but I had my iPhone which has a pretty good camera.

The matsuri I visited tonight had all the requisite matsuri foods like karaage (からあげ), yakisoba (焼きそば), fried potatoes (フライドポテト), beer (ビール), scary chocolate bananas (バナナチョッコ), and so on. I had my traditional karaage and yakisoba. And walked down the street with a beer.

The street had many stages set up. There was the Jazz Stage, another stage with the Arc de Triomphe as the background for some inexplicable reason, two taiko areas, a domannaka style dance area, and a street dancing stage. Well, that’s some of the stages. They also had a bon odori area. Very nice, and participants easily ranged from 5 to 75.

One thing I really like about Japan is that young and old alike are not afraid to participate in traditional activities. Although I’m sure some customs are dying, younger generations do seem willing to stay engaged. As a matter of fact, one of my young colleagues was planning to go to Gujo during Obon for their bon odori all night dance. I thought that was really cool. Unfortunately, work intervened and he couldn’t make it. He doesn’t strike me as extremely traditional, I just think he thinks it’s fun.

The entrepreneurs start very young here too. Instead of a lemonade stand, this kid is selling beer.

I’m trying something new here … updating my blog exclusively with my iPad. I don’t plan on doing this for long entries, but it is pretty convenient. I’m in Tokyo for the weekend and decided not to bring my laptop.

I was reading CNN, and noticed an interesting article on the dollar / yen FOREX. It isn’t good news as the dollar approaches record lows against the yen. For ex-pats, this can be great news, bad news, or no impact. Luckily for me, it really isn’t that big of an impact, and might even be a little bit to my advantage. I am still paid in dollars, so my net worth in yen has been in pretty steady decline. However, my housing and major expenses are covered by the company at their cost. I don’t have an allowance in USD other than my transportation allowance. In addition, I have a goods and services differential that basically covers cost of living differences in consumer item costs as well as adjustments for exchange rate fluctuations. So, provided my lifestyle doesn’t exceed the basis for my goods and services differential I am OK. When I do buy major items here like plane tickets, it hurts! If I was going to settle in Japan it would be more of an issue. But one of these days the adventure will end and I’ll pre turn to LA.

Other ex-pats are on a dollar salary and may not have the goods and services differential as part of their package. They are the ones that are hurting the most in this situation. Life is costing more and more in USD even though inflation is low.

Still other ex-pats are paid in yen. If they are planning on returning to the States, i would imagine they are buying dollars like crazy right now. They are quite happy!

For quite a while, Tomo has been trying to convince me to attend the Fuji Rock Festival, held every year at the Naeba ski area in Niigata-ken north of Tokyo. While I love a good live show, and the open mountain space seemed cool, I never made it there. Music festivals sometimes seem like more work than fun: I’ve been to two Coachella festivals, and one Summer Sonic. Both of them were extremely hot, multi-day draining experiences. Of course, I saw some good acts, at those festivals, but I will admit I was looking forward to the end of the festival.

Since I feel like I am living a little bit on borrowed time here in Japan, I decided I would attend Fuji Rock this year. And I’m really, really glad that I did and will most likely go next year if I am still here. There are still plenty of excuses I could make not to go, and they are all true. There is no convenient way to get from Nagoya to Naeba – if you go by train you still need to go to Tokyo, if you go by car it is a 6 hour drive that is fairly inefficient, and if you take a night bus, well, that’s just hell. Also, it ALWAYS rains at Fuji Rock. Always. Plus, late July, early August in Japan is super hot and humid, even in the mountains. Each one of those excuses came true (well, no night bus), but I overcame them and my age and had a blast.

One additional problem is that Tomo almost always has some commitment for Fuji Rock as well, so he doesn’t really get to see the entire three days as a concertgoer. This year was no different, as he had obligations for Saturday and Sunday of the event. I really wasn’t that keen on spending two of the three days at the festival alone, but I cajoled one of my young Japanese colleagues to go to Fuji as well. Thanks Kanamori-san for joining on Sunday. It made the experience that much better.

Prior to the festival, I did my necessary scholarly research and learned of some new bands. Many already had a buzz about them, so picking up a few albums on iTunes was a welcomed expense. The way the lineups were shaping up, Friday and Sunday were looking amazing and Saturday was looking, um, well, not that interesting. Sorry John Fogerty, I’ve never really liked your voice or your solo work.

In order to get to the festival for the first band, we decided that I should come up to Tokyo on Thursday night so we could catch a 7:00 am train from Tokyo Station on Friday morning. Of course, I had a full day of work, on a really hot day as well so finally getting on the train felt great. Vacation.

By the time we were buying our shinkansen tickets to the nearest train station to Naeba, all the reserved seats were sold out. Uh oh. This was not to plan – I had expected the tickets would have been purchased already. But, no biggie, we got seats on the train no problem. Once we got to Yuzawa, the line to catch the shuttle bus to Naeba ski area was probably 1 hour long.

It was about 8:30 am and the first band was at 11:00 am. We were already pushing the schedule. Hey, things take time. Tomo did some scouting and discovered a taxi ride would be about 7000 yen. But split 4 ways, it was only about 2000 yen each. Definitely affordable. It took about two seconds to find two people to share the taxi and away we went. We arrived and started schlepping our luggage to the area where Tomo thought was the drop off point. Except it wasn’t. I felt a little silly dragging my over-nighter around with me while other more rough-and-tumble festival types were camping.

Others went for tiny car camping.

We got almost to the ticket area and merchandise area and then Tomo realized that the left luggage area was the other way. Oops. At that time, we decided to get our wristbands since we were nearly there. Already the line for wristbands was really long, and definitely was going to get much longer. Fortunately, we were on the guest list for that day thanks to Tomo’s connections (thanks to The Cribs!) so it was really easy for us. No wait, just our special red wristband.

The merchandise line was really long but we decided we could come back for that later. We started against the crowd to drop our luggage. As we were heading in the general direction, I suggested to check with our “ryokan” to see if we could just drop off our bag even though check in was at 3:00 pm. The answer was basically, “Sure, no problem.” So we had a plan – everything would be taken care of. We would have checked in, our bags would be were they needed to be, and all we had to do was enjoy the show. At this point, it was getting hot already and I was wondering if boots with wool socks was a smart idea. Short answer – the weather is very changeable and it was a great idea.

I’ll summarize all the bands we saw at the end of this entry. But the opening band was, “Superfly,” a pretty popular Japanese band. We made it for the start and enjoyed it a lot. FRF has about 5 main stages spread throughout the valley, with about 3 or 4 small DJ stages elsewhere. On the first day, we didn’t make it beyond the first two stages – the Green Stage (headliner stage) and the Red Marquee. I would call Red Marquee the stages for up and coming bands (although Fishbone laid down a set full of hate towards an ex there).

Superfly on the Green Stage

Even the young enjoy the show

And the crowd behind.

And the Red Marquee

Tomo had raved about the food and he was not wrong. The food was excellent. We immediately enjoyed とろろめし (tororomeshi) for breakfast on Friday. I actually enjoyed it EVERY morning. Basically, it is rice, soupy ground Chinese potatoes, and a little soy sauce. That’s it. Kanamori-san told me that the rice from Niigata is the best rice in all of Japan. Maybe that was the secret. I don’t know. I just know the food was great. We also enjoyed miso soup, pizza, ramen, tacos (as in Mexican soft tacos, not taco like octopus), corn on the cob with soy sauce, and of course beer. We were lucky for the most part because the oft promised rain came without fail. There’s basically only one covered stage – the Red Marquee - and we were in it when the rain came. We weren’t so lucky when we were eating dinner, but soon were able to move inside the tent and stay dryish.

We were able to enjoy MUSE together. Unfortunately, the beginning of the show was somewhat impacted by a totally obnoxious, totally drunk Brit. Imagine a rude Brit? So out of character. Once the crowd started surging when the music really got going, we decided to beat a hasty retreat and enjoy the full spectacle of the show without injury or burns from the Brit smoking in the no smoking area.

We headed back to the ryokan and soaked our tired bodies in the public bath in our ryokan. Tiny bath, and not very clean but the water was hot and it felt good.

Japan is very conscious of manners, or マナー (mana-) as it is called here. It is such a crowded country, manners go a long way. What was absolutely amazing about this festival is that the grounds are so clean and so respected. People bring their trash to the trash area and sort it very specifically. I think that’s great. I think it is amazing. Coachella becomes a big trash can by the end of the night and it all has to be cleaned up for the next day. But in Japan, the grounds, although muddy, are very clean.

Saturday

From early Saturday morning, I was solo due to Tomo’s commitments. There was still so much I had not seen though I could spend the whole day alone and just wander the site. In the morning I did decide to get some merchandise. Unfortunately, by the second day, the shirt that I really wanted was already sold out. So was my second choice. Not to be deterred, I bought something anyway. That’s good marketing – settling for your third choice because you just want something.

I caught some bands in the morning and then took the “Dragondola” to one of the local peaks where people were decidedly more “chill.” If this was Coachella, I’m sure the smell of pot would be everywhere. The whole weekend I caught one strong whiff only.

Of course there was a shop dedicated to THC

Actually, I am quite amazed at the ability for Japanese to sleep anywhere, anytime. True, alcohol could have something to do with it as could a difficult night of sleep in the rain in a tent, but every at every stage there where people totally crashed in their chairs, on a tarp, on the grass, wherever.

The Day Dreaming and Silent Breeze stage had a clearly chill groove to it, and was very relaxed.

I returned and ducked down below the gondola to hit a REAL bathroom, and as I came out, so came the rain. Lucky again, sheltered in an otherwise wide open festival. I watched the rain fall down around me and enjoyed the boots of the kid hanging out with me (well, actually with his parents).

Actually, as I said before, the fashion was very interesting, very much just wearing what was necessary to battle the elements. I saw a lot of shorts and leggings on guys and girls, and the variety of rain boots astounded me.

I wandered around the various stages and saw each of the areas, including a Dog Park, a drumming area, Orange Court, Field of Heaven, the NGO Village, and the White Stage. I encountered some surprising bands like a bluegrass band from the UK, and a New Orleans group that sounded like any one of 1000 house or show bands, complete with a cover of, “Shout.”

Dog Park

Stone Circle drumming

Orange Court

Acoustic stage

Field of Heaven

NGO Village

Kidsland

White Stage

The ski area has a nice walk through the woods that revealed an acoustic stage and lots of interesting light art. I actually walked the boardwalk twice, once in the day light and once as the sky darkened so I could get the full effect of the mirror balls.

I caught a little of Fishbone as I ate some food but the rain started coming down. I decided that it would be better to get a restful evening since Sunday was a big day, so I headed back to the ryokan in the rain so I could get dry and relax.

 
Sunday

Kanamori-san was going to drive up from Nagoya on Saturday, but he arranged some people to share the ride and share the cost, so his 6 hour drive started at about 10:30 pm on Saturday night. Poor guy, I had been sending him tons of advice from the festival, “Rain boots, camp stool, rain gear, rain boots, muddy” and so on. He probably was ready to kill me. He found rain boots, and we both determined that no rain would happen since he had them.

We had a last minute back and forth as Kanamori-san was bringing people with him, and those folks might be looking for a place to stay. I had room for two more on Saturday night, but Sunday was full with me, Kanamori-san, Tomo’s friend, and the friend’s friend. The logistics was seeming to work out, and I told Kanamori-san to call when he got to the ryokan and everyone could crash for a few hours of sleep. Like clockwork, at 5:00 am, the phone rain and Kanamori-san was there, drinking a celebratory beer with … 3 other people.

Uh oh. Definitely only room for a total of 4 people and now we had 5. No problem though, as one had another place to stay.

We slept a little bit more, 4 very cozy in a 6 tatami room. The Kanamori crew got past the logistics pretty easily and then we went to have とろろめし again for breakfast. At that point, Kanamori-san said, “I’m already happy,” which made me happy as well. After all, when you feel somewhat responsible for someone spending a bunch of money and traveling 6 hours by car, you hope they don’t say, “Well, this really sucks.”

We wandered from stage to stage, and met up with Tomo for a little bit as well as he had some down time. Tomo sought out Thom Yorke for an autograph, found him, but was DENIED! He was able to see Flea and have a chat with Jake Shears though.

We met up with Haru-san, one of the travel companions, and her crew at the Green Stage. It was nice of the crew to welcome us into the fold. I hung with the over 30 crowd while the young ones fought their way towards the front for Atoms for Peace. We were all given flashing rings to celebrate.

The day was remaining relatively rain-free, and the curse of the rain boots seemed to be doing its job, and also quite a job on Kanamori-san’s feet as huge blisters were developing. Then, during Belle and Sebastian, the drizzle started. By the time we made it to Scissor Sistors, it was a full fledged downpour. At that point though, I was caught up in the music and the festival, and danced, danced, danced. What a great way to end the festival.

We made it back to the ryokan to meet Yaya and her friend, and then the various members of the crew showed up as well. Ichikawa-san ended up sleeping in the car. Sorry dude. But he’s young. He continued to sleep on the way home too.

It was Grand Central Station at 1:30 am in the ryokan and a bit confusing, but things settled down and we went next door to an onsen, stood in line for about 15 minutes waiting to use the shower, and then had a very nice soak in the hot spring water. So nice.

 
Monday

Monday morning we woke up as planned, loaded up, and headed back to Nagoya. The roads were clear and the weather was fine, and we made the journey in about 6 hours. The time flew by for me.

The festival was fantastic, and I want to go again. I hope I’m around for it next year.

 
Bands

 
Friday

Superfly (Green Stage) – Japanese band to kick off the festival. They were the NHK theme song for World Cup this year, so I was familiar with the sound. The lead singer could really sing, and she did a cover of, “Natural Woman.” The pronunciation was a little questionable at times, but the voice was amazing.

Jamaica-Live (Red Marquee) - French band, singing in French and English. The were good. It was early and I forget most everything about them.

The Cribs (Green Stage) - Thanks for the guest list. And now I’ve seen Johnny Marr perform. We were way back in the back and they had a hard time reaching the audience back there.

Miike Snow (Red Marquee) - Excellent. I’ve heard mixed reviews about them live but they were very fine. Are they orthodox?

Broken Bells (Red Marquee) - I remember nothing.

The XX (Red Marquee) - Very art school. I think they may be too cool for school, or maybe really interesting to talk to. There’s such a fine line between brilliant and stupid.

MUSE (Green Stage) - Getting bigger and bigger every show. Heading towards arena rock self importance. Still a good show.

 
Saturday

Dirty Projectors (Red Marquee) - I kept calling them DIrty Professors, maybe because I’m still scarred by my EE professor getting a little too close for comfort. Anyway, had the misfortune of having the same drunk Brit from Muse stand next to me eating and getting in a food fight with his mate. Classy. The band was fine.

Kula Shakar (Green Stage) - Just heard them passing through the Green Stage area.

Third Eye Blind (White Stage) – By mistake. Wrong place at the wrong time.

Kitty Daisy & Lewis (Field of Heaven) - After hearing their bluegrassy sound I didn’t expect them to be Brits. But they were. They brought on a Jamaican trumpet player as well. Anytime you bring on a trumpet player I’ll perk up. Very entertaining.

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (Field of Heaven) - I had NO plans to see this band. I didn’t even know who they were. But Mr. Shorty wasn’t so short, could sing, could dance, played trombone, and played trumpet. How in the HECK did he switch from Trombone to trumpet? I’m guessing he plays from two different positions so he’s got his trumpet embouchure and his trombone embouchure. Felt like a Vegas house band, but the crowd was really in to it.

Fishbone (Red Marquee) – Caught a little bit of their vitriol as I was trying to have some dinner and escape the rain

 
Sunday

Matt and Kim (White Stage) - Like watching a kids TV show with expletives. Really energetic, really goofy, really fun, but bordered on gimmicky.

Ocean Colour Scene (Green Stage) - Guitarist plays with Paul Weller now. Rocked out. The crowd enjoyed them.

Akihiro Namba (White Stage) - Another band I had not planned to see. Japanese, kind of punk. Apparently were really big about 10 years ago. Kanamori-san wanted to see them. They started to play “Stay Gold” as I was fiddling with my phone or something. Everyone rushed the stage and I ended up taking refuge in front of Kanamori-san. High energy, fun show.

Ozomatli (Field of Heaven) - Everything I miss about multiculti Los Angeles. Hispanic, White, African-American, Asian all represented in this band, with lyrics in English and Spanish. It felt so LA, and even the songs are about LA. The crowd enjoyed them as did I.

Vampire Weekend (Green Stage) - I was really excited to see them, but watched them from far away. As the show went on, their energy seemed to dwindle. Actually, I was disappointed in their live performance. Still love their album though.

Boom Boom Satellites (Green Stage) - This was another Kanamori pick. I was blown away - electronica meets rock. A Japanese duo who seemed to hit it big in Europe first. After watching them, I didn’t even bother to see Hot Chip or LCD Soundsystem.

Atoms for Peace (Green Stage) - Although Thom refused an autograph to Tomo, I still allowed myself to watch. AFP seemed to be generating the biggest buzz. They were great as I expected. I am not as familiar with the music as I am Radiohead, so I didn’t connect as much. Thom was looking really bad, but sounding really good.

Belle and Sebastian (White Stage) - Belle and Sebastian are always good. Maybe it is the trumpet that brings me back. I really enjoyed their show even as the rain started falling. They even did a sing-a-long for a song that hasn’t been released. It will be soon.

Scissor Sisters (Green Stage) - Last gig, pouring rain, and I danced my pants off. Jake sounded great and was loving showing off his new body. I really did dance a lot to this show.
 

And now for some pictures that don’t really go anywhere else.

Along the river

General scene around the Green Stage

Some Engrish. Not sure I want to drink from the Womb Bar.

Words don’t mean the same in Japan

And to leave with the youthful enthusiasm of a young kid drumming his Dad’s head.

After over two years living in Japan and getting an International Driver’s License every time I went back to the States, I decided to get my Japanese driver’s license. The company will pay for it, so why not? The main impetus though is my driver’s license in the US is expiring next month and I was expecting to get a renewal by mail. I haven’t received it yet, and my house sitter is preoccupied with his newborn child. I want to make sure that when I go to the US I’m not caught in a situation where I have no valid license. My only valid license may be a Japanese license. The other reason is that I’m going on a road trip soon and I want to be unquestionably legal.

Have I driven in Japan since I got here? Nope, not this time. I have driven frequently in Australia and before in Japan, so it won’t be the first time that I am driving “on the wrong side of the road.” And every vehicle I get in now is right hand drive.

Everybody who lives in Japan and has a blog has probably blogged about getting their license so there is nothing unique about what I am writing. But what the heck, this is MY blog so I am allowed to write whatever I want.

Most folks in the office already have their license, and our Office Administrator knows the process inside and out so it should be really easy. Plus my colleagues have practical experience so they could impart their wisdom to me. It seems deceptively simple: written test, practice driving, and a practical examination. Maybe half a day, tops, right? Uh, NO, this IS Japan. Let’s just say converting your foreign license to a Japanese license is not so easy. It isn’t hard, but patience is a must.

First of all, there’s the paperwork preparation. What paperwork was required?

• Get an official translation of my California driver’s license at the Japanese Automobile Federation (3000 yen plus time)
• Copies of my US license, front and back
• Copies of my alien registration card, front and back
• Old passport picture and visa page
• New passport picture and visa page
• Two recent pictures

OK, not so hard so far.

On my initial visit to the Aichi-ken version of the DMV, I knew I would have to take a written examination before I continued the process. We had a very, very, very dry version of the Japanese rules of the road from the JAF. It is a great insight into Japanese culture, and very much a lesson in not wanting to be the nail that sticks out above the others. A nice excerpt from the document is:

A tremendous volume of pedestrian and vehicular traffic moves on the road. The failure of a single driver or pedestrian to consider others, by moving as he or she pleases, can upset the traffic pattern or cause accidents, even though the individual may not be injured or inconvenienced.

Traffic rules have been established by a systematic set of commitments that must be observed by everyone. By following these rules, we can be assured that traffic moves smoothly and safely. In other words, it is the fundamental responsibility of each citizen as a member of society to observe traffic rules.

Wow.

 
Day 1
 
To summarize my first day, here’s what I had to do at the Aichi-ken version of the DMV:

• Step 1 / Window 12 - Have my paper work reviewed to see if it is order and also determined how long I have been driving on my old driver’s license. Also get initial form
• Step 2 / Window 11 - Carry paper work and pay 2400 yen
• Step 3 / Window 13 - Stand in-line to get some stamp and show my AR card, precurser to vision test
• Step 4 / Machine 1 - Do a quick eye test to determine which direction the C is pointed.
• Step 5 / Table 1 - Color test – can you recognize red green yellow
• Step 6 / Room 6 - 10:30 am foreigner written examination
• Step 7 / Room 6 - Get results and assignment of time slot for practical driving exam
• Step 8 / Window 17 – Change time slot for practical driving examination

These were the initial steps for the DMV portion of the morning. There were still more steps to do before the day ended.

But first, at Step 1, the official groused to my translator that US passports are the worst to read because they cannot understand when people enter and leave the US because the US doesn’t stamp passports. I think they were trying to understand how long I was in the US for the duration of my last license. I think it helps determine if I need a beginners magnet or not.

Yes, a beginner’s magnet. If you are a beginner driver you have to display a yellow and green magnet warning others you are a beginner (yellow, green – the colors of Spring). If you are an older driver you must display a magnet indicating you are a senior driver (yellow, orange, the colors of Fall). I was hoping to avoid the beginner magnet. Luckily my official got bored and figured I had been in the US long enough.

After I made it past the paperwork check window, I had to go to the payment window and pay 2400 yen for some reason. They show proof on your paperwork by affixing stamps to the paper. Then I moved to another line to prepare for the vision exam. After a few updates and stamps to the paperwork, I had a quick vision test with my glasses on. No problem. Then I had to stop at a table for a simple color recognition test. For some reason I was compelled to answer in Japanese. After all, I know my colors. Except I got them all wrong. I called red (akai) to be blue (aoi). I think I called yellow (kiiroi) to be black (kuroi). Nice! My OA laughed and the table person said, “In english.” That was easier. Great start to the testing for the day. My excuse is that I had gotten some rather disturbing news prior to the color test so I was a little shaken up (all is well now).

I had the written test that basically was, “If you see a sign that says STOP should you stop? O or X.” Where O = maru = true and X = batsu = false. I had ten such questions. I aced it. After I passed the written examination I was assigned the time for my driving test. I was assigned the next morning! Oh no! My OA couldn’t make it so we had to go to another window to reschedule the driving test for the 27th.

As I said, that’s not all. Next I had to:

• Step 9 – Sign up for practice driving sessions on the test course (17000 yen, I signed up for two 1 hour sessions)
• Step 10 – Sketch both the driving courses, A and B, because you have to memorize the course for the practical examination
• Step 11 – Walk the driving course to understand the layout

Since I had not driven in Japan for 6 years, I thought perhaps a practice session or two may be practical. What is especially strange for the driving test is you have to drive a particular course, and you must have the course memorized, but you don’t know the course you will have to drive until just before your test.

They won’t give you a handout of the course either, they give you paper with a non-repro light blue (before the days of color scanners / printers) and then you have to sketch the course from one of the zillion examples they have in the driving practice office. I signed up for two courses on Saturday and sketched the courses. Like an F1 driver, we had a chance to walk the course as well between 11:45 and 12:30. So after a walk around Course A and Course B, it was time to be done for the day.

 
Day 2

• Practice session 1
• Practice session 2

I had arranged a Japanese colleague to meet me at the driving school and be my translator for driving practice. We had planned to meet at 2:00 pm, giving me plenty of time before my 3:00 pm Session 1. I got a text stating he’d be about 10 minutes late. No biggie, after all, we were getting there about 1 hour early. Then I got a phone call at 2:15 pm saying, “Where are you?” OMG. I was sitting at home screwing around with my iPhone. “Um, I messed up. I’m on my way.” Not the way to start a practice session. I was extremely lucky and got to the subway station just in time. After I was on the train, there wasn’t anything more I could do, and it looked like I would make it. Which I did, somehow.

The first instructor I had really didn’t say much. We just drove course A over and over. In Japan, you really, really, really, want to be as far over on the left as possible on a left turn so that you squeeze out any bike or motorcycle from t-boning you. Just run them into the curb! That was my main critique.

The second instructor was like a drill sergeant on Course B. “And check one-two-three-four turn,” “mirror, bike-check, slowly slowly, no brake no accel,” “signal.” He made me nervous! I think by the end though he was pretty confident I would pass because he was just chatting with my interpreter by the end, while I did laps.

I only turned the windshield wipers on once, and that’s not bad after a 6 year hiatus in a Japanese car in Japan (right hand drive). I felt I was ready for the practical test but I knew I would be nervous.

 
Day 3

• Step 1 / Window 11 - Pay fee for practical test (car rental, etc)
• Step 2 / Window 17 - Proof of practical test fee / check in, course assignment
• Step 3 - Walk the course again just to make sure
• Step 4 - Wait for line up for test
• Step 5 - (outside) Line up for test and receive lecture
• Step 6 - Wait for others to go
• Step 7 - 10 minute driving practical test on course A
• Step 8 / Window 21 - Wait for results of practical exam
• Step 9 / Room 2 - Verify latest paper work for those who passed the exam
• Step 10 - Picture
• Step 11 / Window 11 – Back to Window 11 to pay license fee
• Step 12 / Room 2 - Receive license and another lecture
• Rejoice!

I got to visit Line 11 again right away. Until the test line up, I basically bounced around to get all I needed stamped, paid, initiated, and so on. Eventually we got lined up for the test – some were doing the manual transmission test while I was choosing automatic. All my cars in the US have been manual, and I prefer them. But I thought I’d reduce the complications. When I drove manuals in Australia, I sometimes made some awful sounds going from 2nd to 3rd and I didn’t feel like failing.

There were about 10 foreigners in my group, trying to convert their licenses to a Japanese license. My interpreter / OA was with me and she’s been through this before. The first guy didn’t do bad. The second guy totally revved the engine. The third guy forgot to turn on his turn signal before exiting the parking stall. And so on. My OA said, “Fail.” “Probably fail.” “Instant failure.” The poor woman in front of me forgot to put on her seatbelt.

Finally it was my turn. I was telling myself just to relax. I never had to take a driving test in the US as I got a “waiver” on my permit in driver’s education that said I was such a good driver I didn’t need practical test. Just one of many unwarranted academic advantages I got by being clever instead of worthy. OK, I probably wasn’t “unworthy” but I knew how to game the system.

In the middle of the exam, I started getting a little nervous but still I was driving. I knew I wasn’t over to the left enough, but I thought I hit all my steps and bike checks. I didn’t overrun any stop lines (instant failure) or forget turn signals. I made it through, returned, and the instructor just told me to move to the left (I knew it) and to do my bike check earlier. I left feeling pretty good.

And then we waited. I finished about 10:20 am, and the scores would not be announced until 12:45 pm. Yes, that’s right. Announced. We had to go upstairs, wait in a waiting room, and if your name was called you passed. Like Mr. Chastain handing out tests from highest score to lowest score. What a bummer when you had to wait for your exam. Well, I passed. Phew. As did 4 others in the group. That’s it. One Peruvian woman was so emotional that she started crying while on the phone telling someone she passed. “How many times?” she asked me. “Just once.” It was impressive to her.

I finally processed out (picture, pay, pickup, lecture) and I now I am a licensed driver in Japan. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. And no magnetic beginner’s badge of shame.

Watching the woman cry made me realize there are two types of expats – those who have a sweet package deal and those that are just barely making a living. Of course, that is a generalization. For me, it was easy, the company was paying for everything, including my practice sessions. So the approximately $250 I spent was not so much to me. And honestly, I would pay for it myself. For others, it is a big deal, and they can’t afford practice sessions, or multiple tests until they pass. I need to stop and think before I complain too much here.

A few of my Japanese colleagues knew I was pursuing my license and expressed shock that I was able to get it. I don’t know if I should be offended or proud? That is a typical sentiment though, EVERYTHING is harder in Japan so anytime a foreigner has success it is a big deal. Well, big deal or not, I’ve gotten a Japanese license. I’m relieved that I didn’t fail instead of happy that I passed, but the end result is the same.

When I posted “Ishigaki!” as a subject on Facebook, people were puzzled. The thought I was counting something, sneezed, and my brother went as far as to say it was the sound his cat made when trying to expel a furball. Thanks for the comments everyone. No, Ishigaki is an island in the Ryukyus (琉球), better known as Okinawa.

When most people think of Okinawa these days, they think of the controversy over the US bases on the main island of Okinawa. However, there are many islands that are part of the island chain. I wanted to go where there weren’t so many Americans to minimize the potential for hostility. We decided on the ANA Intercontinental in Ishigaki and a day trip to Iriomote. Ishigaki and Iriomote are part of the Yaeyama group of islands within Okinawa.

Unfortunately, the dates we chose were right in the middle of rainy season, or tsuyu (梅雨, つゆ), and the weather did not let us down. Somewhat surprisingly, it didn’t really impact our plans at all. It rained every day we were there, but the heaviest rain was conveniently timed when we were moving from one location to another, or in some sort of protected situation. Even when we were stuck in the rain, it wasn’t bad since the air temperature ranged from 24 degC to 29 degC the whole time (77 degF to 84 degF).

Tomo flew in from Tokyo, and I flew in from Nagoya and we met in Naha before continuing to Ishigaki. What amazed me is that I flew a 777 from Nagoya and Tomo flew a 747. His was cool too. I’ve never flown such a big airplane for a domestic flight, and for such a short flight. Well, a few times I’ve taken a 747 from Singapore to Jakarta, but I was amazed that there was such a demand that a jumbo jet is standard.

As I learned in Kyoto, it is school trip season and the airport in Naha was filled with packs of junior high school kids.

We got to Ishigaki fairly late on a Friday, but early enough that we could find a place for dinner. Tomo had a few ideas from a book, but the taxi driver made our final decision for us. The restaurant was fantastic, clearly a local place, and appeared to have a mix of locals and visitors.

We had decided to go to Iriomote for a day trip and actually booked a tour. I’m not a big fan of tours, but they can be convenient. By booking the tour, we didn’t have to worry about renting a car, or being tired as we drove from location to location, and we can get a little bit of local description. Of course, like any tour, each place we went conveniently had some shop associated with it where we could buy souvenirs, ice cream, etc. One our itinerary was a boat ride along a river and through a mangrove, a 2 hour hike to a from a waterfall, lunch, a visit to a beach where the sand is shaped like a star, and then a water-buffalo cart ride to another island.

To get from Ishigaki to Iriomote required a ride in a ferry. The only time I rode a ferry consistently was in Sydney, often taking the ferry between Manly Beach and Sydney Harbor. When I was there, you could choose between a big boat or, for a premium, the hydrofoil. So when I saw our “ferry” I thought, “Uh oh.” I’m not a great sailor and I worried about the 35 minute ride. The boat seemed so small and so claustrophobic. I was expecting to hang out on the deck, letting the fresh wind buffet me as we meandered to the next location. Instead, I walked down a few steps into a single aisle, 3 x 3 seat configuration with a ceiling lower than a 737. I was afraid this was going to be bad. Once we started though, I realized why we weren’t on deck – this boat was a speedboat! We were sitting right at water level, and the boat was flying across the sea. There was no rocking of the boat – any waves we encountered were either destroyed by us or pounded us in a slightly different direction. In true Japanese and transportation form, most everyone slept.

Inside the boat

Once we arrived, we found our tour bus, and had a total of 5 people in a full size tour bus. I was thinking perhaps we picked a lame tour, but I realized that there just weren’t that many people visiting. Cool. Iriomote has two stoplights on the entire island, and we encountered one of them.

Iriomote has two main rivers sending water from the mountains to the sea, and we took a boat ride through a mangrove. Pretty scenery, that’s about all to say about that. We were dropped off upstream, where we started a hike to an upstream waterfall. The hike took us through a rainforest, and the path was a mixed of pavers, prepared stairs, and roots. We were both wearing sandals and realized afterwards that we were really sore from trying to maintain balance. Since we had no ankle support our legs were doing a lot of work. We saw many interesting things along the way, including multiple spider webs with a mean looking master. The waterfall was nice although I guess I was expecting a 200 foot tumbling spectacular instead of a stretch of rough water.

The boat dock

Tomo, looking 1960s Italian in his Ben Sherman shades

In the rain forest

The spider

Waterfalls along the river

Lunch was provided at a nearby resort. It was a set course, and very good. It was very colorful as well.

Next up was the hoshinosuna (星の砂, ほしのすな) beach. Basically, the sand contains many star shaped “grains” which are actually shells. It is interesting though to run your hand through the sand to find the star shaped grains. Both Tomo and I found a grain immediately, so we spent the rest of the time enjoying the scenery and checking out the tidal pools.

Starry sand

Trapped in a tide pool

The beach

After that, it was around the island to a place where you can ride a cart drawn by a water buffalo to another island (Yubu Island). I was not really keen on this part of the tour, but apparently it was made famous by a commercial in Japan, and also by a television show. So it has become a part of the Iriomote circuit. My thoughts didn’t really change when we reached the location and the wind was whipping and the tide was low. But we rode the buffalo to the island. It turns out the island used to have residents but during one particularly strong typhoon they left the island and decided (or most likely it was decided for them) that they would not return. There are still a few buildings left over from that time, including a school. It was very LOSTesque and I was afraid Ben or the Smoke Monster might show up. Instead, it seems an eccentric couple turned it in to a kind of horticulture park.

Water buffalo and riding over on the cart

The scary things on the island including a falling-down school, some strange fish thingys, and Doraemon

Some of the interesting flora on the island

Iriomote is also famous for the Iriomote Mountain Cat, a nocturnal cat that no one ever sees. I didn’t see it either, but found a few signs that made me think I didn’t want to encounter it!

We then zoomed back to Ishigaki, got cleaned up, and went to a yakiniku (焼き肉, やきにく) restaurant for some famous Ishigaki beef. Our reservation was for 7:30 pm and we were warned that they may be sold out of some items by then. Island life is early! And so ended our first full day in Okinawa.

Ishigaki Island

The next day, the weather wasn’t very promising, so we decided to do an Ishigaki tour. This time we had a full sized tour bus for just the two of us. Yikes! I wish we had a minivan. The tour started off rather ominously, visiting a memorial to Chinese that were killed by the British and Americans after their ship wrecked on the island. Hmmmm. But then we headed to Kabira Beach. Our guide offered us a glass bottom boat ride for a little extra money. Since we didn’t have anything else going on, we decided, why not? I’m glad we did. We visited the beach and were told that it was one of the top view points in Japan. And it was indeed. It is beautiful in bad weather and I can’t imagine what it would be in bright sunny skies.

The scenes around Kabira Beach

Interesting things on shore

Low tide around Kabira Beach

The glass bottom boat, after an initial tangle with other anchors, was pretty amazing. The water is so alive so close to the shore. Most islands in Okinawa are surrounded by reefs, so there is lots to see. Certainly Kabira Beach was the highlight of the Ishigaki tour.

Naha

On the way back to Nagoya and Tokyo, we had a long layover in Naha and spent some time on Kokusai Street. It was raining a ton and chocked full of junior high school kids. We had some good タコス, or tacos. We wandered through the shopping area and then headed back to the airport.

The shopping area at Kokusai Street

It was a great time, even if it was just for a long weekend. I wonder what it looks like when the weather is nice?

This weekend I was able to take advantage of my Christmas present for 2009. Long time readers of this blog, especially my one trusty reader, may recall that I had a gas leak in my home in the US and spent much of my Christmas vacation back in the States getting it repaired. And of course I was gasless, heatless, dryerless, hot waterless and so on. Part of the plan at Christmas was my gift – a stay at The Ritz-Carlton Marina Del Rey. Nice. With all that was going on though, it was just too much to try to do. Part of the experience was to get away, enjoy the “hotel within the hotel” of the club lounge where “ladies and gentlemen serve ladies and gentlemen.” If I was running back and forth to home checking up on the plumber and using The Ritz-Carlton as a shower and a heated room only, the intent of the gift would surely be missed. So instead, we canceled and vowed to hit some place here in Asia, perhaps Hong Kong.

This weekend was a 東京事変 (Tokyo Jihen) concert in Osaka. It is fronted by Shiina Ringo, who put on an excellent show in 2008. Since we were going to the show, this was a great weekend to take advantage of The Ritz-Carlton Osaka. We could stay there, enjoy all the presentations of the Club Lounge (including way too much champagne and other alcohol), and see the concert.

The trip started rather ominously as Tomo forgot the concert tickets at home, and had to cancel his flight to Osaka to go back home and pick up the tickets. Oops. Thankfully, he caught the bullet train, I met up with him in Nagoya, and we headed to Osaka. We were only a few hours behind schedule.

The Ritz-Carlton Osaka is very nice, but it has an almost over-the-top “English charm” feel to it. They managed to pull it off though, and it didn’t feel too heavy.

The service was impeccable, and the staff very friendly. When we were showed to the room, the hostess broke out of character with excitement when we said we were seeing 東京事変. It was really very cute. She said she was so excited in gave her goosebumps.

We were able to get late checkout today, shifting from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. That makes a big difference as we wanted to use all of the facilities the hotel had to offer, including the gym and the pool. We donned our “workout clothes” and headed to the gym. We were intercepted at the door and questioned whether we had “indoor shoes” on. Uh oh. No, we didn’t bring our indoor shoes so we were not allowed entrance to the workout equipment. Yes, this is a particularly Japanese custom. Remember when you couldn’t wear “street shoes” on your wooden gym floor in junior high school or high school? At least I couldn’t. Well, imagine the same rules in a carpeted workout area full of robust equipment. That’s Japan! It made me so frustrated – I just wanted to work up a really good sweat on a nice exercise bike. I currently do not OWN a pair of indoor exercise shoes, so it looks like the next time we stay at a nice hotel we’ll have to call ahead to see if the gym requires indoor shoes or not. When we stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo, THEY let us wear our outdoor shoes. Maybe they just didn’t catch us in time.

They gave me a swim cap (swim caps are required at almost all pools in Japan), made us take off our shoes, and allowed us to swim. I’m a really bad swimmer, so I did some laps in a 20 meter pool and called it a day. Tomo, who is a swimmer, got in a kilometer. I wish I enjoyed swimming. At least they let me swim in my board shorts and didn’t require a Speedo. Not that there’s anything wrong with a Speedo, I just didn’t have one.

Japan travel hint – if you are traveling in Japan and staying in nice hotels with fitness centers, don’t forget your swim cap and your indoor shoes! Of course, tattoos are grounds for denying service. But I knew that.
 

And now, after a rather long hiatus from Japanese class, I have homework hanging over me that I haven’t begun to even think about. Sigh.

The new school started in April in Japan. In March, I was wandering through the upper reaches of a Nagoya department store (and in May I finally got around to actually posting it) and discovered where a lot of students buy their gakuran. Here, every person can live their Cosplay [LINK] fantasy and get JUST the Japanese school uniform they want.

Actually, I don’t know if you can really buy one without a specific reason or not. Perhaps they have rules to keep people from posing as students. These pictures though show the variety in the various school uniforms. Notice there is a theme to the uniform – dark. There is one school though that sports a tan coat and gray plaid pants. I’m not sure why this school is not represented.

My interpreter has a son that just started high school. She told me multiple department stores sell uniforms for the same schools, and that you can get varying degrees of quality of gakuran depending on where you buy it. I wonder if, even though the uniform is supposed to make everyone the same, perhaps the quality of the uniform causes differentiation among the students?

I’ve written about gakuran before, both at this link and this link, and I get a LOT of search hits as well for gakuran. Perhaps I’ll increase my traffic of 助平 (すけべえ - sukebe - lecherous) lurkers now.

Sakura for 2010 has come and gone. Well, I assume it is gone since I’m not actually in Japan at this time. When I left last week, the wind and the rain were taking their toll on the trees.

I was able to enjoy sakura a little bit this year, although I think the peak time was probably when I was in between traveling to and from the UK just prior to traveling to the US. On a side note, I will say that I am very relieved that I got out of the UK before Eyjafjallajokull erupted. (Say Eyjafjallajokull fast three times, come on, I DARE you!). So, although I missed the peak, I did get some early viewing in and some night viewing.

Luckily, Yahoo! Japan has an entire guide to cherry blossoms on their website, so you can see EXACTLY what the conditions are throughout the country. There are also other websites dedicated to watching the progress of the blossoms, such as this one for Nagoya.

Tomo and I went to Tsuramai Park early in the season for our own little 花見 (はなみ - hanami - cherry blossom viewing party). As always, you can count on festival foods – the really unhealthy stuff. We had からあげ (karaage – fried chicken), 焼そば (yakisoba – fried soba noodles), and were tempted by たこ焼き (takoyaki – squid in a dough ball). And, of course, beer. Public consumption of alcohol is stilled allowed in Japan. I wonder when that will end?

A week later I went out on my own on a lonely Saturday night to 山崎川 (やまざきがわ – Yamazakigawa). I knew that Yamazakigawa had illumination and I thought that the path started near Aratamabashi, but when I found the river and started walking the correct direction (courtesy of my trusty iPhone GPS) I was underwhelmed. There were lots of cherry trees but very low level lighting. It was cold as well, and I was bundled up. I kept walking though, knowing that there should be something more dramatic. Eventually I found a mob of people and overly illuminated cherry trees. Clearly I was there.

Sakura is a great time of year in Japan, signaling the beginning of springtime. Once I returned from the UK, spring was busting out all over. I’m sure that when I get back just before Golden Week, Spring will have sprung completely.

Enjoying Tsuramai (or Tsurama) Park.

The underwhelming night view along Yamazakigawa…

… that fortunately got better further down the path.

As I was meandering through the streets trying to find my way to a different subway station, saved again by my iPhone GPS, I stumbled across some interesting architecture including this overgrown gerbil habitat. Interesting.

I almost had an “After Hours” kind of Friday night. Well, maybe not as crazy, but it could have headed somewhere. Had I been 10 years younger, not so tired from the work week, and a little more adventurous, maybe it would have happened. Instead, I just had a good night.

Friday I got to see the Basement Jaxx at a smallish venue in Shin-Kiba (Tokyo), Japan. Basement Jaxx are basically made up of two guys, Simon and Felix, and a lot of guests. They are primarily electronic, but their live shows are far more. I’ve seen Fatboy Slim, Daft Punk, and Paul Oakenfold among others “in concert” before and found their shows really boring. Are you supposed to dance or look at the stage? I prefer to keep the DJs hidden and not the center of attention. Let the music speak for itself and let the audience concentrate on the important thing - dancing like mad and losing yourself to your friends, your significant other, and / or those you are trying to hook up with. I don’t need Mr. Oakenfold pointing at his greatness (himself) as he gets ready to twist another knob. Hey, I really respect what DJs do, but watching them manipulate consoles isn’t really a performance worthy of watching.

But, oh my, the Basement Jaxx are different. They had two percussionists, a trumpet player, three female vocalists (and one was a dancer too), a male vocalists, and a rapper. I small little entourage. They rocked the house, that’s for sure. Tomo didn’t have to be on the front row either (Yay!!!!) so we got to bop to the music without making new friends all around us. He wanted to see the full show, since he had seen them up close the night before.

We watched the show from our elevated position and bounced the whole night long. Last year, Tomo worked with the Basement Jaxx for a few days in Tokyo and had become friends with the tour manager. So, that meant special invitations to the after party as well!

Yippee!

Tomo brought them 3 bottles of Moet & Chandon because it was the final night of the tour that had been going on for the last year and a half. Wow, that’s one way to keep up a friendship. The tour manager brought us one of the bottles, and in the meantime Tomo’s friend (and my acquaintance) Taka and his friend Okinawa-jin (I forgot his name), and another guy tagged Yama-chan joined us. This is where the After Hours-ness of it kind of started. Yama-chan was rather harmless, but somehow got back to the party even though he wasn’t with our group yet knew Okinawa-jin so I think there might have been some pass passages. Yama-chan had an interesting pompadour, and reminded me a little of El Vez, or John Leguizamo in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet. He had one of those unfortunate mustaches that try too hard but would be better shaved off. Hey, he’s Japanese.

Yama-chan was immediately recognized by some of the performers because there wasn’t anyone else like him in the audience. In typical Japanese venue fashion, there was a strict curfew so it was announced that the after party was moving to a club in Shibuya. And the After Hours adventure began. We managed to down a bottle of champagne, and Okinawa-jin pocketed a couple of gratis Red Bulls. Yama-chan had his plastic cup with beer in hand and we noisily made our way to the subway to meet up with the Jaxx party at the club. We must have been a motley looking crew, one guy in his suit after work, two normally dressed concert-goers, Elvez, and the white guy.

We thought we might actually beat the Jaxx crew because we were going by subway and that’s usually pretty efficient. The party was at Seco and apparently Simon and Felix were going to DJ for a while. When we got there, it was very confusing. There was already a party going on, and apparently it was some school reunion. Except these folks didn’t look old enough to be out of school. Maybe a junior high school reunion for college kids? Not sure. There were some young hipsters there so maybe it was some fashion school reunion. We sat there for a little bit and I felt really old and out of place and then Yama-chan started working the crowd. We were all getting hungry so we decided to go get some food and give the Jaxx some time to show up.

Of course, it was raining off and on, and now it was about 11:00 pm in Shibuya trying to find an open restaurant that wasn’t too crowded. Our first stop was a ramen place, but it was too busy. We went up one floor to another ramen place, but apparently they specialize in the stinkiest ramen imaginable and we couldn’t even make it to the top of the floor before being driven away by the smell. Oh, and by this time, another one of Taka’s friends, Onna-san (a woman who’s name I have forgotten), joined us. Now we were six.

We were able to find a place to eat and after waiting a while, ate and then went back to the club. We went back to the club, but it was still only the kids. We got the scoop that yes, indeed, the Basement Jaxx after party was supposed to be here but the other party won’t leave. And then two boys started DJing at the club! Oh my.

We went outside and noticed some others that we had seen at the original venue afterparty next door in a restaurant. I pulled the, “I’m a gaijin like you so I can appeal to you like a fish out of water” camaraderie with the foreigner at the table and he simply said, “They are eating upstairs.” Oh, OK, so the party was upstairs. At this point, a friend of Yama-chan had met up with us. I’ll call him Staring-chan (for reasons to come later). And now we were seven!

The club is part of a kind of group of businesses in the building called Shibuya Universal Society and they were in the RESPEKT restaurant. So up we went and it was clear that everyone was starting to chill and just hang out on the last night of their tour. And now the seven of us were just kind of hanging out on the fringes. We said, “Hello” to the tour manager and then grabbed some tables. Of course, I think we all felt obliged to order something, so the money continued to fly out of our wallets. We just kind of sat on the outside looking in, and Staring-chan just kept staring at me. Why? Hmmm, it must be my dashing good looks. Or maybe he was thinking, “What is that gaijin doing with this group?” Who knows.

The party was starting to break up, so we decided to go. But Tomo, sensing the time, managed to get Simon to sign his Basement Jaxx CD that he had brought along. Felix was on his way out. Tomo followed after him but found out that indeed he WAS going downstairs finally to the after party. Of course, many of the folks were very tired because of the tour, so a lot were going back to the hotel. We said our goodbyes to the tour manager and headed BACK down for the party.

We we got there, the party was raging on, with the two boys still spinning the tunes. So here was a pretty darn good famous DJ act in a club with some Japanese students controlling the house. I’m sure the kids had NO idea who these guys were. But my favorite part was when Tomo went up to Felix, and Felix was just boppin’ his head, really enjoying the music, not saying anything like, “What is this crap?” He looked to be having a good time. As we both noted today, he just loves music. Tomo got him to sign the CD cover and then we decided to leave.

Tomo has a professional relationship with these guys, and I think he wanted to get out of there before the growing entourage got too sloppy. He warned Taka and Okinawa-jin to watch Yama-chan and then we headed out. Of course, we missed the last train so we had to take a taxi back. Another 30 bucks gone.

Apparently Taka also posted on mixi (a Japanese Facebook-like service) at 1:47 am that the Basement Jaxx were playing a gig at the club. I wonder if any more folks came because of that?

The night had a bit of a, ”Where’s Fluffy?” feel as well from “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist“. Maybe love blossomed along the way for some folks, maybe it didn’t. I wasn’t there to witness that. But I had a good time and was still able to get some sleep.