Even the rain is beautiful

All of yesterday and into this morning it has been raining. I had a poncho, but everyone here has umbrellas, so I think I will get one so I don't stick out.

I met with my landlady about possibly having her lend me an old bike she had, but we couldn't find the key. It's a bit of a shame because I've realized how large Tokyo is.

(Make sure the zoom is the same for all three and on satellite mode for the full effect)

This is New York: http://maps.google.co.jp/maps?q=new+york&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&gl=jp&ei=rKgpSsbrD46MkAWp5LnxCg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1

This is L.A.: http://maps.google.co.jp/maps?q=L.A&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl

This is Tokyo: http://maps.google.co.jp/maps?q=tokyo&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&gl=jp&ei=KKgpSseAMoyHkAWR-YjsCg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1

If I am not getting that bike I am going to have to master the public transit system. Fortunately I had a very easy experience with the Japanese metro yesterday. I observed how others were going about the process I was able to duplicate without a problem. What you do is buy a ticket (prices vary for distance traveled) and swipe through. However, unlike the New York Metro, they give you back the ticket, which you then have to swipe at the exit terminal. If I didn't notice the ticket had been given back to me, that could have meant trouble. Unfortunately I took the train too far and ended up near the royal palace.

Before my transit adventure, I did manage to get some research done (My intent here in Tokyo is to learn about modern music culture). I was in an electronics building (9 floors of electronics everywhere) and Between the third floor, which had TVs, and the 4th floor, which had recordplayer and insane headphones, there was a small half floor on the far side of the shop for DVDs and CDs. I got on one of the electronic menus in there and selected new music, then hit the sub menu for "indies artists." Indeed, these were Japanese Indie artists, though the meaning of independent seems to be lost in translation. Some artists that interested me were Kirihito, The Brixton Academy, Momokomotion, and Doping Panada. I have discovered that Doping Panda in actually on a major label at this point, but the rest of the artist are unsigned or on indie labels. The fact that they are unsigned is good for me, because they are playing exclusively around Tokyo, and somewhat frequently. The major label artists seem to go all over.

I managed to get myself lost again. I started at Shinjuku station and accidentally headed west instead of east. I ended up in Shibuya somehow. I think it was worth it, because now I think I really have a sense of Shinjuku. Also ending up in Shibuya (another main part of Tokyo and the supposed center of youth culture) has inspired me to spend my day there today. I will try to finally see a show tonight, and hopefully pick up tickets for the Fuji Rock Festival and the Shugo Tokumaru show later this month at Liquidroom (super psyched).