Today was the start of the new month, and with it, I have spent 4 weeks in Tokyo. I've gotten to the point that I accidentally got on the wrong subway, because I am so used to taking that one. I eat curry and ramen pretty much everyday. Above all, I have really experienced some incredible music here. I've done my best to see everything from experimental concrete stuff to horrible pop-funk (the only ticket I regretted thus far). I have been amused. I have been spellbound. I have danced like there is no tomorrow.
Next month represents further exploration. I want to break the rituals I have fallen into. I want to try some weird food. I want to see new sights. I have been to every major part of inner Tokyo at least once, so in order to find these new experiences I will travel outside of the city. Starting Monday, I will have a week long JR pass. With this I can take any non-first class train in Japan including the bullet trains. I have booked all the youth hostels, so my plans are pretty much finalized. I will leave as early as possible for Kyoto on Monday, spend two days there, spend two days in the adjacent city of Osaka, take a sleeper train all the way to Hakodate during Friday, spend part of Saturday with the HIF folks who stuck around, and then finally head up to Sapporo to see the rest of my friends. I think the rules work so that I only need to be on the bullet train back to Tokyo before Sunday is up. It is going to be an insane week. I will sleep somewhere different every night. Internet access isn't guaranteed and I wonder if leaving my laptop is the smarter thing to do.
However, the new horizons don't end there. When I return to Tokyo I have already selected a bunch of shows to attend. The day I get back there is a psychedelic show at the Liquid Room (this will be my third time there) featuring DMBQ, whome I have heard a lot about. The day after that I will get to see The Pillows. Today I just bought a ticket for Urban Tribes 09, an all night Japanese Hip Hop showcase featuring the most innovative J-hip hop dj of all time, DJ Krush. I am thinking about seeing Kirihito on the 17th and The Brixton Academy on the 18th. I just realized that I have mapped out my life for the next two weeks. I don't think that has ever happened before, at least not this intricately.
The scariest part of all is that when that weekend is over it will be the week of the Fuji Rock Festival, my last horrah in my musical exploration. Following the festival I will only have another two days in Tokyo. I plan to blow what is left of my fellowship money on souvenirs, t-shirts, and as many CDs that I can fit into my suitcase (Japan is still a predominantly CD based nation when it comes to music, so that is the only way to get it). I have my eyes on sooo many.
Some quick side stories:
Tonight there were four English speaking girls sitting near me on the subway. They were obnoxious, and kept complimenting each other's fashion. I overheard their conversation as it continued, and it turns out (I could have guessed from the outfits) that they are really into Visual Kei music. They must go to school here because one was saying how she burnt herself out on lives (shows) when she was going to about 10 a month earlier this year. They quickly fell into discussing which members of which visual kei bands were hot, how people seem to like the drummers who stand out so they shouldn't have "de-keied" that one guy, and how so and so got less chubby. Visual Kei has never had any appeal to me. I think I would rather listen to Rip Slyme. At least they can rap (I wonder if rapping in Japanese is easier with the ample amount of homophones).
I forgot to mention this, but another reason why I like The New House so much was the fact that they opened their set mouthing a recording of this
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