I ♥ the Oedo line

Wow. So now I have the Tokyo Metro system down. I pulled the transit at the end of the Oedo line without a hitch today. It's a funny route because it is basically a straight line that suddenly becomes a big circle around the middle of Tokyo, doubling back on itself like someone losing a game of Snake. I have to switch from one Oedo subway to another one every time I want to take it all the way to Shinjuku station (which is Grand Central for Tokyo if you haven't figured out by now) or beyond.

This morning I had three goals: to fix my ticket situation for Fuji Rock, to get a ticket for Shugo Tokumaru, and possibly to get a prepaid phone to use on occasion/use as a clock (when was the last time I had a watch?). I have discovered that my alarm clock from the US is running slow. To be precise, 70 seconds are required for a supposed minute to pass. I don't know what the deal is, but I have decided to set my clock every night 1 hour and 40 minutes ahead so that the time will be accurate about 10 hours later when I wake up.

My first goal took me to Shibuya, the hip and happening part of Tokyo. I didn't quite wander with the same aimlessness I have in Shinjuku, so I don't think I got the full experience of the place. Despite my poor track record, today I ended up everywhere I intended to, directly and without confusion. Well the only confusing part was the fact that Ganban, the place where I had to buy the ticket for Fuji Rock, was tucked away in a corner surrounded by male apparel stores. I seriously thought I was in the wrong place. Now that I have a ticket in my possession, I need to get the wire transfer, which didn't work out for the first ticket, canceled.

Next I traveled down a main street to the Liquidroom, a club I have heard a great deal about. Shugo Tokumaru will be performing there on the 25th so I wanted a ticket. However, when I arrived there was no box office to be found. Rather there were a bunch of teens hanging around, a dude selling African-style jewelry, and a bar. My instinct was talk to the bar tender. Turns out this was the right move as she had the tickets. She rummaged through the metal box then handed me a flier while giving me an explanation that I completely did not understand. She pointed to the numbers at the bottom which said L code and P code. Disappointed, I left.

Fortunately, the Internet had the answers I needed. These codes are used to look up the intended shows on machines at convenience stores. However, these machines are completely in Japanese and very confusing. After a long attempt and making up a supposed Japanese phone number that I had (Tokyo numbers go 03-xxxx-xxxx), I paid for the ticket at the cashier.

My only hardcore failure of the day was the cell phone front. A prepaid phone is something that is known to exist in Japan. You pay with a card that you buy at a convenience store for the minutes you want. The badass part is that I would have a Japanese cell number, perhaps indefinitely. However, both stores I went into kind of said they don't do prepaid phones (the site for one of these companies said otherwise). I will try again tomorrow. If I fail again I may seek the help of the YPMB's own Tokyo native: Michael Thorton.