# Japan 2012. A thread to vent my brains.



## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 1, 2012)

Not much to say really, but I thought I would do something englishy.
I arrived yesterday. It was tipping it down so much that I was stranded in the house.
The good news is that the weather has been so poor that Hanami is a couple of weeks late so I still have getting pissed sitting under a tree in the park to look forward to.

The plane did terrible things to my insides and I was pooping solid air for most of the day.

Tomorrow I will meet some old friends .


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## editor (Apr 1, 2012)

How does one pop solid air?


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## phildwyer (Apr 1, 2012)

editor said:


> How does one pop solid air?


 
Better than pooping it I suppose.

I´m heading for Tokyo myself in a few weeks.  Is there stil a plague of giant crows?


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 1, 2012)

editor said:


> How does one pop solid air?


 It just felt like I needed the worlds biggest poo every five minutes, but all that came out each time was a massive burst of air and a pelet.


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## phildwyer (Apr 1, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> It just felt like I needed the worlds biggest poo every five minutes, but all that came out each time was a massive burst of air and a pelet.


 
See that´s what you get for eating pelets.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 1, 2012)

Time to take the kids to the park. Today will be a day of gentle rest. From tomorrow I am meeting friends every day/evening of the week, then gigs gigs gigs followed by a couple of recording sessions.
I forgot to sort out guitars, hopefully I can figure that out tomorrow.

With any luck Tuesday will be good for that Hanami I have been looking forward to.
In the news they have been saying that because of last years earthquake and tsunami everybody forgot to Hanami, so this year people are going to go nuts.
I was here last year for it and people were still at it all over Tokyo. Last year before gigs we had earthquake prep meetings. This pretty much involved us being told that if there is an earthquake that we should try to ignore it so that we dont frighten the audience.


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## Yu_Gi_Oh (Apr 1, 2012)

The blossom is all out here, I think it's now or never for Hanami in China.

I never think about blossom unless I'm in Eastern Asia, although we obviously have it in England too.  

Hope you recover from the journey soon!


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 1, 2012)

Yu_Gi_Oh said:


> The blossom is all out here, I think it's now or never for Hanami in China.
> 
> I never think about blossom unless I'm in Eastern Asia, although we obviously have it in England too.
> 
> Hope you recover from the journey soon!


 
I think one more poop should do the trick.

I am guessing Hanami will come on Tuesday. Perfect for me because I don:t really have much to do in the daytime.
I only started thinking about blossom in the UK after my visits to japan regularly coincided with hanami. Usually it comes a couple of weeks later in the UK, but its pretty much over for the UK already and there is ziltch here in tokyo.
I almost have an urge to drink under the tree outside my house in the UK when its pink blossom explodes into life.

Its fairly hot here now, but my father in law says it is freezing and has the heating on full. Its really nuts. I have to go out in the burning sun to cool down.

Do the chinese do a hanami?


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 1, 2012)

Hello gods, please enjoy this gift of milk coffee and a little toy.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 1, 2012)

Park play.


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## Mrs Magpie (Apr 1, 2012)

I think of the blossom festival and I've never been to Japan, or indeed further east than Germany.​​



			
				Basho said:
			
		

> From all these trees – ​in salads, soups, everywhere – ​cherry blossoms fall ​​



​​​


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 1, 2012)

Todays shopping.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 1, 2012)

This is supposedly some sort of fish and chips, though it@s quite obviously prawns.




I returned home to see my daughter had fully intigrated with the locals.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 1, 2012)

Mrs Magpie said:


> I think of the blossom festival and I've never been to Japan, or indeed further east than Germany.​​​​​


 
Same as.  Watching too many Japanese films I reckon 

I love this, but can't find Part I of it


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 1, 2012)

Womens football seems pretty popular. Nobody here is sporty but they are glued to the USA - Japan match on right now. 1-0 to Japan so far BTW.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 1, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> Same as. Watching too many Japanese films I reckon
> 
> I love this, but can't find Part I of it



 Hummm, thats blocked in this country.

Im not sure its an actual `festival` as such. Just eveyone getting drunk and looking at trees. The food and drink vendors cash in on this and seem to make it look pretty festivaly in certain places.
Where I am in the burbs its just tramps and picnics.


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## stuff_it (Apr 1, 2012)

editor said:


> How does one pop solid air?


Is it something to do with BMX or skating?


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 1, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Hummm, thats blocked in this country.
> 
> Im not sure its an actual `festival` as such. Just eveyone getting drunk and looking at trees. The food and drink vendors cash in on this and seem to make it look pretty festivaly in certain places.
> Where I am in the burbs its just tramps and picnics.


 
I know.  It's just a clip from Akira Kurosawa's *Dreams:  The Peach Orchard*

Just stuck it up 'cos I love the films and this one just happens to show some blossom and is pretty to look at.  As you were


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 1, 2012)

Its all death and rebirth innit.

I dont think I have seen any of Kurosawas films. Shameful I know.
I have a press copy of Ran, but I am told its pretty shit.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 1, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Its all death and rebirth innit.
> 
> I dont think I have seen any of Kurosawas films. Shameful I know.
> I have a press copy of Ran, but I am told its pretty shit.


 
I've not seen Ran myself.

Dreams

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreams_(1990_film)


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 1, 2012)

oH FAIRLYU RECENt


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 1, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> oH FAIRLYU RECENt


 
yEs


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 1, 2012)

Bums, father in law is going to sleep so we all have to leave. Todays emails end here.


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## sleaterkinney (Apr 1, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> I returned home to see my daughter had fully intigrated with the locals.


i like the cute little V, I'd make such a bad parent.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 1, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Bums, father in law is going to sleep so we all have to leave. Todays emails end here.


 
A bit early for bed innit?

Is the computer in his bedroom or something?


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## Blagsta (Apr 1, 2012)

editor said:


> How does one pop solid air?


Eat a John Martyn album?


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 2, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> A bit early for bed innit?
> 
> Is the computer in his bedroom or something?


 
No bedrooms here. Just three rooms.
Downstairs main room is where my father in law lays his futon. Then we all go upstairs.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 2, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> No bedrooms here. Just three rooms.
> Downstairs main room is where my father in law lays his futon. Then we all go upstairs.


 
Well I'm off to lay my futon down


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 2, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> Well I'm off to lay my futon down


 Ill take some photos.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 2, 2012)

The bit for shoes.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 2, 2012)

Kitchen / hall


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 2, 2012)

The room we are all staying in.



The balcony door where the washing goes out every day and where I sit, drink and smoke every night. Cant do much else at the moment.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 2, 2012)

Front room. At about 8 or 9 pm we all get kicked out and have to go upstairs so that my father in law can lay down his futon.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 2, 2012)

This is the back of the house. That balcony on the right is where I spend my evenings.
From tonight things get a bit more interesting because I have places to go and people to meet. The last couple of days have just been tv, 80s mp3s, fags and drinking.
Im looking forward to the rest of the band arriving on Thursday. JD has not been before, so I get to experience a first timer experiencing Tokyo for the first time. I have been so many times now that  the streets aound shinkohiwa might just as well be westbury, and hitting the big city is no more exciting than a trip to oxford street. I think I have forgotten how to look around and take it all in. All I really have on my to do list is go to uniclo and buy the 30-30 black jeans that you can no longer get in the UK. Maybe a new zip jacket and slippers. I was going to buy some cheap socks, but my mother in law stangely already bought some for me even before I arrived.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 2, 2012)

This is the side of the house. They are building four three story appartments on this side. That means three sides of the house will be blocked off. The front only really has the front door unblocked by other buildings.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 2, 2012)

All very claustrophobic

Do you reckon your m-in-law was hinting when she bought you some new socks?


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## Cm7 (Apr 2, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> I've not seen Ran myself.
> 
> Dreams
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreams_(1990_film)


 
Love this film to bits.
The fox wedding scene was creepy as hell.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 2, 2012)

Cm7 said:


> Love this film to bits.
> The fox wedding scene was creepy as hell.


 


The Japanese soldiers in the tunnel was weird as well.  I like all of them, but I particularly liked the Watermills one as it's just so pretty to watch


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 3, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> All very claustrophobic


 
Its really not as bad as it looks, there are oftern 10 people around and it doesnt really feel over crowded. There are quite a few things in Japan that make me feel my home is choc full of waisted space. I have a three bedroom house with two large downstairs rooms that you could probably fit the whole of this house in, but if I had 10 people round you would know it.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 3, 2012)

Ah I forgot to mention yesterdays yesterday we had a pretty snazzy earthquake. Very short, it was like being taken by the arms and given a quick jerky shake. The TV gave me a 5 second warning, just long enough to stand up and go WTF, before being given a side slap.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 3, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Its really not as bad as it looks, there are oftern 10 people around and it doesnt really feel over crowded. There are quite a few things in Japan that make me feel my home is choc full of waisted space. I have a three bedroom house with two large downstairs rooms that you could probably fit the whole of this house in, but if I had 10 people round you would know it.


 
Suppose it depends what you're used to doesn't it


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 3, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Ah I forgot to mention yesterdays yesterday we had a pretty snazzy earthquake. Very short, it was like being taken by the arms and given a quick jerky shake. The TV gave me a 5 second warning, just long enough to stand up and go WTF, before being given a side slap.


 
It's a bit unnerving innit   I was in one in LA when I was young.  My auntie just told me to go and stand in the doorway if it got any worse


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 3, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> It's a bit unnerving innit  I was in one in LA when I was young. My auntie just told me to go and stand in the doorway if it got any worse


 
There was a long and very big one after the tsunami last year. Bad enough and long enough to knock TVs over in a two story house and make everyone stand outside in the middle of the night.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 3, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> There was a long and very big one after the tsunami last year. Bad enough and long enough to knock TVs over in a two story house and make everyone stand outside in the middle of the night.


 
and not in nice weather like LA either


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 3, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> and not in nice weather like LA either


 Actually it was very nice weather at the time, same as it is now.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 3, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Actually it was very nice weather at the time, same as it is now.


 
I thought they had snow around the time of the tsunami or was that only in the coastal areas?

Oh well, I'm off to lay my futon down


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 3, 2012)

Last night I met the promoter for Saturdays gig. They take it all way too seriously over here.
Went to two places where they made us buy some daft bar food that we didnt want (as a table fee). I have never had that before in Japan. Nobody had an bloody nihonshu either. Nihon-shu, its their own drink, why whywhy??? They bloody stones ginger wine but no sake? I had to drink beer and sochu all night which went right though me.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 3, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> I thought they had snow around the time of the tsunami or was that only in the coastal areas?
> 
> Oh well, I'm off to lay my futon down


 Well I came a couple of weeks later. Tokyo is roughly a bit like the UK this time of year. The north of Japan is a lot colder, scotland cold I think. I dunno, I have only ever been to Chiba, Yokohama and Tokyo, and they are all next to each other.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 3, 2012)

If you want a cucumber here, this is what you get.



Here we have the worlds smallest egg plant / nasu.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 3, 2012)

Suburban Tokyo







I walked home last night (about 30 minutes, maybe more, from the station). Not a soul around despite the train being rammed. Its like the massive crowd that left the station just vanished into the darkness.
I grabbed myself a box of nihonshu, a meaty chew stick and a packet of mild seven from the family mart and begain the rather creepy walk home.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 3, 2012)

Post office.






Blossom is coming, weather is a bit crap today though. I think I will go cycling.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 3, 2012)

Fuck today, fuck it right in the arse. I got my my bike, went to the end of the drive and it started tipping it down. It hasnt stopped. Super wind and rain combination. Wash out. It better not be like this tomorrow. The best part of today was when I had an afternoon nap, then watched a TV show about tuna auctions.

I was going to meet a friend but there is no way I can go out in that shit.




Making won tons for dinner.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 3, 2012)

Im not sure you can take a picture of terrible wind and rain.
Its not supposed to be this dark right now, its just the solid clouds and rain.






Its a major bummer because I cant even have a fag outside. It wouldnt even be possible, too much wind and rain to even light up.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 3, 2012)

I reckon all the commuters pissed off to a party you don't know about


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 3, 2012)

No matter, I had my own 80s balcony party for one. Very exclusive.
Im in a bit of a spot now though, there is a typhoon on so nowhere to hold a party tonight. Arrrhh.

There is nothing on the news, except people and lorries being blown all over the place. Some of is is quite funny, but a lot of it is pretty tragic. Im so glad I didnt get caught in it. If it happened yesterday I would be well and truly fucked.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 3, 2012)

Maybe all those commuters knew about the typhoon and dashed home sharpish by secret underground tunnels that only the Japanese know about 

So a bit windy then


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 3, 2012)

Windy and rainy.
At 6 pm they said it was at its peak and would be gone soon. It then got worse and worse and they are now saying it is at its peak again.
Upstairs it@s like being in a constant earthquake.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 3, 2012)

Then sit downstairs and make some won tons


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 3, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> Then sit downstairs and make some won tons


 The won tons are all in my one tum.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 3, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> The won tons are all in my one tum.


 
Then more obviously need to be made for your greedy Western one tum


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## krtek a houby (Apr 3, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Well I came a couple of weeks later. Tokyo is roughly a bit like the UK this time of year. The north of Japan is a lot colder, scotland cold I think. I dunno, I have only ever been to Chiba, Yokohama and Tokyo, and they are all next to each other.


 
For some reason, I'd thought you'd travelled further afield! Have you been to Kamakura & seen the giant Buddha? It's right beside Yokohama.








I'll be heading east in less than 2 weeks, myself


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 4, 2012)

krtek a houby said:


> For some reason, I'd thought you'd travelled further afield! Have you been to Kamakura & seen the giant Buddha? It's right beside Yokohama.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
No, and I have only been to Yokohama for gigs.
I did have family that did farming and stuff further north near sendai, but our plans to visit them were kind of put to rest for good last year.

I dont really have any interest in sight seeing anyway.
I spent an afternoon in Yokohama in a small corner shop that laid on free food for the locals drinking booze in the isles. It was fucking bonkers. Pissed people of all ages and race, rolling all over the place in this little shop in the middle of nowhere.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 4, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> Then more obviously need to be made for your greedy Western one tum


 
I am far less thin than my Japanese family, but they eat shit loads. I can never finish a meal, and they are always laying out more and more stuff. Quite a lot of it looks pretty unheathy too, I have no idea how they are all so thin. They mainline chocolate, ice cream, crisps and other snacks in the evening after dinner. Its not just a Japanese metabolisum thing, my wife has gotten visibly bigger since living in England (though the school gate mums say she is still very thin).


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 4, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> I am far less thin than my Japanese family, but they eat shit loads. I can never finish a meal, and they are always laying out more and more stuff. Quite a lot of it looks pretty unheathy too, I have no idea how they are all so thin. They mainline chocolate, ice cream, crisps and other snacks in the evening after dinner. Its not just a Japanese metabolisum thing, my wife has gotten visibly bigger since living in England (though the school gate mums say she is still very thin).


 
There's loads of healthy foods in Japanese diets

Heart disease rates increased over there when fast food chains opened


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 4, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> There's loads of healthy foods in Japanese diets


 
Im sure there are.
A lot of it does not look very healty, but I assume the general diet and what is available to most people all works out quite well.

Today is looooovely. I cant really beleive it after yesterday and last nights madness.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 4, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Im sure there are.
> A lot of it does not look very healty, but I assume the general diet and what is available to most people all works out quite well.
> 
> Today is looooovely. I cant really beleive it after yesterday and last nights madness.


 
Do they eat loads of fish?


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 4, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> Do they eat loads of fish?


 
No more than they eat chicken or pork/beef etc.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 4, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> No more than they eat chicken or pork/beef etc.


 
Well I barely eat fish at all

Do they eat lots of veg?

Do they have smaller portions or pile their plates high?

Do they eat little but more often, or have three big meals a day with loads of snacks in between?

Do they sit on their arses all day?


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 4, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> Well I barely eat fish at all
> 
> Do they eat lots of veg?
> 
> ...


 
Not a crazy amount of veg, less than I have at home.

Its not really portions, you get a load of stuff all over the table and just keep taking stuff. They just keep bringing on more stuff. Its more than I can eat.

They seem to have a few snacks thoughout the day, maybe a hamburger or something bready between breakfast and lunch. Lots of other snacking goes on.

They do seem to sit on their arses quite a lot, but that might be just because its the holidays.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 4, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Not a crazy amount of veg, less than I have at home.
> 
> Its not really portions, you get a load of stuff all over the table and just keep taking stuff. They just keep bringing on more stuff. Its more than I can eat.
> 
> ...


 
I reckon you eat less when sharing food from bowls though


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 4, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> I reckon you eat less when sharing food from bowls though


 
Well maybe, but we do that at home too.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 4, 2012)

Maybe it is purely the lack of cheese.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 4, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Maybe it is purely the lack of cheese.


 
what about chips?


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 4, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> what about chips?


 
Well we never eat chips in the UK. In fact my daughter associates chips with Japan, because its the only place she has had them. There is a McDonalds up the road (she calls it old McDonalds) and she was taken there last year by my in laws. Just this morning she was asking if she could go there for lunch for chips.

Anyway, in short, the in laws over here eat more chips than we do back at home.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 4, 2012)

Hobnobs?


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 4, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> Hobnobs?


 
We dont eat biscuits or choc bars or anything like that back at home. I have been trying to figure it out with the wife.

Must be cheese and wine.


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## krtek a houby (Apr 4, 2012)

Okinawans diet of fresh fish and rice has them as the longest lived of Japanese. I recommend a visit there.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 4, 2012)

krtek a houby said:


> Okinawans diet of fresh fish and rice has them as the longest lived of Japanese. I recommend a visit there.


 
Yeah, they're famous worldwide for their longevity

I think I remember reading something recently saying they only ate 'til they were 80% full as it takes your body 20 minutes to recognise you've had enough, so that stops them overeating.

I wouldn't have the slightest idea when I was 80% full but I'm guessing it's when you get that first pang of "I've had enough, but really should think of all those starving children in Africa/Mustn't offend the host by leaving food on my plate/If I eat everything now, I won't be hungry later on" stage


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 5, 2012)

Yesterday I met band mate number one.
She arrived 10 minutes before her plane took off as she had gone to a pub quiz the night before and slept in. Jesus wept.
I count yesterday as a life lesson. Dont drink too much. Ate fuck all and went on a pub crawl. Well only one place could be roughly described as a pub. I must have been drunk because - A - I was talking to people on the train - B - I messed up the very simple train journey home.
I somehow thought it was still a good idea to buy more nihonshu for the journey home from the station.
Tonights rules are -
Eat something
Only drink beer
Go home while you still know how to.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 5, 2012)

Ughhh.


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## Yu_Gi_Oh (Apr 5, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Ughhh.


 
?

How's the weather now?  Have you seen the blossom yet?


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 5, 2012)

Yu_Gi_Oh said:


> ?
> 
> How's the weather now? Have you seen the blossom yet?


The weather is fab. Well, a bit too hot for me actually.
I have seen the blossom, but have not actually done any hanami. The rest of the band arrive tonight so I am just saving the drinking for that. Oh boy, I feel a bit shit.

I llove that feeling when I have not drunk for a few days and its time to go out. Instead I have the reverse. I just dont want to go out and I dont fancy drinking for a few days. Not great when its holiday time.

Maybe my jeans are just a bit tight.


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## Yu_Gi_Oh (Apr 5, 2012)

You have bath houses in Japan, right?  Why not go and sweat it out?


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 5, 2012)

Yu_Gi_Oh said:


> You have bath houses in Japan, right? Why not go and sweat it out?


 
Most places now have indoor plumbing so bath houses are a little rare.


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## Yu_Gi_Oh (Apr 5, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Most places now have indoor plumbing so bath houses are a little rare.


 
Oh. That's a shame.    Korea has indoor plumbing but bath houses are still really popular.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 6, 2012)

Yesterday was a band welcome party and karaoke.
I have only just woken up (in all my clothes).

Just saw wireless rechargable electric cars on the TV.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Apr 6, 2012)

in a show of solidarity (not really)  i'm blowing my diet by eating daifuku and  drinking   1.8 lt bottles of sake (onikoroshi)


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 6, 2012)

Holy shit, Ive got to go out in about an hour. Im a worn out mess and I havent even done one gig yet. I might even fuck off home early tonight. They have changed all the band times around at the last minute and we appear to now be going on second, meaning that people coming to see us after 8pm (after work) will have missed us by about an hour.

a combination of late working hours and early train shut down times can make things a bit tricky in Japan.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Apr 6, 2012)

you'd have though a culture tha appreciates   drinking parties would also  provide decent 24 hours  transport


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 6, 2012)

Shippou-Sensei said:


> you'd have though a culture tha appreciates drinking parties would also provide decent 24 hours transport


 
They dont even have night buses. The only consession is that izakayas are open until the trains start running again in the morning.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Apr 6, 2012)

AH HA!!  this is obviously  a deep plot  where  JR and  the service industry has joined together to  trap the average person is a hellish cycle of boozing all night


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 6, 2012)

Shippou-Sensei said:


> AH HA!! this is obviously a deep plot where JR and the service industry has joined together to trap the average person is a hellish cycle of boozing all night


 
If you dont want to drink there is also mangakissa (book and internet cafe type thing).
The Trains are all pretty rammed from rush hour to midnight. Its like everyone works late then gets shit faced every day of the week.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Apr 6, 2012)

as much as i love maga i'd  probably end up at one of those net  places.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Apr 6, 2012)

as much as  i'd be tempted by meidokissa  genjitsu wa kubishi da ne.  tou hou hou

yume wa tooii mono kan na?


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 6, 2012)

Shippou-Sensei said:


> as much as i love maga i'd probably end up at one of those net places.


 
Mangakissa is one of those internet places. Manga and internet.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 7, 2012)

Last night I managed to screw up the journey back from Yokohama. It was a race to get back on the right track to get home before the trains stopped. The problem seems to be that the rules change when they get to the last trains. I got on a platform that said it was a blue line to chiba, the train arrived and was blue. I asked someone on the train after the first stop seemed wrong, and it turned out it was a red line that stopped as some of the stops to shinjuku. The wrong way for me but the perfect train for our drummer, who I had just pointed to the direction of the red line platform. WTF?
OK so from Shinjuku I needed the local yellow line as the orange express would be finished. I get on the yellow platform and a fucking orange train to tokyo rolls in. Super crowded, buttttttt, when I changed at ochanomizu for the real yellow train, well, I have never been on anything so crowded. Everyone was in suits and super drunk. I thought there would be no way you could get more people on the train, but then the doors would open, two people would get off and 100 more would pile in.

I had compleatly sobered up by the time I got to ichikawa, but instead of doing the right thing and going to bed for a good nights sleep, I celibrated having one foot of space beside me with a late night solo drinking party.

The bands last night were crazy, we could only really have beaten them in the punk rock stakes by having full sex on stage and sliting out throats.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 7, 2012)

This is a sweet film if you ever come across it


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 7, 2012)

What is it?

Try Fish Story if you like Japanese films. Its the longest film that doesnt feel long at all. There are like four stories from four different time periods that dont tie up at all until the very last minute of the film.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 8, 2012)

I dont know if I was happy with last nights performance, though everyone else seemed to think it was great, probably just because girls got their tits out.
I kept falling over things, my mic and guitar broke. Ugh. We gave our instuments to others to play our songs for us while we watched.
Big mess.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 9, 2012)

Last nights gig was great. Loads of people. Really loads, maybe too many for comfort. We were roughly tight and almost nothing broke.
I managed a few bouts of crowd surfing (just running into the crowd was out of the question).


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 10, 2012)

I went to record a band last night.
The original plan was that we record from 12 to 6am. Because of this I only took a couple of hours sleep so that I could kip from 3 in the afternoon until 10. I downed a load of sake to make myself all sleepy, then just before settling down I checked my email. I got a message simply entitled 19:00, with a map in japanese (kanji only so I could not understand it).
As the plans we had discussed were compleatly differernt and I was now ready to go to bed I was a bit confused. After about an hour I managed to get through on the phone and found out where I was going.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I was really tired when I got there, and could not even manage simple math. Somehow I managed to perform the recording session. Fuck knows how it will turn out, I couldnt make the headphones work.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 12, 2012)

Goodbye party last night. We found an izakaya that did all you can drink for 1500 yen for the first two hours. You only needed to have three before you started making money. At 1 hour and a half they changed the rules saying it was last orders. We could still order drinks for the last half hour, but if we could not drink what we ordered in that half hour we would have to pay for them.

How we laughed. Six nihonsu kudasai.

I think three to four beers is easily about the max for Japanese people in a two hour period and in Tokyo almost nobody drinks nihonsu (sake). A beer is generally about 500 yen, nihonshu maybe 600 - 750.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Apr 12, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> What is it?
> 
> Try Fish Story if you like Japanese films. Its the longest film that doesnt feel long at all. There are like four stories from four different time periods that dont tie up at all until the very last minute of the film.


 
It's a Chinese film that's centred around a bathhouse, but it could just be regulars in a pub 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shower_(film)


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 12, 2012)

You are all getting up but I will be starting on the booze in 20 minutes.
Actually, I am not sure my body can take much more. Im quite dizzy. What can you do to stop feeling faint? At the moment nihonhu works but I am pretty sure that only compounds the problem for tomorrow.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 12, 2012)

Couple of photos from the last gig.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 14, 2012)

Bahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Only a few hour s to go but I hae chosen to use thenm unwisely.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 14, 2012)

the berst thing t o do is go to bet now. how ever flock ot seagulls arent gonin g to pleay thenselves into my ears. they wil need the help.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 14, 2012)

Ahhhh, my wife is going to kill me. We have to pack but the presure ahas got to me . I hate the pack.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 14, 2012)

Ahhhhhrrrrrhhhhaaaaaaa.
Ok I give in. Imjぢお


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## rutabowa (Apr 14, 2012)

STAY UP AND TALK TO ME!


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 14, 2012)

7am.
Gotta go.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 16, 2012)

Tadaima!


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 19, 2012)

I am in my temporary home 'office' while we sort out the house.






I have some intensive work to finish by Friday but all I can think about is eating a sandwich.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 19, 2012)

Lame.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Apr 19, 2012)

what's that one  beside futurama / under urusei yatsura?


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## Shippou-Sensei (Apr 19, 2012)

and man i kinda want to get  some doctor who dvds

i have  a ton of VHS  but  practically no dvds


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## Idaho (Apr 19, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Most places now have indoor plumbing so bath houses are a little rare.


 
There are loads of them. I went to 3 different ones when I was in Tokyo in December. Flipping love Japanese baths. It makes up for the lack of weed.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 19, 2012)

Shippou-Sensei said:


> what's that one beside futurama / under urusei yatsura?


That's, er, more urusei yatsura.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 19, 2012)

Idaho said:


> There are loads of them. I went to 3 different ones when I was in Tokyo in December. Flipping love Japanese baths. It makes up for the lack of weed.


 
Bath house or onsens?

There used to be shit loads, in every town now there are few. I am fairly sure they are pretty rare as last year when some tokyo locals I was with spotted one in Muzusaki Sashai they all had their photos taken in front of it and peeped round the curtains.

Oh, they also told me that old bath houses like this were very rare.


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