Safe and Sound in Matsue
So for all the curious minds, yes I got back to my apartment safely!
I FINALLY SAW STAR TREK. IT WAS ON A PLANE BUT I SAW IT. I NEARLY CRIED AT SOME PARTS AND I WAS TRYING NOT TO CHEER AT OTHERS. OH STAR TREK. STAR TREK. I WANT TO WATCH THE OS ALL OVER AGAIN.
Hanging out with my uncle and aunt was nice! Granted we only really all slept and then ate at IHOP together, it was still fun. I didn't realize how much I missed my extended family. I might have to fly that way again if only to see them again.
The flight to Osaka was uneventful except for meeting a Mr. Hiroki Yamato, who sat next to me the whole time. He has apparently been a reporter for about 40 years and now he writes books. He seems to come and go from Montana and he is very interested in what I have to say about being an ALT. He wants to keep in touch - I have his card - and he kind of wants to reveal what goes on to the public. He thinks it would shock them. Well, sure the bad stuff would. I tried to see if there were any articles on him but I can't seem to find any but he's an interesting old man, whose sons seem to be doing well. One of them works for PBS!
Customs and immigration was easy. Sometimes I worry Japan is too easy to get in and out of. But we had drug sniffing dogs this time! And I dropped off my bag then caught the express train back to Shin-Osaka.
I checked into my hotel room for the night and then headed off to Shinsaibashi to see Toshi.
Yeah....my friend Yuko talked to me into it. (I forgot to tell Hideka I had left the country and she sent frantic emails to my phone, asking if I was okay. >_>;)
But it was worth the 460 yen to get there and back. He talked about T-EARTH and Ryo was there, since he's from Osaka, so they talked about the lives, the upcoming one, plans and such. Then Toshi sang "Arigatou no Uta" which was nice because I like that song. Everyone clapped along too and one guy even sang - he was a HUGE Toshi fan, it was really cute. It's great to see older fans, or fans that don't look like total visual kei junkies. You can really see the range of fans at small events. And it was SMALL. And lasted all of 30 minutes. XD;
Toshi looked wonderful by the way. He had a pale pink shirt on under a nice black suit. His hair wasn't too poofy but his glasses were particularly dark so you couldn't see his eyes at all. He started off pretty quiet and calm, almost tired, but he got a bit fired up for his song. And I noticed how SHORT he is. Seriously. I think he IS shorter than me. Ok, next event, I am taking the shit I have for his wife and giving it to him goddammit! DX
I am seriously impressed with the fans. Every time. Because you see he has NO security. And no one moves to mob him or get in his way. Everyone just stays put and claps and watches him come and go. It's kind of amazing. And this was like a crowd of at the most 40 people. He had like...two staff. The chic who opened the door, and the dude who managed the staging. I guess the lady would have attacked you with the door key? XD Probably Toshi could throw you himself haha. I think a lot of it has to do with how the Japanese deal with people they respect? I mean fans go hysterical over the boy bands or even Yoshiki, and I think they have been mobbed, or at least hurried about by security. But somehow...Toshi gets away with no security at his own events. I guess its because the fans want things to go smoothly and don't want to ruin something for others? Or maybe because Toshi looks like he might kick your ass and never come back to your town if you rush him? XD; Who knows. I'll have to ask my friends who are also fans of Toshi and X Japan.
Anyway, it made my night to get to see him and then I went back to the hotel.
I hopped onto the shinkansen today and was disappointed to see that my co-worker did not keep her promise and check my mail for me as it was all over my floor in the doorway and jammed into my little mailbox downstairs. However, the Toshi CDs were safely locked away in my door package box and I was able to retrieve them. My hide book (from WeRock) was also there waiting for me. I just have to call one company and ask after a TMR towel and a Yoshikitty shirt. *sigh* I hope I can get them...at least the towel. I paid for that already! Months ago! Grrrr...
Also, the sink decided to grow MOLD so I must buy a hardcore scrubbing implement to rid my sink of it. Otherwise the apartment seems to be mold free and clean, just like I left it.
And now everything is put away and tomorrow I will get groceries and take out money.
And that's about it! I plan to spend the week playing internet catch up and just chilling, getting back into Japanese time and living style. If I have time, I want to get a box for my guitar so I can send it home, and maybe see some local famous sites.
I FINALLY SAW STAR TREK. IT WAS ON A PLANE BUT I SAW IT. I NEARLY CRIED AT SOME PARTS AND I WAS TRYING NOT TO CHEER AT OTHERS. OH STAR TREK. STAR TREK. I WANT TO WATCH THE OS ALL OVER AGAIN.
Hanging out with my uncle and aunt was nice! Granted we only really all slept and then ate at IHOP together, it was still fun. I didn't realize how much I missed my extended family. I might have to fly that way again if only to see them again.
The flight to Osaka was uneventful except for meeting a Mr. Hiroki Yamato, who sat next to me the whole time. He has apparently been a reporter for about 40 years and now he writes books. He seems to come and go from Montana and he is very interested in what I have to say about being an ALT. He wants to keep in touch - I have his card - and he kind of wants to reveal what goes on to the public. He thinks it would shock them. Well, sure the bad stuff would. I tried to see if there were any articles on him but I can't seem to find any but he's an interesting old man, whose sons seem to be doing well. One of them works for PBS!
Customs and immigration was easy. Sometimes I worry Japan is too easy to get in and out of. But we had drug sniffing dogs this time! And I dropped off my bag then caught the express train back to Shin-Osaka.
I checked into my hotel room for the night and then headed off to Shinsaibashi to see Toshi.
Yeah....my friend Yuko talked to me into it. (I forgot to tell Hideka I had left the country and she sent frantic emails to my phone, asking if I was okay. >_>;)
But it was worth the 460 yen to get there and back. He talked about T-EARTH and Ryo was there, since he's from Osaka, so they talked about the lives, the upcoming one, plans and such. Then Toshi sang "Arigatou no Uta" which was nice because I like that song. Everyone clapped along too and one guy even sang - he was a HUGE Toshi fan, it was really cute. It's great to see older fans, or fans that don't look like total visual kei junkies. You can really see the range of fans at small events. And it was SMALL. And lasted all of 30 minutes. XD;
Toshi looked wonderful by the way. He had a pale pink shirt on under a nice black suit. His hair wasn't too poofy but his glasses were particularly dark so you couldn't see his eyes at all. He started off pretty quiet and calm, almost tired, but he got a bit fired up for his song. And I noticed how SHORT he is. Seriously. I think he IS shorter than me. Ok, next event, I am taking the shit I have for his wife and giving it to him goddammit! DX
I am seriously impressed with the fans. Every time. Because you see he has NO security. And no one moves to mob him or get in his way. Everyone just stays put and claps and watches him come and go. It's kind of amazing. And this was like a crowd of at the most 40 people. He had like...two staff. The chic who opened the door, and the dude who managed the staging. I guess the lady would have attacked you with the door key? XD Probably Toshi could throw you himself haha. I think a lot of it has to do with how the Japanese deal with people they respect? I mean fans go hysterical over the boy bands or even Yoshiki, and I think they have been mobbed, or at least hurried about by security. But somehow...Toshi gets away with no security at his own events. I guess its because the fans want things to go smoothly and don't want to ruin something for others? Or maybe because Toshi looks like he might kick your ass and never come back to your town if you rush him? XD; Who knows. I'll have to ask my friends who are also fans of Toshi and X Japan.
Anyway, it made my night to get to see him and then I went back to the hotel.
I hopped onto the shinkansen today and was disappointed to see that my co-worker did not keep her promise and check my mail for me as it was all over my floor in the doorway and jammed into my little mailbox downstairs. However, the Toshi CDs were safely locked away in my door package box and I was able to retrieve them. My hide book (from WeRock) was also there waiting for me. I just have to call one company and ask after a TMR towel and a Yoshikitty shirt. *sigh* I hope I can get them...at least the towel. I paid for that already! Months ago! Grrrr...
Also, the sink decided to grow MOLD so I must buy a hardcore scrubbing implement to rid my sink of it. Otherwise the apartment seems to be mold free and clean, just like I left it.
And now everything is put away and tomorrow I will get groceries and take out money.
And that's about it! I plan to spend the week playing internet catch up and just chilling, getting back into Japanese time and living style. If I have time, I want to get a box for my guitar so I can send it home, and maybe see some local famous sites.