Words
Timmy writes about his experiences in Japan.
August 29, 2006
Speaking of Tampopo - check out the picture from our Karokae escapade in Shiboya district - WTF, huh? It is the same room where they shot the "Lost in Translation" Karaoke scene - we called and reserved the corner window room at 20 bucks a person per hour. It was worth every yen.
Good fun and wild times - I cannot show you the after pics as the camera exploded moments after viewing them. I was wearing the "Super Panties Man" costume for the "I am so sad because no one will recycle their underwear karaoke drunken sing along solo..." shot, that precedes my attempt of hari-kiri and as I had to remove it to head back to the hotel I figured why not belt out some Mickey lyrics by Toni Basil in the jock strap (required to give my costume that smooth Ken Doll effect).
"Oh, Mickey, you're so fine
You're so fine you blow my mind
Hey, Mickey
Hey, Mickey"
August 24, 2006
Hey man, in Japan and I did not go to the baths tonight (or any of the previous nights - even though this is the first and only night that the chance to bathe in a traditional house has presented itself) as I wanted to email and get shit done.
Just plopped 260 yen into a vending machine and out dropped a 350ml can of Asahi draft beer - my first ever vending-machine-purchased alcoholic beverage. Japan has held many original firsts for me, not those deemed so on account that I have never been here before. Just depressed the top of the sweating brew and took a swig - ah.
Tonight for dinner - 8 of us dined on various types of meat - fish, crustacean, beef, chicken - and myriad vegetables and sweets. The first was not the amount of different zoological creatures consumed (that was yesterday: total 15) but the manner in which they were made available to the table - the classic and novel vinyl conveyor belt with multitudinous plates of varying cost streaming by atop a closed circuit propelled by gleaming stainless steel wheels.
Tomorrow we hook up at 6AM with an employee from the Matsuyama Teijin plant located on Shikuko, the smallest of the four major "Home Islands" that constitute the majority of Japan's landmass. There are over 3,000 smaller islands mostly composed of volcanic rock. So many fish to eat, so little time and such ineptitude with chop sticks. The man we are meeting is about 60 years old, loves to drink sake and beer and will act as the sensei, the man responsible for stopping me from committing hara-kiri, who brews up undie tea, serves it up to me and instills within me the power to TEACH THE POEPLE ABOUT COMMON THREADS. It should be another insane scene predicated on spontaneity, comedy and the willingness to go further, faster and funnier than ever before - wish us luck.
The shooting is on schedule and tomorrow finds us at several locations including the uber classic and culturally significant Matsuyama Castle, back to the Teijin factory for some Eco recycling beat-boxing and eventually on a flight to Osaka to hook up with Kitano-san for some 'shower climbing' and Japan's most famed bouldering.
