Happy birthday to me! ...from Tokyo

It's my birthday!

Though, really, as it's still December 30th in New York, I guess I'm kind of time warping here.

Yes, I'm a New Years Eve baby! Crazy birthday, isn't it? I've promised to update my blog whilst in Tokyo and have done a fantastic job breaking that promise, but that just shows how busy I've been. In any case, I'm trying to make up for it now!

12/19/2008 - SUGIZO @ Shibuya AX


A shot of some of the fantastic artwork. I'm not allowed to exactly take photos during lives in Japan, so, out of respect for SUGIZO, no shots here!



I didn't get home till 5AM the next day, however! It was a lot of fun, and incredible to see SUGIZO rock the stage after five years of a hiatus from his solo career. Truly a magical experience. 2009 will be an even more important year for him, so be sure to keep an eye on him... and LUNA SEA as well, as it's their 20th year anniversary! A huge milestone for any artist.

12/20/2008 - Armani Party in Ginza
Of course, I stupidly forgot to take pictures at the Armani Party in Ginza because I'm totally thoughtless like that, but needless to say, that was yet another night out where I ended up coming home at 5 or 6am.

I did get this awesome shot of the Christmas lights at Shiodome, though. About half an hour after I took this, SMAP ended up doing some special event not too far away from there.



12/23/2008 - Versailles @ C.C. Lemon Hall
Versailles is a band whose growth I've witnessed since they just started out a year ago. It's been impressive watching their climb to greater heights, and their development as an artist. They've toured Europe and the United States, and at this specific concert, they announced that they are going major on Warner Music Group. It was a great feeling to be able to witness that!



On Christmas Eve, I went out with a friend for dinner. After two glasses of red wine and some ravioli with crab in it, I suddenly came down with a severe allergic reaction to crab, which I never have experienced before in my life. It was absolutely terrifying -- red, blotchy skin, swelling of the face, and the worst symptom of all: swelling of the throat. The moment I had trouble breathing, I downed an anti-histamine, which probably saved my life, but rushed to the E.R.

I don't care what anyone tells you, people in Japan can not speak English. NOT EVEN MEDICAL STAFF. 

Thank god I speak quite a bit of Japanese and was able to accurately explain what happened to me.  And thank god I had anti-histamines on me or I probably wouldn't be typing this right now.

After quite a lot of rest after being discharged from the hospital, I felt better on Christmas and went out at night with a good friend from San Francisco to Christon Café in Shibuya, and then to Feria in Roppongi.  For the most part, it wasn't that wild or anything as I was still feeling kind of tired.





12/29/2008 - SHAG @ Shinjuku MARZ
SUGIZO's improv band, SHAG had a live at Shinjuku MARZ so we stopped by to check it out. Though it was only a 30 minute set, it was a fantastic experience -- very SUGIZO, very ambient, and incredibly fun to watch.



Use your imagination!



Izakaya afterparties are awesome.



TJ Yong is an up and coming singer from Germany and a longtime friend of mine. He's on the search for management now in Japan. He's definitely gonna be a big thing eventually, so keep an eye on him!



This is Yuba! She's one of my closest friends and visiting me from Nagasaki in Tokyo.

In any case, we'll be at X Japan's countdown, and then PS Carnival on the 3rd. Tokyo's been an intensely amazing experience, and I've had more of a romance with it this time around than any kind of frustration. Maybe that's because I've been able to do so much of what I normally am not able to do, such as taking my time with enjoying Tokyo the way I would like to, without work getting in the way.

I'll hopefully be moving here in 2009!

Hoping that everyone enjoys their New Years Eve!