and now: tokyo

Today we left Kyoto and have arrived in Shibuya, Tokyo. For those who don't know: it's an area with lots of high buildings and lots of light. I now have access to my own computer for e-mailing and such, and left the shitty keyboard of Kyoto. Last night concert was great. Pan Sonic were in good shape, I was too, a bit better (different??) than in Yamaguchi. A bit more tight let's say. The lightening guy was a bit strange, turning the lights off at the second half of the programm, which didn't serve the Japanese players on the programm (first half) right, as they depend more on visuals than me and Pan Sonic. About 150 or a bit more people showed up. Sold some more CDs but less than in Yamaguchi.
Today we went to Paralax Records, a store, after two failed attempts, and left the nice but cold guest house behind. The only heated item in the building was the toilet seat - but to spend a night sitting with your pants down... The hotel room here in Shibuya has the same thing, but I switched it off. Evala and the Shibuya couple went home, as the live around the corner (in a way of speaking). Tonight is the first night I went out to eat on my own. Not easy, but there are restaurants with menu's with pictures, so I went into one, which turned out to be a steakhouse, but even a regular hamburger tasted great. And so cheap for 2 of them, and two large beers. And speaking about food, today we had kaiten sushi again (the belt suhsi) which had fugu sushi. Nice, but not the end of the world (or my life to say the least). At night it's still crowded on the street, with even the hairdresser having a full shop. When do these people sleep?
I have never been that many in taxi's than in the past few days, of which I noted that they are cheap. But all the drivers have gloves and they all look the same. Is there a hairdresser for just taxi drivers, Ilpo and me wondered.
Smoking is still allowed, in most bars and restaurants, but not in official buildings. Or on most of the train. But some carriages there is, which are blue with smoke of course. And I started to enjoy the hotto coffee from the vending machine. I try out many different blends. A great invention that somehow went past by me in 2001.
Tomorrow we have a quiet day. In the afternoon I have a meeting with my old friend Satoshi Morita, with whom I have been in contact for a long time, but never met. He just phoned and his english is remarkable good. In the early evening there is a symposium. Friday or saturday will be spend shopping - to make sure everybody gets what they requested (hallo freek, eva, roger, jos)