Tokyo Day 3

Merry Freakin' Christmas!

I once got a Christmas card that said that on the inside. The front of the card was a photo of a cat in a Santa hat, and the cat looked distinctly unhappy.

The card was from my mother.

Today is apparently a holiday in Japan. This evening, there will be lots of couples doing a sort of early Valentine's Day. The streets were busy today with people, more so that usual. Must be all that last-minute shopping.

Unsurprisingly, I was exempt from such activity. Instead, I got to walk around by myself in the midst of thousands of people doing things because they would be with other people. Luckily for me, I have no such encumbrances. No (grossly overpriced) romantic dinner for me. Just curry cup noodle and a doughnut, and the Internet. Because that's the way I want it to be, and it's the way I've made it. Besides, I'm literally on the eve of what may be the most memorable Christmas of my life, so I have no qualms about a quiet evening alone.

I spent my day as I usually do, going to Shibuya and Ochanomizu to look at guitars. I saw some nice ones, but I am realizing that I may not be able to find a guitar that suits me here, since Japanese Les Paul copies tend to have slimmer necks. I like large necks, because my hands are big.

The other dilemma is that I found that beat-to-death Greco that's US$400.  But for about $550, I can get a guitar that's in much better shape, and may be a better guitar. Same tobacco sunburst, though.

Then again, most of these guitars were built in the same factory, just for different companies.

But I have time. I am still here for more than a week, so there is no rush.

While trying to leave the Ishibashi music store in Shibuya, I ended up going upstairs into a record store. I have always had nightmares about Japanese CD stores, because I know I could buy more CDs than guitars in there...

But I had a lot of fun for several reasons. The band I used to work for, Jason and the Scorchers, still has a spot in the racks in this place. They didn't have any of their CDs, but it was still nice to see. I forgot to take a picture of their Japanese name, which was on the other side of the card.

One of my favorite bands, The Wildhearts, has always been big in Japan. In fact, I was tickled that I was staying in Akasaka, since I have a Wildhearts bootleg of a performance they did at Akasaka Blitz, which is apparently a venue. I've seen the sign in the train station but have yet to go there. Oh, and it's funny that Jason and the Scorchers are actually one of the Wildhearts' favorite bands! But I was very happy to find quite a few Wildhearts CDs, like the new 3-CD retrospective, The Works: