Alex Cornell

Japan Day Two

Day 2 started late because Day 1 ended really late. We went out in Shibuya last night and thankfully made it back to our hotel without a hitch. We went to Vounds (something like that), Gas Panic, and Womb. I’ve been to the Gas Panic in Roppongi and knew pretty much what to expect. The Shibuya version is a lot smaller with about the same amount of people packed inside. Womb was alright — we went because it was recommended for “serious clubbers” by our guidebook. The music was OK on the main dancefloor, but nothing really to shake a stick at. Overall I loved the interior but not the sounds. We broke my rule and took a cab to get home (subway stops at midnight).

Day 2 began at noon when we headed to Ginza in search of a Freshness Burger location. We determined Freshness might be the answer to all of our morning woes. It was, and afterwards we scooted around Ginza looking at expensive watches and cheap tshirts. My favorite stop was the Hermes flagship store because of the smell. Somehow the entire store smelled exactly like the first 15 years of my life. It was really bizarre, the whole time I was overcome with nostalgia without being able to put my finger on exactly what I was nostalgic for. 

After a brief Ginza tour, we ducked inside the Sony building to avoid the spitting rain. Oddly enough, nothing really much had changed since the last time I visited. When I came in 2008, I was blown away by the HD cameras and the etc. This time, the lineup was pretty much the same — not to mention I was carrying a still camera capable of even better HD than most of what I saw. I took some HD video of us being underwhelmed by the HD lineup. At the top of the Sony building I felt like I was going to faint, so we left and went in search of a smoothie. 

We saw a place called “Sweet Paradise 90 Minutes” across the street and bee-lined for it. I thought ‘sweet’ was being used as an adjective…but it was a noun and we left because we needed no sweet cakes. Eventually we found a cafe to assist my faintness, but the menu was in Japanese and I ordered a really bizarre yogurt parfait with green liquid throughout. 

 After eating we found the Tokyo International Forum and took approximately 100 photos each inside. I am not afraid of heights but I almost got vertigo walking on the passages inside the TIF. Really really scary. Inside it felt like we had been consumed by a really skinny whale whose ribs we could see and touch. Around us there was giant medical convention but we didn’t bother them and they didn’t bother us. I did learn about Knee Replacements though, that was neat. 

Next we found the Mandarin Oriental hotel, no thanks to my memory. I had been in 2008 and was convinced I could find it again. Incorrect. We toured the business district for about an hour before we finally found our way into the Mandarin Bar for a fruit plate and a $10 bottle of water. We were tricked into getting the water though. Our waitress was very cunning. 

Tonight we had dinner on the 29th floor of the NS building. I don’t know what the NS building is, but there are about seven restaurants on the 29th floor so I am a fan. Now we are home and are trying to summon the energy to go out in Roppongi. Right now I don’t think we’ll make it. We changed, got supplies, and have a plan, but bedtime is coming early this year. 

Japan Day One

First I should mention that upon arrival, the first thing that was spoken to me was: “Sir, have you ever heard of Interpol?” I was then promptly escorted to an interrogation room in Narita Airport. When I asked if I could go tell my friend what was happening, they responded, “Please cooperate”. I guess the issue was that my passport was ‘stolen’, despite the fact that I was holding it in my hand. I was asked to try and remember the time it was stolen. I told them there was no such time. I was asked many times over to TRY and remember when it was stolen. It wasn’t. One hour later I was dispatched to Tokyo to find the American Embassy which was “in Tokyo, near Tokyo”. 

Anyway, the issue has been worked out now — I have to go back to the embassy at some point to get a new passport, one that is not stolen. That was this morning, at 8am. Before that, we were at the Tsujiki Fish Market where things have changed since I last came! You can no longer visit the wholesale area early AM. You have to wait until 9am when things have pretty much cooled down. This makes a lot of sense to me, as the workers seem to hate having to dodge confused tourists. Wasn’t quite as exciting though. Our consolation prize at 5am was sushi breakfast. I hadn’t done this last time (chickened out) and it was cool to try. I am a fan of cereal for breakfast, not wasabi. This I know, but it was still really tasty. Our chef presented every dish with a sound that can only be translated as: JING JAAANG!! 

I am trying to avoid retaking every picture I took last time I was here. This is very difficult because I basically photographed everything in Japan last time. Between Mike and I, we are “packing heat” when it comes to camera gear. Between my MKII and his D300, we have the photog thing pretty well covered. 

Johnny Depp’s influence over the Japanese male’s stylistic inklings cannot be understated.

We also checked out the Hama Riku garden, did the Sumida river boat tour, and blasted around Asakusa. After which we went in search of the Tokyo Sky Tree which took us to a part of Tokyo I had never seen. Since it’s massive, we pretty much just set a course straight at it, through a number of suburban neighborhoods. The construction is a sight to behold. There are cranes on top that lift beams almost the entire length of the structure. 

Speaking of cranes, there is only one type of crane in Japan and Mike and I wondered about the possibility of a crane monopoly. They are red. They look like robots. 

Before our Sky Tree adventure, we had lunch at a traditional Japanese bento box establishment. We rocked out to…some kind of music during lunch and ate many things we had never seen before. My favorite was the egg square that tasted like salt water. 

Pictures will continue to be posted in the slideshow format you see. This is not ideal, but it’s what I got here with Tumblr, so we’ll deal with it. 

Japan V.2

Tomorrow I leave for Japan. This will be my second time to Tokyo (last time was in 2008). I you were a reader of the blog then, you’ll remember I wrote about the trip extensively; each day and each night was given a report and a few pics. I plan to do the same thing this time. We’ll see how that goes — I’ve gotten significantly lazier when it comes to writing for my own blog. But I will try! 

Right now I am staring a full suitcase, lots of camera batteries charging, and a sauce-less bowel of pasta (I threw away most everything in my fridge prematurely). I leave for the airport at 5am tomorrow and am planning the rest of my night. Gym is involved, maybe the American Idol final. Definitely eating a ton of USA style carbohydrates. Look for the first posts sometime tomorrow or the next day (jet lag, time difference, who knows). 

It’s Not Mulholland. But it’s close

Another HD Electric Guitar Fun Time

The Wave Speech

I really love this 

by HST

Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas. Five years later? Six? It seems like a lifetime, or at least a Main Era — the kind of peak that never comes again. San Francisco in the middle sixties was a very special time and place to be a part of. Maybe it meant something. Maybe not, in the long run … but no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in that corner of time and the world. Whatever it meant… . 

History is hard to know, because of all the hired bullshit, but even without being sure of “history” it seems entirely reasonable to think that every now and then the energy of a whole generation comes to a head in a long fine flash, for reasons that nobody really understands at the time — and which never explain, in retrospect, what actually happened.

My central memory of that time seems to hang on one or five or maybe forty nights — or very early mornings — when I left the Fillmore half-crazy and, instead of going home, aimed the big 650 Lightning across the Bay Bridge at a hundred miles an hour wearing L. L. Bean shorts and a Butte sheepherder’s jacket … booming through the Treasure Island tunnel at the lights of Oakland and Berkeley and Richmond, not quite sure which turn-off to take when I got to the other end (always stalling at the toll-gate, too twisted to find neutral while I fumbled for change) … but being absolutely certain that no matter which way I went I would come to a place where people were just as high and wild as I was: No doubt at all about that… .

There was madness in any direction, at any hour. If not across the Bay, then up the Golden Gate or down 101 to Los Altos or La Honda… . You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning… .

And that, I think, was the handle—that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting — on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave… .

A New Shop Opens

My wee little online shop just opened up. You can buy a few prints (large format limited editions, so order soon to get low #’s) and a shirt or two. I will be adding some photographs in the coming weeks, so keep a look out. Check it out here.

Electric Guitar Finally Makes an Appearance

Sky Studios Day

Monday

On the occasion that I wake up hungover, I always want to go to the gym to clear my system. I picture my body being made of up a thousands of little workers that get two equally daunting construction projects passed down from above. In one case, they desperately trying to repair the damage from the previous night’s storm. They consider this a top priority. Meanwhile, they are being asked to begin an entirely different construction project elsewhere, one that is basically for beautification purposes. It would be like asking a hurricane cleanup crew to build a football stadium before they cleaned the streets.

I always wonder whether it’s better to match my music to my mood, or to try and use music to alter my mood. So for example, right now I am feeling blue. Do I listen to slow and pensive music and try and match the emotion as much as possible? I think this enhances your overall emotional experience and you feel blue more intensely, but for less time. There are benefits to this; you just have to be careful not to wallow for too long. The alternative is to try and listen to happy and feel-good music to try and excavate yourself from the blue mood. This is a risky approach. If it backfires, you set yourself back by a few days.