Day 16

Monday January 26

Once again another…‘we wake to.’ This time it’s a reply from Rokudemonai. In this message we discover we are listed as special guests to the headliners and will be on fourth in a six band bill. We now have a full timetable for the event, including our soundcheck time.

Our activity today is very little. We want to enjoy the room and the view. Maja has to work and I can catch up on some writing. Later in the afternoon we take a walk out on the seafront and then it’s a simple dinner in a place called Jonathan’s, a Japanese chain family restaurant. A comfort food type of place.

Also during today Maja gets our new apartment sorted which is an Air BnB in a place called Katama which she knows a little, as she lived not too far from there when she was in Tokyo.

With that, we also get onto Ruby Room to organise our open mic slot tomorrow. That comes back as confirmed, so we’re all set for another moving day and night out and performance for tomorrow. Oh we really hope this place doesn’t come with any hidden issues.

Day 17

Tuesday January 27

Right. We’re now in the new place and the relief is just huge. We love it love it love it. A quite solid modern apartment with no noise issues at all and in the middle of its own city centre. This is Kamata and just walking through it felt so different to the out of the way neighbourhood we were in before. We loved that neighbourhood and its proximity to its own city, but here we are actually right among it all. Kamata is in Ota City, in the south of the main city. We’re on the second floor – that’s ground, first, second – and have a balcony overlooking the length of a narrow river with our place just off to the side of the bridge across it which goes immediately into our local area part of Kamata City. To the right of us on the balcony we can actually see all the way down to the Sky Tree. I think it would be cool to have a walk there sometime. But when I look at the map, I see the view is somewhat misleading. That thing is 20 kilometres away.

And yes, this moving day began with us on the coastal city of Atamy where we took our time with check in for the new place not available until mid afternoon. So why rush away? The hotel allowed us to keep our luggage in the lobby so we were free to have a final full morning walking out and along the seafront and off to find another new seafood restaurant. This one kept a large amount of live shellfish and a few fish in tanks right there as you walked in, meaning the shellfish platter was as fresh as it was possible to be. A really special last experience in our coastal city stay.

Now we’re settled into our next apartment we get ready for another visit to Ruby Room in Shibuya. wWhen we arrive we’re very much welcomed back after missing last week. We’ve only been here once and already we’re being made to feel like semi regulars. Well, we’ve certainly made some kind of impact because after we play tonight, a guy called Brandon, one of the main organisers and promoters round here, tells us that he has an event on next week for which one of the acts is looking a bit doubtful. Would be able to fill in if they pull out? Wow. OK. In the event, the band doesn’t pull out, but I think we can now put that down as the first Tokyo promoter who’s on board with us.

Towards the end of the night another familiar face turns up. Matt who we met the last time we were here. We have to get last trains so we don’t have too much time to hang, but we do arrange to get together away from here sometime for a proper hangout. We pencil in Friday.

Day 18

Wednesday January 28

Just a total chill day today. Although we do finally say, oh go on then to the ridiculously cheap whiskey prices in the supermarkets – routinely seven or eight quid for something that would be from 25 to even 30 something in the UK. We buy an ‘expensive’ one for a tenner. When we get back home and look this one up we see it goes for over 100 quid in the UK if you’re lucky enough to find a place that has it. That’ll do. Bizarrely it’s only whiskey, or at least spirits, that are so cheap they’re almost free. Bottles of wine are about the same price as bottles of whiskey, so only marginally cheaper than UK prices while beer prices in supermarkets really aren’t much cheaper than you’d find in the UK. Yes I’m sure there are tax and ABV formulas that explain all this, but to the layperson’s eye it’s all quite confusing and fascinating. However, it at least explains why highballs are hugely popular here. This is a tall refreshing drink of whiskey and soda water which gives that nice feeling of a cold beer – whiskey flavoured instead of course – but at a fraction of the price of a beer.