it`s 2am, and i`m at an internet cafe in akita city with three other students. we came into town tonight to see a rotating group of jazz musicians at a club called the catwalk. the last train left 4 hours ago, so we came here to screw around, read manga, and probably sleep a little bit. there are internet cafes all over japan. it`s usually a mix of drunk folks who missed the last train, people who cant sleep, manga `otaku` [people who have a fixation] and homeless people. there are overnight fares at internet cafes, so they are kind of set up as a temporary place to put yourself for the people who need it. so, yeh... i`m here, stinky, tired, with a little teacup filled with hot strawberry milk from the complimentary drink bar, pecking out drivel on a keyboard where all the symbols are switched around. at an internet cafe, everyone gets their own little booth, almost long enough to stretch out in, with a computer, menu, and phone to call the front desk, and out beyond the islands of booths are row upon row of manga.
the catwalk was a pretty interesting place. the whole club is underground. the only thing at street level is the door and the top of the tunnel that leads down into the club. behind the little wooden stage is a wall filled with all the signatures of well known jazz musicians who have played there since the place opened in 1982. we had some drinks and a pizza, and various folks kept hopping on or off the stage between songs. a trombonist, two saxaphone players, two guitarists, two drummers, an upright bass player, two pianists and three vocalists.
had a damn fine time tonight, walking across the city and back, talking with people at the club...it`s late. i`m startingto lose functionality up around my brains, so i will have one or two more cups of hot fruity milk and then maybe fall asleep for a while. we should get back to school just in tim for the all school snowball fight later this morning. here`s an e-mail i got from kaina today, the half-japanese boy i taught in preschool and visited here in tokyo:
my dad likes guitars. kaina likes ultraman.
kaina
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4 comments:
What's "row upon row of manga"? Can you just go in and read them?
love,
Dan
yeah, it@s like a manga library, and the people here can go take whatever they want off theshelves and bring it back to their booth to read. i@m still here. i slept curled up on the floor, balancing on my hip bone for about five hours.
Peter-
Tim Pawlenty is a tool. I had a friend who dated this chick who kind of knew his brother. He liked Styx. And I was at this party, and this record was playing, and this guy asked, "is this the new Aerosmith?" And I was like, "no, its the fucking New York Dolls." THE END
Sincerely,
Grant Hart
(This was in honor of me buying the OG pressing of New York Dolls at the Record Show yesterday)
I totally got templed-out this week. Kyoto will do that to you I guess. But I bet that I won`t get Petered-out in less than FIVE (5) days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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