ITS HARD TO BELIEVE A LITTLE OVER A MONTH AGO I WAS IN JAPAN EXPERIENCING ITS BEAUTY FOR THE THIRD TIME IN MY LIFE.
WE ARRIVED AT LAX, CHECKED IN WITH EASE. THE ONE BAG RULE STILL LEFT US EACH OUT OF $50 EACH PERSON. AMERICAN AIRLINES IS CLEANING UP AT THE CHECK IN! I TRIED TO PACK JET-SET, BUT 2 WEEKS IS A LONG TIME TO NOT HAVE SOMETHING....I DEF. WILL WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MORE PRACTICE.
WITH OUR BOARDING PASSES AND CARRY ON LUGGAGE WE HEAD TO OUR GATE WHICH SO HAPPENS TO HAVE A SPORTS BAR DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM IT. WITH 40 MINUTES UNTIL BOARDING TIME WE AGREE WE ARE DRINKIN' FA SHO!!!!!GREY GOOSE AND TONICS PLEASE! PRE-PARTY BEFORE THE 11 HOUR FLIGHT!
MEET THE CAST: FINGAZZ ON THA' TRACK, MALIK FILMZ, DIAMONIQUE A.K.A QUEEN OF THE WEST, DJ HI-NOTE, AND MYSELF...ALONYS.ART. WE'LL MEET THE REST OF THE CAST LATER.
FINISH THAT DRINK..ITS BOARDING TIME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!! 3RD TIME MUST BE A CHARM BECAUSE THE FLIGHT FELT LIKE 5-6 HOURS LONG EASILY, INSTEAD OF THE FULL 11.
WE MADE IT! JAPAN WE HAVE ARRIVED! AND DAMN ITS COLD!!!! ;0(
I WAS HAPPY TO SEE 50 AND KEVIN...THE REST OF OUR CAST. IT WAS HARD TO BELIEVE ONLY 4 MONTHS PRIOR WE ALL WERE AT THE SAME AIRPORT IN NARITA FOR THE FIRST TOUR. BETTER THAN DEJA VU...IT REALLY WAS HAPPENING AGAIN. I STILL PINCHED MYSELF.
THE FIRST STOP ON THE TOUR WAS THE CITY OF HIRATSUKA. WE ARRIVED 3 HOURS LATER AFTER LEAVING THE AIRPORT. AFTER CHECKING INTO THE HOTEL EVERYONE CHANGED AND GOT READY FOR DINNER. I WAS TOO EXHAUSTED AND DECIDED TO STAY AND REST AT THE HOTEL. I WAS SAD I MISSED THE FIRST DINNER OF THE TOUR. I HEARD IT WAS OISHI, AND EVERYONE HAD TO TAKE THEIR SHOES OFF IN THE RESTAURANT. WE ATTEMPTED TO GO AGAIN, BUT IT NEVER HAPPENED. MAYBE NEXT TIME.
HIRATSUKA WAS HOME OF THE FIRST NIGHTCLUB. WE STOPPED HERE 2ND THE LAST TOUR. SHOW TIME IN JAPAN IS TYPICALLY AROUND 2:30 OR 3 AM....JUST THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE OF HOME. IN HIRATSUKA DJ HI-NOTE GOT THE CHANCE TO SPIN A SET. IT WAS TIGHT. DON WON'S "DRINK UP" AND MEECH'S "DON'T HATE" BANGED LOUD IN THE SPEAKERS. THE V.I.P. WAS STOCKED WITH GREEN TEA, SHOCHU, AND CIGARETTE SMOKE FLOATED LIKE CLOUDS ABOVE OUR HEADS...I PREFERABLY SMOKED SEVEN STAR, CURRENTLY MY FAVORITE JAPANESE CIGARETTE. DJ FILLMORE AND RAPPER DESTINO WERE AROUND TO CHILL WITH THE WEST COAST CREW AND SHOWED MAD MAD LOVE!!! LUCKY FOR US THE CLUB WAS DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM THE HOTEL....THE 6TH FLOOR VENDING MACHINE WAS DEF. A FAVORITE! 24/7 SUPER CHU-HI!!!!!!
THIS IS WHERE SOME OF MY "EARLY/LATE" MORNING MEMORIES BECOME "FUZZY". I BELIEVE IT WAS IN HIRATSUKA WE WENT TO THE 7 ELEVEN OR LAWSONS EARLY MORNING AND DID OUR BEATLES "ABBEY" PICTURE. THAT PICTURE IS PRICELESS. A MOMENT TO NOT BE FORGOTTEN. I STILL HAVE TO GET A COPY FROM HI-NOTE. THE iPHONE TAKES AMAZING PICTURES!
I BELIEVE OUR CHIBA EARLY MORNING EPISODE CONSISTED OF A McDONALDS RUN. MOS BURGER WAS OUR FIRST CHOICE, BUT WOULDN'T BE OPEN UNTIL 730AM, 30 MINUTES TO LONG FOR US TO WAIT. BY THE WAY MOS BURGER KICKS MICKEY D ASS, BUT I DO HAVE TO MENTION THAT HI-NOTE DID FIND THE HEALTHY McWRAP AT McDONALDS.
IN CHIBA WE WENT BOWLING, MET AMAZING FANS, AND ENJOYED ITALIAN FOOD. IT WAS THE WORST GAME I EVER BOWLED, BUT THE BEST LOOKING BOWLING SHOES I'VE EVER WORN! AIR HOCKEY AGAINST DIAMONIQUE, MAN WAS SHE GOOD! I LOVE A GOOD AIR HOCKEY COMPETITOR.
AT THE CHIBA SHOW BACKSTAGE WE MET JAPANESE SINGER YUUKI FLAVA, AND FEMALE DJ CHISATO. DJ FILLMORE AND DESTINO WERE IN THE HOUSE, ROCKING THE SHOW....OUR SHOW TIME WAS AT 3AM, PRIME CLUB TIME! MORE SHOCHU, GREEN TEA, SEVEN STARS, AND GOOD TIMES. IT WAS THE 2ND SHOW, WE WERE DEFINITELY READY TO PARTY!
IN CHIBA OUR HOTEL ROOM WAS ON THE 6TH FLOOR AND ACROSS THE FROM THE TRAIN STATION. THERE ARE ALWAYS PEOPLE ON THE STREET. YOUNG, OLD, MALE, OR FEMALE, AT ALL HOURS OF THE NIGHT. I LOVE HOW SAFE IT FEELS, ESPECIALLY AS A WOMAN.
IN OUR DOWN TIME WE VISITED SHIBOYA AND ITS BEAUTIFUL LIGHTS, HIGH FASHION SHOPS, AND FASHIONABLE BEAUTIFUL WOMEN. AS WE ARRIVED AND WALKED DOWN THE STREET WE HEARD A FINGAZZ TALKBOX SONG PLAYING IN THE DISTANCE, COMING FROM A STORE. THAT WAS HELLA TIGHT! WE HAD THE CHANCE TO GO TO TOWER RECORDS. IT WAS 6 FLOORS. EACH GENRE OF MUSIC HAD ITS OWN FLOOR THAT YOU GOT TO BY ESCALATOR. ARTISTS KEVIN MICHAEL AND JAPANESE GROUP ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION WERE HIGHLY PROMOTED. I CHECKED OUT ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION ON LASTFM.COM...ITS AN ALTERNATIVE ROCK BAND. I AM DEFINITELY GOING TO GIVE IT A SECOND LISTEN. JANET AND MICHAEL PROJECTS, ALONG WITH THE NEW ERYKAH BADU ALBUM WAS HIGHLY VISIBLE FOR PURCHASE. THE ARTWORK FOR HER NEW ALBUM IS AMAZING! I WAS HAPPY TO SEE A VERY CREATIVE APPROACH TO AN ALBUM COVER. BEFORE LEAVING TOWER I COULDN'T HELP BUYING A BOOK TITLED 'LADY SOUL' TO ACCOMPANY MY JAPANESE VOGUE, ELLE, GLAMOUROUS, AND LOOKS! MAGAZINES.
WHILE IN JAPAN WE RE-VISITED THE HOMIE BRAND STORE. I ENJOYED A RED BULL AND VODKA AT THE BAR. WE WERE GIVEN CUSTOM HOMIE BRAND SHOCHU, WHICH WAS PERFECT FOR THE AFTER PARTY! THOUGH I'VE GOTTEN BETTER AT DARTS, I DIDN'T END UP PLAYING AT THE STORE. NEXT TIME. WE MET CHOLO WHO IS A 13 YEAR OLD RAPPER. SOOOO CUTE! HE GAVE US A 'SNEAK PREVIEW' PERFORMANCE IN THE STORE OF HIS SONG HE WAS GONNA PERFORM AT THE SHOW THAT NIGHT. IT WAS PRICELESS! HE LATER DID AN INTERVIEW WITH FINGAZZ IN OUR HOTEL LOBBY. I OF COURSE KEPT THE CHU-HI FLOWING AND THE SEVEN STARS BLOWING....
THE MOST 'AMERICAN' EXPERIENCE I HAD WAS WHEN WE WENT TO ONE OF MY FAVORITE CITIES, YOKOHAMA. 50 CALIBER TOOK US TO A CLUB NEAR THE MILITARY BASE. IT REMINDED ME OF SAN DIEGO SOOOO MUCH...ANYONE REMEMBER BLUE TATTOO? IS THAT PLACE STILL AROUND?! IT WAS THE FIRST PLACE THAT ONLY SERVED AMERICAN ALCOHOLIC DRINKS. THERE WAS A SPECIAL PERFORMANCE BY SOME DANCERS FROM MISSY ELLIOT VIDEOS. AFTERWARDS THE CROWD WENT WILD TO CHING-A-LING. ONE OF THE THINGS I LIKED ABOUT THIS CLUB THAT A LOT OF JAPANESE CLUBS HAVE ARE LOCKERS FOR YOUR PERSONAL ITEMS. HOW CONVENIENT!!!
I KNOW I'M FORGETTING SOME MOMENTS, BUT I WILL SHARE THEM AS THEY COME BACK TO ME.
ONCE AGAIN I ENJOYED THE FOOD. ONE OF MY FAVORITES THIS TRIP WAS TACO RICE. YUMMY! OIISHI! AND I COULD EAT IT WITH A SPOON! I STILL HAVE TO MASTER EATING WITH CHOPSTICKS. WE ALSO BECAME REGULARS AT THE GROCERY STORE IN SAITAMA. THERE WERE SO MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOOD, I'D NEVER SEEN BEFORE. THE FRUIT WAS THE JUICIEST, SWEETEST, AND BIGGEST I'VE EVER SEEN. THE STRAWBERRIES WERE SOOOO GOOD AND THE PINEAPPLE TOO. THE GRAPES WERE HUGE!
THE V.I.P. IN SAITAMA WAS COOL AND THE FANS WERE DEFINITELY READY TO PARTY IN THIS CITY. THIS IS HOME TO THE BE FREE STORE, AND THE SAITAMA SHOW WAS TO CELEBRATE THEIR 3 YEAR ANNIVERSARY.
AFTER THE STUDIO SESSION WITH POPULAR JAPANESE RAPPER BIG RON IN CHIBA WE EXPERIENCED KARAOKE JAPANESE STYLE. I POPPED MY 'KARAOKE CHERRY' WITH THE SONG 'ITS THE BEAT' BY SMD (SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO) AND ATTEMPTED TO B/U DIAMONIQUE ON LAURYN HILL. FINGAZZ AND I ENDED THE NIGHT WITH 'ENDLESS LOVE' AND I FOUND OUT I REALLY DON'T KNOW THAT SONG! LMAO.
WE'VE ALL RETURNED HOME AND LEFT OUR JET LAG DAYS BEHIND. I DEFINITELY FELT MY JET LAG THIS TIME. AT THE AIRPORT AS WE LEFT 50 CALIBER AND KEVIN AT THE GATE, I KEPT LOOKING BACK WITH FEELINGS OF SADNESS CONSUMING ME AS I WALKED THROUGH THE INSPECTION LINES. NO MORE GENKI, ARIGATO GOZAIMASU, KUDASAI, OR SAYONARA...UNTIL THE NEXT MOMENT IN TIME...
ARIGATO JAPAN
WITH MANY ALONYS KISSES.
(CHECK OUT SLIDESHOW BELOW FOR PICS)
