August 29. The Cycle Is Completed.

Everything is over now..
To be honest, I thought I would find myself during this trip, but the truth is I think I'm more lost than ever. Who am I? This trip has taught me a lot, and it has changed me a lot as well. But I feel like I left Gene Wong in Japan. My heart and mind is there and won't come back. The reason is because the mixture of cultures just don't match up. Being super kind and nice and happy does not work here. Everyone is too rude. I thought it would work, but I was proved wrong even at the airport. Everyone is just mad rude, fuck that. For example, I was going through customs and I guess I accidently cut someone and the gaurd scolded at me "Hey man, wait your turn!". What the fuck? Okay dude I didnt even know. Japan would have been different "sumimasen, (please wait your turn, thank you) *nod*"

I want to be the person that I left in Japan. A much more kind and sincere me, but can I? I am not going to be pushed over here in America by the cocky attitude we were taught so well..

Well, this is the final post. I want to say my last words..

I love Japan. I definitely want to make it an annual trip. It's beautiful. So beautiful. It's so fun. I feel so safe there. Even the "bitches" of Japan are nice. Everyone is differnet. Everyone is skinny, beautiful, and kind. It's almost like heaven, really. When I came back to America... It was difficult to find even skinny people(i know that sounds mean haha, but it's true)..The scenery is just absolutely stunning. I have so many things I want to say but I'm pretty jumbled.
Ill just leave it at this. Japan is the best thing I've done so far in my life. So many great memories and so many new friends. It's so easy to make friends there. I laugh at myself if I do something stupid, and no one laughs back. Everyone is polite and kind. I'm not afraid to experiment at all. I love this culture, and I have really thought about moving there in the future.

Japan, You changed my life. I love you. And I love all my friends there.

-Gene Wong, The Uroboros Cycle is completed, again.

August 27. All Visible Things

DIR EN GREY - AUGUST 27, 2009

Let's backtrack a little first...
I calculated that waiting in line = no water, no food, no energy for the whole day.. this is what caused my 2 legs to cramp up the day before. So I weighed out my options.. Should I really risk it again to get 1 shirt? Nah, it's not worth it.

Instead, I spent that time in Omotesando and Harajuku to buy shit. It was a lot less stressful on my body anyways. My body was really tore up from the day before. Voice was gone. Neck was immobile. Arms and shoulders were bruised, and worst of all my legs were in total pain still.

I went to Harajuku and scoped out the scene. I didn't have much plans except to just visit one of my favorite stores. I went into Chrome Hearts and made my first purchase at Harajuku. They gave me a water and a CH Guarantee Card! Why can't american service be like this?!! Unfortuneately, they were sold out of my size of this one shirt... noo! Oh well, Time to head over to Omotesando Chrome Hearts and look there!

The walk to omotesando was hot. It was nice though to take in the nice scenery for the last time...
Arrived to CH in Tokyo and walked in. The person greated me and told me to head downstairs for the main floor. I went down and headed towards the shirts and asked if they had any left. They told me in dissapointment, no...!

I looked around some more and then started to chat with this really pretty girl that worked there...The thing about this is, people in Japan don't even care about selling you shit. They are interested in talking to you as well. This has happened to me in so many stores..From Edwin, Blacktop Motorcycle, Bars and Restaurants, and now even Chrome Hearts.
She showed me around and told me alot about the Japanese collection of Chrome Hearts. She took me to the top floor and showed me around and even into the CH bathroom! We talked about CH and American culture stuff. Before I left she asked me my name and we exchanged names.. . Yoko. What a pretty name.
I told her I wanted a memory from Japan, so she gave me her card. I think she got the feeling that I had fallen in love with her! HAHA!

Yoko and I, Chrome Hearts Tokyo.


Chrome Hearts Memories.


I headed home and changed and showered and ran over to Shinkiba Stuido Coast for my last live.
....

DIR EN GREY - ALL THINGS VISIBLE 09

Today, I got a bad seat #. #2324. It was okay though, I was already dedicated to give my body and rush hard to get a good spot. When i arrived at the venue, it was swarmed with visual kei looking people like yesterday... I then realized - wow, i will never see this kind of visual again in the states. At least these people can pull it off...
I headed in the venue when my number was called. My spot was rediculously terrible.. The waiting was a pain in the ass..but then people started to randomly rush in. At this point,I pushed hard and got somewhat close to the stage..

The lights dimmed, and the ominous booming of "Sa Bir" played. I RAN HARD! I pushed as hard as I could and got pretty close, but not as close as yesterday. It's Show Time..

Shinya came out, then Die, then Kaoru and Toshiya, and then an overwhelming of screams filled the room when Kyo appeared. I was filled with anticipation and couldn't wait for the first song to start..
What song would would open the song tonight?..

(songs that stood out in my mind)
1. Hydra 666 - this song ripped the night open. they opened with this song. What a good choice, very hype song with lots of energy. I was happy to hear this song as I didn't hear it the previous night.

2. Red soil. again. So much energy.

3. Repetition of Hatred - Die's solo was sick. It was hard to hear though since Kyo has changed the ending a bit by growling in beat.. so the fans would do it too!

4. Shokubeni. this was hands down the best song performance tonight. I was glad to hear it again. The total revamped version. Except tonight was different. Kyo sang one part without the mic and his voice soared through the room. It was so powerful, he had so much passion when doing so.. He quickly screamed back into the chorus...Beautiful.. I wish I could relive this moment.

5. Reiketsu - The lights made this song evil. Song starts out with red lights scanning the room up and down. This was going to be the last song before the encore, I can't beleive the set list had already come to an end..

6. Inconvinient - Great to hear this again, very serene.

7. .. Now I wasn't sure what would be next.. More surprises or what? Last night after Inconvinient, they played Akuro... So maybe tonight was another surprise? Or maybe they would bring back a goodie like C or Kodou... Well, I found out when the bass riff came in.
The song was Bottom of Death Valley, last played since WHO KNOWS WHEN. I was like OH MY GAAAWD. This song was great. Everything was so WARM. the tones and sounds. It was so serene at the same time so powerful...Die's solo was amazing.

8. More surprises.. KIGAN. another oldie they have not played in years. WOW KIGAN. WOW.
JUST WOW.

9. Maggots. I was really pumped to hear this song. I was starting to wonder where it was since they play it every show. Everyone sang along powerfully.

10. Last Song, Gaika. once again, last song was Gaika. I gave it everything I had. I wanted to destroy myself at the end of this song. This song, beautiful as always...

So the show ended. I was so close to catching one of Die's picks. It slipped out of my hand...
I want to thank the girl(im sorry i didnt catch your name) that attended the concert with me. you were very kind! Thanks for all the help!



---------------------------------------------

Next was shibuya. I had a little after-party dinner thing. On the train ride there, I kept wondering what had just happened. I guess I came to the conclusion that it was something that people would call, a miracle.

I had a lot of fun at the last gathering with my CapS friends. I was at the same time very sad. This was my last day and everything.


Taya and Gene. This guy was our waiter. He was a mutual friend of Taiki's. Really funny guy.


My friends.


Last stop. Tsujigaoka desu.


...Gene.

August 28. LASTO!!!

I'm so fucked up from the direngrey live last night! My whole body is soar, I can't move my neck, I can't move my arms! I can't move!! And to add some more annoyance, I have like 3 more misquito bites on me. Great...

I woke up at around 7 am cuz Asa woke me up to say bye. I was truly sad to see him leave. I said my goodbyes but we promised to start an endless email.. Goodbye Asa! I love you!
Woke up again around 8 am cuz bas went to work. We said our goodbyes, and I thanked him foreverything. I was almost brought to tears when he left and I saw his face for the last time. I was so sad. I didn't want to leave this place...
next Dori and Ichi said their goodbyes as they went to work and I got weak again. Everyone was leaving, and I had no more friendly faces I would see today...It's ok.

I needed to start my day, So I finished packing and carried out my plan for the day. The plan was to go to Omotesando again and say my last goodbyes to Yas from Blacktop Motorcycle. My favorite store here for sure.
I headed to BTMC around 11 and arrived at 12..I had a sliver of hope that Direngrey might be there! but doubt it. Anyways, when I was there, they didn't come.
I walked in BTMC and was surprised to see that Yas was not there.. Instead another kind face greated me and I told him I was looking for Yas. He told me he was at a meeting and he would not be back in time.
So instead, him and I started to chat a lot! He spoke good english! He was a really cool dude.
I told him I wanted my last visit to be BTMC and I loved their brand a lot and he thanked me.
He also told me there was a BACKBONE THE BASIS store in Harajuku, in which I thought ..
Oh fuck! How did I not know?! I must go now...

He asked me my name, and I asked his... Kuni-San. Kuni helped me a lot. He printed out directions and explained them to me to get to Backbone. I thanked him very much and left. New friend desu!
Kuni and Gene


So the plan now, was to rush over to Harajuku and get some shit from Backbone and then leave immediately. I am really risking time at this point.. for more shopping. niiice.
So I rushed to the store and got there in time. I looked around and was in awe of the prices on some of the shit they sold. SOO expensive!
I bought a pair of denims and left. The store itself was pretty damn small, but they had some reallly nice shit in there. I definitely want to return next year and see the whole collection in Fukouka.

The next parts were boring but very stressful. Carrying 2 full luggages was a pain in the ass. I finally arrived at Narita Airport, and with perfect timing! Checked in and everything and then waited for my flight as I reflected on my trip..Everything was what I wanted to do. I couldn't ask for more.
I loved this trip, and I will never forget the people I've met. The way people treated me. Everything from the convinient vending machines to the inconvinient heat and humidity.
I would give anything to come back.



-Gene

August 26 - DIRENGREY - ALL VISIBLE THINGS 2009

The day has come. Shinkiba Studio Coast was the setting. I woke up at around 10 and headed there. Got to SC at around 1 pm.. a little behind schedule.. And to no surprise there were already hundreds of fans waiting in the merchandise line.. great.. Today, I waited 5 hours to try to buy a shirt and a poster. I didn't get a shirt. That shit sold out. It pissed me off a lot when I saw people walk out of the line with like 20 shirts and 40 posters. You bitches aint gonna keep them all.

.. So yea, THAT SUCKED!!.. I did get 2 posters though.

So, waiting in line was a lot less nerve racking than in America. In america you gotta worry about niggas trying to jack your spot and being all annoying talking about anime or how cute toshiya would look in a nazi doll outfit. In japan, its waaay different.

First of all, all the emo girls that hide in their closets came out for this show. So the underside of society has chosen to come out and put on their chain shirts and platform boots to this live.. . I havent seen so many fat girls together in japan! LOL ok that was mean. mmm, yeah there were still a handful of hotties/cuties there though. People were still very polite though, as evil as they looked.. . I saw a few american people there trying to look for help, and of course they were helped generously.

So im gonna skip the boring shit and here we go..

I was really nervous to be honest, how was a japanese live going to be? Do I have to be aggressive as I usaully am and shove people out of the way to get to the front? Or are they nice and let whoever pass them with a simple sumimasen? Well, we'll find out. The lights dimmed and people RUSHED IN.. I had to turn on gaijin mode. I lost all sense of politeness and did whatever I could to get to the front. And I got it... Something was weird.

there are many differences between america and japan. I want to list it before I forgot everything:

1. Japan is way more polite. they dont scream during the acapellas or during ballads. Fucking 10 thumbs up for this.

2. Their strenght may be weak, but their endurance is amazing. Girls are so short, so short that I even used one girls head as an armrest! (accidently). Since she's so short, the air down there is HUMID AND HOT. IMPOSSIBLE to deal with sometimes when youre rocking out and trying to have fun. But they did it. fuckin' monsters. I faded fast while still giving it my all.

3. Japanese people are polite and kind as hell.

Here's what happened.. At the end of the night, My body and mind were completely DONE. Too tired, 5 hours of standing around and worrying, and then an all out live. I was done, but my heart wasn't. I still gave it my all, and when DIE threw his water bottle at the end of the show. I leaped to grab it, but my feet gave out completely. I fell down hard and I couldn't get back up. This girl helped me up but I fell right back down. Then 2 guys proceeded to carry my out and help me recover. They gave me their kindness and missed out on a chance to grab die's picks. I was ever so grateful for this. My heart was touched.. such nice kind people. Thank you so much.

4. Their energy is united. Headbanging it together. Rocking is together. They know exactly when to sing and when to cheer. I love this.

Okay, now on to my experience...

Sa Bir played, and the crowd went FUCKING WILD. And It built my anticipation. Shinya walked out with his new hair style since i last saw him. DIE walked out and he looked FUCKING GORGEOUS since the last time i saw him. YES HOMO.

Kaoru Toshiya walked out. Kaoru was wearing some kinda japanese jacket that looked way out of his style... Toshiya looked like an idiot. He was wearing a kilt. . .. He's really fallen off.

Kyo came out last and he was looking very mature. A GQ jacket with denim jeans and chrome hearts chain.

The show was ready to begin. My main focus was die since I was on his side. He looked ready. He nodded his head in anticipation.

1. I wasn't sure what to expect as a first song... Obscure? Vinushka? Inconvinient Ideal?...

NO! It was SHOKUBENI!! I shit my pants. This song was AMAZING live. Die revamped the WHOLE song with new guitar parts and Kyo revamped it with his growls. It was such a great starter.

I wont describe every song in detail, but here are some that stuck out to me.. they were the ones I had never heard before.

2. Red Soil was next. I was so hyped when I heard this riff kick in. I was so ready to hear this song, and it was amazing. I cant wait to see it again tomorrow. The drums pumped my blood while Die and Kyos headbangign kept me motivated.

3. Maggots was amazing live again. This song never lets me down.

4. Dokouku - Wow This song was cool live. They hit everything perfectly and it sounded great. I was impressed.

5. Stuck man - Wow, dies guitar sounds really nice live. It's very clunky and it got me moving. So sick this song.

6. Kodoku Shisu - They revived this song!!! I heard 4 taps on the symbols and I knew this was the song they were going to start, but at the same time I wasnt sure... They haven't played this in so long. The last time I heard this was in 2007 Feb 23. It was so great to hear this again!

7. VINUSHKA! - I was so tired by this time. But when I heard kaorus acoustic chimes start the song, my blood rose again and I was ready to give it my all. This song is never short of dissapointing me, even on the album version. There was so much energy in this song... I have to see this again tomorrow.

8. Reiketsu - once again, by the time this song hit, i was out. dead tired. body was disagreeing with me. But then the evil heavy riffs ripped open the air, and red lights flashed like mad. I was shocked by the atmosphere of this song. It was awesome...

...Now it was time to rest, encore encore encore encore! the fans shouted over and over... Of course they were going to come out again!

The encore.. is a warning for surprise, If shokubeni and kodoku wasnt enough for you direngrey fans...

First. Inconvinient Ideal. The intro to this song always brings life into me and I feel alive. The song started and I felt so at peace... this song gave me my energy back.

Second. Die brought out his acoustic... What was next? Higaki ? Undecided ? .. I heard one chord. It sounded ever so fimiliar. And then die struck another chord. And I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was so unreal. My mouth dropped in awe and I said aloud "oh my god". It was real. They were reviving "Akuro no Oka". ..

This song was so powerful. It almsot brought me to tears!!! I've always wanted this song live. I love this song. And this song made me think of this as my last days in japan, all the fun ive had, and all the friends ive met.. everything has brought me to THIS moment. THIS song.

Third. Okay, and If those 2 weren't enough to get you to be jealous. then I'll add one more.

They brought back another oldie. Schwien no Isu. Yes, from the old ass days. I couldn't believe it either, the riffs were so SICK. Kyo revamped it with his death growls. The crowd sang along strongly. everyone was so excited.

Fourth. This came out of no where liek a bomb. Repitition of Hatred got me wild.

FINAL. This was a surprise ender for me. IIIrd Empire? Clever? no, they ended it with Gaika! I saw Die raise his guitar up, and I knew it was gaika. The beautiful riffs ripped through the air like magic and kyo screamed LAST SONG! LAST SONGG!!! The crowd went wild, and again I went crazy. .. So crazy!!!!

I walked out of the hall SOAKING wet in sweat. You don't even know. My hands were pruny as fuck, my hair was completely wet, my shirt, jeans, belt, and necklace was soaked in sweat. I had just taken a shower with other people's radiated sweat. No lie. It was so hot in there. Tomorrow Im wearing some lesser shit.

2009.08.26 Tokyo – SHINKIBA STUDIO COAST

SA BIR

触紅 (Shokubeni)

RED SOIL

AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS

DISABLED COMPLEXES

慟哭と去りぬ (Doukoku To Sarinu)

STUCK MAN

OBSCURE

BUGABOO

THE DEEPER VILENESS

蜷局 (Toguro)

GLASS SKIN

孤独に死す、故に孤独。 (Kodoku Ni Shisu, Yueni Kodoku)

VINUSHKA

DOZING GREEN

冷血なりせば (Reiketsu Nariseba)

Encore

INCONVENIENT IDEAL

アクロの丘 (Akuro No Oka)

Schweinの椅子 (Schwein No Isu)

REPETITION OF HATRED

凱歌、沈黙が眠る頃 (Gaika, Chinmoku Ga Nemurukoro)

------------------------------------------------------

So that's tonight for you. A bunch of surprises..what's in store for me tomorrow? I can't wait. I'll update tomorrow. I need to sleep its 3 am and im dead.

Ticket. Seat # 774(which is REALLY GOOD)

(Before the show)

After the show with my new direngrey buddies.

Like I said before, everything was soaking wet. So my ticket in my pocket got obliterated... that's all that's left.

That would be my arm, i got beat up!

August 25. Last Goodbyes?

Today was my last day to hang out with friends. It's been a long tiring day so let me try to remember what went down..

Woke up at around 9 am because I expected a package to come for me. When it finally did, I opened my BackBone item and was more than pleased with the quality of my new coin bag. Yes, I dropped another ridiculous amount for something I don't even need. That's gene wong for you.

<3>

I left the house around 5 pm after doing chores.. I didn't know where I wanted to go today. I mean, it's my last damn day what am i going to do? Odaiba?... naah its too far.

I settled with Harajuku, maybe I could find something really sick for the last time in Japan.

I began to get really sad as I realized that my trip is basically over. The endless stream of amazing gorgeous girls that continuously pass me will soon end. The night life will be gone. The busy streets filled will be gone. But my love for japan will not be gone..

Ok, So I arrived at Harajuku.. But where to? The only thing worth investing in now would be jeans.. so where did I go first?... I think the first store I went to was beams. I could only think of sebastian when I walk into this store because he loves this store to death. I wish he was here to shop this store out. Looked around, and nothing really interested me so I left.. Where to now?

Next I went to my favorite store. Chrome Hearts.

aaah, I was really considering pulling another stupid purchase and buying an absurdly overpriced shirt or tanktop. Walked around the store and looked at some beautiful pieces of silver and then decided I won't buy the shirt.. Hey! they did offer me a water though! I think they only do this when they actually think youre going to buy something.. Probably cuz the way I dressed made them think I was going to purchase something!

CH water + my new CH Chain (It's all silver!)

I left CH with my prized water bottle and then wandered off thinkin now.. where to go?

I didn't have an idea where to go at all, but I was really appreciating the peacefulness. No tourists. No noise. No heat. It was just me and harajuku.

I hit up a few more stores.. Nudie Jeans, Hysteric Glamour, Abahouse(some dude in there spoke really good english! nice!) before I left to shibuya.. Harajuku. I will miss you so much. You are beautiful. Exciting. and Expensive. what else can I ask for? Harajuku desu.

I went to Shibuya after and then met up with Taiki, Asa, Bas, Dori, Tsugunosuke for my last goodbyes.. We had a good time. I love these guys.. Also there was a mysterious man that I've seen almost EVERYTIME I go to shibuya. I do not know his name, but he also joined the festivities. To be honest, Since I saw him at thee arcade almost every single day, I thought he must be broke... Most people go to arcades everyday cuz theyre broke and dont want to spend money---

Tonight, I found out that hes actually mad fuckin rich. He dropped a bill before he left.. ... HOW GENEROUS! thank you so much!

Tsugu, Gene, Asa.

I'll miss yall so muuuuch!

TOMORROW! DIRENGREY LIVE! gotta wake up early...

August 24. Blacktop Motorcycle..!

Today I went to Omote-Sando again to visit BTMC.

I want to say that, I think Blacktop is my new favorite store. Chrome Hearts and Blacktop. Those 2 brands are where my cash runs out on. It's weird cuz these 2 stores look really plain.. Anyways, Let's continue.

I had a weird feeling about today. I wasn't sure if Die, Toshiya, or Kaoru was going to be here, but i still had a sense of rush that they might be at BTMC... It was worth a try to go. I went into the store and no one was in there except 1 salesman. No luck... It was the same person that I talked to last time and the same person that I saw at shibuya post office. I wasn't sure if he remembered me or not. That doubt was quickly answered as the first thing he asked me was "when is dir en grey's live?" and then he told me he remembered me haha. I told him I saw him at the post office and he seemed surprised that I was there as well. I hope he doesn't think im stalking him.. O_o.

We talked a bit more before I left, he seems like a really chill person. His english was sufficient enough to get the message across. I may visit BTMC one more time before I leave. I dropped some more loot on some BTMC gear and then left..

BTMC Van


Blacktop Motorcycles


Says it all.


Gene and Yas!


Blacktop Motorcycle!

PS!..Remember I said I had that weird ominous feeling?
When I came home, BTMC updated their staff blog on ameblo.. and guess who was at BTMC in FUKOUKA!! (hundreds of miles away from tokyo BTMC)
...
Ahh! dameyo... Orz
Die!

August 23. Festival

Today I went to azabujuban for a festival. It was very cool. the atmosphere was nice, heres some pics.

There was a little booth where they let you fish for turtles lol. It was pretty sick. heres a mound of turtles.

aaand heres the group we went with!

Ryoya and Gene

Gene, Bas, Dori

Stephanie, Sarah, and Ryoya

So today, I didn't exactly participate in the festival since I arrived when it ended. But I got to see some nice night life going down. We ran into some hard working people who were really desperate to sell some wine... So bas and I decided to help them out by buying a drink.

Such Hard Workers!

...and on the way back, this was great... we saw some fool straight out PASSED OUT in the middle of the stairway... LOL

So that was about it for my last sunday here..

---

As for tomorrow, I hope to meet up with mizoteru and play some guitar. I heard that hes REALLY good, so this should be very interesting.

Also tomorrow, I'm going back to omotesando to visit Blacktop Motorcycle. If God sends me his blessing, then Die, Kaoru, and Toshiya will be there... I can only hope!

I'm very excited for tomorrow

August 22 - Famous People.. sort of?

Went to the post office today to take care of some stuff with Bas and this guy walks in.. He looked fimiliar at first but I wasnt sure if it was who I thought it was..

A lot of people look similar here and also as far as remembering someone is hard. .. especially if you only got one look. Anyways, as I inspected further I noticed the guy was wearing a silver wallet chain. .. next I noticed he was wearing a bikers helmet, then next I realized it WAS who I thought it was. It was Kaoru's friend that worked at blacktop motorcycle. He was wearing a white shirt that said BlackTop on it. I was surprised to have run into him..

Next.. I donno who the hell this guy was but, all of a sudden a SWARM of girls and a couple of guys run after one person. He is trapped and finally he poses for a picture. A lot of camera flashes go off, and soon after cameras chase him. Who was he?!...

August 21. Almost Done

Hey all,

these past few days have been emotionally and physically confusing, i suppose. After getting over my sickness, I have been waking up earlier and earlier, which I guess is a good thing. Anyways, these past few days havent really been much. The only real big thing that I did was visit Odaiba with Bridget and her friend to see the life sized gundam. So lets get to that.

Odaiba Gundam

At first I wasn't really that excited to see the gundam cuz im not a gundam fan or anything. Anyways, When we got to odaiba - the view was exactly as i envisioned Tokyo and Japan to be like. Like I said on my first post, I thought Tokyo was like vegas. Tons of lights, tons of life, and tons of energy..But I almost got the opposite. But arriving in Odaiba, this was it. I tried to capture some pictures on the shuttle bus, but it was hard to capture it moving and at night.

Odaiba at Night:

And on to the gundam... I was kinda worried that they wouldnt perform the gundam show at night. And even more worried that there would be no lights to shine on the gundam. But when I got there my worries went away...

Wow it was so cool. Like, right when I saw it, I think this was the coolest thing ive seen during my stay in Japan. This thing is awesome as hell. Every hour, A gundam show occurs where music plays, lights dim, and the gundam lights up. The head moves, lasers come out the fools eyes and chests and shit. And then steam comes out of its boots and its boosters in the back. Wow it was dope!!! So for anyone going to Japan, you have to see this thing. Its too awesome to describe, or even videos. You have to see it in person. Oh yeah, they also let you line up and get up real close for crotch shots of it.

Heres another shot of odaiba at night. What a nice looking place, perfect place for a date.

Dir en grey is next..

August 17 - SBO!!!

Yeah, I didn't go.

Long time no post...so where did we last leave off? Senso-ji temple, right?

Well I visited sensoji temple and it was alright i guess. The architechture was really nice but the actual place didnt really awe me. There were a lot of foreigners the day that we went(we as in me, JR, Eric, and kim). Heres some pics though. the place was overall pretty cool and nice. apparently the temple in Harajuku is a lot cooler...

Here's some random bum that slept at the temple.. fool is sleepin on gravel too. wtf.

That wasn't the end of my day though. We went to Omote-sando afterwards to meet up with my friend Ryoya. Omote-sando is equivalent to Hollywood in the US, I guess. All the stores are high class, name brands, etc etc. It was no surprise then that I saw a Chrome Hearts there. I'm guessing that this Chrome Hearts was THE CH because of its size and aesthetically pleasing atmosphere. It was very cool.

Omote-sando, Chrome Hearts

Also in Omotesando was the store ive been wanting to visit called "Blacktop Motorcycle". I heard about this from Dir en grey. It took me awhile to actually get to the place, its pretty far. When we got in there, the first thing we saw was some guy working on a motorcycle. The workers there didnt really help or assist much, which was a shock. Japanese shopping is a lot different than American style. The workers usually help you A LOT as opposed to america is more like... "Welcome."..

But anyways, I got some stuff from BTMC. I think I have a new favorite shirt..lol.

The guy that helped me with my purchase was actually kaoru, die, and toshiya's friend. He said that dir en grey visits BTMC a lot and that i may have a chance to run into them. A lot of fans go to this shop... Maybe Ill go back again.

...................................

As I said earlier, I didn't attend Tougeki SBO 09 this year, but bas did arrange a cvs2 unofficial sbo tournament which had like 25 players. I didnt get very far, but I did prove to myself that I still have it and that I am on the same level as these players.. After the tourney, We went to a bar and drank it up again. Same people, about 25 people showed up this time and it was off the hook. Really fun. The japanese players again, were really friendly and very eager to talk to me. I felt very blessed. Thank you guys.

No Tobasco balls this time.

Shots of 151... GROSS! They drank this shit like water.

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I only have a week and a half left here. Im low on money. But that isn't gonna stop me.

I'm gonna try to make the best of this trip. I'm missing home more and more, and I'm missing japan more and more.

I still have one big stone to mark at the end of the trip. Dir en grey.

I have tickets for first day concert, but I need 2nd day tickets!!!! I hope to god I get them.

-gene

August 12 - Sick

I'm currently sick right now with a cold. Sucks being sick on Vacation. I'm not letting it hold me back though.

Yesterday I went to Shibuya to look around. I went into a guitar shop and they had some cool picks that i bought(they were like $1 each! wtf!) I tried looking for some shit but no luck. I went to Kaikan after to see if anything was poppin, and it was just boring. I was pretty tired though, so It was a place to chill at.. Suddenly Pherai and Haunts show up and we chill a bit before Pherai and I decide to try to head to Omote-Sando.
Didn't happen. We actually headed in the opposite direction.. .

Jon and Haunts left. So it was just me at the arcade. Bas met me up soon after. He told me our friend that we met earlier last week(Ryoya) was going to show up in Shibuya. So yeah, we met up. It was Ryo, Ryoya, and I heading to a bar/restaurant until we randomly ran into JR, Eric, and Kevin. What a coincidence.
We all ended up drinking and having a good time.

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Today, we plan to go to Asakusa to see the famous temple. After, we will go to Omotesando and Harajuku again. Im not sure what im doing tonight, im pretty damn tired right now as I blog this.. I know a lot of the guys are going clubbing in roppongi tonight but im not down. I will be going to roppongi this friday night with Ryoya and JR..

see ya guys
-gene w

August 11 - Earthquake and Typhoons

Lets start off with TODAY

Today started off with a level 6 earthquake in Tokyo. So yea, that shit woke me up. The house was rumblin like a mother. I wasnt that scared.. my first thoughts were .. wtf my throat hurts. Am I SICK?! NOOOO

oh yeah, theres supposed to be a typhoon tonight too. lets die.

....

Yesterday Bas and I woke up at 5 am planning to get some fresh fresh sushi at the fish market.. unfortunately it was raining really hard, so it had to be rescheduled for noon. Met up with JR and Sebastian and ate some mad tastey sushi. Best ive ever had in my life.

So this is Eel.

This would be Tuna I think.

This is the set we ordered. I think my favorite piece was the Tuna. It was just so succulent and FRESH. so chewy.

We did some shopping in an area called Shimo-Kitazawa. Nothing really interested me there though.

We then headed to Takadanobaba to eat some bomb ass ramen. Bas is like a ramen master, so he showed us the hot spots. We ate like kings today.

Too good.

August 6-9th - Mixture of Adventures

Hey all, long time no post. Bas computer broke so im using his roomates now.

Lets start with August 6th.
Didnt do much IIRC, all we did was meet up with some friends and chill at a restaurant. New people arrived into Japan today. The new comers were ricky and fubarduck.


Cant remember much.. We saw lawson again.


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August 7th.

Went shopping at Marui with J.R(also known as OIOI). The only way i cant describe it is like a huge mall with little shops in each one..like department stores. I blew some more cash and was happy with some purchases. We went up an escalator and found this..

I saw an extremely beautiful worker today too haha. She worked at a shop called Diavlo(they make sick belts that appeal to rocker style people). I fell in love haha. I dont even want to think about how beautiful she was. American girls really need to up their game. America compared to Japan is no fair game. Japanese girls win hands down. Appearance. Make up. Style. Hair-dos. we lose.

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August 8th

Today was yuukis last day.. How sad! I didnt even get to go clubbing with him. We just went to some restaurant bar and drank in honor of him. By the way, if none of you guys know who Yuuki Spencer is... Go look him up on youtube. Hes AMAZING. World famous top yoyo player. His tricks are fuckin siiick!


David, Bas, Me, Yuuki.


Random picture of a seven stars promo lighter. it looks sick!


Bye Yuuki!!!

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August 9th

Harajuku again today. I didnt buy much except for some steezy japanese style shirts. Everything here is fucking expensive. I really wanted a shirt from hysteric glamour.. Japanese people really know whats up with fashion. America is too plain and boring..

I ran into a store that was called EDWIN.


What an exhausting day. But to top it off, I finally had my first conveyer belt sushi! It was really good. They had a variety of different fishes and dishes. all about 190yen a plate. really good shit. I took some pics.

JR being a noob and forgetting to turn off the flash when he takes pictures. noob.


Tomorrow is going to be a good day. More shopping around. Gonna wake up at 5 am to go to a fish market. They serve fresh fish, so this will be as fresh as sushi gets. Cant wait. Yes 5 am.

See ya guys,
Gene Wong

PS: I want a japanese gf/wife so bad now. I dont want to leave Japan. And I really wish I could spit game in japanese. fml.