Seasons on the Move

Tokyo. Tuesday.

Fab and I took it easy. We needed a day of rest after shooting. We spent the day wandering around town. There was a minor earthquake and a natural gas explosion in Shibuya. All in all a pretty quiet day. Oh, and Fab got her bra and three pairs of underwear stolen from the drier at a local laundrette. A while ago, there was a guy who got busted by the cops for stealing panties in Tokyo. Apparently when they raided his house, he had 30,000 pairs in his apartment.  

Tokyo. Wednesday.

Another track meet of a day. We finished shooting the film after running around all over town trying to get this fucker in the can before Soe started work at 12:30. We finished on time, but then quickly realized that the camera may or may not have been advancing the film. Fab and I checked all our rolls of film only to find that only a select few had been (apparently) advanced. Fucking disaster. We both broke down in tears on the street in Shinjuku, defeated by Tokyo.

However, the camera’s counter moved the entire time of shooting and everything seemed mechanically sound. Mass confusion. I had to call the lab in California at four in the morning to troubleshoot. Basically, I may or may not have been pretending to make a film in Tokyo. The problem is that, according to the lab, some rolls do not roll out entirely. I do know that at least three rolls were were shot because they rolled out entirely. The others, hmmm…. we’ll see.

The good news is that our actress, Soe, has booked off a few days so we can re-route through Japan to finish shooting. I will not be defeated, nor will she. The stuff I saw through the viewfinder was too good to just let go.  More on this later as we are about to board a plane to Beijing.

Tokyo. Monday.

Shot the first part of the film today. We filmed in Shibuya with Soe, our lead actress. She was fantastic. She’s covered in tattoos and cool as hell. The day was a total track meet and the shooting was frantic. Tokyo wouldn’t have it any other way. Mike did continuity and Fab kept me in line with questions about shots and assisted the camera. Soe said she was glad to share in my art. I get off on shooting in public spaces and filming on the train was totally awesome, dude. Go guerrilla, go!

Jen and Mike got tattooed at Soe’s shop at night. After they were all inked up, we went to a little restaurant in Shinjuku with Soe and her apprentice, Goki. Rowdy salary men filled the joint and we taught Soe the meaning of “bitch” when drinking booze. Soe then took us for some karaoke near the subway station. We settled into a private booth, ordered a gang of drinks and heated up the mics. Highlights included Mike’s rendition of “Love Me Tender”, Soe’s version of “Material Girl” and the group sing-a-long of “Satisfaction”. At 3am we called it a night and called a cab.

Tokyo. Saturday.

Fab and I went down to Shibuya to test out the Kino camera and shoot some super 8 film. I found out quite quickly how ridiculously small the viewfinder is. I had problems seeing clearly because my (apparently) freakishly long eyelashes got in the way. The hordes of people did not help the matter.

After being scorched by the sun, we went to Nakameguro with Mike and Jen and had some Mexican food and margaritas. We went home early so we could get up at 6am to stand in line for a baseball game that started at 1pm.

Sunday.

We all went and saw a ball game out in Chiba with Jen’s boss’s son Ken. Chiba Lotte Marines vs. Hanshin Tigers. There are a few differences between American baseball and Japanese baseball. First, the coveted seats in Japanese baseball are in the outfield. People lined up over night to sit in the bleachers. Second, the crowd is fucking crazy and is separated into distinct sections for each team’s fans. For proof, You Tube Chiba Lotte Marines. Third, there are ties in Japanese baseball. The game went to extra innings, but ended after the 12th inning and ended in a 0-0 draw. Fourth, Bobby Valentine, Chiba’s coach, is a massive celebrity.

We downed a few beers in the hot sun which made all of our heads swim, passed out from heat exhaustion on the train home and then called it a night.

Tokyo.

Mike and I went scouting locations for the film shoot: Shibuya, Shinjuku, Kabuki-cho, Ginza and Roppongi. Mike got us turned around looking for a specific tree in Ginza. All he could remember about its location was that it was near a TGI Friday’s. We found the tree after some serious walking and then headed for Roppongi to take a look at a large wall displaying random digital numbers.

Fab and Jen spent the day wandering around, shopping and riding the bus. Mike and I rolled in style and took the train. Fab bought me a notebook and Jen bought Mike a set of lime green headphones. After getting soaked in the rain, we all went for dinner a Japanese pub and talked about the up coming film shoot and our lack of contact with our lead actress Soe.

On Friday, we took a train out to Enoshima Island. Had Ramen noodles for lunch and a giant Asahi beer. The remainder of the day was spent sweating, taking photos and climbing steps to see various Buddhist temples and shrines. Took some great photos of a fisherman fighting the waves on a rocky outcrop.

At night, we went to see a bunch of Japanese hardcore bands at Club Heavy Sick, a small club in Hatagaya. Before heading inside, we hung out on the street smoking cigarettes and drinking beer with Kaori and Soe, the prospective actress for our film. Soe said she was down for the film and that all she needed to do was check her schedule at her tattoo parlour to see what day would be best.

The show was called “Kill Enjoy 2″ and featured five bands from Tokyo and one from Nagaski. Good to see a decent punk show. Missed most of the first band, Delashine, while waiting in line for a drink. We entered the tiny back room to catch the start of the second band, Rinko SS, which featured a lead singer aping Iggy and Mick.   It’s You, Soe’s band, played third. Her husband Shiro shredded his vocal chords screaming political diatribes, none of which I understood. Velocityut, from Nagasaki, played second last even though they were the headliner. Their set literally lasted three minutes, but managed to whip the crowd into a frenzy. Mike and I got pulled into the melee. The last band, Metchu, had a dainty female lead vocalist/guitarist in a flower print dress who screeched like hell over top of throbbing feedback until the lights came up and the night was over.