2017 Top Five

When I look back on the year that was 2017, I think that all in all, it was very good to me. I did a lot of cool things, went to a bunch of cool shows, and met a lot of cool people. Here is a list of my top five accomplishments from this year.

Side Note: here’s a link to Catching Up, a post I created in June to show how much I’d done by that time alone!

1) Japan – I finally went on vacation to Japan, a place I’ve wanted to visit for a very long time. While there I was able to check off a lot of things from my to do list. I got to: fly on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, see a whale shark, visit Liberty Walk, visit Nagashima Spa Land and ride Steel Dragon 2000 (a coaster I’ve wanted to ride for 17 years!), ride the Shinkansen (bullet train), see Mt Fuji, visit RWB (Porsche), go to Tokyo Disney Sea, ride go karts on the streets of Tokyo, and see The 5.6.7.8’s in concert.

2) Got a “promotion” – I put promotion in quotes because though I did get a raise with my new job, in terms of level of importance, I am not much, if any, higher from the bottom than I was before. That said, it is a new position and it makes me feel like I have the potential to go places within the company. Additionally, I like it’s better than the role I was in before, so that’s a plus.

3) Moved to Brooklyn – this is the third year in a row that moving has been listed amongst my accomplishments. Unlike the last time I moved to NY, where it was more haphazard, this time the move was due to my new job which required a relocation to the East Coast headquarters. The nice thing is, because I’d lived here before, I was comfortable finding a place to live, getting around, and exploring the city.

4) Met a bunch of people – I got to meet several of my hero’s or people I admire/look up to. While at Liberty Walk I met Kato San (the man who started it) and at RWB I met Nakai San (the man who started it). This was a pipe dream that I did not expect to come true. I also got to meet Josh and Eli from Smoking Popes and I got to meet Matt Gourley and Paul F. Tompkins at the Superego show. I also got to meet my new co-workers who have become very good friends.

5) Explored New York (and beyond) – since moving here, I’ve been to a bunch of shows including: Dave Chappelle, Just Between Us LIVE, Smoking Popes, Eleanor Friedberger, Superego, Angel Olsen, LCD Soundsystem and a few underground shows sprinkled in between.

I did a bunch of cool things like going to Bike Expo New York, did a lot of karaoke at The Alligator Lounge, went dancing at Home Sweet Home, went to Smorgasburg, went to the Mermaid Parade, went pool hopping at the FiDi Hilton, went to Coney Island and rode the Thunderbolt and the Cyclone, went to Six Flags Great Adventure, went on a 30+ mile bike ride with my buddy Jordan, took a day-cation to Philadelphia, played movie trivia at Videology, found “MIB headquarters,” went to Bike Kill, went to Fat Cats to play pool with my co-workers, went to Jingle Hells pop up bar, not to mention all the other bars, clubs and restaurants I either went to or have scoped out for future visits, went to several house parties and probably a few other things I’m forgetting.

I visited a bunch of museums including The Met, The MoMA, The Museum of Natural History, The Museum of the City of New York, The Queens Museum, The Brooklyn Museum and The Cloisters. I also checked out public art such as Descension by Anish Kapor and Photoville. Additionally, I went to the Louis Vuitton exhibit Volez Voguez Voyagez.

I’ve gone to and or ingested (in one way or another) a bunch of movies this year, namely: Alien Covenant, It Comes At Night, Spiderman Homecoming, Dunkirk, Passengers, The Founder,  My Neighbor Totoro, Nocturnal Animals, The Incredible Jessica James, Wonder Woman, The Big Sick, Mother!, Blade Runner 2049, Baby Driver, Jim and Andy and the Great Beyond, Lady Bird, Man on the Moon, Get Out, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Voyeur.

Lastly, I attended the 91st Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I finally attended this parade with my sister, something that has been on my bucket list for a long time because the watching on TV of which has been a part of my family’s Thanksgiving tradition for as long as I can remember. My sister and I would wake up on Thanksgiving morning, in a similar way as we would for Christmas, run downstairs and put on the TV to watch the parade. We always said that one year we’d see it live and now we can finally say we did.

Japan – Day 2: Osaka – Day 2

Sunday – April 9th, 2017

Today was the first day that the group split up. Dan stayed in Osaka to see a bunch of sites in the city while Pete and I ventured out to Aichi Prefecture to visit a few car sites.

First however, we had to get there. Rather than go into the details of our travel, I’ll give you the cliff notes:

We got up around 6:30 and left the apartment by 7:30-ish. First we took the subway from Nippombashi to Namba Station (1). Next we took the subway from Namba Station to Shin-Osaka Station (2). Then we took a Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Nagoya Station (3). Here is where things got a little tricky.

In my notes it said to take the Higashiyama train from Nagoya to Fujigaoke Station. However, what I failed to add was that in order to access the Higashiyama train, you need to exit the station and enter at a different part that is, for whatever reason, not connected underground. This led to us going the wrong way a bunch of times and eventually asking an attendant where to go.

Once we figured it out, we stopped and grabbed breakfast at the Mermaid Cafe in Nagoya Station. After, it was back to smooth sailing and we took the subway from Nagoya to Fujigaoke Station (4). On the train, Pete and I noticed the guy standing in front of us had a cool design on his shirt. I told him so and at the next station we got out.

We then transferred to the Linimo train (light rail) -which also required us to get out of the station and enter a different one- and when we got to the platform, who was standing there but cool shirt guy. Somehow we got to talking and came to find out we were all bound for the Toyota Automobile Museum. We took the tram from Fujigaoke to Geidaidori Station (6; total number of trains it took us to get to the museum).

As we rode to the museum we basically became “single serving friends” (see Fight Club). He told us his name was George and was/is from the Czech Republic and we commiserated over our love of cars.

This entire train process took about 3 and a half hours.

Toyota Automobile Museum

When we got to Geidaidori Station we walked to the Toyota Automobile Museum together and unofficially decided to check out the museum together. The first thing that stood out about the museum was that the employees, mostly female, were super traditional and respectful, bowing any time you did… anything. Next, for whatever reason, instead of it costing 1,000 Yen, it only cost 500 Yen (~$4).

Toyota 2000GT and a Sports 800

The museum was laid out in historical order ie. older cars first, newest cars last. While George and I were looking at an original Fiat 500L, an older gentleman/employee opened the door for us so we could see inside. He explained things about the car and would continue to do this -opening doors and hoods for us- intermittently throughout the museum.

Eventually we got to a Mercedes 300SL (Gullwing) and when George saw it, he turned into a little boy. He ran over and immediately started taking pictures. It was adorable. As we continued through the museum, the inevitable happened, I was at the end of the hall and moving on to the next and Pete was just beginning the hall; taking pictures and looking at EVERYTHING.

1959 Cadillac

Because I knew we had one other thing to do in the area and because I wanted to get back to Osaka in time to get more than just these two things done today, I was sort of in a rush. Naturally however, Pete took his sweet old time.

I made the mistake of telling him there was an “Annex” too, and so of course he wanted to check it out. Then he wanted to shmy in the gift shop. Then he wanted to go to the car meet in the parking lot and had to have a super long conversation with the owners. Then he had to look at a classic Mini Cooper in the parking lot and had a chat with the owner. All of this led to leaving 2 and a half hours later than I wanted to.

Liberty Walk

Next we made our way to Liberty Walk, a wide body kit company that’s popular in the tuner car scene. Getting to LW involved taking the Linimo train from Geidaidori to Yakusa Station (the end of the line (7)). There we switched to the Aichikanjo Tetsudo train -for which we could not use our IC (PASMO) card and had to buy a regular ticket- from Yakusa to Setoshi Station (8).

Next we had to get out and change stations to take the Meitetsu train from Shinseto to Sango Station (9). From there it was a straightforward (12 minute) stroll to Liberty Walk. When we got there, I was wondering if Kato-san would be there. No sooner did I mention this sentiment to Pete did I look up and there he was talking with some kids a few cars away. I was going to walk over but I didn’t want to disturb him.

Liberty Walk Cafe

I kept looking at cars until an employee came over and asked if I needed help. I told him I was looking for Kato-san, and he brought me to the LW cafe. There he was, sitting with an older gentleman. I walked over and started chatting with Kato-san. He smiled but did not respond. Seeing this, the same employee came over to me. “He doesn’t speak english.” I had the employee translate and during our conversation, found out that he is Kato’s son!

Huma (pronounced Hue-mah) took a picture of me and Kato-san and then, after instructions from his father, gave us a drink on the house. After that he gave us a tour of the two LW facilities. We chatted and hung out and got pictures of the shops. Pete took his sweet time looking at everything and finally, after we both got some merch, we made our way back to Osaka.

Liberty Walk Garage

We went from Sango to Sakaemachi Station (10). There we switched to Sakae and took the train to Nagoya Station (11). From Nagoya we took the shinkansen to Shin-Osaka station (12). And finally we took the train from Shin-Osaka to Namba Station (for a total of 13 trains in one day).

From there we walked back to the Air BnB and met up with Dan outside.

Dinner/Dotonbori

When we got back to the Air BnB, Pete took a nap, I organized some stuff on my computer and Dan did the same on his computer. After about an hour or an hour and a half of chilling, Dan and I were ready to go, so we woke up Pete and we headed out. Pete and I had only had breakfast and we were starving so we grabbed a bite at a greasy meat/noodle place down the street from our Air BnB.

When we were done, the game-plan was to go to Dotonbori and maybe to a bar. I was pretty chilly and had been to Dotonbori the night before so I decided to go home and write this. Pete and Dan ventured into the night and I let them in about an hour and a half later. I then continued to write until I completed the day.

—

So, because of all this I’ve decided that on our next free day, I’m breaking away and doing my own thing so I can finally accomplish all of the things I’ve been putting off. If I don’t, I’m gonna start resenting people and that will put a dark cloud over the trip.

Boston to Tokyo to Osaka

It was late December of 2008 that I first took an international vacation by myself. I went with EF tours to London and Paris. While in Soho in London, I went to the Onitsuka Tiger boutique on Carnaby Street. There I purchased a pair of yellow and black Mexico 66’s reminiscent of the Tai Chi’s worn by Uma Thurman in Kill Bill Vol. 1.

At the time Onitsuka Tiger had a campaign called Made of Japan. The bag in which a got my shoes was a beautifully designed sneaker city of Tokyo. I think it was then that I realized I wanted to go to Japan.

I cut out a part of the screen printed brown paper bag and hung it on my wall. All it said was JAPAN. Now, nine years later, I’m on my way.

—

Thursday – April 6, 2017 – United States of America

Apartment to Sullivan Station (via bus; 10 min)

I left my apartment at 10:25am EST to catch the 89 Bus to Sullivan Station. According to my “Catch The Bus” app, I had 4 minutes until the bus was to arrive. knowing that it only takes me about a minute to get to the bus stop from my apartment, I took my time. However, as I rounded the corner onto Broadway, I saw that the bus was already at the stop. I ran and luckily the merciful bus driver waited for me. This was the first of several connections/forms of transportation I would have to take on what would be one of the longest days of my life.

Sullivan Station to Logan Airport (via subway (Orange line and Blue line) and shuttle bus; 40 min)

At Sullivan station I boarded the Orange line bound for Forrest Hills and took it to State Street. There I switched to the Blue Line. I took the Blue Line to Airport where I then boarded a shuttle to Terminal E. I arrived at the airport at 11:15am.

Logan Airport to Narita Airport (via JAL Boeing 787; ~14 hrs)

Once there, I checked in and got my boarding pass. After that I checked my phone and saw that the other guys weren’t far behind. A short while later I met up with Pete who then checked his bag. Then, after that we figured out that Dan was already making his way through security.

Japan Airlines B787 at Logan Airport

Pete and I followed suit. Apparently Thursdays at 11:40am isn’t a particularly busy time for Logan Airport’s International terminal, we basically just walked right through. After hashing a few things out, taking some pictures of the plane, using the restroom and grabbing food, it was time to board (1:00pm).

The boarding process was quick and hassle free. Our plane pushed back promptly at 1:20pm and after a short taxi to the runway, we were air-born. You don’t realize how cool all of the features of the B787 Dreamliner are until you get to experience them. The larger overhead compartments, the larger windows that dim rather than use a shade, the graceful flex of the carbon fibre composite wing once in flight.

I started the flight by listening to the latest episode of This Is Only A Test (Tested dot com’s podcast). Shortly after, or possibly right before the hour and 45 minute podcast ended, we were served our first meal. Dan and I (who were sitting next to each other) had the pork meal. Pete, who was sitting behind me, got the chicken. The meal was pretty big and pretty good, it filled all of us up.

Our first meal on the flight

After using the restroom and chatting with the guys for a bit, I started my first movie, the Academy Award Winning Best Picture -er sorry, that was the other one- La La Land. I don’t know if it was because I was on a plane or that I heard so much about it or that I had built it up too much but I only thought it was ok.

After the movie I stood and stretched for a bit, looked at maps, looked out the window, chatted with Pete and Dan, then watched the movie Allied, which was also only ok.This was then followed by a snack/meal service, more chatting, an episode of Star Wars Rebels, and a nap which was followed by our last proper meal of the flight.

An episode of Wheeler Dealers led us to a holding pattern where we made circles out over the ocean which ruined our initial estimate of an early (3:30pm instead of 4pm) arrival time. After a sketchy crosswind landing, we touched down at Narita Airport at 16:07 Japan time.

Friday – April 7, 2017 – Japan

One of my biggest fears upon landing at Narita was being able to get our JR Voucher converted to a JR Pass, book our Narita Express train from the airport to Tokyo and get to the bullet train on time, as well as getting our PASMO card and our Japanese SIM card all while making it on time to our various connections.

I assumed that our biggest hurdle would be going through customs but the whole process, including Pete having to collect his bag at baggage claim, only took around a half an hour. Once we got through and made our way out to the lobby, we then scrambled to find where to exchange our JR Pass Voucher for a usable JR Pass.

Dan, Pete and I getting off the plane

Eventually, after asking a few people, we found the JR Pass ticket booth. There, not only were we able to get our JR Pass, we also got our ticket for the Narita Express train (#42 which left at 17:47 just as I had researched) and our ticket/reserved seat for the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Osaka (#529 which departed at 19:10, also as I expected).

After getting all that we went over to the PASMO machine to purchase a PASMO card. PASMO is one of many “IC Cards” one can choose from while in Japan. It is a subway tap-card that works in seemingly all subway stations and most busses, not just in Tokyo. After sorting out our PASSMO, Dan and I went in search of a SIM card.

We went back upstairs and, using Pete’s phone, figured out which retailers sold the specific SIM card he was looking for. As I looked around the airport, amazingly I saw one of the retailers from the website. This was the first of many times that, as a team, we figured out where we needed to go. We grabbed our SIM cards and, after collecting ourselves, made our way to the platform to board the Hogwarts, er, Narita Express.

Narita Airport to Tokyo Station (via N’EX train; 52 min)

We got to the platform in plenty of time and as I expected, the N’EX showed up at 17:47, right on schedule. The first thing you notice after entering the spaceship looking train, is that the ride is not only very quiet, but also incredibly smooth. Additionally, despite the fact that it was not a bullet train, the N’EX hauled ass doing probably 80 kph.

Narita Express Train

As we entered Tokyo, Pete pointed out to me the Tokyo Skytree, which he mistook for the Tokyo Tower. Even from a distance you could tell it was massive. It dwarfed everything else in sight. Eventually we arrived at Shinigawa station where after a bit of fevered confusion, made our connection to the Tokaido-Sanyo shinkansen.

Shinigawa Station to Shin Osaka Station (via Shinkansen aka bullet train; 3 hrs)

I don’t know what made me think this was a good idea, a 3+ hour train ride after already being subjected to ~14 hour flight and an ~hour long train ride. Regardless, we boarded the train, which again was perfectly on time, and began our journey.

Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Osaka

The three of us were miserable. Despite the relatively comfortable seats, we were all exhausted but yet could not really fall asleep. Despite travelling at ~274 kph (about 160 mph) the train felt like it was taking forever. I felt like I was on Snowpiercer. Eventually however, we made it to Shin Osaka Station.

Shin Osaka Station to Nippombashi Station (via Subway; 20 min)

Our journey was nearly over. There were only two more subway trains to take. Once we got to the station, I pulled out my itinerary and, thanks to its through detail, as well as excellent sign spotting by Dan and Pete, we found our trains without a problem and before we knew it, we were at Nippombashi Station.

Nippombashi Station to Air BnB (via walking; 10 min)

View from the 14th floor balcony of our Air BnB

Thanks to my Google mapping before the trip, I knew not only what exit number to leave from (#10) but also exactly where to go once we got out. The walk was very straightforward and, with help from Pete, we figured out out the exact location of the Air BnB and how to get in it. Once we did, we got settled and then, after admiring our accomplishments, all went to bed.