left when it was dark. arrived when it was dark.
waking when it’s dark.
funny.

well, we were sure happy to see Hiroshi Asadah pick us up at the airport.
we had been told to wait outside as the airport was CLOSING. huh? what the?
so i called his mobile phone and he came right away.

this is our third tour of Japan that Hiroshi has promoted. these tours are always unique, never the grind and stress of other tours at home or in Europe, there is a quiet flow to the air here that is steady and calm.

speaking of air, it was a little chilly outside the airport and when we got into town, we immediately met up with volker, paul and jelle at a really comfy cozy restaurant.
nice warm jazz music playing. everyone in their socks sitting on a wooden raised floor.
beautiful carved wooden bar and overall lighting and design.

the food was perfect starting with a sushi platter that had an amazing decor and style, kind of like eating sushi tucked into an aquarium setting. if that makes any sense.
there was yellow tail, tuna, mackerel, red snapper, a gianormous underwater snail shell filled with curly pink and green tendrils and floating in its own jar, a succulent clump of cod intestines.

hmmmm…let’s see what else was there. oh yeah, a pork dish with a paper thin flour top that was cooked hard like a shell, so we broke it, and mixed the semi raw egg into as well. fun. that was one of my favorite dishes.

then there was a nice plate of deep fried mussels followed by some egg fried rice with a healthy dose of hot sesame oil. loved that. but the topper was most definitely the cod testicles tempura. Kentari, one of Hiroshi’s crew who had spent 6 years living in NYC plainly said, “shut up and eat. it’s good for tomorrow’s show.”

everyone at two tables were in fine spirits. it’s been a while since the steady pace of last year’s touring. i am curious as to where the music might go, especially since we’d just been fortified with essential vitamins and hormones?

i got some sleep on all three flights. wow a first.
so now at 6am i am awake and ready to go.

started playing some guitar and now thinking about heading out to walk around Fukuoka to watch the sunrise.

–Joey Burns