APRIL

04/01 (Thursday)
Into Nagoya City. Rehearsal for the Nagoya Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. Eat chicken wings at "Yama-chan of the World" for dinner. I drink and eat, eat, eat... Actually, it was more of eating and drink, drink, drink. I fully expect a hangover tomorrow.

04/02 (Friday)
"TOUR de JAPON" in Nagoya. It's hot in Nagoya. Is it just me, or are there less empty seats here than ever before? Even if we sell-out the tickets, there's always people that can't make it. I had heard we sold-out in Nagoya, but still, there were a lot of people in those seats. Thanks, y'all! (note the Nagoya(?) accent) Got to remember to take a trip to the Komehyo second-hand shop and sell everything I don't need...

04/03 (Saturday)
Go into a miso stewed-meat udon noodle place beneath Nagoya station with a good reputation. It's as popular a place as the rumors had me believe. At noontime, the families and couples are all lined up outside. I finally get inside. Since I'm in Nagoya and all I order the "Nagoya Cochin Chicken Miso Stewed Udon!" 2,300 yen! (around $21.00 U.S.) That's 2,300 yen for lunch! Can you believe it? And for...noodles!? Of course, it was delicious so I'm not complaining. I'm picturing all these extremely rich working-class people in Nagoya...

04/04 (Sunday)
I go to the Canoo Show 2004 in Minato Mirai (Yokohama). Unfortunately, it's cold and so not many people show up. I pick up a complete set of vendor's catalogs then go home to make pasta. Hand-made pasta is the best! As expected, I eat too much and take some Seirogan (like Pepto-Bismol) before turning in for the night.

04/05 (Monday)
I hear "Le*Siro" for the first time. Wow! WOW! I don't have the words to express how this music makes me feel. You'll just have to listen to it. What would Christian Vander (from the planet of Kobaia, of course) think if he heard it? Don't hold me responsible if you get too excited and your head explodes and your gut bursts, okay?

04/06 (Tuesday)
Sluggish this morning. Don't have the strength to get up. But I do, anyway. My stomach hurts, I don't want to eat...I drink a vitamin drink. My head pounds. I'm not sure why either, so I take some cold medicine and try standing up. A little dizzy, so I decided to take today off. Of course, sleeping all day makes me particularly active at night, so I watch a tape of "Azumi" (a story about a female ninja). Now I have to see the sequel...

04/09 (Friday)
Arrive in Fukuoka. Scored ramen at a nighttime noodle stand.

04/10 (Saturday)
Rehearsal today. The Kyushu symphony orchestra is good! Run into Hamaguchi-san at the rehearsal hall. Hamaguchi-san has friends in the orchestra, which makes communication all that much easier. Backstage, I bequeath the teachings of the way of Rock n' Roll piano to Katayama-chan. Katayama-chan, you will call me "Master" from now on. Scored mizutaki stew (boiled chicken and veggies) for dinner.

04/11 (Sunday)
TOUR de JAPON in Fukuoka. To be honest, the ticket sales for the Fukuoka concert had me most concerned. But, as far as I could tell from the stage, we had a full house, so no problem! A friend of mine from college I hadn't seen in 20 years brought his family to the concert too. Scored motsunabe stew (cow intestine and veggies) for dinner.

04/12 (Monday)
Buy some "iwashi mentai" (sardines and roe) at Fukuoka Airport. Oh, I've been wanting to eat this for some time.

04/13 (Tuesday)
Just got back from Fukuoka yesterday, and we're off to Osaka tomorrow. One of those betwixt and between days when no one should expect me to get any work done at all, so there.

04/14 (Wednesday)
Buy inmotion speakers before getting on the Shinkansen bullet train for Osaka. These are tiny-great for carrying around. Of course, you can't expect HiFi sound out of them. Got to get an iPod, too. Scored okonomiyaki (Osaka-style pizza) for dinner.

04/15 (Thursday)
Rehearsal with the Osaka Symphoniker Orchestra. Tomorrow is it, the last day! Let's do it!

04/16 (Friday)
TOUR de JAPON in Osaka. Not to ring my own bell, but this was a great, great concert. I could really feel the excitement from the fans. I'm pretty sure those tears that Katayama-chan shed onstage were 80% phony, but that last 20% was straight from the heart. To everyone that came and everyone that played, I hope we can all get together again sometime soon! Thanks, Ebes-san!

04/17 (Saturday)
Breakfast with my mom (she says she's my groupie) up from Atami and my aunt from Kobe. They both seemed to really enjoy the concert yesterday-they were quite excited. No matter how old I get, it always makes me happy to see my Mom having a good time. Glad I did the concert, once again.

04/18 (Sunday)
Since I snapped the conductor's wand I borrowed from Sakai-san (I used it on this tour with tape wrapped around it) I went to Shibuya for the first time in a long time to buy a new one. As always, I am overwhelmed by the crowds.

04/19 (Monday)
Though I physically came into work today, no one is as really and truly unmotivated as this guy right here. Yes, that's right: me. Unmotivated. Can I take a little vacation, please? Huh? No way? All right. See you bright and early tomorrow morning!

04/20 (Tuesday)
Came to work again, though I'm still unmotivated. Let me go home, please. Huh? No way? Sorry, I gotta go home. I'm going to see Matthew Bourne's "Nutcracker." Later!

04/21 (Wednesday)
I spend every evening now ripping my CDs onto iTunes. A 20GB iPod can hold quite a bit of music, folks!

04/22 (Thursday)
Record a show of Uematsu Radio with special guest Watanabe-san who plays the role of Draco in the Opera of Maria and Draco. His eerie ability to see auras freaks out Katayama-chan. I'm afraid much of this tape is going straight into the vault.

04/23 (Friday)
Take my parents to Yamanaka Lake. My, it is hot. Even at 1000m above sea level it's still over 22 degrees(70 degrees F)!

04/24 (Saturday)
In the morning I call some works to fix a leak in the roof. What I thought was rainwater turned out to be just condensation. Life is never dull in a log house! The evening starts with a violent hailstorm. I know they say this all the time, but the weather can really change in the mountains.

04/25 (Sunday)
I go up to the fifth station on the hike up Mt. Fuji for the first time in my life. The mountain really looks different from up there. Not to mention the blustery wind-cool and refreshing!

04/26 (Monday)
I put my iPod and inmotion speakers together for the first time. Hmm, sounds better than I expected! I know better than to expect HiFi, but for playing background music in a hotel room on a trip, they're more than sufficient. The best part is being able to bring hundreds of my favorite albums on trips!

04/29 (Thursday)
Went to a live performance by Manami Kiyota. She invited me up on stage as a special guest. It was a good show. Not only is she a veteran performer, but adding a gorgeous back chorus, violin, and flutist was the right move.