tuesday 24th september
human luggage.



8:00am: alarm
8:30am: check out of shibuya hotel, tokyo. arrigato, folks.
8:45am: taxi to train station - name?!
9:40am: train to narita, sitting on bags.
12:30am: lufthansa narita - munich, takes off. finished leviathan.
6:28pm: viewed changing lanes (interesting apart from the black/white thing), about a boy (as cool as hugh grant gets, ie not good) and the rookie (blank) in one sitting then looked up to see 'flight time remaining: 5 hours, 48 mins'.
12:40am: land munich
1:00am: fly munich - london heathrow
2:45am: arrive heathrow
3:00am: bus heathrow - quality hotel
3:30am: leave quality hotel for oval
7:00am: home, bed.

apart from noticing london at dusk from 12,000 feet looking like a special effect (a cross between jar jar binks' underwater city and the futuristic humans at the end of a.i.) i was alive today but not really living. i need a wheel with bags and sleep. i'm sure it's two days ago still.

monday 23rd september
there we were, three westerners with white skin, luggage and baggy eyes. for the first time since arriving we got hassled by someone babbling at us as we arrived at the train station. seeing the look on his face as christian storms (named after a religious splinter faction?) exploded with 'we've heard enough!' at the top of his voice in perfect japanese was a real treat. the train had no free seats so we sat on our bags eating croissants and strawberry milk, eager to wake and sober up as we talked rubbish and fought off drooping heads. a few hours later we touched down in tokyo, said thanks to chris and left everything apart from cameras and money in a locker. rob and i couldn't check into the hotel before 3am so had planned a mission.

after the third attempt we found a monorail with the front seats empty, set up the cameras and sat back to enjoy the ride. out of the distance came the ferris wheel, bridges, statue of liberty and hondaworld. i wanted to see the supras i drive in my living room. they were big and i missed lbc.







on the way back into tokyo, via the airport we had just left, i was so tired i only needed rob to say 'i'm going to pump a 10 grand note into a ticket machine' to set me off. as he walked of the phrase stuck in my mind just long enough for me to find one of his beautiful language tweaks: the 'pump'. it was such a strange adjective i couldn't stop myself from giggling and by the time he came back i had tears rolling down my face. rob assured me that it was a common phrase, but i didn't have enough energy to stop myself. until my ribs cramped up with laughter.

when philip and paul arrived i was in rob's room watching a game show. i couldn't understand a word of it and was giggling like a kid. the games were ridiculous but hugely imaginative and i worked out the rules as i watched. as far as i could tell the team of girls (a j-pop band judging from the dolls i saw in kiddieland earlier) had to complete a series of games to win gold medals. for what, i didn't know. it was a national holiday so maybe it was just for fun. seven games were played as i lay there, exhausted and chuckling:

1. 'wall crash': they took it in turns to run across a platform, bounce on the trampette and splatted themselves to a velcro wall with ascending points areas. the height of your hands were measured and scores added. they had to get over a certain amount.

2. 'flash saurus': two-player. girl one pumped the tube up as the time limit ticked away. when the cork was high enough the dinosaur got angry, breathed fire and set the lights off (probably signifying fire). these traveled towards girl 2 who had to jump on the square at just the right time to extinguish it. the quicker she pumped the slower the 'fire' flew.

3. 'deli soba box': both girls sat on the clapped out moped in front of a monitor, the pillion passenger carrying six big noodle boxes above her left shoulder.

4. 'arcade six' was a compendium of arcade mayhem:
'blowgun fighter': blow-dart popping six balloons placed on moving walls
'floating fight': knocking beach balls off their air suspension with foam tennis balls
'flower ball': rolling a ball down a travelator the wrong way into an oversized flower
'pizza catcher': throwing frisbee styled pizzas into open mouths
'superdunk 1 on 1': shooting three pointers into two moving basketball hoops
'flying burger': hammering a see-saw catapult to get plastic burgers over a wall into rotating lunch boxes

5. 'quiz': the rest of the girls run on treadmills at break-neck speed while the remaining stationary one answers questions. i think taking the form of a list in reverse order.

6. 'hyper hockey': two contestants compete against the quiz masters dressed in what resembled large, spikey conkers (hedgehogs, maybe?) at air-hockey. first to nine wins, contestants swap every two points.

as far as i could make out they won hair beads and cutlery. i waited to see if the boys would return to talk about tomorrows plans. they didn't turn up and as i fell asleep i was sure it was still the day before yesterday.

sunday 22nd september
solid-snaking it past bears to the fish market was an eye opener which reminded me of project grizzly. crabs the size of buildings, octopus tentacles vacuum-packed. philip and paul left sapporo, i wandered around quietly, buying things, looking at things, enjoying the warm sunlight.





a few shows later, the end of the onedotzero_nippon sapporo leg became a yama-goshi present-fest with food, pool, darts (electronic and traditional), big ups and the youngest member of the party unsurprisingly falling asleep in front of his beer. 1,800 tickets were sold and saying goodbye was difficult. shane bear-hugged me, the dj, crew and events staff all had a turn on my hand and there were promises of drinks in london, working together and making next year even better. everyone's sincerity and enthusiasm made me feel warm inside. these are good people.

until this year i've not really been a part of the whole festival. designing the titles, printwork and websites hasn't shown me just how much it's for the people. after our job is finished we usually have to move on to money work or are just zeroed out. this year i saw it from a new perspective; from the stage and from the auditorium seats and, to be honest, it's bloody good. i'm proud to be a part of it, contributing in my own little way, but prouder still of working with truly great people for something which is beneficial.

saying good-bye to maname was the hardest. she makes me laugh, think and say stupid things. as i walked out the door i could see her standing at the back still where i hugged her goodbye. 'maname!' i shouted, through the eight or so japanese onedtozero staff i'd just said good-bye to. she looked over, then 'don't touch my clothes!' as i turned, descended three flights of stairs and walked the short distance to the hotel for the alloted 3 hours' sleep. out of everything i shall miss her the most.

saturday 21st september
seeing sapporo from the top of a mountain, how peaks turned into slopes and buildings into sea made us catch our breath.

your work behind you in a cinema, talking through a microphone, trying to explain how a metaphorical title sequence was realised, waiting for the question to be translated before answering it. i think it went fine but i don't understand japanese. from now on it's all holiday.



friday 20th september
a lie-in at last then wandering for money for food. i shot mini-dv, said nothing for a while and caught the traktor show on the urban hall's seventh floor. seeing onedotzero the way it's intended opened my eyes. instead of it being the festival we design the titles, graphics and print work for it was a film festival showcasing poignant and contemporary ideas and experiments. sitting there in my comfy chair in the dark put a lot into perspective. today has been the first chance i've had to sit and reflect on everything.

later there was shyumi shyumi. so good. a way of eating as sociable as it is tasty. here's what happens: you sit shoeless at a low table with gas burner in the centre. over this is a large ceramic bowl divided in two down the middle. on one side is boiling water infused with sesame, in the other is what can only be described as a sweet and sour soya-based sauce. along comes as many plates of vegetables and thinly sliced meat as you like. drop them all in the sauce of your choice, have a chat and eat. the best ¥2000 and chat to andy marin ever. tomorrow i have to talk on stage. i'm getting nervous already.

at the moment i'm going with the flow. i don't even own a map. other people tell me how many stops, where the shops are, how much in sterling it is, what our hotel is called, where the restaurant is, who the next company are. shane knew what i was feeling as we walked back to the arimax, 'it'll stay with you for a long time after you leave, don't worry about getting it all in'.





thursday 19th september
another early start for another big day. tokyo - sapporo, japanese city number three in two days. maname was ill after light surgeons night out and needed nursing. the monorail was 36 slide exposures and a jas poster i didn't have the confidence to steal. this guilt thing is working so well andy had to ask at the desk. the curry before we flew resembled baby food - sweet and filling - but was just what i needed. as i lay across three free seats i auditioned dj yoda from rob. taxi, check in to hotel with room to move 5.53, meet in foyer 6.00.



the opening onedotzero sapporo party was amazing. the huge concrete gargoyle covered cave was a three-storeyed club with huge canvas screens hanging over the dancefloor, a wall of djs and vjs and food in the private area. i was told it's the biggest venue in sapporo. as they set up, testing each tape, the showreel i cut together came on, nick's music thundering from the wall of speakers (they were actually the wall). i couldn't wait to see it in front of a crowd. a mound of raw fish arrived as we sat down to eat which eventually made us late. we hurried back, strolled in, and walked on stage. a bow, a beer, and the realisation i'd missed the showreel. raw fish had done it again.



wednesday 18th september
the infamous night of philip's magazine.

the first thing i'm doing when i get back to work is clean the studio. a work day; three meetings: flag, tyo, cg world while chaiki translated for us. flag's showreel cut to a two second shot of a pocari sweat can floating between astronauts in zero gravity. to get the perfect shot (it was breathtaking) they art directed it over the radio. apart from the actual cost involved i wondered if this was the first ever product placement in space and whether life was immitating movies. they showed and suggested a calorie mate tv advert. it's like space food. 'what does it taste like?' asked philp. 'apple.'



the absent wanderers rob and paul followed our lead and bought cameras and saw the denso, reporting that the phrase 'mark would have loved this' was over used.

a quick shower followed by the wrap party. i got to know maname before the food, beer, and heckling shane took over. philip took advantage, too, collecting his magazine, refusing to let it go. apparently it was the only thing keeping him 'in one piece'. inside the convenience store, on a croissant emergency, paul popped his head up from behind the shelves to say 'i'm in trouble..' as he shrunk. 'ooh, this one's got a scanner on. cool!' said philip near the photo machine.



tuesday 17th september
i'd been surprised at how vocal the store assistants were but the ¥100 (55p) store was a whole new volume. in here they didn't have to look in even your general direction, they just kept shouting at regular intervals soundbites which, loosely translated were along the lines of 'good morning!', 'welcome to our store!' and 'there are bargain everywhere'. as we descended in the lift from the third floor flourescent noodle packaging explosion it stopped on 2. they only opened for a millisecond - definitely all the way, either, but just long enough to let in an 'it's cheap!'. it was a welcome, an advert and a hard sell. all in a foreign language. in tower records and found two american albums in japanese that i can't buy in london. wierd.

before the return to tokyo, ann, philip, paul and me had a go in the kiddie photo-boothe. it wasn't so much as get your picture taking as a visit to a virtual photographer's studio. you could even paint your own stars on before printing.

between the golf ball drops of rain we wandered back past the demonic-looking kirin building (from black rain, the film), leaving our umbrellas in the holders outside each or using the plastic bag sleeves they supply as an alternative, window shopping for friends (afro ken for chumpy's jen) and feeling sorry for the cats and dogs they sold in perspex fronted strip-light lit boxes. ann likes it here and, apart from the lack of trees osaka is a nice city.





monday 16th september
bullet trains were always a mystical invention. i don't know much about them except they're supposed to be fast and somehow cool. the three hour ride to osaka was definitely that. we were supposed to leave tokyo but it felt like we never actually did - as london thins out the roads widen, there are more trees and parks and you can just feel the countryside coming. tokyo thinned a bit, turning from a metropolis to a city to a sprawl, but the differences were only slight. i wanted to see hills, and fuji and mist and fields. i got factories and storage depots and the occasional glimpse of green. i tell you, london is a village.

ann's seventh floor apartment, the sony building with robotic dogs and a banksy show in town. osaka may not be green but the sun was out and we were among old friends, just chilling. hey, this is a holiday as well, you know! my hotel room has an internet connection, thin lcd monitor, video player, satellite and bose angled ceiling speakers. home from home, heh heh. i could get used to this.



sunday 15th september
camera shopping in earnest with sore feet at the chicken sit-down. shibuya at the weekend is as cool as you can get. akihabara, cars, signs, wide eyes and a photo machine that became the first of paul's if-you-bring-these-to-london-you'll-make-a-fortune plans. you just popped in ¥100 and your memory card, sized it, rotated it, and/or scanned it, then waited for your prints. presto! they even have them in convenience stores, you know.





saturday 14th september
so this sea-sickness dizzy feeling is what jetlag feels like. now i get it. coke and coffee isn't enough. philip galantly offered to take the single seat on the panel. andy martin said jesticulation instead of juxstaposition then flapped his arms about. dv shopping in akihabara, tempura and arrigatos. we got prices, met a noodle king in the evening, shoes off while we ate, slippers for the toilet. then it was cafe nolita honey bee drinks in the room with the eaves courtesy of yamagishi. the pwei disc turned up somewhere nicely disguised as fight club. i've been called the trouble maker. it's now 1.15 am and channel 5 on my hotel tv has some kind of circus cheerleading synchronised human tower building thing on. culture gap and a half.

the skyline on route 276 right next to the sony building reminded me just how far from home i was.



thursday 12th september, friday 13th september
tomorrow, today, yesterdays.

6am, heathrow, taxi, takeoff. spiderman on small screen, sonic on a smaller. sea captains smelling of issey miyake, eventually mixed with red wine.

somewhere over siberia days became other days while mine stayed the same. my guide book was a waste of money after the first page; it told me whatever you read, hear or expect about japan before it will never be as you imagined when you get there. so thanks for that, then. despite the monitor showing a speed of 500 mph the landing was a torturously slow countdown. the longer you wait the slower it goes.

train views of paddy fields surrounded by turbo vegetation. the ticket inspector was immaculately presented in his perfect beige linen suit. aha. my first clue. his knife-sharpened pencil suggested the japanese are proud of their jobs, respectful and definitely organised. the lead extended an inch to a needle-sharp point as he write his minute kanji characters. be nice, i thought to myself. i faded in and out of actually being there, i think, tired from the flight as we rumbled into tokyo. the day was only half over.



the man in surgeon-blue theatre overalls with white gloves and face mask was shepherding a trolley of something covered in the same blue material about the size of a football. as he rushed through, arms flailing he sounded like he was warning people, pushing them out of the way. 'what's in there..?' i asked. we hadn't a clue. 'germs?'

the instant overwhelming information explosion. bladerunner sirens. busy but ordered. lights, signs, neon, digital everything. the input fiend with his laptop connected to his phone, listening to his minidisc while downloading. then his other mobile rang and he was talking, too. white gloves, schoolgirls in uniform, jingles in stations and box buildings just on the way to the hotel.



onedotzero_nippon kicked off with a gig in roppongi (ooh, if i could just say it) as the floor turned video blue and the guest passes came out. we have to take part in two panel presentations and have a day of meetings. the rest is exploring.



at 5am tokyo time i woke up then fell asleep properly between tower blocks, tennis courts, graveyards and a plug-in bathroom.




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