Osaka
Early start in order to check out of hotel and get cab to Tokyo Station in plenty of time to catch bullet train. Lucky we had lots of time so that Robin could go to the bullet train shop and buy bullet train souvenirs for the team and Em. Station was amazing - immaculately clean with an army of Japanese women in pink uniforms lined up to get the next train ready. The bullet trains look more like aeroplanes than trains - very hi-tech. The platforms are divided into carriage areas so that you can locate where to stand really easily.
The trip to Osaka is three hours. First stop was still within Tokyo called Shinagawa. Next stop was Atami which followed views of mountains, industrial buildings and houses. Fabulous view of the Pacific Ocean from the train. We loved the tunes that the train made when approaching each stop - talking trains! Third stop - Shizuoka although we could not see Mt Fuji when we went past it because of low cloud. Fourth stop - Hamamatsu and then Nagoya where the station was dwarfed by the biggest Marriott hotel imaginable. Endless mile upon mile of factories and motorways and it is impossible to tell where one place stops and the next starts. Very dull and cloudy in the west so not much to look at. Saw some other UK Bowie fans on the train. Penultimate stop was Kyoto. The train announcement said we would be making a brief stop here. Difficult to tell where all the temples were from the brief encounter with the station but no doubt we will find out tomorrow.
Osaka - totally different to Tokyo. A big industrial and commercial city and none of the class of Tokyo. Hotel room overlooks McDonalds so went there for lunch and had a teriyaki burger, fries and grape fizzy pop. Don't recommend a teriyaki burger. Went for a walk around and found huge electronics dept store with one floor just for cameras but unfortunately not long enough there to spend any money. Joined the e-cafe so Robin could check his email. Got tube back and there is a station right underneath the hotel.
Went to Osakajokoen station and walked up through the park to the venue which is next to the 16th century castle. Met JunJun and picked up the tickets again successsfully. Very plush venue and we had first row seats at the left of the stage. Bowie was stunning, phenomenal and awesome and if anything even better than Tuesday in Tokyo. Great songs, great band and fabulous noisy crowd - much more rock'n'roll than Tokyo and lots of leather jackets and jeans and punk haircuts. 'Bring Me The Disco King' was stunning as ever but we were just a few feet from him as he sang it off his gantry above us. Also he finally got the words completely right for 'Quicksand' which made it even better. After show ended we met up again and flocked in several taxis to the Bowie fans' party at the 'Little Wonder' cafe. Amazing place tucked away in a side street but packed out with Bowie memorabilia - posters, books, magazines, CDs and more. A lot of items were hand made by the people who run the cafe. About 20 people turned up and chatted while octopus doughballs were cooked. Another first.
Osaka Setlist
01 Rebel Rebel
02 Hang On To Yourself
03 New Killer Star
04 Fame
05 Cactus
06 All The Young Dudes
07 China Girl
08 Reality
09 5:15 The Angels Have Gone
10 The Man Who Sold The World
11 Hallo Spaceboy
12 Sunday
13 Heathen (The Rays)
14 Under Pressure
15 Slip Away
16 Looking For Water
17 Quicksand
18 The Loneliest Guy
19 Be My Wife
20 Sound And Vision
21 Ashes To Ashes
22 I'm Afraid of Americans
23 "Heroes"
(Encore)
24 Bring Me The Disco King
25 A New Career In A New Town
26 Five Years
27 Suffragette City
28 Ziggy Stardust
The trip to Osaka is three hours. First stop was still within Tokyo called Shinagawa. Next stop was Atami which followed views of mountains, industrial buildings and houses. Fabulous view of the Pacific Ocean from the train. We loved the tunes that the train made when approaching each stop - talking trains! Third stop - Shizuoka although we could not see Mt Fuji when we went past it because of low cloud. Fourth stop - Hamamatsu and then Nagoya where the station was dwarfed by the biggest Marriott hotel imaginable. Endless mile upon mile of factories and motorways and it is impossible to tell where one place stops and the next starts. Very dull and cloudy in the west so not much to look at. Saw some other UK Bowie fans on the train. Penultimate stop was Kyoto. The train announcement said we would be making a brief stop here. Difficult to tell where all the temples were from the brief encounter with the station but no doubt we will find out tomorrow.
Osaka - totally different to Tokyo. A big industrial and commercial city and none of the class of Tokyo. Hotel room overlooks McDonalds so went there for lunch and had a teriyaki burger, fries and grape fizzy pop. Don't recommend a teriyaki burger. Went for a walk around and found huge electronics dept store with one floor just for cameras but unfortunately not long enough there to spend any money. Joined the e-cafe so Robin could check his email. Got tube back and there is a station right underneath the hotel.
Went to Osakajokoen station and walked up through the park to the venue which is next to the 16th century castle. Met JunJun and picked up the tickets again successsfully. Very plush venue and we had first row seats at the left of the stage. Bowie was stunning, phenomenal and awesome and if anything even better than Tuesday in Tokyo. Great songs, great band and fabulous noisy crowd - much more rock'n'roll than Tokyo and lots of leather jackets and jeans and punk haircuts. 'Bring Me The Disco King' was stunning as ever but we were just a few feet from him as he sang it off his gantry above us. Also he finally got the words completely right for 'Quicksand' which made it even better. After show ended we met up again and flocked in several taxis to the Bowie fans' party at the 'Little Wonder' cafe. Amazing place tucked away in a side street but packed out with Bowie memorabilia - posters, books, magazines, CDs and more. A lot of items were hand made by the people who run the cafe. About 20 people turned up and chatted while octopus doughballs were cooked. Another first.
Osaka Setlist
01 Rebel Rebel
02 Hang On To Yourself
03 New Killer Star
04 Fame
05 Cactus
06 All The Young Dudes
07 China Girl
08 Reality
09 5:15 The Angels Have Gone
10 The Man Who Sold The World
11 Hallo Spaceboy
12 Sunday
13 Heathen (The Rays)
14 Under Pressure
15 Slip Away
16 Looking For Water
17 Quicksand
18 The Loneliest Guy
19 Be My Wife
20 Sound And Vision
21 Ashes To Ashes
22 I'm Afraid of Americans
23 "Heroes"
(Encore)
24 Bring Me The Disco King
25 A New Career In A New Town
26 Five Years
27 Suffragette City
28 Ziggy Stardust