December 2003

Be afraid. Be very, very afraid - I finally got my drivers license converted to a Japanese one. As a Brit, it’s simply a case of going to the license centre, looking vaguely sober and sane, and filling in some forms, and giving them lots of proof you had your license for 90 days in your own country. It certainly beats spending all the time and money to get a Japanese license the other way - driving courses are really expensive.

Of course it was Xmas again, and this year we got a decent size fake tree, and I must admit that for the first time in Japan, my apartment felt almost Xmas like. I even took Xmas day off from work for the first time in a while and we spent the morning opening presents. I’m pretty happy with my haul - especially SSX3 which only came out here mid-December and was sold out within a few days. I also bought the amazing ‘Taiko no Tatsujin’ which is the home version of the drumming game - hitting 2 plastic drums in time to the music and symbols on screen - believe me, you’ll need to have nice neighbours when you’re playing the difficult level punk rock songs…and then buy them some merchandise!

Snowboarding is also back on the menu, and after an icey start to the season in chilly Niseko (Hokkaido), I’ve just got back from 3 great days in Hakuba, which featured some great powder and some nice prepped slope too. I even managed to get some moguls practice in. Unfortunately, one of my friends broke her tail bone, and I had to organise her getting off the mountain and to a clinic, all in Japanese, and I’m rather proud to say I managed it…just. I think it’s time to look for a text-book called ’emergency medical Japanese for busy Snowboarders’. The good news is that she’s feeling fine now. Roll on next year, and Shiga Kogen.

November 2003

After an amazing 4 years living in Tokyo, I finally got around to going up the Tokyo Tower. It’s not cheap, but it’s a lot better than I thought. From most places in Tokyo during the day, the tower looks like a big red and white model, but unlike the Eiffel Tower, it’s surrounded by buildings, so it doesn’t look that impressive. To be honest, as a structure. it reminds me more of Blackpool tower - just taller. However, the viewing platforms are quite good - they have some good binoculars, a coffee shop, and some perspex floor sections so you can look down - quite cool. We stayed there for a few hours through sunset which was beautiful. I took quite a few pictures, and I’m quite pleased with how quite a few of them came out given that it’s all from behind glass. See them here.

On a national basis, Japan had an election, eventually won by Koizumi-san and the LDP (with a link up to the Komeito party). One interesting thing aspect was the use of a relatively new term ‘manifesto’. Obviously in the UK these are weighty documents full of clauses and promises. Most of the Japanese party ones were nothing but pamphlets, but that’s no problem - some saw it as an improvement in a country where most candidates just drive around with Blues Brothers-esque speakers saying their names and should ‘please vote for me’. This year then, they had a longer speech: “My name is (insert name here) - vote for me - I have a manifesto!”. Another aspect to the election, and something which seems to be in the media in cycles, is how much crime should Japanese politicians blame on foreigners - this time it varied from ‘some’ to ‘all’. It culminated it the Governor of Kanagawa announcing that all foreigners were sneaky thieves…though he later recanted to ‘some’ foreigners.

I hate to default to ’the weather’ as a topic, but it has to be said that the weather has been very odd this year, and the trait continues: it’s rained a lot lately, at a time when the skies above Tokyo are usually pretty clear. In the north, there’s been very little snow for the time of year too - with snowboard season approaching, that’s a bad sign.

Unrelated, but after 18 months of just keeping fit by cycling, snowboarding and general activity, I joined a local gym for get some more additional strength training, and maybe, if I can get up for it, go to the Tai Chi classes on Saturday morning!

October 2003

It’s been a busy month to be honest! The blue skies of Autumn are here, and the trees are shedding their leaves, meaning that many people are heading to Nikko and other towns to watch the leaves falling. It has to be said that over the last month there’s been a lot of earthquake activity - indeed our office building got shaken a bit early this week. Hokkaido has seen a lot of activity over the last month too, which apparently is all coming from a source off the coast. For those people who have never experienced and earthquake, it truly is a unique experience, as everything starts to move by itself. In our office, we have a lot of fish tanks, and we could see the water (and the fish) heaving across the tank. The question in everyone’s minds is whether it’s going to stop or get stronger.

Another darker question which has made the news a little this month has been the crime level in Japan and how much of it is committed by foreigners. One of the starters to this was the announcement that the Immigration office was getting a few thousand more employees because there were so many illegal immigrants in Japan. This was contrasted against the governments stated desire to increase tourism, and a claim that a third of Japanese really didn’t want any more foreigners coming even for tourism. I don’t have any reply to tis, it’s just a weird kind of situation. As for anyone who has been to Japan, you may have noticed that tourism within Japan is geared for the Japanese, and is very expensive (it’s cheaper to go from Tokyo to Seoul for the weekend, than to go to Osaka). Do I feel that I’m viewed as a criminal? Well, I won’t deny that I’ve been followed around shops by staff, but to me, it’s not a big issue - I have nothing to hide and therefore I hope I have nothing fear. Time will tell. Take a look at a sensationalist item in the oft-wrong Japan Today.

Thursday, October 2, 2003, at 2:49 JST

Just a quick note, that if anyone is interested, Group 78 (Tokyo) of Amnesty International, are having a benefit gig at “What the Dickens” on October 19th. It’s 2000 yen, and all money goes to the charity. cheers!

September 2003

Well, another month here in Tokyo. I’ve been busy on a few things - notably work and being ill, but that’s not to say things didn’t happen. As per the blog, Koizumi won his internal LDP election, so he can continue to ‘run’ things, and he also kept his Banking Tzar Takenaka on the team, which re-assured a lot of international spectators. It has to be said that things are improving economically here - I just hope a few more of my friends can get jobs! A few people say it’s getting better by itself, but it has to be said that there has been a lot of consolidation amongst Japanese companies, but there are more needed - there’s still a lot of ‘zombie companies’ out there. The banks finally seem to be moving the right way - albeit on a time line which will take years (e.g. UFJ promoting heavily now that they’ll have 24 hour ATMs all over Japan!!! (this is a country where an ATm open after 7pm is notable, and a sign saying 24hr usually means open till midnight, and they’re usually just in Tokyo)).

On a happier note, the weather seems to be getting cooler, but more blue skies, which signals autumn, and hopefully a few hiking trips. Despite the concrete obsession across a lot of the country, Japan also sports some of the most beautiful scenery in Japan , and hopefully I can get to see a bit more of it, before the snowboard takes over my body and soul again!

Also, after a break of about 9 months, I’m actually studying Japanese actively again. Yeah, I slacked off, got too buy and coasted, but that’s no way to run a language. Japanese for Busy People is back in my bag, in my face, and on my coffee table. Feel the pain.

If there is one thing Japan does really well, it’s mobile phones (keitai). I had to buy a new one as my old one had pretty much given up, so I threw caution to wind and spent money on a new SonyEricsson 5402 (mine’s the red one if anyone is interested) - this thing has GPS, camera (with light) which can take up to 640 * 480 pics, a 240 * 320 screen, the whole thing. It’s a bit heavy then, but a great phone. I’m on the Au network (KDDI), and have to say the reception and signal is even better than before. Also, as the phone is a bit better, the buttons are larger…which is good for someone with chubby little fingers like mine! If anyone thinks this is overkill, this is pretty much standard here now - the new J-Phone/Vodaphone phones can run Ridge Racer…

August 2003

July was great, and August seems to have been just as good. As the TVs were filled of discussions on the terrible summer (in the first 3 weeks of August I had my air conditioner on only 4 or 5 times) and the terrific rainfall, even after rainy season was officially announced to be over.

Firstly, the day after a typhoon hit, we made our way to Disney Sea on a very hot Sunday. It wasn’t too busy, and we tried out most of the rides and took a good look around. it’s 5,500yen, and the park is next to Tokyo DisneyLand, but it’s a separate park. I preferred it to it’s older sibling as it’s less Disney and more theme park. It’s maybe targeted at an older crowd too, meaning some of the rides are actually worth going to. It reminded me of a cross between Eurodisney and the UK’s Alton Towers. Worth it for a day out; we tried the restaurants - the Italian was terrible, whereas the Magellan was excellent. Rides to recommend are: Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Indiana Jones, Storm Rider and 20000 Leagues if only for the cool water effect rather than the ride.

August is also Japan’s Airsoft gathering at Naeba (same place as last month’s Fuji Rock Festival) for ASCS - 500 people dressed as soldiers (and other things) to compete in airsoft - shooting small plastic pellets at each other. Had a great time, and nice to see they’ve now made a big tent available for women to get changed - something which had been often requested by female players. as usual it rained all the Sunday, but a good time was still had by all. Our team is the TGB - Tokyo Gaikoku Butai - and as such we made up only 7 people. Still , we bonded with a few other small clans to make one of the 30 member teams. Definitely had a good time reloading under ‘fire’ whilst getting rained on for hours and even getting to take out some opponents. It may sound dumb, but it is a good laugh, so if you get the chance, have a go.

Then it was time for another stag night, so this time we went for a trip on the Yamanote, from Yurakucho stopping at Tokyo, Akihabara, Ueno, Nippori, Ikebukuro, Shinjuku and Meguro on the last train. 12 insane hours. We had a lot of beer I can say, and we got some strange looks after we spent 4000 yen on 2 junk computers - and SGI and a Sun, and then did a demolition derby with them in Ueno Park before putting them in the correct rubbish piles. The whole day was a lot of fun and just a little surreal especially as it was the hottest day of the Summer this year!

July 2003

Well, even though it’s not officially beach season (everything has a start and end time here, no matter what the weather is like) yet, but we headed down to Shimoda for an off-peak priced weekend by the sea, and I have to say it was really enjoyable walking on the beach, relaxing in the onsen and leaving the craziness of Tokyo behind. The feel of ‘Japan’ is very different outside the capital, which is something I keep trying to remind myself of, so I recommend that anyone who only sees Tokyo get out now and then and see a slightly more relaxed Japan.

Finally the rain stops and we can get down to some serious heat and humidity. Also a good time for checking out new bars and outdoor coffee bars around town. Also this month was my weekend trek to the Fuji Rock Festival 2003. I went to the first in 1997 (a washout due to a typhoon which meant the second day was cancelled), the 1998 one and this was my first return since and I have to say it really was a great experience . Despite it’s name, it’s held in Naeba now, about 2 hours north of Tokyo amongst the mountains, and I have to say it’s the most beautiful location I’ve ever seen a music festival at. 7 stages of rock, dance and pretty much everything else, and it went on 20 hours a day. Along with sculptures, bonfires, fireworks, the rain and the mud, it really was a great weekend - including spending a night in a tent perched on what is usually a golf course. Have a look at a few of the photos in the pics section.

Also, a notable mention for the new Virgin Cinemas at Roppongi Hills - a great piece of design and execution - hopefully this will cause a lot of other Tokyo Cinemas to either drop their prices or improve their facilities. The shops at Roppongi Hills are all pretty cool too, but for some reason mine it the Soup Stock Tokyo place - long time since I had a nice bowl of soup!

June 2003

A more subdued content this month I’m afraid. it’s getting hot, and we are well into rainy season - every other day is just rain in the humidity, and when it stops - it feels just as humid! Still, I always like this time of year - I feel that japan just feels different in the summer. Maybe that’s it - Britain rarely gets to 40 degrees with 95% humidity ! I’ve also been taking the opportunity to check out some new restaurants and bars, and I’ve found some pretty good ones. one I mentioned in the weblog is one in shibuya called Wokini - the map is below. I’ve also got out the fan, and bought some new summer sheets for surviving the summer nights. A good side though is that it’s now BBQ time, so it’s time to head to rivers and beaches and have a few steaks and mushrooms with friends - washed down with a scary amount of beer of course! Beer is still sold here as something akin to a health drink. To quote the Sapporo Beer Company in one of the best beer promotional campaigns ever: Love Beer. No question mark. Straight statement.

May 2003

…but is it art

Most of what happened on last month’s stag night is well and truly out of the bag, so it shouldn’t hurt (!) to put a few bits on here. Japan is known for it’s rather expansive ‘adult entertainment’ scene - everything from the huge fetish crazes, mosaic pornography, soap land, the weird and wonderful Kabukicho, the flashing lights, and everything else. One thing is Japan’s broad Sado-Masochism scene (called simply ‘SM’ here). Anyway, the story goes that once we decided that the stag night should get the groom a bit whipped, we decided in no half measures - no Benny Hill-esque slap-and-tickle - we went to the source of leather and dungeons in Tokyo - Sugar Heel. I should say that it isn’t for the faint of heart - or weak of wallet. There’s whipping going on there! Visitors can chat to the dominatrices and slaves, try out some of the ropes and then sit back and watch a ’training show’. Be warned though - it can feature a slave being suspended by ropes from the ceiling. To be honest, it really was an amazing place to visit. All the more so for talking to the owner and head dominatrix Rose, who not only speaks perfect English, is a truly interesting person - and intimidating - standing about 5’ 10" and clad in a long black leather dress - like an Evil Trinity. At 10-13,000 yen an hour, it’s not cheap, but has to be seen to be believed. Go on, take a walk on the dark side…

April 2003

I’m not sure there’s much to say this month - I spent most of it outside of Japan. I suppose I could wax on about how ‘spacious’ Grimsby felt after Tokyo, or about how buildings in Grimsby seemed to blend better than the urban chaos which defines Tokyo. But then again, Tokyo is Tokyo for exactly that reason. I suppose I could also mention how amazing Tokyo is for a stag night, like the one we unleashed last Friday, from Marunouchi to Roppongi to Shinjuku, taking in most of the sights along the way. It has to be said - Tokyo is a great place for a raging pre-wedding blow out.

Geeks with guns

On a more considered note, I managed to get a day in at Airsoft on Sunday (usually I end up at the big ASCS meeting in August, but this time I’ve managed to attend a normal game-day, and I have to say that I had a great time there). It’s nice to get out on a Sunday and get a bit of exercise. It was also the first outing for my new gun a H&K G3 A4 assault rifle. Sounds serious, but it’s fun diving around a field in Tachikawa firing pellets at a bunch of other maniacs doing the same thing.

Finally, Golden Week is almost upon us, and I’m hoping this year will feature the traditional exodus of people from Tokyo, leaving the place that little bit less crowded - and therefore easier to get to the bars for a quick drink!Golden week is a collection of holidays which many people and companies take as a whole week. It has to be said though, that over the last few years, it does seem to have been cut back a bit…

March 2003

The Old School

Well, it’s been a busy month! I’ve managed to make it out to a few places I hadn’t been to for a l-o-n-g time. I went down to Isehara in Kanagawa where I used to live, and was happy to see my old friend Ozawa-san was still doing good business - which unfortunately more than can be said for many other places near the station - several shops in the last couple of years have been razed and turned into car parks. Indeed Ozawa-san said that his landlord has changed as the old one went bankrupt. strangely though, they’ve built a large (10 floor) hotel just over the road. Apparently it’s only really used by sports teams. Strange. I also went to a pretty good restaurant called Wan, right next to the station, which does pretty good food. If you’re going to be in Isehara for some reason, drop me a line, and I’ll send you a map.

Coffee

I gave up coffee totally for 18 months, and now only drink maybe 2 cups a week. No real reason, I just stopped drinking it. I think some of the reason was the terrible coffee served in our company. However, in Japan there seem to be 2 schools of coffee - the Starbucks-like ones which serve (IMHO) watered down hot milk with a bit of coffee added. I’m not a big fan of this - it doesn’t taste like coffee as I think of it and is too sweet. I know it seems to be popular with everyone else in the world though. Japan does have a tradition of other coffee shops known as kissaten, many of which are independent, but there are some chains such as Kohikan (which also owns a Starbucks like brand too) and even Douter which serve what I would consider a decent cup of coffee. In a strange twist Bloomberg TV did an interesting feature on the battle between these 2 systems, and pointed out that some kissaten were having to put there coffee up in price, as people were more willing to spend 500yen on a coffee, rather than the 300yen they charge. I’m not sure how true this is, but it’s interesting. True, the ‘modern’ ones have larger servings, but there’s not much coffee in there…Anyway, I think for once I’m coming out for the old players here - I much prefer the coffee served in the non-Starbucks establishments. Going to another extreme, a friend introduced me to a specialist coffee place in Shinjuku (near the Alta Building) in a small basement. Certainly at 400-1000yen a cup, it’s not cheap at all, but I have to say that it was probably the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had. Also, they serve huge slices of cake.

Popular entertainment

As detailed on my Palm page, by some strange fluke, I’m the top English language entertainment site for Japan on the AvantGo system, and 10th overall … thanks to everyone who subscribes!

February 2003

Just nice.

Just a note of thanks to the nice lady who offered me her umbrella from outside her house as I got caught umbrella-less in one of Tokyo’s near typhoon like downpours. Couldn’t see that happening in London somehow…

Gomi

Er….confused…as some may know, Japan has some pretty strict rules on separating rubbish (gomi) into different categories (burn-able/non-burn-able/recyclable), and having each of those types picked up on different days of the week, which is a good thing for Tokyo. Certainly I’ve heard of some areas in which this is really strictly enforced by the local ‘community leaders’ (tonarigumi?). Anyway, my PC monitor broke, so I decided to call the local Gomi department to arrange to have it taken away. For large items (TVs, fridges etc.) you should do this and pay a nominal fee, which is a good idea too, and I’ve used the system before and been very happy with it. However, this time I was just confused. I spent 15 minutes on the phone to a nice lady a the local gomi office who basically said she couldn’t arrange for my monitor to be picked up as my building was not on her map (my building is only 3 months old). I assured her I did live there but apparently that was the rule. I obviously assumed my Japanese was inadequate for this job, despite past success, so I asked a Japanese friend to try for me. He pretty much got the same reply. Anyway, I’m going to try again next week, and will update as the mystery unwinds.

Tax

As we all prepare for the tax payments, everyone seems to be curbing expenditure. I should just mention that my tax situation in Japan is not the normal situation. As I work for a foreign company, I have the choice of being paid off-shore and having that money wired here, or be paid in the normal way here in Japan. I’ve chosen the former for a couple of reasons, but the upshot of that is that I have to fill in a nice big tax form, and pay up when requested. In effect though, I can pay 2 ‘pre-payments’ in July and November, and then pay whatever is left in the March when the tax year closes - which is generally OK. Not being American, I don’t have to worry about sorting out that tax submission too. even so, March can be a nervous month when trying to figure out how much is left to pay.

Books

A couple of months after buying it at Kinokuniya (good bookshop), I finally got around to starting on Alex Kerr’s “Dogs and Demons” book, which is essentially about the extremes the Japanese government and it’s friends have gone to over the last 30 years or so. I’ve got about half way through it, and I have to say that no matter what your opinion, it is a damn fine book. I think most honest observers would have had at least a rough knowledge of some of the strangeness which has gone on here on the bureaucratic level over the years, but this crystallises it in a way which can be a little scary: bridges to uninhabited islands to keep people in construction jobs, the concreting of pretty much everything in sight, and a financial system help up by faith. Worth reading.

North Korea

Whilst the rest of the world looks at Iraq, for obvious reasons, a lot of people in Japan are focussing on North Korea, especially after a missile test fire, and Japan’s self defence force chief saying he would launch a ‘pre-emptive strike’ (phrase of last week I think) against the North if they felt threatened. Fortunately, the people of Japan seem a bit more relaxed about it. The fact is North Korea are just posturing a little to get some of the hand out that America is throwing about the place as it desperately tries to justify war on Iraq. There’s also more to the story about that nuclear reactor involving the US government stopping oil aid to NK for other power plants.

January 2003

Oshogatsu

welcome to 2003. it sounds so futuristic. well, as I write this on the 5th, the country has got moving again, and indeed I’ll be back at work in a couple of days. Oshogatsu - the New Years holidays here in Japan, as I mentioned last year are a great time - many people go back to their home town, spend time with their families, or head to shrines such as the Meiji shrine here in Tokyo, and see in a new year, a new dawn, and maybe eat a bit of omochi (sweet rice paste?). I headed out for a few beers with friends to Shibuya, and had a calm, but enjoyable night with those who couldn’t get flights back to their own countries, or had to work, and thus couldn’t get back to their home towns. it kind of reminds me how few of my friends are actually from Tokyo. maybe because of this exodus from Tokyo, the city feels drained for 3 or 4 days . It’s still crowded, but slower, reflecting the thousands who have packed into specially arranged shinkansen bullet trains, and headed for the provinces. the best side effect is that it’s a great time to go and see new films and such, which would be crowded out on a normal day.

Really?

I got an e-mail last month asking me if I considered myself ‘anti-japan’, and I admit I was a bit surprised. Let’s get this clear - I love this country, which is why I’ve invested almost 5 years of my life in total to it. yes, I complain, but it’s pretty much against the government and such (as I do back in the UK) , but I guess it deserves an explanation. as I said, Japan is my home now. I worry about it. I worry about my friends, their jobs, my job, and maybe in a future I may decide to raise a family here. Is that important to me? Certainly is. OK, maybe I should put more in the diary about things which just blow me away on a daily basis about being here, and yes, even after time, I’m still surprised at things, both at the people I know, and in respect, myself.

Cyber punk Japan

One of my first literary reads on japan was William Gibson’s “Neuromancer” - credited as the originator of cyberpunk. if you haven’t read any of his novels, they really are worth the time. anyhow, many of his novels are set in parts of Tokyo, and they really do capture the essence of Tokyo’s crazy futuristic, expressive and contrasting lifestyles. i was pleased on a recent visit to his website to see he wrote a follow up piece for wired magazine about Post-Bubble Japan. It really reminded me of some of the wonderful things Japan produces. If the 1980’s were about money and corporate power, I think last few years have been about a change in society, and things are still getting better in many ways (and it wasn’t bad before). Do I think Japan is a glimpse of the future? Yes, in many ways it is, and I can’t wait till there are holograms over Shinjuku.

December 2002

Damn - December again! That makes this ‘diary’ a year old. Anyway, time for a small change. Now, I’m going to do more frequent, smaller updates under a given title, as shown this month.

The holidays

I often get asked if I work Xmas day in Japan. Of course I do, as Japan, despite the TV shows, the shops and all the adverts does not celebrate Xmas as such, not being a Christian nation. However, the adverts and shopping sales are hard to miss. The ’thing’ for Xmas then is geared more towards girlfriends/boyfriends, and many go on dates or to hotels on Xmas Eve - like a souped up Valentines day. It often surprises foreigners that Xmas decorations in Japan go up at the end of November, and often come down on Xmas Eve - it’s purely a look and doing an ’event’ - something which is a popular part of the culture.

Xmas day is like any other, and most of the euphoria is gone.

The big thing in Japan of course is New Year and it’s associated holidays - Oshogatsu - but I’ll cover that next month. Another December holiday is the 23rd, which is Emperor Akihito’s birthday and another day off work in the snowboarding season is always a good thing in my humble opinion.

Universal reaction

It’s often said - and it’s true - that irrespective of race, gender, creed, opinions or attitude, we as a species have more in common than we have dividing us. Sometimes it becomes out in very small ways. One event happened last weekend on the slopes of the Rusutsu snow resort in Hokkaido. A line of people were waiting for the chair-lift, just standing around when a child of about 4 or 5 on skis came screaming down the slope, obviously unable to stop. As the people in the queue tried to clear a path for the youngster, only one word could be heard from the child - “Okaaaaasaaaan” - and you don’t need to be a linguist to know that means “Mother!!” in Japanese. Needless to say the parent was in hot pursuit at a speed that on a normal day would qualify for Olympic trials. It’s also needless to say that once the child came to a halt in some powdered snow with his mother, the first thing he wanted to do was get on the chair-lift and back to the top, in better emotional state than his rather shaken mother…

Winter sports

As many people will know, I’m an avid snowboarder, and December means it’s time to get the board out, wax it up and speed down some of Japan’s best mountains in the name of entertainment. Japan not only has a great selection of slopes, it also has some great facilities. There’s nothing better than spending hours on the slopes, gliding through powder or speeding down steep inclines, then relaxing in a natural hotspring (onsen), or an outside onsen (rotenburo). We even managed to go one better in Hakuba last week, when we found our guesthouse had a real log fire. Needless to say we planted ourselves in front of it before deciding what we needed was a hot coffee, with some whisky. We asked the owner/barman if he knew how to make Irish coffee, but he didn’t; however, after we explained what was in it, he seemed keen on having a go, so after he consulted a few web pages, he presented us with his first ever Irish Coffees, and I have to say, they were excellent. Of course, that started the ball rolling, and a few others in the ‘bar’ were curious to know what this drink was. Japan’s winter sports facilities are excellent - big hotels, good slopes and good transportation in general. Just don’t go to one near to Tokyo on a national holiday as I did last year and rarely got above walking pace as the place was packed. Still, an interesting experience.

Music

I don’t think I ever mention music on this site. Japan has a HUGE selection of music, and whilst some people deride it as ‘western’ ripoffs and J-Pop, it isn’t (and there is a lot of decent J-Pop). Recently, I’ve been listening to a lot of Utada Hikaru (a very famous idol, recently married to a photographer). Also known as the FOMA girl for being the point person for Docomo’s third generation of mobile phones. Her music is very J-Pop, but well produced. I like Dragon Ash too - funky hip hop from some of the craziest looking guys. If you like a bit of rock, try old masters B’z, a very talented duo who do some songs in English but combine Bon Jovi elements with a very complex percussion section, and a better guitar.