Tokyo Nights
Life In Tokyo - Neil Stalnaker
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Tour...Day 9...Oita
Back on the road again. Today we drove a few hours to the coastal city of Oita. I have never been here before. Actually, I've never heard anyone talk about Oiata before. I really enjoyed the "vibe" there! People were extremely warm and friendly. I had some free this afternoon so, I did a lot of walking. Of course, I eventually made my way to Starbucks and some soy milk. I met a really nice woman named Satoko who works in Oita and Tokyo. We did a gig tonight at Cantalope II. Only a few customers. Not much energy or vibe happening. But, I tried to play my but off. Sound in the room was weird. We had a drink and dinner after the gig with an interesting who teaches shamisen in Oita. She was wearing her kimono. While she was talking I was looking at her her and trying to decide if I was older or if she was older than me. About 30 minutes later, we all got the shock of our lives when she told us that she is 71 years old!!! Her skin is so smooth and beautiful. She had sooo much energy (genki)! I'm lookoing forward to returning to Oita...SOON!