[Note: the first three entries for Fuji Rock '01 were written on site, and are being transcribed with only slight modifications.]
After a bit of a night on the town Wednesday night, i woke up at 8:30 ready for a weekend of music. One of Japan's biggest music festivals, Fuji Rock '01, is being this year at Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata-ken, on the west coast of Japan. I hadn't done much in the way of packing (though I had bought a sleeping bag a few weeks ago, and John (a fellow JET in one of the towns next to mine) lent me his tiny one-person tent), so I made a trip to the shopping complex on the other side of Furukawa, and ended up disembarking from my domicile at around 12:30. The drive along the Japanese expressways took about four and a half hours (with two pit stops), and cost 8800 yen (~$80) in tolls. Although the drive was rather scenic, the extreme cost of Japanese freeways is one of the drawbacks of life here.
Once i got off the freeway, I drove up the mountains to Naeba itself. (The drive up featured some sharp curves and long, narrow tunnels.) After arriving and pitching my tent (with a phone call to John and some help from my neighbors), I ambled over to the actual fest grounds and sampled the draft beer selection (featuring Heineken and Boddington's on tap, but no Sapporo...it seems Kirin is one of the major sponsors of the fest, so the only Japanese beer available is Kirin). Also caught a bit of COBRA, a Japanese punk band that did nothing to capture my interest. Lots of walking the first night, and my inflatable matress is just a little too big for the tent, but it sure as hell is an improvement over previous sleeping arrangements i have had while camping.
Tomorrow is Asian Dub Foundation and Tricky. (Oasis is the headliner, but they've always struck me as heirs to REO Speedwagon in terms of onstage deportment.) Think I'll get some shuteye. Travel days are supposed to be blissfully uneventful, so I'm thankful for the mercy extended me.
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