Eric Clapton concert at the Budokan

We were fortunate to get tickets to see Eric Clapton and his band Thursday night at the Budokan in Tokyo.
We must say Slowhand can still lay it down. They played about 20 songs including,I shot the Sheriff, Cocaine, Crossroads, Why does love, Wonderful tonight, of course Layla(heavy version) and several of his longer bluesy songs that I cant name.
The Budokan has been the host to many famous groups over the years and is a cool place to see a show. It is located in Kudanshita which is a really nice area of central Tokyo. It is actually a Judo arena, and only holds about 10,000, people, so all of the seats are close to the stage.
The Japanese fans can be pretty strange to experience a concert with though. The place was packed, but like everything else here in Japan with the exception of baseball and soccer they are a very very subdued crowd, almost afraid to clap between songs, let alone, dance around, scream, party excessively, or any of the other crazy shit you may see at concerts in the states. As soon as the show starts the beer and food stands close down for the night. At times it seemed like what I would guess an opera crowd would be like, with the crowd only becoming remotely excited at a few of the bands more popular tunes. We had the same experience with The Who concert a couple of months back at Saitama Super Arena. But, i guess if the arenas are full the bands don't mind, and they give them what they came for. Clapton is very popular in Japan and he does like 8 shows between Tokyo and Osaka.
Anyhow sorry that we only have the one lame dark photo of the entrance to the Budokan as we were getting our drink on before the show and arrived at the arena just in time for the first song.

Saipan Final

After lounging at the pool a bit more on Sunday, yesterday evening we departed Saipan and returned to the cold of Central Japan. We were greeted not only by the cold but severe winds which made it seem even colder. The high winds had the Shinkansen shut down allowing us time to really enjoy the cold in Tokyo station and delaying our arrival to home til around 11pm.
Anyhow our final days in Saipan were much like the first, just relaxing and enjoying the awesome weather and scenery. We did get a bit of rain Saturday night which moved our visit to the resorts cultural show/BBQ indoors. It was still enjoyable as we were seated with a couple from nearby Saitama area with whom were were able to communicate fairly well with and enjoy the show. Heather and myself along with a Russian family were the only westerners(maybe Russians arent westerners?) at the show out of about 200 people. In fact i would say in a resort with over 400 rooms, I believe we were the only Americans in the place all week.
If your looking for a good place to relax we would recommend Saipan as a place to go.
Outside of diving, a couple of golf courses, and a bit of sight seeing, there is not a lot else to do. There are a few western restaurants/bars, and a bit of shopping but it is pretty minimal. The Island is small and definitely caters mainly to tourists from Japan, Korea, and China. So if you need lots of shopping and interaction with other westerners, you may be better off with Guam, but given the choice I would go back to Saipan for its simplicity and Heather would choose Guam for the shopping and restaurants. For families Guam would definitely be the better choice.
The rest of our trip photos can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157613495604409/

Saipan Day 3

Sure there was a day 2 on Saipan but it was spent relaxing on the beach, by the pool and tiki hut. For pictures just have a look below at day 1.
Actually today we got out and went around the Island to see some of the tourist spots and war memorials. The Coast line is lined with cliffs and caves which are absolutely beautiful and surrounded by clean clear blue sea. The left over ordinance and war memorials are kind of a somber reminder of the heavy fighting that happened here so many years ago. Driving through the forested areas and along the cliffs can be kind of eerie as you see hundreds of little rock memorials marking the lives of killed Japanese soldiers. We visited Banzai Cliff, Marpi Point, The Last Outpost, Bird Island, and several other sights of interest. We were able to cover the whole Island by car in about 5 hours including lunch and some shopping. As far as the local villages go Saipan is inhabited by mainly Chamaros and has the same look and feel as Guam but on a much smaller uncommercialized scale.
We have found some good spots for eating, drinking, and some live music as well so the nightlife has also been enjoyable.

Saipan

Not sure about the weather where you are, but it was 86F (29C) here in Saipan today. We chose Saipan for a bit of a winter break and the first day was not a disappointment. Saipan is a lot smaller than Guam and a lot more laid back, I think we are going to enjoy the next few days of not doing much but soaking up the sun and maybe a killing a Lite beer or 2. Saipan is about 5x20 miles in size, so not as much sightseeing, shopping, or the other tourist trappings you usually find in these spots, and the main draws are diving, golf, and relaxing. I think you all know where Heather and i fall in that scenario. We will try to drag ourselves away from the Tiki Hut, maybe rent a bike and get around the island for a look around and a few pictures, but thats lookin like it might be a stretch at this point. You all try to stay warm.