From Umeda Station, it’s only a short ride to Shin-Osaka, where all the major shinkansen trains depart. A quick 12-minute trip, and I was at Shin-Osaka Station, ready to get in line at the ticket office. Buying a non-reserved ticket is slightly cheaper than a reserved seat, and I don’t mind standing if necessary. In my experience, there are usually some seats available. Since I planned to take the 11:32 shinkansen, I had some time for a proper breakfast. I found a nice spot with a great menu at a friendly price and went for a salad with a soft-boiled egg—outstanding choice.
Boarding the shinkansen, which left right on schedule,and the train wasn’t too crowded, so I found a seat and spent the ride reflecting on the past few days and the upcoming final stretch of the trip back in Tokyo.
That evening’s gig at Naru Livehouse was going to be different, as it wasn’t with my usual crew. This concert was set up by Naoto Suzuki, a fantastic guitarist I met years ago on a tour in China. I also played with him when touring Japan with Yuichiro Tokuda’s group. Naoto had invited a bassist and drummer to join us for this special gig at a club where he plays frequently. I was looking forward to reconnecting and playing together, especially knowing the musicians he invited were top-level players.
Around 2:30 pm, I arrived at Tokyo Station. Surprisingly, I found the Yamanote Line right away, heading to Otsuka Station, where I would stay for the remainder of the tour. Otsuka is between Ikebukuro and Sugamo, and just one stop past Sugamo is Komagome, where I stayed at the beginning of the tour. Back then, I had already explored Otsuka, so the area felt familiar. At 3 pm, I arrived at Otsuka Station to meet with Naoto, and would stay at his place before I would join his Quartet at Naru.
