While we were in Tokyo we met a team shooting the independent film Dog Years.  We appreciated the chance to talk with a group of people making the same sacrifices that we were to shoot something they really believed in, and to learn that we weren’t the only ones crazy enough to try something like this.  It was also just an interesting experience for us because we got to go behind the scenes with their shoot and see how things work when you actually have a script to shoot from.  A big thanks to the whole crew of Dog Years and the best of luck on your release.

Onwards, to Korea!  Upwards, out of the gutter!

And that’s the end of Season 2: Tokyo.  After much, much, much delay we’ll now finally be moving into Season 3: Seoul.  I could go on and on about my battle with burnout and how it has led to our mangled schedule, but one of the effects of burning out is that you’re tired all the time.  So instead of ranting, I think I’ll go to bed.

Enjoy the episode and check out the Vivian Girls, whose track “Where Do You Run?” nicely wraps up our final moments in Tokyo.

Check them all out in store, and support the cause!

Jet Set Zero: Tokyo - Tee

This is the second in a series of three time-lapses, which in many ways symbolize the experience each of us had in Tokyo. The first showcased the dreary but industrious Tsukiji Fish Market– an early morning scene characterized by bustle, irritability, and an overdose of caffeine (hallmarks of my life in Kanagawa). Stay tuned for our forthcoming, third installment– Brian’s neon orgy in Shibuya.

We hope you enjoy it. We know Matt sure did.

The one glaring financial flaw in my little scheme was food.  At the guesthouse, I could enjoy our cheap diet of rice, eggs, bread, eggs, rice, and eggs.  In the field, sorta speak, I couldn’t cook, and the cheapest available food sat in the convenience stores and 100 Yen fast food menus.  But with what I was about to put my poor body through, I couldn’t justify living off corndogs, rice triangles, and McPork burgers, so I needed to get creative, which is to say, desperate.

Meal 1: MOCHINAKO – Mochi, Kinako, Banana (150 Yen)

Mochi balls were like a kind of dumpling made from rice instead of flour, and I dipped those into a bad of mixed fiber and Kinako, a super-cheap protein powder.  I splurged on the banana – I think it was the only piece of fruit I ate in 2 weeks.  This little meal had calories and some pathetic attempt at nutrition.  It was definitely one of my favorite meals…because they did get worse.

Meal 2: TOFANGO – Mango drink and soft tofu (90 Yen)

I was proud of this one, because I think it was my cheapest meal invention.  Tofu is a great source of balanced calories, and the piping hot mango drink from the internet cafe was free.  Unfortunately, soft tofu doesn’t taste too great and even all the sugar from the mango drink couldn’t make me describe as anything other than “edible” and “harmless.”  But at least it wasn’t fried cockroach.

Meal 3: RICEBAILS – Rice, green onion, mayonnaise (30 Yen/ball)

About once/week, I stopped by the guesthouse because I was still tutoring in Kanagawa, and I’d load up on rice prepared in various ways.  Here, I mixed a chopped green onion, rice, mayo, and soy sauce, sometimes even tofu.  Rice + Balls + Failure = RICEBAILS.  Turns out they go kinda sour after 3 days, but my stomach handled that one pretty well…

The Backstory: We were so broke in Tokyo, mid-April, 2.5 weeks away from departure, and one of our monthly leases was up.  Renewal would be $500 we didn’t have.  We were already living in poverty in one of the world’s most expensive cities, so why not go one extra step…Manga Kissas, Internet Cafes: Tokyo is peppered with internet/manga cafes, a cross between an internet cafe, a manga library, and a hotel that rented cubicles instead of rooms.  You can rent by the hour or stay overnight.  They seem to be used for 4 things, as far as I can tell. 

First, people who have missed the last train home and who don’t want to pay the monstrous cab fees to go home.  They’re either Japanese salarymen, stumbling out of a client dinner, or those damned denizens of Tokyo with money to enjoy the nightlife.  In the cafes, you could hear them throwing up or snoring drunkenly. 

Second, highschoolers who want some private time – they live with their parents and they can’t go to love hotels.  In the cafes, you could hear them…well, you could hear them.

Third, manga lovers and gamers. I was actually surprised that people paid money to go to a manga library and read manga.  What kind of manga people read or internet sites they browsed is anyone’s guess, although, in the cafes, they sometimes sounded like the highschoolers.

Fourth, the internet cafe refugees or “cyberhomeless” – people who can’t afford the outrageously expensive housing in Japan but who have enough money to afford a $10/night roof.  They rove from cafe to cafe, catching 7 hours of peace at night to recharge for a part-time job during the day.  It was in this fourth class that I fell.  So instead of paying $500 for another 19 days, I’d pay around $12/night for sleep in Tokyo’s central districts.  I’d save money on transit, because I wouldn’t need to travel out to exciting Kanagawa.  I’d also still be tutoring, so I’d be making a decent amount of money.  The cafes had free coffee and juice, and I’d enjoy internet speed we only wet-dreamed about back at our guesthouse.  I’d sleep in the cafes when I could and then just huddle up on one of the trains and sleep as it wound its way around the city.  So I packed my bags…

and set out with 4000Yen, about $45, to see where it would all take me…

With finances reaching the critical disaster zone Matt must forgo his spot in the guesthouse and find a home on the streets of Tokyo to save money.

Okay.  So, it has been a while.  More than three weeks, to be precise, which is exactly two weeks longer than it should have been since this episode was released.  A lot happened this month, from obvious hardware failures, to marauding ex-girlfriends, to rheumatoid arthritis, to hilariously weak immune systems, but the simple fact of the matter is that once upon a time none of this ever would have phased me.

In college I was known for my legen-(wait for it)-dary brute strength work ethic (which didn’t always result in creative successes, mind you), and through most of Season 1 I was operating on a moderated version of that same sleep:work ratio.  Either I’m getting old, the full New England winter (my first in almost a decade) was too harsh, or I’m experiencing a mild burnout.  Whatever the cause, I have only myself to blame.

So apologies all around: first and foremost to our viewers for making you wait so long to continue the story, but also to our crew who work so hard to capture this incredible footage on a daily basis.  There are some positive changes coming to the JS0 production office in the near future, but in the meantime I’m just going to try to buckle down and make this show keep happening, one way or another.

Hiro was our closest friend in Oakhouse, almost every memory worth having from our home in Japan involved him in some way.  His life story was crazy enough that I asked for clarification a couple times.  He started as a financial trader, with a major company.  After amassing a small fortune, he left to start trading on his own.  That didn’t go so well, so he decided to become a sushi chef.  While touring Tsukiji, he told us stories of 5am tuna runs he used to make for his restaurant.  The days of a sushi chef are impossibly long, and after enduring some 14-hour days while working in Australia, he quit for a life with a little more relaxation and focus on friendships.  He took up fire dancing, traveling, carefree summers, and savings-heavy winters.  And so our lives intersected….

He made us sushi and showed us how to make it ourselves – basically all-you-can-eat for 500 Yen/person.  He joined us in our late-night drinking, sharing Franzia boxed wine and Chu-hi’s.  He showed us that there was more to 120Yen meals than French Toast and Eggs.  He showed us mesmerizing fire dances and taught us how light ourselves aflame.  He brought us to Tsukiji Fish Market and wandered around the Tea Gardens with us.  He made us yaki soba noodles, fried rice, and teriyaki chicken.  All in all, he made sure that returning to the guesthouse after a long day wasn’t entirely an exercise in defeat and demoralization. 

Hiro, you were aptly named (I know I know, an obvious pun, get over it and watch our trailer).  We miss you man.