Well it's Monday morning and I'm on the bullet train headed for Osaka. I'm pretty much feeling as sick as a dog and I think about what Sixx had said last night when he mentioned he thought he was getting a cold. I cast my mind back to last year and remember how ill I was feeling on exactly the same journey between Tokyo and Osaka - a big night out with Randy Castillo, and it nearly killed me!! Well at least I'm not severely hung over this time around, and getting to sleep for the three hour journey doesn't prove to be too difficult.

After finally arriving in Osaka, I decided to crash out for the rest of the day in the hope that I might feel a little better. Time to get up and organise tonight's activities - I call some friends of mine that looked after Randy and I on last year's tour and we agree to meet at the Hard Rock Cafe, where I first met these young ladies last year. After a short subway ride, and me asking for some directions (well it was a year ago!), we find the Hard Rock and decide to wait in the bar. Within a few minutes my friend Yoko walks in the door and greets me with a smile before having the manager organise a table for us, allowing us to sit down and catch up with each other, while we wait for another friend Tomoko to arrive. As we are sitting, I notice a flyer for a special Mötley Crüe Japanese tour cocktail - New Tatoo - thinking that my Aussie friends might find this interesting the flyer is removed from it's holder and disappears into my bag (hehe). Hey if my stomach felt like it could handle some alcohol I probably would have bought one just to try it out.

Well after a good feed, that I found really hard to enjoy, we're off to a cool club called Rock Rock. This is where Yoko works behind the bar and also the place where Randy and I were well looked after by the staff after their second show in Osaka on the 1999 tour. This place was also the cause of my severe hangover from last year's tour!!! A couple of jugs of Mudslides between Randy and I took me over the edge and the girls had to organise a taxi back to the hotel for me!! We walk into the bar and the staff start cheering - they remember me and the good time that was had by all the last time I was there. After walking in I am shown a picture of Randy and I taken last year that is hanging up on the wall - very cool indeed - Shinbone is now famous in Japan!

Things aren't too busy in the club tonight, so the manager Sajee has the chance to catch up with Mark and I and let us know what has been happening. There will be some after-show parties held at the club for both Mötley Crüe and Slash's Snakepit, and Sajee is having his own birthday bash the following weekend with a friend of his from Udo Artists. Mr Udo is a well-known Japanese promoter who basically had the monopoly when organising Japanese tours for rock bands. He did all the Mötley Crüe tours of Japan until 1999, when Creativeman began talking to Mötley management, and who now have a second tour under their belt. There are a lot of pictures on the wall of musicians who have visited the club, including recent pictures of Korn. I am told a story of how their bassist came in and ordered a beer and preceded to throw a tantrum because he didn't expect to pay for his drinks, all because he was a member of a famous band. After an hour or so of chatting, playing the Guns'N' Roses pinball machine (I hadn't seen one of these for ages!!) and managing to drink one beer, it's time to leave and head back to the hotel, preparing for a long day of sightseeing tomorrow. We'll be back at Rock Rock on Wednesday night, after the Crüe concert.

Catchya soon,

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Next: Chapter 5