"Sexy Suki, little geisha girl
Given every samurai a twirl"
Mötley Crüe - Hell On High Heels - 2000

He travels the globe from Australia to see the mighty Crüe perform on stage and off. On the day in 1998 that Mötley's 'Greatest Hits' was released, he was there in Canada soaking it up - live. In 1999 he caught a large dose of Maximum Rock in Japan, and now he's back in the land of sushi and the rising sun once more... this time for Mötley Crüe's '2000 Japan Tour'. Now YOU can experience the tour too, through the eyes and ears of Dr. Shinbone Starr, the rock'n'roll patroller, as he presents his entertaining saga - Nippon Patrol.

Chapter 6 - Tech Talk II - 9 November 2000.

It’s time to catch yet another bullet-train, and this time we’re heading to Hiroshima. We’ve certainly got one thing on our minds: More Mötley. The question is not if we want to go to the show in Fukuoka, but how we are going to get there. It is our objective to find out how this will be possible as soon as we reach Hiroshima Station. Not only will we get to see another Mötley Crüe show, but I will also get to meet for the first time, my good friend Barney Bjornsfelt, who over the past few years has been my source for all Japanese Mötley information. This year is the first time Mötley will be playing in Barney’s hometown of Sapporo, but as he did for last year’s tour, he has travelled down to Fukuoka to stay with the in-laws, and of course, add another Mötley Crüe show to the list.

Upon our arrival at Hiroshima Station, we head for the ticket and information office, hoping that our questions will result in us travelling down to Fukuoka in a few nights. It appears that the journey from Hiroshima to Fukuoka will only be ninety minutes by bullet train. Well Bono and I agree that 90 minutes isn’t too long at all to travel for a Mötley show, and we decide that we’re going to take up this opportunity. However, it seems that seats will be limited for the ride down to Fukuoka and we’ll have to sit in a smoking carriage. Also, we may have to leave the show a few minutes early to catch the train back to Hiroshima – the last train home isn’t a late one and we don’t want to run the risk of being stuck in Fukuoka for the night. But hey, it’s another Mötley show!

After a small tram ride, we find ourselves walking past the ANA Hotel where the band and crew will be staying. It appears that the hotel where we are staying is only just around the corner – how convenient!! Well our check-in to the hotel is rather smooth, and Bono and I decide to head out and walk around the area looking for somewhere to grab a bite to eat. Subway is the first thing I see that sounds good to me, whilst Bono has sniffed out a curry. We both meet back at the hotel and I soon discover that one of the facilities is a Swedish Sauna. This sounds good to us and within a few minutes we are in the elevator heading down a few levels. After a small discussion in Japanese over Bono’s tattoo from Osaka, we enter the change rooms and soon are sweating away alongside some Japanese guy. For some reason, sitting in here makes me think of an article I read in Japanese rock magazine BURN, where Sebastian Bach, whilst on Skid Row’s Japanese tour in 1995, urinated on the hot coals in the sauna. Somehow, I don’t think I’ll be following in his footsteps on this particular day.

Catchya soon,

Previous: Chapter 5
Next: Chapter 7 .... but alas, Shinbone dropped the ball and didn't have the stamina to finish his story. Some ladies he has been with also told me that he finished early with them as well.