Holding a music event in California – Day 1

This time, I visited Los Angeles to hold a music event. As usual, LAX's presence is strong.

Immediately upon arrival, I made a peace sign with a straight face.

The members of this trip are 4 people plus me, and a photographer, making 5 in total. Later, we plan to meet up with 3 local residents. Before this group photo, there was a mysterious event where, for some reason, I imitated Eikichi Yazawa and got complete strangers at the airport excited, even though no one asked. It was a moment where Japanese hospitality reached its peak. Probably no one knew YAZAWA.

For now, we want to move to Los Angeles, but we don't have a car. For now, we're heading to SAKURA Rent-A-Car.

Upon arrival, while asking Smith at the rental car agency about insurance,

The popcorn was asserting its presence.

Apparently, they give it away for free.

Furthermore, I also received a Coke. Coke and popcorn right after arriving – that's America for you. It's already threatening our weight and health. How kind.

And so, we successfully rented a car and can depart.

Checking the route on the map. At that time, I feel like convenient tools like Google Maps were hardly recognized yet.

The background music was stylish house music. The 'house nation' vibe was typical of the era.

As we crossed LAX, the airport that's as assertive as ever,

Immediately, a blue sky spread out. It was pushing the California vibe with full force.

After moving for a while and getting hungry,

Lunch at TACO BELL. It's a chain restaurant near Los Angeles. Of course, it's a taco shop. Even though Mexico is disliked, its food has thoroughly permeated. Why they 'combined tacos with a bell' is still a topic of endless debate among taco geeks worldwide, as one of the trivial Seven Wonders, whether it's true or false.

Entering the store, we immediately engaged in endless discussions about 'why Taco Bell is Taco Bell' and 'how that idea came about.' By the way, in the movie 'Demolition Man,' Taco Bell appears with the setting that it's the only restaurant that survived the franchise wars, but due to adult circumstances, namely 'no one knows it in other countries,' it was rewritten to Pizza Hut. It also has this sad past.

Nevertheless, Taco Bell is delicious today too.

Leaving the store, we now head to the University of Southern California. To meet up with our local friends.

Upon arrival, we were able to meet up immediately. At the time, he was operating under the name Quadra, and he was helping us as the founder of Quadra@USA. Little did we know then that a few years later, he would found and sell the best-selling ramen shop in California.

This time, he printed the flyers locally and delivered them to us. It was the first time we tried a collaboration where design was done in Japan and printing in America.

It's a good feeling.

After this, we distributed flyers at nearby universities and schools, including the University of Southern California. Surprisingly, here, in addition to handing them out directly, they also promote by inserting flyers into the gaps of car windshields.

As the sun began to set, we decided to move to our accommodation.

When did we wander into the world of Resident Evil? Our accommodation, upon arrival, plunged us into an unsettling excitement.

We received the key and went up to the second floor. It was screaming at us that tonight would be our last day.

The next moment, we were eating a stylish meal in Beverly Hills. Hope for life suddenly surged within us.

During the movie shoot, one of the DJs, who was on the verge of becoming a zombie, was shaking with joy. We should calm down a bit.

However, it was our first day in California. Once we arrived at the accommodation, we couldn't help but drink.

No zombies appeared, and no murder occurred, but in the end, it was still like dying. Thus, the curtain fell on the first day. Two days left until the main event.