My friends Mirko and Pete left Tokyo today to return to Brisbane, after a supersonic 10 day whirlwind holiday.

They had an amazing time. Their JR Rail passes meant they got to check out Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima via shinkansen for a mere 23 000 yen. I hate that only tourist visa holders can get these passes. The cost of Shinkansen travel is prohibitively expensive - the same as a plane flight, really. I think when I leave the country I will just fly over to Seoul for a few days then fly back in on a tourist visa with a 2 week rail pass clasped firmly in my sweaty little hand, and trek out to the far reaches of these beautiful islands.

Anyways, I digress. Mirko is an old, old friend of mine from Brisbane. He remembers first meeting me when he was a shy young 17 year old sound engineer and I was a big scarey venue manager who would offer him work sometimes and harrass him about missing microphones and sound gear (there was always stuff going missing). That was 9 years ago. We've worked together a lot since then and I have the utmost love and respect for this sweet souled gentle-man, his work ethic and endearing ways. Especially when he's three sheets to the wind and shakin it like a polaroid at karoake.

It was a pretty special trip for the boys on many levels. Pete (well Mirko did too but it didn't last the distance) grew a beard and trimmed it to a moustache for our big last night out, playing Juergen ze producer from Sweden. It was his first time out of Australia. Mirko hooked up a record deal for his band Sekiden with Syft Records, a cool little Osaka indie label and record store, and had dinner with the fella who set up Tower Records in Japan and talked about a possible publishing deal, and project collaborations with Brian Eno (who this guy is great mates with). Damn, all my friends have way more exciting lives than me. They are heading back to Oz even more inspired than before.

Check out Mirko and Pete's special web project poddir - focused on music and technology and other fun stuff.