A tale of woe and a piece of advice

General
#1

So I have finished my move from Japan to Israel. I believe I am currently the only and therefore No1 Shamisen player in Israel. Epic win. However getting my shamisen here was a pain in the a…wallet.

Basically I couldnt take the shamisen with me on the plane. It was too long …apparently, (the neck is a single piece), and so my idea, was to take the Dou with me, and mail the Sao. Boy was that a mistake! I insured the package and the neck was expensive and basically Israel customs had a look at it, and charged me VAT on it. It was a complete mess and in the end my brother was like…look we can come back another day and argue with them about it, or we can accept that money is just money and you can walk home with your shamisen today… So I did, but it cost me about 20,000yen : (

So a word to the wise…if you`re ever buying a plane ticket to a country with known asshole bureaucrats, do yourself a favour, and spend a little extra money on the plane ticket to guarentee you can have your shamisen with you at all times. Not worth the stress and the hassle.

#2

Holy Smokers! You could get a decent bachi for that price!
But well…no.1 Shamisen player in Isreal! Definately Epic Win!
Keep us in the loop, Shmoolik! I am especially looking forward to any musical collaboration you might get into out there in Israel! You’ve mentioned to me before in our conversations about mixing styles with some of the local musicians out there! Definately post some of that if and when it happens !
Sorry to hear about your ordeal but at least you made it safely back there! Good to hear!

#3

Holy Smokers! You could get a decent bachi for that price!
But well…no.1 Shamisen player in Isreal! Definately Epic Win!
Keep us in the loop, Shmoolik! I am especially looking forward to any musical collaboration you might get into out there in Israel! You’ve mentioned to me before in our conversations about mixing styles with some of the local musicians out there! Definately post some of that if and when it happens !
Sorry to hear about your ordeal but at least you made it safely back there! Good to hear!

#4

So sad this happens to you :frowning:

So if you travel with you musical instrument, you can pay more in the ticket to get the instrument with you?

Anyway, think thaht you have your shamisen with you, and it has no brokes or something worst.

#5

It`s going to take a lot of busking to get that money back…

Paco, it depends on the airline. I know British Airways for example lets you take instruments up to guitar size on to the plane for free. I chose a relatively cheap airline thinking it would save me money…but in the end it didn`t.

But yeah, I have my shamisen with me and that`s all that matters at the end of the day

#6

thanks for the info :slight_smile: I hope you get that money back!

#7

Oh don’t worry about good old Shmoolik! He will win in the end with his busking! Shmoolik, Do you still have that first 1000 yen bill from our victorious Aomori night of busking and entertaining crowds of drunk people!? I know… As long as there are drunk people in Israel you will be raking in the cash in no time! Yes! I have seen your skills! Wooooooo! Ganbatte!

#8

Seems one of those suitcases where you disassemble your shamisen would be a good choice. I need to get one myself.

It’s really sad to hear that they are taking VAT for that.

#9

Ooooh snap!! Sorry to hear that Shmoolik! :frowning: I have to constantly re-learn that lesson - Going for the cheapest price usually results in paying more (repairs, unforseen problems) and less quality.

Like my friend says, “When paying for things, cry only once.” I.e, you’ll cry at the initial high cost, but afterwards is enjoying the quality.

I took ANA to Sapporo this year, and as I waited for my luggage to slide onto the moving belt, I noticed that a bubble-wrapped digital camcorder (connected to a tripod, no less!) was one of the “baggage” items on the belt to be picked up. I almost couldn’t believe it! Here I am stuffing my shamisen skin in a carry-on and another guy checked in a bubble-wrapped camcorder. (It wasn’t broken!)

Haha! As Kevin says, just more reason to get out there and busk! :slight_smile:

#10

Haha, i Do indeed still have that 1000yen, it’s hidden in my bachi box as a desperate “just in case” measure…not that it’s going to help me much in israel.

I WISH i could have fit it in the suitcase, but it’s kinda long (1 m) and my biggest suitcase was only 85cm on the diagonal : (

going to wait for it to cool down a bit though before i try busking here. a tad too warm

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