Inked - April 2008

letter

All I wanted was a vodka. I was standing at the bar at a fi ve-star

hotel in Tokyo during a private function and trying my best to

order a drink. No matter how much I concentrated on my shaky

Japanese or pointed to the bottle behind the bar, the bartender

wasn’t having it. Each time, he shoved two cans of warm

Carlsberg at me and walked away. Later, my Japanese hosts

told me why: The bartender didn’t like my full-sleeve tattoos.

International travel can be fi lled with misconceptions, adventure,

and time spent folding and unfolding maps. This month, we

simplifi ed the process for you in “Seven Wonders” (page

38), our guide to exotic locales in tattoo culture and where to

hang out and crash while you’re there. And be sure to read

“Hotel Street” (page 48), our retrospective on the wild Hawaii

neighborhood where WWII sailors went to cut loose and get

tattooed. See the area before it’s gone.

Elsewhere, we interviewed comedian Margaret Cho (page 62),

as she prepares to spend the next few months traveling on

her Beautiful tour, and visited Pitbull (page 76) in Miami to talk

about hip-hop, clubs, and Cuba. And for this month’s fashion,

we unleashed a horde of tattooed maniacs for “Wild in the

Streets,” rounded up the best denim jackets, belts, and T-shirts,

and found luggage to pack it in.

When you get home, visit inkedmag.com and tell us about

your trip. You can post useful information for other inked people

on the forums and create a blog to upload photos and write

about your adventures from Tahiti to Tokyo. You’ll also want

to keep in touch with your new friends, so join the INKED

Network, where you can layout a profi le and check out others.

OK. I need a vodka.

Jason Buhrmester

Articles Editor

The Tokyo skyline quietly awaits another Godzilla attack.

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