Just regarding Shige - My girlfriend began trying to book a piece by him in February of this year (she sent a Japanese language e-mail). She followed up with a phone call to the studio three weeks later, and - bingo... consultation organised for September (when we are over there anyway). The impression she got was that, as some posters have described in relation to other 'hard to book' tattooists, if you are serious and can follow through and travel then he will probably try to do something for you.
