[Tony G]

I've been a fan since 2004, so not quite as long as you but my trip to Japan would have been just as special had I not seen Ayu live.

Use last fm, change your location to Tokyo (or wherever you will be at the time) and check what concerts are on. Tokyo is a hub for international acts so you could see some of your favourite western artists and bands in a Tokyo setting. The Japanese are NUTS at j-rock concerts so I highly suggesting checking out an indie/j-rock concert while you are there. With your time spread, there should be plenty of smaller gigs going on. In most cases you can buy tickets at the door so you don't need to worry about locating tickets. Discover some new music! Musically, that was half the fun for me while I was in Japan in addition to seeing artists I was familiar with.

As someone else has mentioned, you are going to be in Japan during 2 of Ayu's 15th anniversary releases. Go to Shibuya during these times. You'll probably see billboards advertising her releases (I expect there to be more than with A SUMMER BEST, but regardless the Shibuya Crossing area will be a sure-bet to spot an Ayu billboard), possibly ayu TV ads on the big screens in the crossing and nearby and go to Tower Records to see the Ayu-CD stands! They should be on both the ground level and level 1 of the store. I spent hours having a look around the J-Pop levels, they have listening stations to check out some new releases. The store is HUGE. The Shibuya in itself is just amazing, SENSORY OVERLOAD. Soak it all in and enjoy.

And believe me, there is so much to enjoy in Japan that you'll quickly forget that you are missing out on an Ayu concert. Tokyo is my favourite city in the world, and Japan my favourite overseas trip thus far. You are going to have a ball regardless. Eat and drink anything and everything you see and do some quirky things in Tokyo that you'll never see anywhere else.

They love Australians over there, so have fun communicating with the locals!