japan part 2

through problems with my keyboard, and then my display not working on my laptop, and general busy-ness, i have let this blog get way out of date...

so, last time i wrote i was staying with marcos fernandes, an all-round great guy who, along with his lovely wife, hosted me for my first few days in japan. he also arranged a phonography show where the two of us performed alongside cal lyall, who organises shows at super deluxe - more of that later, and tetsuro yasunaga. the space we played in is an old bank building called nitehi space, which has been renovated as a really cool bar.

while with marcos we also went out recording, and i watched him play in an improv group and a stones-styled rock band, so got to see all sides of his musical talent!

on 5th august i headed back to tokyo to stay in shinjuku area, met with will long, miko and also takahiro yorifuji (hakobune) and koji obinata - all lovely people.
the following day i just wandered around, trying to find one thing and ending up finding another, helped by a lovely young lady called junko. then visited a small jazz bar called sakaiki in the evening, joining takahiro and koji there, and arranging a couple more concerts while in japan through takahiro.

on the 7th i had a concert at super deluxe, which is a huge basement bar with a great sound system. i played first at one of cal's 'test tone' events to a larger than average and most appreciative audience. i had to duck out early as i had to catch a bus to kyoto the next day, but it was good to see folk there and chat to adoring fans! ;-)

so a long trip to kyoto by bus the next day, and then a long walk to the hostel, which was in the north of the city close to nijo castle. i dumped my luggage, hit a 7-11 for some food - something i will come back to in a bit - and had a shower.
i mention 7-11 because food is actually quite expensive (for me, being from uk) in japan. however, all the convenience stores sell rice balls for anywhere between 100 and 150 yen (£1-£1.50) and also bento's which cost around 400 yen. much healthier than what you'd normally find in a convenience store in most other countries...
once the sun went down i went out wandering with my recorder, got a bit lost, found my way, got back to the hostel and slept very well thanks.

the next morning i had to move hostels and checked in to the 'tomato' near the main bus and train station. wandering the city once again, visiting various shrines and other historic places, i also went to the 'manga museum' - for anyone who doesn't read japanese, heed this warning - don't waste your money going here! it's just a manga library really. it was good to see some of the old manga books, but the english section is very small, the french one smaller, going down through korean, spanish and a couple of other languages where the collections were miniscule!
that evening, in the hostel, i met jenny logico-cruz, a performer from manila in the philippines, who was in kyoto studying noh theatre and invited me to her recital the following evening...

so the next day i visited the kyoto art center, as i have previously applied to participate in their residency program and been unsuccessful. i met with the residency coordinator - whose business card i inadvertently washed with a shirt - and chatted about the possibility of a residency there. and also visited meditations record shop - which is definitely worth visiting for those of you who like vinyl and experimental music.
then i attended the recital and the noh theatre, which was really fascinating. i enjoyed the stylised actions and delivery, as well as the music. jenny was great in her performance - much more intense than i'd imagined she would be!

on 11th i took a train to osaka, and then a tram to the hostel, which turned out to be in sakai, which is actually another city!! it was nice and quiet there actually, and small enough to walk around in one day. i got some nice recordings in the park there and around the dockland area.
the following day i visited the castle in osaka, which was great anyway, but i also got to watch some kendo for around an hour - fantastic. again the sounds and the ritual were fascinating. i also visited nu things, the club/bar that i was performing in the next day. then back to the hostel to chat to the guys there.

on 13th i moved from the hostel i was in to a capsule hotel in the centre of osaka - which proved fun as i had booked into one that was nowhere near the one i had found on my map, so through being helped by various postal workers and hotel managers, who spoke little english, and then visiting a strange internet/manga bar, i managed to find the right place. i then met with another lovely young lady, aya, who showed me around the city a little and introduced me to okonomiyaki (a kind of omelet or pancake) and takoyaki (octopus balls).
then a quick dash to nu things to set up and perform, alongside yousei and tomohito matsumoto - both excellent guitarists and nice guys! it was a small but intimate crowd, and i even got asked to play more when i had finished my set!! thanks to the other musicians and junya for a pleasant evening.

on the 14th i headed back to tokyo on the bus, which because of trains not running took 4 hours longer than it should have, so basically i spent the whole day on the bus...
which meant the following day i was a mess, so took it easy, wandering around the akihabara area, and then meeting with hiroki sasajima, sawako kato and takahiro once again for a delicious meal of sushi and radish tower, washed down with some japanese black beer - another very pleasant evening!

i'm going to stop there, as if anyone is reading this they may need to do the same. i'll be back soon with the second half of the month...