It's me again! I know Ryan was supposed to be the one to make this post, but he's exhausted from work and running low on creative juices. So I'm gonna do it instead. Deal wit' it!
As you've all heard by now, Ryan and I spent two weekends in a row attending life music performances. You may be wondering what possessed us to do such a thing, since we weren't exactly frequent concert-goers in the United States.
Well, at the time we had been in Japan about two and half months, and we'd seen a lot of the sights and hit a lot of the cultural highlights. The things we'd seen all had one thing in common, though: they were old. Japan is renowned as the place where ancient and modern meet and harmonize, and so far we'd failed to experience the modern part of that equation. But no longer! We were going to place our fingers squarely on the pulse of modern-day Japan.
And what better way to lay bare the beating heart of a culture than to do what all the cool kids are doing? What we needed was a newfangled rock n' roll show!
Part One: Cave-be
As we understand it, Cave-be is the bottom of the barrel in terms of venues in Hiroshima. It's where high school and college bands get their start and build a following before rocketing into the industry stratosphere (or completely failing and living out the rest of their lives in misery and regret -- one of the two).
This was the opening band: "Lobster Prodigy Plus Lover!" I have no idea what a Lobster Prodigy is, nor do I know if "Lover!" is a separate entity or just part of the name. What I do know is that the pint-sized drummer back there must have burned a week's worth of calories, between her duties as a drummer and all the running around she did after the show handing out surveys. Apparently bands in Japan want you to take a survey after you listen to them. That's arguably more bizarre than anything that's happened at an American rock concert.
The next band was called "Snow Drop." They were three hard-rock college girls who at one point stopped playing, sat down at the front of the stage and did a Detective Conan impression.
This dude was at least ten years older than everyone else at the concert and had clearly come straight from work. Man, he was super into it though! He kept bobbing his head and swaying back and forth and riding that smooth groove to Heaven and back. More power to you, conspicuously old dude!
The headliner, "LONELY PANDA," was insane! We felt this was the picture that best demonstrated that fact.
Part Two: Namiki Junction
Namiki is the place you go when your band has gained some fans and is doing fairly well for itself. Also, you must be a boy who wears a lot of make-up and whose audience consists entirely of swoony, over-dressed Japanese girls. No exaggeration: Ryan was one of maybe two dudes there.
In summary, visual kei is a genre populated by boys who look like girls who make music for girls who want their boys to look like girls. Could you follow that?
Don't even think about smorking at Namiki Junction. It's strictly a non-smorking area.
Two girls who showed up dressed as maids. The connection between cute, subservient maids and hardcore glam-metal may seem tenuous to the Western mind. But trust me: in Japan, it makes perfect sense.
The lead singer for the first band, Tokyo Heroes. Obviously, he was the kind of hero who could stare directly into your soul. He made some version of this face the entire time he was on stage.
The bass player for Tokyo Heroes. Note the bare feet. Metal!
The second band, Flower Boy Baddies, was out to prove that you can rock out and still enjoy a ludicrously wussy name.
The third band, Mamono, billed themselves as "zombie rock." Horror was their shtick. At the beginning, they gave a scary speech laden with strategic pauses, during which their fans squealed, "Nee! Osoroshii~!" ("Ooh, how horrifying!") They cracked me up.
The bass player for Mamono was some sort of mute, zombie clown. It took us most of the rest of the concert to decide if said bass player was a boy or a girl. I'm still not sure. It could go either way, really.
We couldn't get a picture of the fourth band, Sex Android, because some dude who worked at the bar snuck up behind Ryan and gestured at him to stop snapping photos. So here's an image I found on the internet. They looked basically exactly like that in real life. By that point, the crowd was so exhausted from all the headbanging (see video below) that they barely had enough energy to make all the requisite hand gestures (see explanation below).
Part Three: Japanese Fans
I'd heard Japanese fans behaved differently at concerts, but I never anticipated the extent of it. Japanese metal heads do mosh and headbang and all that, but they do so very politely and only at the appropriate moments. In general, Japanese concert-goers prefer to draw from a pre-set repertoire of hand gestures rather than dancing, screaming, or vomiting on each other.
I can't stress the hand gesture thing enough. It was uncanny. Did they all meet up hours ahead of time to coordinate their motions? How did they know when to paw at the air like a cat and when to make little heart shapes with their fingers? It was all Ryan and I could do to copy the movements as they were happening. Hopefully this video will give you some idea of what it was like -- plus you get to see Japanese teenagers headbanging like crazy!
Warning: the sound quality is pitiful. This was shot on a point-and-click camera. It sounded much better than this in real life.
I realized after I made my last post that I neglected to include this infectious little gem -- and by "infectious", I mean that it's akin to a pus-encrusted wound you can't stop picking at. This is Kaela Kimura's "Winter Fairy," which is everywhere right now because it's being used in an advertisement for a cell phone company.
Here's the advertisement. It doesn't include the whole song, but it includes just about all you really need to hear:
Here are the lyrics:
A winter fairy's melting a snowman A winter fairy's melting a snowman A winter fairy's melting a snowman It's a melting snowman
All of this really begs the question: why is the winter fairy being such a jerk? Some kid built that snowman with his own two hands, you stupid jerk fairy. I bet you kick sandcastles over when you go to the beach.
In preparation for Ryan's eventual post about our concert-going exploits (which he swears he'll post any day now, guys...seriously!), I thought I'd share some of the music that seems to be super-popular in Japan right now.
Girl's Generation - "Gee"
This first song is by a Korean girl group called "Girl's Generation" (or "SNSD" -- apparently an abbreviation for that same name as translated into Korean). It is entitled "Gee." Girl's Generation seem to have a real penchant for titling their songs after monosyllabic English interjections, since their other hit song is called "Oh," but that's really neither here nor there.
Korean pop music seems to have taken off in a big way here, which I find interesting given the discrimination Koreans have traditionally faced in Japan (and still face, sometimes). I see huge advertisements for Girl's Generation -- and fellow Korean girl group, Kara -- everywhere I go.
As for the video itself, you'll probably notice that Girl's Generation do some weird dancing -- much of it centered around wiggling their legs and gesturing wildly with their hands. Seriously, every close-up shot of one of the girls involves some sort of hand gesture. Do they even know what they're gesturing about anymore, or is it just a style thing at this point? And sure, the dances look cool when they all do them together in a group, but try to imagine how incredibly hilarious they would look if it was just one of the girls in isolation.
AKB48 - "Heavy Rotation"
The band AKB48 -- so called because it has, I kid you not, 48 members -- appears to be aimed primarily at video game and anime nerds, though little girls love them too. Can they really sing? Who knows! That isn't the point. The point -- at least according to this video -- is underwear, pillow fights, cuteness, the fulfillment of every nerd's semi-pedo fantasy, and more underwear.
This is one pervy video, but not in the way most American videos are pervy. The creepiness here stems from the childlike faux-innocence of the song's lyrics and the band's members, juxtaposed against teddy-clad romps in a harem somewhere. Oh, and also, this is the most popular video among Japanese males age 45-54. So there's that.
And again with the weird dancing!
Utada Hikaru - "Goodbye Happiness"
Utada Hikaru is arguably Japan's most popular female singer of the past ten years. She sings like an American R&B artist. Lots of Japanese singers do it these days, and I ain't so keen on the style.I do think this video is cute and clever, however. And at least it ain't creeptastic like the AKB48 video up there!
X Japan - "Celebration"
This is an old video for an old song, so strictly speaking it doesn't belong in this post. However, it is a prime example of Japan's "visual kei" style of music -- a genre that basically combines hard-core rock, cross-dressing, and lots of make-up. I thought I'd stick it in here because this is the sort of concert Ryan and I went to two weekends ago -- and you'll learn all about it when Ryan *ahem* eventually *ahem* gets around to posting pics.
Anyway, here's "Celebration." You don't have to sit through the whole thing, but please do treat yourself to the hilarious white people at the beginning.
Hey everyone! I have a big post coming up about the concerts we've gone to in Japan, but until I figure out how to get the videos off my newfangled camera here's a post about PRINT CLUB!
"Print Club" refers to the crazy photo booths they have here in Japan. It's a really popular pastime for high school girls - they get all dressed up and head to the arcade to get their pictures taken with friends. The best part about the machines is that it significantly alters your appearance to make you look "beautiful" - it gives you big ol' dewy anime eyes, applies make-up, and has a bright enough flash to wash out any blemishes. (Of course, since we're white people, it makes us look like Voldemort as a drag queen.) Afterwards you get to put stamps on the pictures and draw on them and stuff. It's great fun!
Anyway, we've done Print Club a few times since being in Japan. Here is the photographic evidence!
I love hunging out with you too. This is how it's SUPPOSED to make you look.
... but this is how it looks on white people. Terrifying!
Another example. Love the one with the beer and the "CRAZY!!" stamp.
I have come to the conclusion that Japan loves poop.
Everywhere you look, you find poop-shaped things. Poop stuffed animals, poop erasers, poop stationery, poop trees. Okay, maybe not EVERYWHERE, but it's a lot more prevalent than it is back in the states. Chalk it up to our snooty Puritan values, but I don't think we find poop to be as funny as Japanese people do. To them, poop is not limited to the world of grade schools and novelty stores. No, Japan is content with poop showing up in all aspects of life, including children's literature. Meet "Unko!"
Note how it's the number one BEST book in the store. Japan loves poop.
I found this book at the store today. It's a heartwarming tale about a sentient poop. When I saw the cover, I thought "no, this can't POSSIBLY be a book about the adventure of human feces."
Luckily, I was right! It's actually about the adventure of dog feces.
Anyway, Unko (whose name a cutesy version of the word unchi, or poop) searches for love in a variety of people and animals only to be rejected by every one of them. Eventually he finds his way to a farmer's field and becomes one with the soil. The end.
Here's another example of how Japan loves poop: one of my adult students was telling me how on New Year's morning she stepped in some of her dog's poop. I expressed concern, but she assured me that it was a good thing. In fact, she was really excited about it. Turns out that in Japan it's good luck if you step in poop at the beginning of the new year. This is because the chi part of unchi means "fortune" or something like that. I think it's just a way to justify stepping in poop (or like Joanna pointed out, you'd think they wouldn't be so strict about cleaning up after your dogs if it was so lucky) but I'm telling you: Japan loves poop.
Hello everyone! It's been almost 2 weeks since the last post so let me make a quick one to brag: I won the claw machine! Again!
This time the prize was a spherical rabbit toy. But there's more! Inside the bunny is a ball. Inside that ball is a spinning motor. This makes the rabbit "hop" around spastically in an adorable way.
Here's the little fella now!
Of course, the kids at school went NUTS when I showed it to them. They named it Pyon-Pyon, based on the Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound a rabbit makes when it hops.
The big question is, what is it with me and rabbit toys? First Stripey-kun and now Pyon-Pyon. Maybe it's because it's the year of the rabbit and I was born on the year of the rabbit? It's all a mystery!
Many of you reading have probably heard of Nara, at least in passing. It's the location of Daibutsu, aka Birushana, aka the biggest flippin' Buddha you've ever seen in your life. It's also the location of some incredibly tame, incredibly insane, incredibly aggressive deer that only want you for your 150-yen crackers.
Caution: Deer. No kiddin', Nara!
Getting swarmed by deer. That worried look on my face isn't just for show. These guys were pushy.
Ryan experiences the unique sensation of being surrounded by greedy, overly familiar deer. They're fun, but kind of scary.
Ryan scolds a deer. A lot of good it probably did. They're incorrigible.
Ouch! A deer headbutts me in the pelvis while his comrade to the left gets possessed by Satan and uses his dark powers to manifest an orb directly over his head.
Ryan tried to give some crackers to the more mild-mannered lady deer, but the overbearing males kept getting in the way.
The pathway to Todaiji, home of the Great Buddha. Covered with deer.
Deer swarm a family. Right after this photo was taken, the little girl ran away screaming.
A baby deer!
A warning sign. We saw the deer do all these things and more during our brief visit.
The gateway to Todaiji. Normally I'm annoyed by snow, but in this case it made everything even prettier.
Todaiji is colossal! Pictures cannot do it justice.
The Great Buddha himself!
Check out the people at the bottom of the picture for scale. No joke -- that's one gigantic Buddha!
A deer chews on a chain. We saw several deer doing this. What are they -- teething?
A deer stands in the way of a sports cat. To the left, you can see my mittened hand beckoning the thing to safety.
An ancient pagoda built by one of Japan's few empresses.
Sento-kun! Apparently every Japanese city needs to have a mascot. Osaka's was Billiken, Nara's is Sento-kun. A rather bashful-looking fellow!
On December 30th, we went to Kyoto. Unfortunately, Ryan's camera stopped working a few hours in, so we only have pictures of the first place we went: Iwatayama Monkey Mountain. And only a handful of pics at that. Sorry! I hope you enjoy what we have!
It was a drizzly morning, but the Arashiyama area (in which Monkey Mountain was situated) was really pretty. Dig the mist over those mountains.
A monkey! A Japanese snow monkey, to be precise. We hadn't even reached the summit when we stumbled upon this guy. The mountain was seriously lousy with monkeys!
D'awww, wook at da baby!
A mama monkey begs for some food. Basically, when you got to the top of the mountain, the employees put you in a cage and gave you apples and nuts to hand to the monkeys through the chain link.
A monkey takes a peanut out of my hand. Their little fingers felt so cool. Some of them took the food real gentle-like and some of them just snatched it like the greedy, fat buggers they are.
Our first destination the following morning was Osaka Castle. The castle is surrounded by an enormous -- and, might I say, quite lovely -- park, including this really sweet playground. Ryan and I may or may not have gone down the slide a couple times.
Osaka Castle! Unfortunately, we couldn't go inside that day. Rather imposing from the outside, though, isn't it?
Ryan really loves taking pictures of torii gates. This one was outside what we understood to be the former shogun's personal shrine.
A rock garden, shown to us by a random Japanese passerby named Hayashi-san. He wasn't a tour guide, but he nevertheless took it upon himself to show us around the castle grounds and explain to us what was what. He explained it entirely in Japanese, of course, but we got the general jist.
The NHK building. NHK is basically the Japanese equivalent of PBS.
A graveyard near Shitennouji. In Japan, people are cremated and their ashes and bones are mixed with those of their ancestors at a single family grave site. Which explains how they're able to cram the plots so close together.
Amide (?) Buddha at a temple just outside Shitennouji. The statue was much, much larger than it appears in this picture. It was kind of breathtaking.
The gate to Shitennouji, Japan's oldest government-sponsored Buddhist temple. First constructed by Prince Shotoku in the year 593. I can't believe I actually remembered all that...
The pagoda at Shitennouji. I just thought this was a cool picture that Ryan took.
Shifting gears entirely, here is a comic book/otaku shop we found when we were looking for Tsutenkaku tower. It was in an area of Osaka called Den-Den Town, a district entirely dedicated to selling electronics, computers, DVDs, music, and all manner of entertainment. And nerd stuff. Lots and lots of nerd stuff.
And here are some of the aforementioned nerds now! This was inside the comic shop. What's weird is that the merchandise was like, ninety percent dirty comics. And people were reading them out in the open and didn't really seem to care if you saw them. Liberated? Or just creepy? You decide.
Japanese cosplay outfits -- which, by the way, far outstrip American costumes in both quality and price. Especially price.
A Frieza costume. God knows we were tempted, but it cost like sixty bucks!
A really neat video game store we found that had a heap of old Nintendo Entertainment System consoles (or Famicoms, as they were called here).
Also from the video game store. The man pictured is Beat Takeshi, a super-famous comedian/actor/director here in Japan. Takeshi hates video games, so he decided to create his own -- a game so mind-bogglingly unfun to play that it would inspire people to never play video games again. Players were given tasks like pushing a single button 10,000 times in a row. This is an advertisement for that game.
Tsutenkaku Tower! Yes, we finally found it.
Billiken, a "god" created by an American woman back in 1912 that somehow became insanely popular in Osaka. Now he's their unofficial mascot. Rubbing his feet is said to make your dreams come true (hence the deep grooves in the statue's feet).
The view from Tsutenkaku.
A model of the old Tsutenkaku, before it was torn down for scrap during World War II, and the park that used to surround it. I don't know why, but I got very misty-eyed looking at this model. There's something so charming and nostalgic about it.
Doutonbouri, Osaka's night-life and entertainment district. The mass of humanity here was both overwhelming and exhilarating.
Gigantic advertisements in Doutonbouri.
The river in Doutonbouri. The bridge we were standing on when we took this picture was so packed with people that I honestly thought I was gonna get knocked into the water.
A super-cool, super-quaint okonomiyaki place we went to for dinner. Note all the comics and Ultraman action figures.
We've already shown you Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. This is the other kind -- Osaka-style. No noodles in this one, and the ingredients and batter are all mixed together instead of layered. Still amazingly yummy!
In the evening, before bedtime, Ryan and I liked to go arcade hopping. There were arcades on every corner, after all, and they all had their own unique flavor. For example, this one had a little pond in the basement where you could catch real fish. You didn't get to keep the fish; rather, you won prizes based on the size of the fish you caught.
The Typing of the Dead. My favorite game. Now and forever. Where else can I use my rad typing skills to destroy an army of zombies?
This game was hilarious. Basically, it gave you a little scenario, at the end of which you were supposed to hurtle that table at your virtual family. Family dysfunction has never been so much fun!
