Matsudo Yosakoi 2009

Tomorrow is Matsudo Yosakoi festival. Wooooo! Will the weather cooperate? I sure hope so.
So, you ask, what’s Yosakoi mean? It’s a Kochi dialect which means “come at night”, and refers to a really high energy dance form that combines traditional festival dance forms with modern music. The costumes are not traditional but pop versions of [...]

This Heart’s Rendition in Ryogoku

Alternative-hard rock group This Heart’s Rendition, some guys who live in the Kashiwa-Matsudo area, will play Four Valley at Ryogoku next week.

The show is on September 20th, starting at 6pm. It’s ￥2000 at the door.
To get to Four Valley, take the train to Ryogoku Station. You can see the local map here. You can [...]

Tone River Jam 2009

Last year’s Tone River Jam in Abiko got typhooned on, but before the skies opened up, we got to hear some great music.
As always, the Tone River Jam on August 16th is free, hosted by local businesses. Last year, a shuttle bus from Tennodai Station took jam goers to the [...]

Full Latin Music in Kashiwa

This is Ryuichi and Pri dancing bachata.  Ryuichi is from Dominica who teaches dance all over Tokyo.
Ben in Kashiwa turned lots of local people on to Latin dance. A few weeks ago, I got my first Salsa lesson with Ken, and got hooked. Don’t worry if you don’t have a dance partner. It is a really friendly atmosphere, [...]

International west side…

There’s a Coco Ichiban on the west side of Kashiwa Station! I’m a perpetual East Side girl, and rarely venture to the right side of the tracks. Vancouver, Glasgow, Uwajima City, Kashiwa City, it doesn’t seem to matter which town I’m in, my personal feng shui always places me east of center. Mel the Roommie [...]

Salsa in Kashiwa

Since 2004, Jose, a Peruvian living and working in Kashiwa, has been hosting Salsa Kashiwa. What fun! Every Saturday night in April, from 7pm to midnight, at the Yumebutai Dance Studio you can salsa your socks off to Latin music. Don’t know how? Every party begins with a lesson. It was my first time out, [...]

This Heart’s Rendition playing in Shibuya

In Japan, anything can happen. In Kashiwa, Rich from England, Bryan from Canada and Nathan from the US met in suburban Tokyo, land of concrete and blue hair, and naturally started an indie band, This Heart’s Rendition.
They do some serious guitar rock with deep mythic themes. They’ll be playing at Eggman in Shibuya tonight, Wednesday March 4th.

Gyoza Goya vs. Animal Hamaguchi! Live on TV!

Last week, I dropped by Gyoza Goya in Kashiwa for a late dinner. You know what a gyoza is? It’s a dumpling, something like a perogy, filled with just about anything you want, and either boiled or pan fried.  Gyoza Goya has an eclectic (eccentric?!) menu, including chocolate banana gyoza, apple pie gyoza, and The [...]

A Dark Knight in Nagareyama

The skies here are beautiful in Kanto, but it’s hot and sticky most days. Perfect weather for sitting in a dark, airconditioned movie theater. 
Last night, we got out to see The Dark Knight 流山おおたかの森S.C. Nagareyama Ootaka no Mori shopping center. This is the tongue-twisting station name you hear on the Tobu Noda Line two stops north of [...]