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 [...]

本土時の秋 Autumn at Hondoji

It’s really tough to get photos of higanbana, the red spider lillies that bloom on the autumn equinox. Either they look really disorganized, or the light they choose to live in makes the photos look too bright or the shadows obscure them. Weird other worldly things, they are.
They are blooming at Hondoji, the Nichiren temple [...]

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 [...]

Kutsche at Otomachi

This year marks the fourth year for Otomachi, the music project in Kashiwa which features unsigned acts performing outdoors and at venues around Kashiwa. After their performance on the plaza in front of Kashiwa Station,  Kutsche, an indie trio that does all original music, came over to my neighbourhood for Sunday night dinner at White Gyoza.
The [...]

御盆 Obon

Obon is that time of year when Japanese people’s ancestors come for a visit. You might see little fires lit in front of some houses in rural areas around Chiba Prefecture, but that’s becoming rare these days. These fires are meant to welcome home ghosts of ancestors. The department stores are displaying gorgeous lanterns to display [...]

Yomeiri Fune – Wedding boats at Katori

At Katori in northern Chiba Prefecture, a garden has revived the old tradition of wedding boats to bear the couple down the river. This past Sunday, Japan Times reports, happy newlyweds in traditional costume enjoyed the early summer weather, and next Sunday, and the Saturday after that, there will be more processions. For a comprehensive [...]

Gideon and Light in Matsudo

Gideon, a British expat living in Kashiwa, has a remarkable eye for sights. He brings micro and macro views of Japanese culture, nature and technology. His next gallery exhibit with 写楽 Sharaku Photo Club is next weekend.
He writes -
I’d like to invite you to my latest gallery show in Matsudo, this time with some of [...]

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.

Tone River Jam 2008

Tone River Jam

Next weekend, local community folks are putting on a party, The Tone River Jam, at the Tonegawa Yuyu Park. This free event features Metal Guinee, an African-influenced group that leads drum workshops in the area, the Allman/CCR influenced The Brother Woods,  the hard and loud KamomeKamome, and mysterious Hoshi.
I want one of those cool t-shirts!