SO I HAVE A SOURCE OF MONEY AGAIN. Karma is a wonderful thing, and just in time for Golden Week. Now depending on how packed everything is I might actually be going a few places in the next few days. Pecking order:
- Nara
- Kyoto
- Kobe
Yesterday I went to an all-day ska festival with two friends, and so was introduced to the narrow but deep world of Japanese ska. I learned what skanking was, what bands are best, how loyal and friendly everyone is, how happy and great Japanese ska is, and how to dodge the flying elbows that are circle pits.
3000yen plus 500yen for two drink tickets and 16 bands that lasted until almost 10pm. Definitely the best deal I've gotten. Plus we met so many cool bands and even found some guys who go to our school and gave us their demo CD for free and made us promise to come to their next concert.
Japanese ska shows are like nothing I've ever seen in America (no surprise there, huh?) Every band has its own theme song that plays when they come up, and every band has their own synchronized dance moves the audience is expected to know and perform with no delay, giving each show the appearance of some trumpet-wielding musical. It made for some great laughs as we tried to learn all the dances but by the end we were just one of the crowd. That crowd is another big pull for me for the ska scene. So many different types of people jumping around and enjoying the same music, from the grungy band drummer wearing a football helmet to quiet girls wearing modest clothes and high heels who suddenly turn into screaming, elbow-throwing death machines. 10/10
The first thing I did with my money today was run into the dollar store, buy four packs of curry mix and udon (thick noodles) and get ready for a great lunch and a celebratory thankyou dinner for everyone that helped me out through this hard time. Laundry detergent is next on this list, my clothes are definitely showing some grossness after not being washed for weeks...
Hello,
ReplyDeleteThis looks fun! I have never heard of ska shows. Glad you are enjoying your time in Japan.
Thank you for your comment, and for following my blog. I have been slacking off these few days, and will post some golden week finds (oh dear, I haven`t found any yet!!). We are staying local around Oita and enjoying onsen and bike rides.
Good luck with your temple hunt, hope you can see some inspiring things...
On a technical note, I can`t leave comments on your site from my computer. It`s the format of the commenting, and I cant comment on some sites. So, just saying hi and thanks from an outside computer.
Best wishes and please drop a line again sometimes, I`m always happy for the feedback.
Joanne