So the Xavierite told me that they were finished publishing for the semester, but I already wrote an article, so someone has to read it. Since it contained mostly things that were going up on here anyway, here it is. Enjoy!
A friend of mine was commenting on my pictures from Japan that I had put up on Facebook. He left about 20 or so comments in one night, but this was not unusual, because he had spent some time in Japan himself, and I could tell he was excited for me, and he was happy to remember his time here. One of his many comments read: “When you come home, the sky won’t be the same color.” Although this can be taken literally, because there is a smog problem in Tokyo, I think he meant it figuratively. Things are so different here, that when you stay for so long, then go back to where ever you call home, it’s hard to forget that you are under the same big sky.
This last weekend was by far one of the best I’ve had so far since I’ve been here. The week of the April, 29th – May, 6th, is what is known as Golden Week. There are national holidays on Monday the 30th, Thursday the 3rd and Friday the 4th, they vary in purpose, from Constitution day, Childrens’ day, and nature day. What this translates to is really long weekends for yours truly. I’m sure as most of you know, the Friday before a 3 day weekend is a difficult one to sit though class for, and its even worse when you only have one class on Friday, like I do.

After class there was a meeting for my rock music club, where I found out that the band made up of the club’s sempai (seniors) was playing a show that night. The band, called ‘Student A,’ was playing at a place called Warp, and since I had not been to a show yet, I thought this would be a good opportunity to do so. After the train ride to the “live house” as they are called out here, we caught the opening bands. The one that stuck out the most was a band called ‘essential.’ They were a four piece that played a noise-funk sort of music, using some very odd sounds coaxed out of a microKorg keyboard or a guitar ran through plenty of effects pedals. The most memorable part of their set was a little funky break down in which the singer/guitar player just laughed, but not directly into the mic. After about 20 seconds of this they spontaneous burst into a noise that could only be described as total sonic annihilation.

Although they had their work cut out for them, Student A did not disappoint. They played a sort of Radiohead-ish, post alternative type of music. Their sound was heavily dynamic, always building and falling, laced with reverb, and they seemed to use some sort of sampled keyboards, but I couldn’t tell. What impressed me the most was their energy and ability to play very, very well together as one band, with a clean sound. After the show we searched for a Denny’s type restaurant, to no avail (there are Denny’s here, I haven’t been yet, but they have them) so we settled for a family type restaurant and called it a night.

The next day I had some errands to run in the day, but I had some big plans for the evening. For any of you that know me personally, you know that I’m not really one to go clubbing, but the opportunity to do so made itself available, and who can say no to that in the city with the greatest nightlife in the world? In Tokyo, all the trains stop running at around 1:00 am, about the same time the clubs start warming up and taxis aren’t cheap, so when you go to the clubs, you stay out until the next morning by default. This may be no big deal to the regulars out there, but for little ole’ me, it was a new experience. I’ll spare the details, but the night clubs here provide a great contrast to the high-strung, overly polite, somewhat uptight Japanese life I have been accustomed to. People here definitely let loose when they aren’t at work or school, and at first it is odd to picture the suit wearing salary man, drunk in a club at 4 am dancing to a reggae remix of “My Heart Will Go On.”

As we emerged from the club at around 5 a.m. we bore witness to a Shibuya sunrise, with the sun’s rays poking through the concrete pillars, neon lights and steel. People stumbled home, some to have a long day’s rest, others to put on their suits, uniforms, and guises of politeness. I looked up, and thought about what my friend said about the sky. It looked the same as it always has, but this time it was pierced endlessly with buildings cover in kanji. With the bass still blasting in my ears, my friends and I proceeded to the station and said our goodbyes. The streets were unusually empty, but after the train ride home, they filled up again, a reminder that a new day has begun, out here under my new sky.


Here are some pictures I took walking around Ikebukoro, near where I live, sorry no pictures from any of the places described above, not enough light in the room.
Pictures are here.