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Isaac In Tokyo
Below are the 25 most recent journal entries.
[ << Previous 25 ]
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2006.10.07 16.48
David Braid Sextet Cancelled
I encouraged you all to check out The David Braid Sextet at a new club called Sopra, and then the club decided to cancel the show.
I don't know what that place is thinking. First I heard that they decided not to have live music. The place was a little small, so maybe it would be more appropriate to only have piano players and maybe some small bands. But I checked out their website and they have some local, funk and R&B acts performing like Kush and Wade O. Brown.
Whatever you do, don't go see Kush. I saw Kush play once. They opened for Roy Ayers last year. Roy Ayers' band was some of the funkiest shit that I've ever heard, but Kush was just awful. So awful that my friend Jesse and I ducked out of their set to go hear David Braid play solo piano at The Red Guitar, and then hustled back just as Roy Ayers was heading to the stage.
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2006.10.01 11.58
Incineration
I read the Canadian papers once in a while, and have been loosely following the municipal election in Toronto.
Isn't it time people showed a little maturity about incineration? The debate seems a little one sided to me. Side A proposes that we build some incinerators, and then Side B says, "We're opposed to incineration because it pollutes the environment and smells like nato." Side A then responds with, "In Europe and Japan, they've been using incineration for a long time. They've developed new technology so that it no longer pollutes the environment or smells bad. We could copy this technology and your concerns would be addressed."
Doesn't that pretty much axe the incineration opponents' main argument?
It would be one thing if Toronto's only problem was figuring out what to do with its garbage, but there also isn't nearly enough electricity.
It seems to me that instead of being so opposed to incineration, the mayor should be sitting in his office saying, "Man, if there were only a way we could take our garbage and turn it into electricity..."
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2006.09.26 23.56
Canadian Jazz and Nato
The David Braid Sextet was in town this weekend. Each member is easily one of the finest at their instrument in Canada, and the leader, David Braid, is a killer piano player, and gifted composer.
I study piano with Braid, and I've gotten to know some of the other musicians in the band while hanging around Toronto jazz clubs over the years, so it was a lot of fun to hear them play in Tokyo.
The show was a showcase for Tokyo music industry types at the Canadian Embassy. I think it's really cool that the Embassy does that. Whenever you ask, "So what exactly is an Embassy for?" the answer usually comes back, "To promote Canadian business abroad." That sounds incredibly vague, and when you think of Canadian businesses, you don't really think of musicians, so it's great that the Embassy recognizes the potential in Japan for musicians due to the popularity of jazz here. They even had the foresight to build a pretty decent sounding theatre inside the Embassy.
The concert was killer. I haven't heard any of those guys play in several months, and I haven't heard that particular band play since their last engagement at the Top O' The Senator (RIP) two years, so I was really impressed. I heard a lot of familiar tunes, but Braid is constantly tweaking the arrangements to keep things interesting, and the tightness and musicianship keeps getting better and better.
The day before the concert, I took the bass player, Steve Wallace record shopping in Tokyo. I told him it was a bad idea, and after making him sign a waiver, we headed out to an area called Ochanomizu, which has many instrument shops and a few really good record stores. About an hour later, Steve walked out with about $300 worth of stuff!! I told him it was a bad idea... We didn't even make it to the Tower Records in Shibuya for new CDs. He wisely decided that he had had enough.
He also needed a part for his bass. We couldn't find a store that sold the part, but after explaining to a store owner that Steve was a musician from Canada and needed it for a show the next day, the man graciously removed one from a bass that was for sale and sold it to Steve for 300 Yen. Yet more proof that Japanese people are incredibly friendly and really appreciate the music.
Afterwards, we met up with the rest of the sextet and went out for sushi. I put them on the "Isaac Ezer's 3-steps to mouth-watering tuna"™ program . First we tried Maguro, the regular tuna that we're used to eating in Canadian sushi shops, and the guys said, "Man, the tuna here is way better than in Toronto!" Then we ordered Chu-toro, and the guys said, "Holly shit this is incredible. It just melts in your mouth." Once the sax player, Mike Murley, asked "Can it get any better?" I ordered some O-toro, and that just floored everybody.
The next night, after the concert, we headed out for more sushi. It was the sextet and a few friends of theirs from Tokyo who had come out to the show. I was also there with my friend Eriko, and I decided that this was the night that I was finally going to try Nato, and that she would have the distinct privilege of witnessing my reaction.
Braid quickly tried to talk me out of it. Just the mere mention of the word set him off into a retching, "Ohh, don't do it..." But I tried it, and I have to say... I didn't expect it to be that gross! I mean, I was expecting it to be like ume-boshi, the type of gross that makes you say, "It's not my thing, but I can see how some people might like it."
I've always heard that it smells bad but tastes good, so I figured for the experience I'd give it a good, hard whiff to start things off. It didn't actually smell that bad. I bravely stuck a few morsels in my mouth, and the first few chews were ok, but then it just hits you. The worst smell and taste I've ever experienced! It really tasted like rotten garbage. That's not a metaphor for how bad it tasted, that's exactly the smell that I was reminded of. Just nasty!
I bravely tried one more bite, but after a not-so-subtle retch before I could completely swallow it, I knew I had to resign. Eriko cheerfully finished it off, which was one of the most impressive displays I've seen so far.
John Macleod, the flugelhorn player in the band, had been carrying around a camera, joking around that he was gathering footage for "The documentary he's making on the tour." So I think there's some footage out there of my Nato experience. Hopefully I'll get that from him one of these days and post it for your enjoyment.
Incidentally, with the two main jazz clubs in Toronto, The Senator and The Montreal Bistro, having recently closed, the jazz scene is going through a tough time. Apparently, there's a new club that just opened up called Sopra, at Avenue Road and Davenport. The David Braid Sextet is playing two nights there on October 10 and 11 to promote their new CD. I highly recommend you check it out if you live in Toronto. If you go to a Toronto jazz club any other time this year, the band will be good, but it won't be quite as good as these guys.
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2006.09.21 01.20
Ume-boshi
There is this restaurant in Hino called Tami's Kitchen. I'm a sort of a celebrity there, you know, The white guy living in Hino. I've been there many times and the owners and some of the regulars know me. The nice thing about it is that it is small and consists mainly of a big, U-shaped bar, so everyone chats with everyone else.
I've been finding in Tokyo that it's too easy to meet Japanese people who speak English, so I find that going there and chatting with people having dinner is a good way to practice Japanese, so I went last night. It was good fun. Got a little drunk though. I had a bit of sake with my dinner, but nothing too much (by the way Japanese people get really impressed when a white guy orders sake and sashimi for dinner).
But this business man there, Suzuki-san, insisted on giving me some shochu from his personal bottle (shochu is another famous style of Japanese liquor). So I couldn't resist.
Then, as often happens in these types of restaurants, the people there started asking me if I've eated all the things that Japanese people love but know westerners find disgusting. The owner got me to try Ume-boshi, which is basically a pickled plum (gross, I know). It was REALLY bitter. I'm sure my face was just hilarious as I was trying to cope with the taste. It wasn't that bad though, kind of like one of those really hard-core olives that people like to eat.
There is another famous Japanese food called Nato that people always ask me about. I'm still not quite sure what it is, but apparently you can get it at sushi restaurants. I looked it up on wikipedia and it is some sort of fermented soybean. Apparently it smells disgusting, but tastes great, so Japanese people love it because they are used to it, but westerners hate it because they can't get past the smell.
I have no problem with trying it, but I'm holding out until I'm actually out with one of my Japanese friends so that they can appreciate my reaction when I finally try it.
I'll let you know how it goes.
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2006.09.10 23.53
Hank Jones
"The result is a supple style beyond fashion or category. Liquid single-note lines melt into luxurious chords. Deft interplay between left and right hands animates the structure. Luminous harmonies shift like light in a Turner landscape. His swing is impeccable, his taste unerring, his touch angelic. And there is just enough grease in his ideas to balance his tuxedoed elegance with down-home soul." -- From this recent article about Hank Jones.
I saw Hank Jones play this week at the Cotton Club. That show was easily the best jazz concert I've ever been to. Not only is Hank one of the most famous and important musicians alive, but at 88 he's still got it, and you can see in his face how much he still loves to play.
For those of you who haven't heard of Hank Jones, here's a little background: He's 88 years old, born in 1918, grew up listening to Fats Waller on the morning radio and jamming with his brothers Elvin and Thad, also famous jazz musicians. He's played piano on some of the most important albums by Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis, among others.
He played a concert of well-known standards. When he opened with Memories of You solo, I almost cried. It was that beautiful. He even had some stuff written out to play over the head of a couple of tunes, Song For My Father and Don't Explain. The fact that he still cares enough at 88 that he sits down at the piano to work on some standards, comes up with something really heavy, and then says to himself, "I gotta write that down!" is amazing. Some of the other highlights were Someone to Watch Over Me and Round Midnight.
One thing that is nice to see is how much Japan appreciates Hank. I actually saw Hank play in Toronto in the springtime. He played at about a 300-seat venue at the Distillery, and it was half full. Nobody cares anymore! In Japan, on the other hand, the club was packed with an enthusiastic and appreciative crowd. If you go to the HMV in Shibuya, there are many Hank Jones albums that are only released in Japan, including two solo-piano albums that he recorded this year, and 2 DVDs that he recorded a club here last March.
I picked up one of those albums and it is great. I've got a lot of solo-piano albums on my shelf by just about everybody. The best one, without a doubt, is The Complete Thelonious Monk Solo Piano on Columbia. But I'd say Hank's is a close second.
Another reason why I appreciated that concert so much is that I've so often been disappointed when seeing the greats perform live. Chick Corea is now basing all of his music on L. Ron Hubbard science fiction novels. Sonny Rollins seems to have gone out of his way to assemble the worst backup band possible, including his absolutely terrible nephew on the trombone. And the last time I saw Oscar Peterson, the piano sounded like shit, and the whole band, to borrow a phrase from my friend Jesse, seemed to be just phoning it in.
And don't get me started on Herbie Hancock. He's now recording albums with Christina Aguilera in a desperate attempt to stay hip, and last time I saw him at play at Massey Hall he spent about half the show thanking Apple Computers for the Mac and keyboard that they lent him for the tour. The other half of the show was spent messing around on the computer for minutes at a time without playing anything, as if he couldn't figure out how the damn thing worked. And when he finally figured it out, the sounds he was getting out of it were atrocious.
(I'm particularly hard on Herbie Hancock because I wouldn't ever want to go to a desert island without Headhunters, Thrust, Fat Albert Rotunda, The Prisoner, and just about every other album he recorded up until about 1975.)
I'm sorry. I'm ranting, and I promised myself that I would never rant in this space. However, you have to have this background information to understand why hearing Hank Jones play last night was without a doubt the best jazz concert I've ever attended.
PS Check out how close I got to sit!
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2006.09.03 02.03
Sukiyaki and Butter Chicken
Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. It's only been a week but it feels like much longer. I mean, heck, I haven't posted since Pluto was stripped of its planet status.
Anyway, just wanted to add to the list of awesome Japanese food that I've had so far.
Sukiyaki.
Before I went on vacation, I tried it with Zheng, the other co-op at my office, and Leo a co-op from another Epson office who was visiting. Sukiyaki is awesome and you all have to try it. Get a group together too because it's a real social meal.
Picture some thinly sliced beef, placed into a huge pot with all kinds of vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, onions, etc. Pour on some mystery sauce and let it sizzle for a while.
The key to sukiyaki is that along with it, you get a raw egg in a small bowl. In order to eat sukiyaki, first you want to whip up the egg. Then, whenever you take a piece of beef or tofu or whatever from the pot, first you dip it in the egg to cool it down, and then you eat it.
Eating raw egg takes a little getting used to, but the experience was a lot of fun.
As much as I've embraced Japanese food, I do occasionally long for some food that reminds me of home. If I'm ever feeling homesick, or just want to go to a restaurant with English speaking waiters, cloth napkins, forks and knives, I go to this awesome Indian restaurant in West-Shinjuku that I found called Taz Mahal (yes that's Taz Mahal, not Taj Mahal). Their butter chicken is awesome.
I used to eat Indian food a lot in Toronto. My favourite places, for those keeping score at home, are The Host in Yorkville, and Taste of India at Yonge and Eglinton (great lunch buffet).
I think it's a testament to Toronto's multiculturalism that I eat Indian food to remind me of home.
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2006.08.27 21.50
Izu Islands: Oshima and Niijima
I had last week off for my summer vacation, so I decided to check out two of the Izu Islands near Tokyo, Niijima and Oshima.
Niijima was awesome. It turns out that surfing is very popular in Japan, and Niijima is considered one of the best places to do it. I'm not much of a surfer, but the beaches were beautiful, so it was fun to just lie there, do a little swimming, and watch the surfers give it their best shot.
Niijima is a pretty small island, so the best way to get around is with a bicycle, which you can rent for about 1000 Yen ($10 CAD) per day. The main town area is on the West side of the island near the main port. That's where my hotel was, along with a bunch of souvenir/ice cream shops, and a few restaurants. There is a beach called Maehama on the west side, but the better surfing is at the Habushiura beach on the east side. It takes about 10 minutes to get from one to the other by bike.
The other attraction on the west side is the Yunohama onsen. It's right by the beach, outdoors, free, open 24 hours, and quite beatiful. It has a variety of different springs at a variety of different temperatures. I stayed in the medium ones, which were quite hot by my standards. I don't know how all those old ladies could make it into the super hot onsen at the top. I've posted pics.
As you may recall from my Matsumoto post, I wasn't the biggest onsen fan the first time around. However, I really liked the one in Niijima. I think being outdoors is key because you get a nice breeze if the heat becomes too much for you. It also fun to go at night.
As for the evenings in Niijima, besides onsening, there aren't a lot of bars, but the best place to go is the nightly, reggae beach party at the north end of the Maehama beach. Lots of fun.
There is a Niijima museum which I checked out. It was aehh. I also climbed to the top of one of Niijima's "mountains", Ishiyama. It was about an hour hike, and it was pouring rain for the most of the walk up, but when I finally got up to the top the sun came out and I was rewarded with some nice pictures.
I didn't really like Oshima. Maybe that's because it rained a lot, and it's a lot bigger than Niijima so biking around isn't feasible. I'd say Niijima is a lot better. The one thing that sounded cool about Oshima was that it has an active volcano. You can climb to the top and check out the smoldering crater. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to go because of the weather--the top was covered in dense clouds the whole time.
My first night in Oshima was great though. I went to a little beach-side restaurant for a beer, and started talking to some guys there. They were heading off to another restaurant where one of there friends was performing, so I tagged along and it was a lot of fun. I never would have found that bar if I hadn't first met those guys. I also found a jazz club. The music was aehh, but the principle of there being a jazz club in Oshima is pretty cool.
One nice thing about this trip was that it put me in a position of having to speak Japanese a lot because there weren't so many people who spoke English like there are in Tokyo.
The best part of the trip was definitely the people I met. Every night at the beach party or the onsen I got chatting with other Japanese and foreigners who were also vacationing on the islands. Most of them live in and around Tokyo, so I'll be in touch with some of them in the next few weeks.
The hotels I stayed in, Daijin Hotel in Oshima and Jigohei Hotel in Niijima, were very nice. They were traditional, Japanese menshukus with tatami floors and the whole bit. The futons were nice and thick, which made for a nice sleep, so that's all that really matters ;-). The food was great too. They both served breakfast (at 7:30!) and dinner around 6pm. Both meals featured incredibly fresh seafood.
It was a great vacation, and I look forward to checking out other, more relaxing parts of Japan over the next year.
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2006.08.23 23.22
Robert Barrington Leigh
After being reported missing for over a week, Robert Barrington Leigh's body was found yesterday in Edmonton.
While I didn't know him very well, I had the pleasure of being his classmate in several second year math classes at the University of Toronto, and spent more than a few all-nighters with him and other students preparing for tests and assignments.
I can tell you that the stuff you may read in obituaries such as this one today are not the least bit exaggerated. He was incredibly smart and gifted, and yet the most humble person I've ever met. He was also very helpful and patient, even on those frantic nights before tests, with those of us who couldn't grasp the concept of a smooth surface in n-space as easily as he could.
I'd like to offer my condolences to his family and friends, as well as anyone else who was lucky enough to get to know Robert better than I did.
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2006.08.20 20.03
Jam Sessions
Now that I have net access again I can bring you up to speed on some of the things I've been up to.
I have been to a couple of jam sessions. A few weeks ago I went to a jam at the aforementioned Half Tone jazz club in nearby Tachikawa. Played four songs; I'll Close My Eyes; Georgia On My Mind; Bye, Bye, Blackbird; and Autumn Leaves. (Is that the correct use of the semi-colon?)
The other jam that I went to was a club called the Manhattan in Asagaya, which I guess is sort of mid-town Tokyo. That was cool because the club was incredibly tiny. Like so small that I couldn't enter until the band finished playing a tune because the bass player stands right in front of the door. Once he finished I was able to walk in. You kind of climb over the drums, and then there is a bar running along the wall with some tiny stools beside it. I played Footprints, Now's the Time, and some other standard that I can't remember.
Both were a lot of fun. It was great to finally have gone. I was really impressed by the quality of the players. I think most of them at both sessions were pros who came to jam just for fun. Playing with people that good will do wonders for my own playing. The one thing though is that the crowd is a bit older, so it would be nice to find a jam where all the younger, music student types in the area go to hang out.
I got chatting with one of the players, an incredible piano player named Inoue Yuichi. I'm going to go check out a few of his gigs next month.
After that jam I went walking around Asagaya looking for a place to eat. In Hino all the restaurants close by 11, but in Asagaya there are many restaurants and they are open much later.
I was walking down one of the streets when I heard Roy Ayers' Everybody Loves The Sunshine. That's like my favourite song ever. Not the most well-known song either. So I had to investigate where it was coming from. It turned out it was an American style diner called The Village Vanguard.
I decided to check it out. Great burgers. I was very impressed. They have a huge selection of toppings that you can pick to, so I'll have to check it out again.
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2006.08.12 16.10
Japanese Food
The food in Japan is unbelievable! There is such a huge variety of food here that I can try different things every time I go out. In Toronto we just have "Japanese restaurants", but here they have different restaurants specializing in different types of Japanese food. Like sushi restaurants, soba-and-udon noodle shops, ramen noodle shops, tempura shops, etc.
The sushi is amazing. Very different from what we get in Toronto. They don't really eat the maki rolls like we do in Toronto. All those "California" rolls and "dynamite" rolls were invented in North America. They mostly eat real sushi, pieces of raw fish on rice. And man is it tasty. The fish here is so fresh, and there are so many different kinds that we don't get in Canada. My favourite, next to tuna, is katsoh.
I'm used to the dark, purple coloured tuna that we eat in Toronto. They eat that in abundance here (it's called Maguro), and it is incredibly tasty and fresh. However, the real delicasy is the meat that comes from the belly of the tuna, called Toro (there are 2 grades, Chu-Toro and the even better O-Toro.) Toro is much lighter in colour and MUCH softer. It just melts in your mouth...
It's really expensive though. Usually in sushi restaurants, you sit at the counter and ask the chef to make you stuff. The prices listed tell you the price for 1 piece, but you always get a plate of 2 pieces when you order. Usually 1 piece is priced at $1-$1.50. However Toro is usually $2.50 - $4.
I found an amazing sushi restaurant in Ikebukuro last week while I was getting my hair cut. Now the thing is, I thought the prices listed were for a plate of 2 pieces. So I ordered Chu-toro, which was listed at something like 260 Yen ($2.60). And man it just knocked me out it was so good, so I had to order it again. When I finally got the bill, I had racked it up to $35 bucks. Man was it worth it, though. Good thing Epson is paying pretty well.
All the other stuff is great too. The noodles are great. I'm really into ramen. I've never been much of a pork eater, but ramen usually contains pork and it is just delicious!
I think I've mentioned Izakayas before. It's hard to describe the type of food at an izakaya. They usually have a huge selection of different things; different types of meats and so forth. I usually don't even know the name of what I'm ordering, but I've never been let down.
I also tried this stuff called okonomiyaki. It's kind of hard to describe. You sort of take some dough, egg, meat, and veggies, and cook them up into a pancake-type thing right at the table. Umm.
I'm told there is a place called Okonomiyaki House at Yonge and Bloor. You guys should try it. I wonder if you get Toro in Toronto. If you can, you have to try it, no matter how much it costs! If anyone knows, let me know.
I keep reading about the Tsukiji Fish market here. It's mentioned in all the guide books as a good tourist attraction. The fish gets auctioned off every morning between 5am and 7am, so you have to go early to see the action. And then you can have the best sushi of your life for breakfast. For people who don't get up quite so early, I'm told that the area has the best sushi restaurants.
I think what I'll do is, next time I pull an all-nighter at a club or jam session, I'll head over to the fish market and try that incredible breakfast sushi.
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2006.08.05 22.38
Summer Vacation Dilemma
Summer vacation is coming up here in Japan. It is in 2 weeks ago, August 12-20.
I am planning to go to some islands near Tokyo called the Izu Islands (anyone been there?) I am definitely going to check out Nijima, and possibly Oshima.
My original plan was to go to Kyoto, but it has been really hot here, and I here it gets even hotter in Kyoto. Going to Kyoto is a big sight-seeing/temple viewing experience, so I think that is best left to colder weather.
Anyway, I was planning on taking the overnight ferry on Monday, August 14th, right after those bastards install the internet in my apartment. But new shit has come to light, man.
It turns out that Matisyahu, the Reggae-rapping Hasidic Jew, is performing in a club in Tokyo on Monday night. So the question is, do I stick with the original plan, or stay in Tokyo one extra night and buy the $50 ticket to get my jew-on? I can take a super-fast jetfoil boat to the islands the next day, which only takes a couple of hours, but that will cost $30 more than the overnight ferry.
decisions, decisions...
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2006.08.05 22.35
Crowded Trains
I was out last Saturday night and I decided to catch the last train home from Shinjuku that night. Man was it packed. It was so packed it hurt. Bodies pressed against me from all sides. So packed so that breathing in and tucking my stomach in actually made a difference. That packed!
There was 1 other white guy sort of sticking up abovet the crowd. When he saw me he just laughed and said, "Tokyo, eh?" and I said, "Yep.." Turns out he was a Dutch guy studying Quantum Physics here.
That's all I got.
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2006.07.31 21.30
Super Deluxe bar
I discovered a great bar/event space in Roppongi called Super Deluxe. It happened to have two shows on Thursday and Monday last week that were similar and right up my alley.
The Thursday night show was a concert by Morgan Fisher. Once a month he does a solo show features his vast collection of vintage keyboards. It was a completely improvised show with him playing along to a DVD of old, impressionist, silent films.
It was really heavy. You put that many toys in front of the wrong person and it could sound absolutely terrible, but he really knew what he was doing.
One of his techniques was to play something and have it loop for a while and then gradually fade out while he played other stuff. So the textures would change from sounds that he wasn't even playing at the time. For example, he had this Hohner Electric Melodica (it's a keyboard that you blow into, but's also electric). There was a split second when what he was playing on the melodica sound like a big, wanky, wash of sound. But then as he was putting the melodica down and then echo was cycling through, everything just fit together in the most beautiful way in this huge flourish of organ and string sounds that sounded like a great symphony or some of those beautiful strings on Led Zeppelin's The Rain Song or something.
In addition to the melodica, he had a Hohner Pianet/Clavinet duo, so he had some really funky clav stuff going on at times, and some crazy looking organs that I've never heard of before, many of which had Russian writing on them.
Anyway, I know what I'll be doing on the 3rd Thursday of every month from now on.
The second thing I saw was a show by an animator. I didn't exactly get the story straight, but I think he is a Japanese animator who just won some contest in Thailand. His animations were very cool. All hand drawn and very old-school. He also played the piano along with his own animations. Most bars in Tokyo and completely dead on a Monday night, but this guy drew out a huge crowd, and deservedly so.
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2006.07.28 20.03
The lord bringeth and the Lord taketh away...
A couple of days ago my internet stopped working. I hoped it was just a temporary thing but unfortunately it wasn't. Apparently, there are two steps to getting the internet. First, they have someone deliver the router. Then they have someone from the phone company make a separate trip to turn it on.
Apparently, it was an *accident* that the internet was just working when I plugged it in. So I guess they realized their mistake, turned it off, and now are coming on (sob) August 14th.
I'll try to keep y'all abreast of my zany antics, but you know... it's gonna be tough...
The worst part is that I had just downloaded episode 1 of season 5 of 24 and now I'm dying to know what happens!!! I mean is Tony gonna make it??? Is Jack gonna save the day??? If anyone has episodes 2,3,4,... please send them to me via You Send It and I can download it next time I'm in a net cafe (seriously).
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2006.07.20 01.19
Start to feel old...
I now have two sets of friends who are engaged to be married.
Congratulations to
Laurie & Justin
and
Cameron & Krisy
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2006.07.18 02.39
"The Japanese Know How To Party" Part II
 Harajuku,
Look at all those people. They aren't even going anywhere. They are just checking out the stors.. This Monday was a holiday in Japan. As a result, many of the Epson interns from nearby labs in Nagano and Matsumoto decided to come in for the long weekend. One of them organized a trip out to this club called Air to see M-flo.
Apparently M-flo is the biggest thing on the Japanese rap scene. It features DJ Taku Takahashi and rapper VERBAL.
I guess they're pretty popular because by the time they came on, the dance floor was so packed you could not move. Bodies were pressed up against me on all sides. If someone tried to move, the whole crowd would sway almost to the point of tipping over. And man was it hot. I've never sweat so much in my life. If I had jumped in a pool fully clothed I would not have been any more soaked.
It was a lot of fun, not that much for the music as for witnessing that crowd. The music was good, but it's not the kind of thing that makes me flip out. I still think that it's debatable whether DJs are really artists or whether they're just playing other people's music. There are definitely good DJs and bad DJs--all it takes is one bad choice of song and everyone leaves the dance floor--but come on.
The other thing is that the run of the mill DJs in clubs play the hit tunes that everyone knows. But the really famous DJs play really obscure music that they find created by others on the internet or in speciality shops. The artist gets absolutely no recognition. Nobody cares who made the music. That's sad.
So enough of my rant about DJs. The other highlights of the weekend were the two dinners I had with some of the interns. One of the guys Alex, was the intern from last year who is just wrapping up his stay in Japan. He's gotten to know all the ins and outs. He takes his food very seriously too, so I got some good recommendations from him (apparently the best ramen in Tokyo is on the eighth floor of the My Lord department store in Shinjuku), and he has a knack for spotting a good izakaya.
We found a great izakaya and had a great time comparing and contrasting sake from Hokkaido with sake from Nagano. We also had Otoro, which is a type of sashimi which comes from the belly of the tuna. It's considered the best part. It's a little expensive, but man, wow, it just melts in your mouth.
On Sunday I went for a walk in a shopping area called Harajuku. Check out the crowds in the attached picture. All those people are just out perusing.
On Monday night we went to one of those sushi places with the revolving counters. Alex knew a good one in north-east Shinjuku. It was excellent. We tried the otoro there, which was very nice, but not quite the same. You kind of have to get it in a nice restaurant. But it was a nice way to wind down the weekend.
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2006.07.18 02.32
Finally... internet
See that picture? I know what you're thinking. "Doesn't look like much. It's just Google. I use Google too."
Yeah, but I haven't had internet access since I got here. I've never been so happy to see Google pop up in my life. It was a close call. The router was delivered today, and it came with this CD, but I popped the CD in the drive and it said, "Cannot install. Must use Japanese OS." So I plugged everything in hoping the CD wasn't essential to the whole internet browsing process.
I then clicked on Firefox, not quite knowing what to expect, and BANG! There it was, Google. Man what a sight for sore eyes.
There were all those links just like I have always arranged them; all my extensions setup just the way I like them. No more Japanese operating systems on computers with keyboards with the @ sign where the apostrophe should be and the colon and semicolon on separate keys and the apostrophe...I can't even remember where the apostrophe is. No more wasting tons of money in internet cafes that reek of smoke worse than the dance clubs.
Man I'm happy. You'll notice beside the laptop is my bad-ass Japanese phone. That's been my one connection to cyberspace while in my room. But man, does it take forever to type stuff on that phone.
Beside the phone is a bottle of Lemon Tea. They're are crazy about bottled tea here. And it's not like "iced tea" in Canada, which is really a super-sweetend soft drink that sort of tastes like tea. Here the bottled tea tastes exactly like they brewed some tea, put it in a bottle, and stuck in in the fridge. I can drink the lemon tea. The red tea (cold version of english tea) is ok. I'm trying to immerse myself into Japanese culture, but I really can't get into cold green tea.
Finally, for the geeks in the audience, check this out. You can install Firefox on a USB key. That comes in handy when you go to internet cafes as often as I used to.
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2006.07.13 23.20
Matsumoto
Last Sunday I went out to Matsumoto to visit my friend Sam Pitch. He's a friend of my brother's from camp and high school. He went to Japan to teach English and never came back. Instead he started an English school in nearby Omachi and called it the Forest Hill School of English after his elementary school.
I had a great time that day. As usually you can check out my pictures.
Matsumoto is a much smaller city than Tokyo, but it's been growing lately so it's quite modern. It's also about 2 hours north in the mountains by train, which apparently is far enough north to provide some relief from the sweltering heat and humidity that plagues my daily life here in Tokyo...
There is a famous castle there called Matsumoto-jo which we checked out. Took some great pictures and climbed up to the top. The climb wasn't that easy, not because the castle is that big but because for some reason the steps are enormous so it's quite a chore just to get from one level to next. The castle and the grounds were quite beautiful.
We then drove out of Mastumoto to Sam's town of Omachi where he lives with his wife, Kana. It's a very scenic town, and he's got his school literally right in front of the house.
After hanging out in the school for little while and snacking on some delicious plums (I point that out because most of the fruit I've had so far in Japan has been expensive and sub-par, but these were really good), we went to an onsen. An onsen is a hot-steam bath. They have these all over Japan and they-re quite popular with the locals. When they say hot, they mean hot. I'm glad I went, but it's not something I'd do on a regular basis. Bathing in water that hot for more than, say, 10 minutes takes the energy right out of you. I guess some people find that relaxing...
Sam gave me a very good piece of advice. He said it's customary for Japanese people to bring back a box of cookies or something for the office when they go out of town. Something that is a speciality of the town. Well I did that and I think my co-workers appreciated it.
It was a very enjoyable day and I'm sure I'll be out that way again. Especially since Matsumoto is close to Nagano, which apparently has great skiing. I mean it's got to right, they had the Olympics there...
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2006.07.13 23.14
RSS
Many of you have asked me if this blog is available as an RSS feed. It is. You can just add the URL for this page, http://isaac-ezer.livejournal.com into your RSS reader. Or, if you're reader has some sort of "Press to subscribe to this page" button, you can press it and it will be added.
I think Livejournal doesn't put the XML logo on the page so that it can try to sucker you in to checking out those pesky adds on the right. That's right, you're thinking about checking out those "Incredible Travel Deals" aren't you?
If you don't know what RSS is, and you read, say, any other blogs besides this one, you should check out Bloglines<\a>. It won't save your life, but it will make it a whole lot easier.
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2006.07.08 23.56
Holiday in August
I have a week off in August. I think it's the 3rd week. Works out to 9 days if you include the weekends.
If anyone wants to come visit, that would be a good time. You can't all come in May, 2007 ;-)
I'm thinking of checking out Kyoto and Osaka or something.
Anyway, if you are interested, let me know by e-mail.
Isaac
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2006.07.08 23.53
Finally bought a keyboard
I finally got my keyboard last week. I feel like my life is really getting in order so that I can really start to do some damage in this town. I got a cell phone and a keyboard, got some dry cleaning done, did some shopping...
Now I am just waiting for internet access. It takes forever to get internet access in this country. You apply and then it takes about 4 weeks for the phone company to come set up the ADSL line and the router to be delivered, etc. It's is so close I can smell it (If you have never smelled internet access, it smells amazing.) I am really getting sick of these internet cafes.
I bought my keyboard new. All over Japan these have these huge electronics stores that are more like a department store than what we're used too. They are like 6 stories and sell everything. However, because Tokyo is so dense, none of the stores have room to stock anything, so I had to wait for it to be delivered.
They usually have a good selection of home keyboards. So I bought my Yamaha P70 there. Not very many features, but it has a nice piano sound and action, and a decent, late-seventies Rhodes sound.
The market for used gear here sucks. Apparently, they recently passed a law that you can't resell any used electronics that are more than 5 years old, without having them certified. They say it is a fire-safety issue, but you know there was some heavy lobbying from the huge electronics industry here. More specifically, the law says you can't sell the stuff in Japan, but you can export it, which apparently means all the stuff is ending up in markets in China.
Apparently there is a similar law in England, which is a shame because that was the place to be during the golden age of electric pianos
Obviously I wasn't expecting there to be an abundance of Rhodes pianos like there is in North America, but some used keyboards would be nice. I saw one keyboard store that had 1 Rhodes and 1 Wurlitzer, but they were just for show. What's up with that?
None of the music stores sell used gear. You can't even rent stuff here. There isn't a single store that will rent you a keyboard. Anyway, enough with the rant, but any Japanese musician going to Toronto should consider Paul's Boutique, Song Bird, and Long and McQuade as major tourist attractions. There is nothing like any of those stores here.
There is an area near the electronics mecca of Akihabara called Ochanomizu which is known for musical gear, but all those stores sell new guitars almost exclusively. I did however find some amazing record stores called Disk Union. There are bunch of different locations on the same block, each location specializing in different genres. The jazz store was amazing. They had so much stuff that you can't get in North America. They had some rare Blue Note albums selling for $300-$400, but a lot of cheaper stuff too.
There are some pictures on the Flickr page of what my room now looks like. They are taken from the loft up above so you get a nice bird's eye view. It seems that there is just enough room in that space of a keyboard. Worked out nicely.
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2006.07.04 04.25
Happy Canada Day
Tokyo turned out to be a sweet place to celebrate Canada Day.
It started in the afternoon at beautiful Yoyogi Park where the Tokyo Canadian Club hosted a picnic. Great picnic. Met lots of great Canadians. I would have expected to meet more people in my position who are just visiting for a short time, but it seemed like the vast majority of people have been living here for like 5-10 years or more! Met people from all over the place too. Vancouver, Victoria, Quebec, Timmins, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Saskatoon.
I met an Anglophone who grew up in Quebec City and a Francophone who grew up in Saskatoon. How cool is that?
A lot of Canadian students get to Japan through the Co-op Japan Program out of UBC. They placed about 20 or 30 students this year. I got to meet a lot of them at the picnic. Great people. They gave me a link to the site with their blogs and their super-secret forum where they plan their events and so forth, so I'll be seeing more of them.
They had Labbatt Blue at the picnic. Now the truth is I think Labbatt Blue is kind of gross, and I would never order the stuff in Toronto. I am more of a Creemore Springs type of guy. And in Japan I much prefer Sake. But I have to say that given the circumstances, the Labbatt Blue tasted great!!
After the picnic, I killed a couple of hours by buying a keyboard stand. Now a keyboard stand isn't too bulky but when it is in a box it takes up a fair amount of space. My first plan was to hop on the train to take it home, and then come back to Tokyo in the evening. But that would have taken 3 hours, so I decided to just take it with me.
What was plan for the evening you ask? Of course I was going to the Maple Leaf Bar in Shibuya. These Canadian-themed bars seem to be popping up all over the place, which is a good thing (there is one near Covent Garden in London that sells Molson Canadian for 6 pounds, yes that is $15 CAD, but who's counting?)
Of course I had to get to this bar. Now a couple of nights before I was walking with some friends in Shinjuku and I ran in to this guy who asked, "Have you guys heard of this interection around here that is supposed to be the busiest intersection in the world?"
"Yeah," I said. "That's in Shibuya. Look for the huge Starbucks on the 2nd floor."
At this point I encourage you to check out my Flickr page to see my pictures from the day. There are pictures from the picnic, the night out, and this crazy intersection in Shibuya.
You have to see the pictures to see just how crazy this intersection is. Unlike most intersections where the lights are green going one way and red going another, here the lights are green for 1 direction of cars only, then green for another, and then red for the cars and green for all the pedestrians. I guess if there were constantly people crossing no cars would ever go anywhere.
I actually ran into the Canadian Co-op Japan students on the edge of the intersection just hanging out. One of the guys, Clement, took this sweet picture.
I was kind of regretting having bought that keyboard stand because you wouldn't believe what it was like trying to carry that thing through these crowds of people.
Anyway, I eventually found the Maple Leaf bar and it was awesome. It was absolutely packed. Mostly Canadians, but people from Japan and all over the world. As much as I enjoy Japanese food, I have been really craving a burger lately, and it seems impossible to find a good burger in Tokyo. They have misconceptions about how we North Americans eat our burgers. They think we put chilli and fried eggs on them. Anyway, the Maple Leaf has an awesome burger, and good fries to boot.
Check out the pictures and the descriptions on the Flickr page.
Later in the evening, the Canadians started to filter out and some English people started to come in, getting ready to watch the England Portugal game, which aired at midnight in Japan. I stuck around to watch. Sorry Jono, I know you were pulling for England, but they played badly. Rooney shouldn't have shoved that guy right in front of the ref, they missed some great scoring chances, the tall guy Crouch is one of the worst football players I have ever seen, and you gotta at least shoot for the corners if you are going to have a chance of winning a shootout.
The English people I was sitting with were saying, "We always lose in shootouts, we have to score before then end." Of course an hour later is was the requisite, "Shootouts are just a crap-shoot, it's complete luck. CHEAP!" Anyway, better luck in 4 years, blokes.
Happy Canada Day Everybody. I hope that all is well.
----
"It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.”
Lord Darlington in Oscar Wilde`s "Lady Windermere's Fan"
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