On the first weekend of November I headed to the man-made island of Daiba in Tokyo for an amazing weekend music show put on by Hostess Club. 10 awesome bands in two days made for a jam packed whirlwind of awesome music, crowd surfing, mosh pits, and hanging out with Japanese hipsters.
Our first experience of Tokyo was overwhelmingly crowded and exhausting but music shows in Japan are entirely different. Everyone is incredibly polite and everyone respects each other's personal bubble space. The crowd is very respectful and my favourite part is that everyone dances! The funniest moment was in the mosh pit where I saw someone getting lost in an elbow throwing groove frenzy and he accidentally punched another guy in the face, and instead of an all out brawl breaking out, they just "sumimasened" and then high-fived and continued to go crazy in the pit. Awesome. I love Japanese hipsters because they look amazing, they are very friendly and polite, they all seem to know each other and they want to dance with EVERYONE!
Everything was very organized and they had e-mobile tickets and true to Japanese nature all the shows started and ended on time. During set changes there was a gigantic mall to bum around in and get food. My favourite part of the mall was the gigantic Gundam statue in the outdoor plaza. I have only heard of Gundam through my little brothers and have no attachment to him but seeing a statue and how all of the Japanese people stood in awe of it made me feel like it was something special. At night we caught a laser light show where the statue lights up, emits smoke, and moves!
Anyways, back to the music show. My favourite band of the weekend was Local Natives. They are incredible live and they played some songs from their new unreleased album and it got me so pumped for its release. POP ETC. and Efterklang put on a great show as well. I didn't realize how much I missed live shows but that weekend was a blast and I felt so lucky to experience such a great collection of bands. I can't wait to see more shows both in Tokyo and Niigata. Concerts are super pricey because I have to factor in the Shinkansen, hotel, food, and tickets but it is without a doubt all worth it. Nothing beats dancing in the front row while one of your favourite bands is rocking out.
On the second day before the show started we took a quick trip to the Tokyo Sky Tree which is the tallest tower in the world, it is the same height as Mount Yahiko which I climbed a couple of weekends ago. It is a beautiful embodiment of the Japanese modernity and technology that exists and is dichotomized by the countryside's endless rice fields and quiet villages. We also went to the Tokyo Aquarium which was really fun and a great way to start the day. Then we hopped a quick couple of trains to Daiba and enjoyed a truly fabulous day of live music.
This trip gave me a new appreciation for Tokyo and renewed my faith in the wonderful and unique experiences that it has to offer. But alas, after this fun-filled weekend, I had to board the Shinkansen and head back to reality and work...sigh.
Our first experience of Tokyo was overwhelmingly crowded and exhausting but music shows in Japan are entirely different. Everyone is incredibly polite and everyone respects each other's personal bubble space. The crowd is very respectful and my favourite part is that everyone dances! The funniest moment was in the mosh pit where I saw someone getting lost in an elbow throwing groove frenzy and he accidentally punched another guy in the face, and instead of an all out brawl breaking out, they just "sumimasened" and then high-fived and continued to go crazy in the pit. Awesome. I love Japanese hipsters because they look amazing, they are very friendly and polite, they all seem to know each other and they want to dance with EVERYONE!
Everything was very organized and they had e-mobile tickets and true to Japanese nature all the shows started and ended on time. During set changes there was a gigantic mall to bum around in and get food. My favourite part of the mall was the gigantic Gundam statue in the outdoor plaza. I have only heard of Gundam through my little brothers and have no attachment to him but seeing a statue and how all of the Japanese people stood in awe of it made me feel like it was something special. At night we caught a laser light show where the statue lights up, emits smoke, and moves!
Anyways, back to the music show. My favourite band of the weekend was Local Natives. They are incredible live and they played some songs from their new unreleased album and it got me so pumped for its release. POP ETC. and Efterklang put on a great show as well. I didn't realize how much I missed live shows but that weekend was a blast and I felt so lucky to experience such a great collection of bands. I can't wait to see more shows both in Tokyo and Niigata. Concerts are super pricey because I have to factor in the Shinkansen, hotel, food, and tickets but it is without a doubt all worth it. Nothing beats dancing in the front row while one of your favourite bands is rocking out.
On the second day before the show started we took a quick trip to the Tokyo Sky Tree which is the tallest tower in the world, it is the same height as Mount Yahiko which I climbed a couple of weekends ago. It is a beautiful embodiment of the Japanese modernity and technology that exists and is dichotomized by the countryside's endless rice fields and quiet villages. We also went to the Tokyo Aquarium which was really fun and a great way to start the day. Then we hopped a quick couple of trains to Daiba and enjoyed a truly fabulous day of live music.
This trip gave me a new appreciation for Tokyo and renewed my faith in the wonderful and unique experiences that it has to offer. But alas, after this fun-filled weekend, I had to board the Shinkansen and head back to reality and work...sigh.
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