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Japan Tour Diary: Sophie Hutchings
Contributions by Sophie Hutchings
Original page credit: Mess+Noise
Sydney pianist SOPHIE HUTCHINGS fell in love with Japan while touring there recently, from the food and smells to the deer and architecture.
[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] From gritty chicken gizzards, octopus balls and crab’s brains to melt-in-your-mouth sushi. When stage fright in a public toilet becomes a thing of the past thanks to an automatic soundscape of running streams. Where rubbish bins sometimes don’t exist but all is somehow immaculate. Where getting naked for a natural osen soak is a must. Flashing neon lights, a raving warren of streets, golden storybook rural thatched-roofed villages....
Welcome to Japan.
Shinjuku Station is one of the busiest train stations in the world, and when it’s near midnight it’s easy to become lost in the pandemonium. Finally we surface and meet the bright battle of neon lights. We’re hungry and it’s late, but the local 7-11 surprisingly serves its purpose, and satisfyingly so. We’re not talking smelly BO-bashed Chiko Rolls or hot dogs so preserved they’d survive a nuclear holocaust. We’re talking fresh bento boxes and more. I get my first sushi fix here and discover the best snack ever: onigiri, a rice-ball-type hit wrapped tightly in seaweed, with a lucky dip treat embedded in the centre (be it tofu, tuna, pickled kombu or whatever else). For approximately $1.50 it soon became a staple when hungry.
First Tokyo Show with Ryan Francesconi and Mirabai Pert
Eastern Tokyo is a largely residential and industrial area with very few tourist attractions. This only spurs the local experience. We make our way through a warren of streets luckily with the help of our friend Masami the Jedi behind Impartmaint.
Typically Japanese – you enter a nondescript building and head down a steep timber staircase to find yourself in the basement gallery of Nanahari. A casual vibe, and a mood set by some earthy ’60s Zaire traditional spinning on vinyl, plus a bit of Don Cherry, amongst others. There’s a little upright sitting in the corner waiting for me; I thought Japan was full of Yamahas. This is an old masculine Kawaii.
It’s my first time in Japan. I’m not really sure what to expect but I’m told everyone is ridiculously respectful and polite. It’s true, but they’re not just ridiculously respectful and polite – they’re cute, funny and a bunch of individual groovers. Everyone sat attentively, huddled on little timber stools and lounges, with some cosily packed up the staircase.
Ryan Francesconi and Mirabai Pert (partners and bandmates in Joanna Newsom’s line-up) play a beautiful set. Watching Ryan and Meribai weave in and out of each other’s musical movements is pretty special. with a fresh yet oldish nostalgic sound stemming from their fusion of Balkan/Bulgarian classical-cum-folk compositions...
I catch up with the charismatic Yas, who has booked most of this tour. We all mingle and I write down a long list of the music that’s been spinning tonight.
Back on the train and following the bright neon lights and skyscraper buildings, Yas weaves us through the tiny ramshackle alleyways of the Golden Gai district, navigating us back to wherever it was we came from. Streets almost wide enough for a single person to pass through, an area of tiny shanty-style bars and clubs where musicians, artists and the like gather. It’s a great little hub for food and drinks in a very rustic Japanese-style atmosphere. Our first taste of Tokyo is good indeed!
Bullet Trains and Central Honshu
We are heading for ‘nowhere’. Tastefully minimalistic in style – walls covered in creative offerings and records from all around the world for sale – ‘nowhere’ is the perfect name for this tiny iconic venue as it literally feels like nowhere. Surrounded by steep mountains and endless fields that embrace a deep bay.
We arrive at the small city of Toyama (in the northern centre of Japan). I meet the very charming venue owner, Eiichi Yasukawa, and his wife Aiko. Eiichi not only designed and built the furniture but is also seriously the finest chef in Japan, not to mention the possessor of a ridiculously copious music collection.
Eiichi starts out as your typically shy, polite and extremely accommodating Japanese host. However, by the end of the night he’s dancing around the tables laughing and spoiling the dinner guests with his modern Japanese delicacies like morohay, a smoky-tasting morsel of whisked-up egg white, seaweed and goodness knows what else that you somehow have to manage to scoop up with chopsticks. The texture resembles things I’d rather not say ... however, it’s surprisingly tasty! Tofu okra salad, Japanese-style beef pockets, radish-and-pickle green bean salad, jelly infused with an orange and milk coffee base ... and on it goes.
With such a generous supply of food and drinks, our Lost in Translation zone doesn’t seem to matter. By now our dining conversation is led by weighty and animated roleplay.
Winding up the evening all sleepy and full-bellied, with the heat of the summer’s day rising and the cold air sinking from the Toyama Mountains, a cracking thunder storm hits. A beautiful and dramatic spectacle in light. Toyama’s closing act for the evening...
Nara: City of Deers
We drop off our backpacks at Naramachi Guest House. It’s an old restored calligraphy house and, with the now familiar scent of bamboo and incense, I’m feeling at home already. The rooms kind of remind me of an old wooden doll palace.
Nara is a place full of hungry deer and little historic treasures awash with long narrow lanes. Former residential merchant buildings and warehouses have been preserved, and now run as cute little vintage boutiques, shops and cafes. On one of these many narrow lanes you will find Cafe Takeno, a small gallery cafe with a quarter of it taken up by a beautiful Yamaha grand piano I am to tinkle on. With rustic timber floors, a beautiful piano packed into a cute space and everyone tucked in around me, it made for a cosy lounge-room atmosphere.
We spend the next day walking through Kasuga woods, playfully fighting off the deer, temple hopping, grabbing another rice-ball hit and then finally jumping on our next bullet train to Kobe.
Kobe
Wedged in between the coast and the mountains lays Kobe’s cosmopolitan port city. We meet the Ikebana girls at the nearby train station, who I’m doing a couple of the Japan shows with. Ikebana (meaning flower arrangement) are a local duo from Tokyo consisting of Maki and En. They create dreamlike minimalist shoegaze guitar tones over atmospheric drones and sweet distant vocal harmonies, injecting a calm somnolent mood in the best kind of way.
Our group makes its way up the hillside. There, nestled at the top overlooking the sea, is the beautiful Guggenheim House. One of the appealing things about Kobe is its unique historical, colourful array of European-style architecture. Apparently this dates back to the large community of expatriates who arrived in the early 1940s, so its style stands out.
I’m slow to admit that my rice-ball hits are getting a bit dreary so I could do with a good cake hit! Thankfully Guggenheim House is run by a half Belgian, half Japanese gent named Ali. Upon arrival we are welcomed with rich, heavy, Belgian cake goodness for afternoon tea before soundcheck. I’m a satisfied guest...
Playing at Guggenheim House is like playing in a big old ballroom and the audience as usual are an attentive delight. Ikebana play a beautiful set alongside the quirky opening electronica outfit called Casio Tones. Casio Tones are a concoction of six artists playing musical chairs over continual keyboards, loops and beats. I could only describe it as walking into a video parlour; but instead, picture people playing musical instruments instead of games. Very entertaining stuff.
I feel at home; there’s a relaxing vibe crashing out here. Almost an elegant Great Gatsby feel combined with a family-friendly, hippy-commune-like element. The backend of the property is occupied with full-time dwellers who all hang out together pursuing all things creative. After the show we all mingle over Santori highballs and we become like family.
We spend the next day taking the cable car for a fine view of Kobe city, pottering about the funky area of West Tor and meeting up with our newfound friends who run Spacemoth. Spacemoth is located in a cool old hospital building that now houses several clothing- and music-themed boutiques. This place certainly lives up to its cosmopolitan reputation.
Back to Tokyo
Being based in the sweet little neighbourhood of Shimokitizawa this time around is a bit of a treat. It acts as a rewarding breather if you’re overwhelmed by Tokyo’s more hectic suburbs. Only three stops from the fun and bustling Shibuya, it’s the Japanese Greenwich Village, with a laidback vibe full of funky cafes, vintage clothing stores, secondhand record stores, live music venues and groovy little bars and restaurants often arrayed with a mural-type graffitied shopfront.
The last show is held here in Shimokita at the enchanting old Fujimigaoka Church. The church is often used for concerts and also affords a neat little view of Mt Fuji. I’m performing again with my newfound friends Maki and En of Ikebana. Playing at an old church always feels totally natural thanks to their naturally lush acoustics. To top off the evening, Yas (who is as nutty and fun as the Mad Hatter) has booked a bunch of us into one of the local Izakaya, the Japanese version of a good all-you-can-eat-and-drink-style eatery. Huge platters of sashimi salad, whole grilled fish, agedashi-dofu (deep fried tofu in a dashi broth) and the list goes on! Plenty of Asahi or Kirin beers go down nicely in the heat...
With plenty to do in Tokyo, other highlights were the tranquil parks, six-seater bars and a long headphone session at Tower Records. There’s often a notion of rigidity and conservatism attached to Japanese society. However, its music and art scene is definitely a unique quirky hub all its own, with the most polite and appreciate audiences you could ever ask for.
Thanks to Yas, Masami, and my travel buddies Reuben, Charles and Nicolette as well as all those involved with the shows for making this a fun and memorable trip. Go go gai daiski des!
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