Fukuyama and Kyoto Final Trip

Weekend of many things.

Friday night, rushed straight from work to the station to go to Osaka to get the Shinkansen over to Fukuyama. It was Black Friday, black themed event which Trish was organising, which was fun. Saw Rose for the last time in Japan, sad (she's one of the first friends I made at the London orientation... over a year ago now! and we sat together on the flight out... which still feels like last week!)

Saturday was a crazy day for weather. Japan's been having a bad time of it recently from mother nature. The kids were sent home early on Friday due to a typhoon warning, and there was the big earthquake yesterday (which delayed all the trains home). Fukuyama was mad with rain and wind and eventually in the afternoon we caught the Shinkansen over to Kyoto. In Kyoto they have the Gion Matsuri all through July, and it was 3 days before the big parade, I don't know what they would have done on this night, the roads were closed off so I assume something, but the rain was torrential and unrelenting.

After dinner at a very chilled izakaya we wandered around in the streets for a while (with a quick stop to play some Bomberman in a game center) before heading to a very small but cool club called Collage where Yoshihiro Okino was doing a Brazilian night. It was Kyoto Jazz Meeting, a monthly (or so) night, sister party of the Tokyo Jazz Meeting we went to last month, but this was a special Brazilian version called Tokyo Brazil Meeting. I guess being the height of summer the thinking was it would suit the summery vibe but in reality it provided a musically sunny escape from the gloomy weather outside!


Yoshi, as I've said before, is such a great DJ and he stuck with the Brazilian classics, I recognised less than if it were more dancey (not to say it wasn't as good), and there was some Djavan, some Sabrina Malheiros, Marcos Valle, and he gradually gradually started to drop more beat heavy tunes til around 3 it was half dancey. (Oh yeah and 'Sombre Guitar' - from being an obscure tune for me I've heard it out everywhere this year) Really good music, and got a fantastic mix CD of classic Brazilian music with entry! Have to check with some people what the tunes are when I'm back in London as some of them are seeerious. Great night, good crowd who knew and loved the tunes including everyone surprisingly knowing the unusual double claps in Guida de Palma's 'New Day'. I realised another thing I like about Japanese clubs. At first I thought they all had amazing soundsystems (and they probably do, they don't do things by half here) but it's not that, it's that the music is quieter as people aren't shouting on the dancefloor. If you're there for the music, this is awesome.

I think this is Yoshihiro's assistant/girlfriend/groupie/friend or something as I've seen her with him at other events. I can't imagine many other countries where sleeping on a bench in the dingy corridors outside a club at 3 in the morning would be safe. Go Japan!



Next day, we went to check Tadao Ando designed Time's Gallery, but the cafe was closed so had breakfast in Ogawa Coffee instead. Really nice coffee shop chain, I mean chains will always be similar, but it has a nicer feeling than your generic lowest common denominator Starbucks. After, checked Time's properly. Apart from an Evisu shop and a Onitsuka Tiger shop, theres nothing really there, which is probably bad for the owners, but it gives it a really cool feeling to have a wander round, it feels kind of cool and empty.

Wandered round some backstreets, where outside their houses some people seemed to have done some impressive things with bamboo (left) before doing a little shopping in some highstreet shops. (I'm gonna miss places like journal standard, ships and united arrows... but maybe not the prices.) Drank some bubble tea for the first time and had some cheap conveyer belt sushi for lunch, including my first taste of horse (right).

Wandered down the main street, which had now been closed again as it was getting dark. Loads of people, some of who were wearing yukata and eating festival food. And I mean LOADS.


There were people in the floats ringing their bell things, but they weren't moving as it was still 2 days before the parade.


There were all the festival foods out, so bought a sausage on a stick and started the walk back to the station. Took quite a long time, but nice to wander through the city for the final time (I won't go back to Kyoto in my last 3 weeks) taking it all in, before getting a final chance to admire the wonderful architecture of the station. We chilled there for a while before saying goodbye to Trish for the last time and leaving Kyoto for the last time. Saaaaad.

Just popped to Osaka as I had some stuff to do the next day, and lay in my capsule thinking how change is crap. But also exciting. But crap. But exciting. But crap.

As it was a bank holiday, used the day just to kit myself out salaryman style in preparation for the job hunting when I come back. Last week with the kids this week... Expect an update about my (wonderful) school soon.

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Nothing to do with this weekend, but finally figured out what the tune was I posted about back in November or something, "Soul Fever" (Remix) by Simbad from France. You have no idea how happy this makes me! And surprisingly the release on Raw Fusion is available on the iTunes store! Cue a good couple of hours of the thing on loop with the bass up. I guess thats what we do for entertainment in Aogaki...