Japan Bound: Any Advice
 

I'm moving to Japan in two weeks. Does anyone have experience travelling/living there? I'm doing the JET Program if anyone did that.

I'll be in Tokyo for three days for orientation. I get nights free and I can ditch a little of the optional sessions. What should I do besides touristy karaoke stuff? I like noise music, second hand stores, weird/bizarre cultural things, etc.

After that I move to Odate which is in the very far north. I'm sad about my placement and wish that I could be closer to Tokyo/Osaka/Kyoto, but I'm excited to see how things turn out. I'll have the ability to travel to neighboring cities/countries also.

ようこそ！

I'm not a JET but I have more or less the same job. I work directly as an ALT for the board of education where I live. It's easy, rewarding (depending on what you put into it) and leaves you with a lot of time to do other things. Are you going to be working in a high school?

If you really want to live in the iin one of the major cities I suggest you put up with Akita for a year and then find a job in a private school in Tokyo or Osaka once you've finished your contract. I think the JET people may try to convince you that you can only work for them on your visa, but that isn't true. Once you're in the country you can work for whoever you please.

I've only been through Akita on a train before, but it looks nice. I spent much of last summer in Aomori-Ken (which I think is just to the north of where you'll be living) and it was incredible. Hirosaki and Aomori (City) are really cool towns and I think are only an hour or two train ride from you respectively. I managed to see Shonen Knife and some decent local bands in Aomori-shi, so there seems to be at least some sort of live music scene there. Also while it's miserably fucking hot and humid in the rest of Japan during July and August, Akita and Aomori get a nice cool breeze off the Sea of Japan. I think you could do much worse than Akita. At least you're not in Ibaraki prefecture or some waste of space like that.

Hat and Bread's guide to Tokyo coming shortly...

Live music
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The Tokyo Gig Guide lists the vast majority of intersting shows happening in Tokyo (in English!).
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/
If you're going to be here on the 19th some friends of mine put on a free monthly noise and etc. show here: http://www.cinemabokan.com/. Attendance is highly encouraged.
Otomo Yoshihide currently has a really cool sound installation in Harajuku. http://www.vimeo.com/1802336. This is also highly recommended. I think it will be there until the end of August. Only 500 yen entry fee. Map here: http://www.n0idea.com/vacant/vacant1f.html
Super Deluxe in Roppongi hosts lots of cool shows http://www.super-deluxe.com/

If you like live jazz these places have my highest recommendations:
http://www.pit-inn.com/sche_e.html
http://www.aketa.org/index.html
http://members.at.infoseek.co.jp/jazz_candy/ (in Chiba but worth the trip)

If you give me specific dates you'll be here I might be able to clue you into some other cool events.

Record Stores
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Modern Music (PSF Store) - http://www.psfmm.com/
Warszawa - http://www.warszawa.jp/ Has a nice cafe attached to it.

Otherwise I recommend wandering around Shimokitazawa, Koenji, Kichijoji and Shinjuku. The Disk Unions in Shinjuku (there are many!) and Kichijoji are particularly cool. Shimokitazawa and Koenji have a lot of nice mom n' pop style shops.

Other Stuff
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If you're into weird outdated second hand electronic whatnots Akihabara is great. Steer clear of the big shops and adventure into dark and dank rundown shops to find the good stuff.

Koenji is good for second hand shops and also has a lot of good restaurants, cafes and live houses. I think Koenji is my favorite neighborhood in Tokyo.

Shimokitazawa is kind of the same as Koenji, but a little too hip for my tastes. Definitely worth a visit though.

Ochanomizu and Jimbocho have a lot of cool used book and instrument stores.

Cultural Weirdness
--------------------
Walk around these places and you will find plenty of it.

Shinjuku - Go out the east exit of the station and walk past the giant TV. This area is known Kabuki-Cho. It is the Mecca of Japanese douche-bags. Just amazing. If you turn right out of the east exit (Kabuki-Cho exit) and walk along the big street (Shinjuku Dori) you will end up in Shinjuku 2-Chome, Tokyo's only gay neighborhood. Worth a look. 　

Yoyogi Park (short walk from harajuku station) is one of the best places to see Tokyo's weirdness on parade. It's really quite incredible and impossible to describe. Every mentally ill person in the city gathers here to do whatever crazy shit it is that they do. If you go on Sunday you can see the infamous Yoyogi greasers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkxm1...eature=related
I think Yoyogi Park gets my highest recommendation for things you have to see in Tokyo.

Shibuya, Akihabara, Harajuku and Ueno are also great places to wander about if you want to see weird Tokyo.

Nakano Broadway in Nakano is worth a visit, it's like the japanese nerd mecca.
There's a small bar in Shibuya called Jazz Paradise, it's about 5-10 mins walk from the station, it's awesome, google it for directions. the guy has all this jazz vinyl behind the bar and you can request stuff.
The vintage ghetto blaster shop in koenji (or kichijoji - i can't remember) is totally worth a visit, as are the record shops on the lower floors of that building (the shop has a website in english, but i can't remember the name, i'm sure it will turn up through google somehow though).

keiji haino plays about three shows a month, so look at the dates on his website.

I'll be in Tokyo on the 26-29th. Thanks hat and bread for all the info--and everyone else.

H&B, if you'd possibly like to meet up, that'd be swell! I'm looking to get a little crazy (but not too crazy since it's orientation). Do you live in Tokyo proper?

avoid flashing your legs while in tokyo, sagawa is still alive.

What's sagawa?

One of my friends is moving to japan, but not for another year or so. I hate him for it, I'd rather he stay here. :(

I'm having crazy second thoughts!

you'll be fine..

and it'll be LOTS of fun... I'd do it if I could..

Best of luck with your move to Japan, hope it goes well for you,wish i had some pearls of wisdom to offer you, if your going to somewhere small prepared to be stared at abit!,i'm not really into noise (yawn!),but if you go to Osaka be sure to pop into Namba Bears, Jim O's there next week.

http://home.att.ne.jp/orange/bears/info.html

ah ,long lost memories there.
it's been so long i was in japan the last time

osaka , i miss you so much!

Word. Let's meet at up at a show somewhere. I don't know of anything happening in particular on those days but something will surely come up.

I live in Chiba, about 30 minutes outside of central Tokyo, but I spend the vast majority of my free time in Tokyo.

Actually it looks like Haino will be playing in Shimokitazawa on the evening of the 26th. Does that tickle your fancy?

Dood bring me something. or send me somethin' like some Pocky or somethin'

Hakone outdoor gallery is amazing if you can squeeze the time to get out there, it is about a two hour train ride from tokyo, then a slowish train ride up the side of a mountain....

Things are going well so far, if anyone is interested. It's weird, scary, and a bit lonely at times, but I can't complain. Work is good, and I have kept fairly busy. Plus, it's sort of nice to be alone for a change.

H&B, sorry I didn't get to meet up with you. It was a whirlwind while I was in Tokyo--jetlag, busy busy, and difficult to find my way around. If you have any further advice on finding out when cool concerts are coming to town, I'd greatly appreciate it. Also, I want to travel and entertain guests--let me know if you'd be interested.

That s fucking bad ass.
Hope you are doing great man. enjoy everything.

If anybody happens to be around Tokyo next Tuesday you should come out to this. It's FREE. Shit, I'll even buy you a beer.
I play first.

God, I wish I could see that. I promise, I'd be there in a heart beat if it could work.

By the way, do you have any ideas on how to find out concerts happening in Japan? I know there aren't any in my neck of the woods, but I'm planning on travelling soon (Sept. 19th for a week or so) and want to see some music. God, I don't even care what it is! It's hard to go from two concerts a week to no concerts for two years.

Thanks!