Last Saturday I went out to Karaoke with a bunch of my fellow trainees. We were all exceedingly happy to get out of the stuffy classroom and into a slightly more stuffy (but much more fun) private Karaoke room! I suppose this needs some kind of explanation, since singing your favorite tunes and drinking is almost a whole different animal over here in Nippon.
Even though I've never participated in it much, if it all back home, I can tell you what Karaoke is like on a Friday night at a bar in New York: People singing terrible country and pop songs you don't want to hear, along with self-proclaimed musical prodigies who just never got their "big break," and those people who heckle you mercilessly because you couldn't hit that solo in B flat. Basically, it sucks, in my honest opinion.
Over here, Karaoke isn't a drink-special-Thursday-night kind of deal; It's big business. There are multiple story buildings in almost any major area with huge neon signs for it: KA-RA-OH-KEH is how they pronounce it, in big, bright, phonetic characters. In these buildings, you rent a room with a TV, a few huge songsbooks with an impressive selection of both Japanese and English songs, and a food and drink menu. Like most red-blooded Westerners, we also paid extra for the all you can drink deal! Granted this was a little pricey due to us hitting the place up during peak hours on a Saturday night, but if you're willing to go earlier or later (and pull an all-nighter/fall asleep in the bar) it's actually really cheap.
So you get your room, and in it there are two mics and some random crap, in this case tambourines. There is also a telephone, and when you pick it up it instantly puts you through to the desk downstairs, where you can order more drinks, or food. Oh, the convenience! I won't get anymore long-winded than that, but I had a great time and seeing everyone sing songs they knew like Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and the like. It was a great time, not to mention the difficulty of trying to do Japanese songs (lyrics all in Japanese remember) and keep up with the pace of the vocals!
It's all in the hips.So that was a fun night, and I was utterly exhausted by the end of it. The usual.
On Sunday, I was able to call my Mother, Father, and Ian over Skype, which was nice. It was my first day off since Monday so I enjoyed it thoroughly. I also found a running/biking path near my apartment, in the opposite direction of the road-with-no-sidewalk that I had been jogging on before. *Wah wah waaaaah* I was in a good mood all day, and I bought an iron and a fan from the department store, which was packed! The lady behind the counter seemed utterly amazed when I spoke to her in Japanese and told her I had come from New York last week. Sugoi yo! (Amazing!) She said.
At this point words like "amazing," "ridiculous" and "compact" are all starting to seem a tad trite though, regardless of what language they are said in.
Later on was the show! It ended up exceeding my expectations, and was well worth it despite me being so tired and feeling out of it (the intense night of Karaoke was still hanging over me, I think).
Okubo Hot Shot. Dungeon Doors seem popular around here...
Me and my friend Chris missed the first band, and in a completely normal move the headliners played 2nd! Why they do this so much in Japan, I am unsure; Perhaps they are trying to curb people who are just "too cool" from showing up fashionably late? Regardless, Defiled completely blew me away. Real technical death metal with insane drumming, real interesting to listen to, and hey, their 14-years-and-going-strong repetoire ain't too shabby either!
Shred!
"Sank you, zat was very fucking metal." - the Singer's exact words.
"Breep orp eep"
They played the longest set of the night, and I talked to a few of them afterward - they were all pretty cool. I told the bass player that they should tour the U.S., since my friends back in New York would love this stuff!
I didn't know any of the other bands, so I was suprised by the wide array of genres on just one bill. We got some Judas-Priest-Power/Hair metal dealy with Hellhound. Despite this not being my normal cup of tea, it was pretty damn entertaining. If you like Dragonforce, you'd probably like these guys.
"WAAARRRIIIAAAAA, METALU METALU WARRRIIIAAAAA"
I'm usually vehemently opposed to the fashionable side of music, but these guys did what they did pretty well!
Next up was Scarlet Garden, and they were some well-played death metal. Despite some serious shredding and solo-action from the other bands' guitarists, these guys killed it:
Shredtastic!
Um...yummy?
Sometimes, I feel lost here. Sometimes, I feel like I could take on the world because I made it here. Mostly, I just take life as it comes at each moment; The more I try to imagine and plan the future out, the more implausible such plans actually seem. Despite some routines like taking the train and walking the same routes, everyday here is unpredictable. Everyday is some kinda adventure!
On Sunday, I was able to call my Mother, Father, and Ian over Skype, which was nice. It was my first day off since Monday so I enjoyed it thoroughly. I also found a running/biking path near my apartment, in the opposite direction of the road-with-no-sidewalk that I had been jogging on before. *Wah wah waaaaah* I was in a good mood all day, and I bought an iron and a fan from the department store, which was packed! The lady behind the counter seemed utterly amazed when I spoke to her in Japanese and told her I had come from New York last week. Sugoi yo! (Amazing!) She said.
At this point words like "amazing," "ridiculous" and "compact" are all starting to seem a tad trite though, regardless of what language they are said in.
Later on was the show! It ended up exceeding my expectations, and was well worth it despite me being so tired and feeling out of it (the intense night of Karaoke was still hanging over me, I think).
Okubo Hot Shot. Dungeon Doors seem popular around here...
Me and my friend Chris missed the first band, and in a completely normal move the headliners played 2nd! Why they do this so much in Japan, I am unsure; Perhaps they are trying to curb people who are just "too cool" from showing up fashionably late? Regardless, Defiled completely blew me away. Real technical death metal with insane drumming, real interesting to listen to, and hey, their 14-years-and-going-strong repetoire ain't too shabby either!
Shred!
"Sank you, zat was very fucking metal." - the Singer's exact words.
"Breep orp eep"
They played the longest set of the night, and I talked to a few of them afterward - they were all pretty cool. I told the bass player that they should tour the U.S., since my friends back in New York would love this stuff!
I didn't know any of the other bands, so I was suprised by the wide array of genres on just one bill. We got some Judas-Priest-Power/Hair metal dealy with Hellhound. Despite this not being my normal cup of tea, it was pretty damn entertaining. If you like Dragonforce, you'd probably like these guys.
"WAAARRRIIIAAAAA, METALU METALU WARRRIIIAAAAA"
I'm usually vehemently opposed to the fashionable side of music, but these guys did what they did pretty well!Next up was Scarlet Garden, and they were some well-played death metal. Despite some serious shredding and solo-action from the other bands' guitarists, these guys killed it:
Shredtastic!And finally, Concrete Experience. Yes, that was their real name. They obviously sweat bands like Pantera and Biohazard a lot, and there is nothing wrong with that! I told them I'd buy a CD next time I saw them, but I was broke that night.
The singer kept looking at me and nodding during the set, maybe because I had a Recon shirt on? Speaking of which, I complimented him on his Eyehategod shirt and we got to talking after the set; He knew Recon, but agreed that the latest album was pretty subpar. I explained that they are my friends and have went through some, er, member changes and junk... "but maybe the next cd will pound bro!"
Anyway, they were fun. What a diverse show!
There was also a guy at the show who insisted on talking to me and my friend there, despite us having nothing at all in common and nothing interesting to talk about. This was a classic case of the guy who just wants free English practice, plain and simple. I was nice in talking to him for a few minutes, but left shortly afterward. I was tired anyway.
On the way out:
Okubo. That big shiny building is a Pachinko Parlor, a form of gambling that is so huge here that these babies exist every mile or two on main roads, if not with greater frequency!
This was a fun weekend, and the last two days of training have been good to me. Oh, and after training on Monday we all had a few drinks and ate some chicken-on-a-stick (for lack of more refined Japanese terminology) along with some kind of amazing beef stew, all at a little shop down a sidestreet from a huge main road in Shinjuku. The food the food the food... Later, I went home and watched a poor-quality telesync rip of Tropic Thunder. Pretty funny overall.
For lunch today, me and several of my co-workers ate at a little Indian place. Indian and Japanese curry are worlds apart after all - and I was even informed by a Scottish member of the staff at my job that curry is the national dish of Scotland! Who knew? Anyway, this place was great and despite a small selection, they offered unlimitied naan (Indian bread) with your bowls of curry. I hadn't eaten Indian Food since I had been in New York, and it made me feel nostalgic for just a moment.
The food, people!
And, with no particular segway, it is time for the now regular weird J-fact of the day: Most restaurants have fake, plastic food displays outside their doors. Yes, stuff like this is actually supposed to attract customers, not send them screaming in the opposite direction:
The singer kept looking at me and nodding during the set, maybe because I had a Recon shirt on? Speaking of which, I complimented him on his Eyehategod shirt and we got to talking after the set; He knew Recon, but agreed that the latest album was pretty subpar. I explained that they are my friends and have went through some, er, member changes and junk... "but maybe the next cd will pound bro!"
Anyway, they were fun. What a diverse show!
There was also a guy at the show who insisted on talking to me and my friend there, despite us having nothing at all in common and nothing interesting to talk about. This was a classic case of the guy who just wants free English practice, plain and simple. I was nice in talking to him for a few minutes, but left shortly afterward. I was tired anyway.
On the way out:
Okubo. That big shiny building is a Pachinko Parlor, a form of gambling that is so huge here that these babies exist every mile or two on main roads, if not with greater frequency!This was a fun weekend, and the last two days of training have been good to me. Oh, and after training on Monday we all had a few drinks and ate some chicken-on-a-stick (for lack of more refined Japanese terminology) along with some kind of amazing beef stew, all at a little shop down a sidestreet from a huge main road in Shinjuku. The food the food the food... Later, I went home and watched a poor-quality telesync rip of Tropic Thunder. Pretty funny overall.
For lunch today, me and several of my co-workers ate at a little Indian place. Indian and Japanese curry are worlds apart after all - and I was even informed by a Scottish member of the staff at my job that curry is the national dish of Scotland! Who knew? Anyway, this place was great and despite a small selection, they offered unlimitied naan (Indian bread) with your bowls of curry. I hadn't eaten Indian Food since I had been in New York, and it made me feel nostalgic for just a moment.
The food, people!
And, with no particular segway, it is time for the now regular weird J-fact of the day: Most restaurants have fake, plastic food displays outside their doors. Yes, stuff like this is actually supposed to attract customers, not send them screaming in the opposite direction:
Um...yummy?Sometimes, I feel lost here. Sometimes, I feel like I could take on the world because I made it here. Mostly, I just take life as it comes at each moment; The more I try to imagine and plan the future out, the more implausible such plans actually seem. Despite some routines like taking the train and walking the same routes, everyday here is unpredictable. Everyday is some kinda adventure!
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