Tofu Soup for the Soul

I set up this blog to follow my 36 show, two month tour with Kenta Hayashi on the High Knight Tour of Japan 2011.

[anthonysinjapan]

i couldn't figure out how to comment on your last japan post. i bet japanese rain feels incredible. and that slide is really sick.

Haha, yes the rain was beautiful. The slide was so much fun, I went on twice.

[anthonysinjapan]

going home!

Here I am at the airport with Yuka (Kenta's girlfriend) getting ready to get on the plane.

Well here I am with Kenta, saying my last goodbyes for the tour. I'd like to thank him for this invaluable experience, along with Mat Gonzo, and Pat Dwyer for the opportunity and learning experience. After 36 shows, 4 radio shows, camping, hiking, and visiting temples, it's great to finally head back home to all my friends who were very supportive about the tour. Thanks everyone, can't wait to see you! cheers! -anthony 

[anthonysinjapan]

clubSONIC in Iwaki, Fukushima

The last show of the tour was in Iwaki, a city in Fukushima (one of the prefectures affected by the March 11th tsunami) at clubSONIC. It was a great last show because we were joined by many other bands we had grown close with during the tour. The show went all day into the night. We spent some time afterwards shooting for Mat's documentary, and celebrating the end of the tour.

We wore our haori that were given to us in Nara for the show.

The show was very emotional for all of us, for many reasons.

Here's Kenta and I celebrating after the show.

Now it's back to Tokyo to see Mat off, then we're heading to Nagoya so I can catch my flight back home!

[anthonysinjapan]

Gifu Festival & Waterfall in Yaotsu

Today we played at another festival in Gifu.

A crowd of young high schoolers lined up to watch some of the bands (not sure what was with the line, but it was interesting to say the least).

Here I am posing with the Japanese character Kappa.

Here we are playing our acoustic set.

You may or may not be wondering where my glasses went... well they fell in the Pacific Ocean at yesterday's beach festival when I decided to go for a morning swim. So unfortunately, I'm a little blind for the remainder of the week out here.

I made a friend during our picnic after our acoustic set.

Mmmmm sweet potatoes!

Kenta's mom wrapping up lunch... mid-sentence, hahahaha.

Kenta's grandmother, wiping her face (it was quite a hot day outside).

After lunch, Kenta's girlfriend Yuka and I went down a really really large slide permanently installed in the park where the festival was. The view from the top was gorgeous.

There's Yuka, just ahead of me on the slide!

Sadly, it started down-pouring right before our electric set later that day, so we didn't get to play. Although I got to play... in the rain! I had a little fun of my own doing a rain dance while I watched all the vendors rush indoors, as well as everyone else outside.

A fellow American spotted me and decided it would be fun to dance with me in the rain.

When the rain stopped, our new American friend took us to a nearby waterfall! 

Uh-oh, almost bumped into this guy on the bridge!

Here we are just below the fall!

We're supposed to go to Mt. Fuji tomorrow, but there's a serious typhoon amidst Japan, so it's not looking too promising... we'll see!

[anthonysinjapan]

Natural Night 7 Beach Festival, Toyohashi

Last night we played a festival on the beach in Toyohashi, we arrived as the sun was setting.

The bands and vendors received a wood necklace and the guests received seashell necklaces.

One of our Japan favorites, The Dubnationalies, also played that night. Our first show of the tour at Club Reon we played with them, and we've been bumping their CD across Japan ever since.

A few painters also set up shop during the festival.

This was a wallboard that an artist painted on for other's to sign. And no that's not Gaga for Lady Gaga, Gaga is the Japanese artist who designed the t-shirts for our High Knight Tour.

Next the crowd was pushed back to make room for fire dancers!

After the fire dancers, they began to set fireworks off on the beach, near a bonfire that had also been blazing the entire night (into the next morning).

After the fireworks was a tyco drum show, they really got the crowd going!

I even made a friend as we were unloading our equipment from the car!

Here's a shot of the crowd I took from onstage, we met so many amazing people that night! Tomorrow we return to Gifu for another festival!

[anthonysinjapan]

NHK FM Radio Show & Thank You Mart, Nagoya

Tonight we were on NHK FM Radio in Nagoya on their show "Twilight."

The lady who interviewed us was very nice, but like everyone else in the station, seemed a little high strung.

Here she is posing with us just after the interview was conducted.

I told her (and everyone else in the office) not to take everything so seriously all the time, and asked her for a funny picture. By the time we left we had everyone sniffing their colored markers (cause only certain colors stunk really bad... weird) and laughing at our antics.

The exit was lined with beautiful art, this was a ceiling installation next to the escalator that led down to the bottom floor.

This piece near the door also caught my eye.

The night was young and we were ready to find something else to get into, so we decided to visit "Thank You Mart," a shop in Nagoya where everything costs 390 yen or less (about $5 American dollars).

Well Mat kept himself occupied by filming the cashiers as part of his documentary, Kenta and I had other plans...

Here we are modeling Japanese masks, you can get sick in style in Japan!

Next I decided to check out some of the interesting phrases on the hat rack. A few of them read "United States America," "Everything Always Has Beauty," and the one I tried on: "Danger: Poison, A pot of milk is ruined by a drop of poison." LOL

On to the sunglasses rack <3

Whoa man, 3D!

Here I am with one of the employees of the Thank You Mart. She was straightening book bags, but I told her that modeling hats and glasses with me would be more fun. Well Nagoya, I hope a visit from the Kenta Hayashi band was a good reminder not to always take things so seriously. Until next time, oyasumi!

[anthonysinjapan]

Evening Tripper FM Radio Show in Gifu

Tonight we were on a radio show in Gifu, Kenta's hometown. 

This is the building where the station was located.

The station was Radio80 Gifu FM 80.0MHz.

This was the DJ who interviewed us, she was quite a bubbly personality.

Here's Kenta performing his song "The Bell of Notre Dame" from his new CD on the air.

Mat was filming for a documentary he's putting together.

Here's us with the DJ just after the interview. Tomorrow we're back on the road, heading to Kyoto to play at Muse. We played there before in Osaka and it was an amazing venue, so it should be an exciting show! 

[anthonysinjapan]

Final Concert in Tokyo @ Eggman [Shibuya]

We played our last show in Tokyo on the tour, and are now enjoying a much needed few days off. The show was at Eggman in Shibuya and it was a ton of fun, so many friends and fans came out, as well as new faces! There was a photographer, 3 videographers, and a camera in the back of the room, so there should be some great video from this show. Also two different record labels and producers were in the audience that night as well.

I was very happy to find a bunch of sunflowers planted right outside the club in a small garden in the middle of the city.

When we went to eat before the show, I had lunch with the Terminator!

Here are some kids in a window display of a clothing store sporting New Jersey shirts! 

Kenta Hayashi and Anthony Hayashi both sporting their hats and flannels!

Here we are rocking out during the song Lost Souls!

Kenta, sinking his teeth into it once again...

Here's Kenta and Yuka working the merch stand after the show. It was a really fun night, but since Mat and I are both fighting off colds, we're looking forward to these next three days off! Videos from this show and other shows soon to come, stay posted!

[anthonysinjapan]

Back to Tokyo/Radio Interview

After a much needed and well deserved day off, we hit the road today.

We stopped a few times along the way to eat and for bathroom breaks, but we were determined to get to Tokyo on time for our radio interview.

Does the Kenta Hayashi band have SARS? No.. just colds, well at least Mat and I do, Kenta's wearing a mask to prevent himself from getting sick. We're wearing them to keep our throats moist, which actually has helped a lot.

We made it! Although the GPS took us in circles before we finally found the radio station.

A shot of the itinerary, along with a few of the questions we would be asked.

Here's the producer, engineer, and the DJs live in the next room.

Inside the studio we were interviewed and listen to two of Kenta's songs on the air (Kenta translated our questions for us).

Here's a shot of us with the DJs just outside of the booth after the interview was conducted.  Tomorrow we're back at Powers2 which will be streaming live on uStream again! 

[anthonysinjapan]

Acoustic Show at Advantage Bar in Mie

Today we were supposed to play an outdoor festival, but due to the typhoon that we've been having the last few days, that was cancelled, and instead a few of the bands who were supposed to play went over to Advantage Bar in Mie and we had an acoustic show there as well as few DJs. The show was streamed online on uStream on Advantage's channel. We had a lot of fun and the place with packed with both new and familiar faces.

We played to a packed house who really enjoyed the songs. It was an interesting experience because it was the first time we had played many of these songs acoustically so we kind of improvised as we went along. Mat played tabla for the first two tunes and then switched over to a cajon which was a nice change.

Later on in the night Stockman (from Tokyo) played and everyone went nuts. They're a pretty popular funky band from here. After the show we partied into the night, and then ended up crashing at the bar, tomorrow we have another show at Club Reon, then we get to enjoy our first day off in a while. After Club Reon, we're headed back to Tokyo for an FM radio show/interview, another show at Powers2 which will be streamed online on uStream, and then our last show in Tokyo (Shibuya) at Eggman!

[anthonysinjapan]

Show at WOW in Kokura

Tonight we played at this club WOW in Kokura. It was a lot of fun, even though the band is starting to all get sick, whenever we get on stage we tend to break right through anything else that may be happening in our lives to put on a good show.

We played so well the crowd called us back out for an encore. We played Kenta's other band's hit song here in Japan and the crowd went nuts. Afterwards he even sold a few CDs of his other band besides his solo album, which he hasn't been pushing sales much on during this tour.

Here's us with a few fans that we really moved that night. You can tell by the excitement of the one fellow directly over Kenta's head. He said we brought him to tears during one point of the show. Later on that night we went to a bar and I left early, and even though I got lost I was able to find my way back to the venue with the little Japanese I can speak (score!). Tonight we're sleeping in the club, then heading back on the road tomorrow! 

[anthonysinjapan]

Astro Space in Nagasaki

Nagasaki has been one of my favorite cities thus far on the tour. The people, food, architecture, and layout of the city itself are all reasons I couldn't get enough of this place. Tonight we played at the Astro Space, which was hosted by our friend Masato! Here's Tosh and I locking up during one of Kenta's righteous guitar solos. Nagasaki crowds no how to party hard, so we really stepped up our game. Now I know why Kenta brushes his teeth 10 minutes a day... ^_^ Everyone had a blast, as did we. Here's Tosh, me, Masato (the promoter/organizer, of D'Anna Records) Mat, and Kenta just after we played. Looks like Tosh is trying to find some lint from inside my belly button.

[anthonysinjapan]

Johu FM 7.95MHz Radio Show in Nagasaki

Today we were interviewed on a radio show in Nagasaki.

We knew we were on the right track since we'd be sharing the airwaves with Good Charlotte...

...and Ke$ha. (there's a tinge of sarcasm here for you internet viewers) Tonight we play at Tin Pan Alley, then have two more shows in Nagasaki before it's on to the next destination. We're loving it here so far!  

[anthonysinjapan]

The Road to Nagasaki

We had quite a long trip to Nagaski. It was Tosh's first time onto Kyushu as well as Mat and I, Kenta had been there years prior touring with his band Four Minutes to Midnight.

He told us it was a 6 hour drive, but upon entering the address into the GPS realized "oops, it's a 9 hour drive." 

Orderly trees lined the mountains throughout the journey, it was quite the sight.

We stopped roadside for a quick stretch, and I nabbed a few pictures of the surrounding trees.

When we stopped at a rest stop to use the bathrooms and grab a bite to eat, I found this hairy little friend of mine spinning a web.

Back on the road, Tosh relieved Kenta for the remainder of the drive, while I DJed the iPod from the backseat. We listened to the entire Color Spectrum EPs by The Dear Hunter, which I highly recommend for a long road trip. Upon arrival in Nagasaki (my favorite city in Japan to date), my camera died, so unfortunately I have a limited amount of pictures from there, but more updates to follow soon! 

[anthonysinjapan]

AZTiC Canova in Matsue

Tonight we played in Matsue in a venue called AZTiC Canova. It was singer/songwriter's night and our band headlined the show. The audience was full of really nice people, and a young couple we met at the show even let us crash at their apartment for the night after just meeting us.

Tosh opened the show and the audience absolutely loved it. He had the whole crowd dancing (I should mention they're not always the liveliest audience, regardless of how much they enjoy the music, it also depends upon the city).

Before we played, I got to Skype with the lovely Miss Faye (who I know will be less than thrilled I'm posting this picture, sorry Peii), it was very nice to catch up with her. While I hanging out in the lounge area, I received an education of bizarre Japanese pop from the television in front of me, and also shared some sweet potatoes and rice balls that the grandmother we stayed with the night prior made us with some fellow musicians hanging in the lounge.

Here's us playing our electric set with our newest addition to the group (Tosh).

Here's a shot a promoter from a nearby city took of us after the show. Back on the road, we've got a nine hour drive to Nagaski (finally leaving the main land of Japan and heading to the island of Kyushu for a string of dates).

[anthonysinjapan]

Tottori Beach

After our show at AZTiC Laughs (which I unfortunately have no photographs from) we stayed at this really hip grandmother's house nearby. Kenta knew her daughter who now is married and lives in France. The woman greeted us with tons of food and drink, and she had a ton of enlightening stories to tell as well as views on the soul and life itself.  Once we finished listening to her talk we all took showers and went to bed, we woke up to the smell of french toast (awesome!). She cooked us a lot of European dishes the night prior as well, she traveled a lot in her lifetime, and learned how to cook many different dishes (obviously I was in heaven). After we woke up she took us to the beach, which was exciting, because we had not been to any beaches yet in Japan!

After the beach, she took us to a hot spring where we sat for a bit before traveling to the next city to play at the AZTiC Canova.

[anthonysinjapan]

Garoasuka 24 Hour yTV Concert

Today we played an acoustic show as part of a 24 hour concert on yTV live from Nara. The show was in an old temple converted into an art gallery.

This is Fumitoshi, he goes by Tosh for short. He's joined us for the next few weeks of the tour. He's playing rhythm guitar and singing additional harmonies in the band. It's been really great having him so far, he speaks English pretty well, and has a great heart. He's been opening some of the shows we've played as a solo acoustic act. He's got so much soul when he plays live and gets the entire crowd going. We call him "Seedless" because he has all Seedless brand clothing, towels, stickers, etc. Seedless is a San Diego clothing brand that one of Tosh's friends brought out to Japan, so he gets all the apparel real cheap. When we arrived at the gallery, I was greeted by a timid little Japanese woman who was very excited to exercise her English skills. She spoke very timidly but was a very nice woman. She fed us all rice balls, then told me she was an illustrator. She showed me a book (pictured above) which she illustrated. Mostly plants and trees, done in watercolor with a pencil outline. She was telling me all the Japanese names for the plants and trying to say them in English as well. After I looked through the entire book, she signed it for me and let me keep the book. After the show ended, the temple owner pulled out tables and cooked dinner for everyone (he let our band sleep in the temple). While we were eating, this woman serenaded us with beautiful music from her niko (a traditional Chinese instrument, which sounds similar to a violin). After dinner, everyone left except us and the gallery owner. He pulled out these robes (called Haori). He told us they were over 50 years old and worn by the governor of Nara when he went to Geisha houses with the then prime minister of Japan. After we took them off, he told us we could keep them, leaving us speechless. It was such an honor for him to pass these pieces of history onto us. Back to the road!