The iPhone has become mega popular in Japan, it seems as though almost everyone has one. Softback, the sole carrier of the iPhone in Japan, has made significant ground on its rivals because of Apple’s swanky device. This is despite (according to my friends) having much worse coverage.

DoCoMo, the number one mobile operator in Japan has decided to hit back with a multi-celebrity led advertising campaign. Who should they get in an attempt to muscle business back from Softbank?

Squeaky clean J-pop starlet (and guilty pleasure), Kaela Kimura.
Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader.
Tom Cruse’s mate off The Last Samurai, Ken Watanabe.

That’s just about the strangest combination of people I’ve every seen try to sell anything. Also they all seem to be saying: “I am <insert name here>’s mobile phone”. It doesn’t really seem to make sense to me.

Anyone ever seen an odder mix of people advertising a product?

Going to gigs in Japan seems to be split into two distinct camps, big concerts and live houses.

Up until fairly recently I only have been to see the big bands, the AC/DCs , X JAPANs, Radioheads and Shiina Ringos of this world. What all these gigs had in common was an insanely large hall, a funky stage and were all seated. When I first arrived at these gigs I was shocked, who wants to sit down to listen to rock music? As it turned out no one did. As soon as the music starts everybody stands up. Some jump up and down a bit, some have a wiggle but everyone basically stays in more or less the same place not really doing too much. The chairs thing really just seems to be there to stop people from moving around.

All the concerts I went to in the big halls I really enjoyed, all had great moments and were worth the (large amount of) money but I felt they were missing something. I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was though.

And then I went to see a few gigs at live houses, with smaller bands such as GO!GO!7188, Oreskaband and Midori. These live houses are basically small stages in little empty halls with not much else in them other than a bar. It’s at these gigs I discovered what the bigger ones were missing, being up close and personal with a band and their fans.

These bands are less well known, the venue is smaller, the fans are generally more hardcore and have invested a lot in the band; the atmosphere is just more electric. The fans really seem to express themselves more. At the large venues people seem to call out things like “I love you” and “You’re amazing” or do the dance moves that are expected of them (The X Jump for example).  While at the small gigs people are moshing, jumping about wildly, crowd surfing, and sweating like hell. So much so that most people carry towels with them, which I find quite cute.

I feel that the bands really get off on this atmosphere too. While the big bands are big bands for a reason and are generally great at what they do, everything is highly polished. With the likes of raising platforms, pyrotechnics and choreographed dancers, you feel everything has been rehearsed and rehearsed, not leaving anything to chance. The smaller bands meanwhile interact with the audience more, they have a chat, give them set list options and you can see them really get a charge from it. Some hang around after the gig and don’t mind people coming up to them to say hello. In the case of Midori, a band whose members I’ve discovered are a bit mental, the lead singer does things like crowd surf, strip to her underwear and push the drummer off his drums only to start playing them really, really badly.

I would have enjoyed that particular carry on a bit more if it wasn’t for the fact I had just lost my watch and been elbowed in the face, twice.

Who am I kidding? I loved it, every last second.

Now, I would try to compare going to see bands in Japan with going to see bands in the UK but honestly, I can’t. I mostly went to festivals while at home and can only remember seeing Metallica and Idelwild at their own gigs. The only thing I even remember about the Idelwild gig is that I enjoyed the support more than them. That point actually brings me to the only comparison I can actually make: I have yet to see anyone play in Japan with a support band, I should stop expecting any to be there.

Anyway, I leave you with some wise words from Mariko Goto, the lead singer of Midori.

Why is it that in the UK music in other languages rarely gets mentioned? A song can be popular the world over but just because it’s in German or something it is doomed to failure in the United Kingdom.

Since I’ve been in Japan, and even beforehand if I’m honest, I have discovered a fair number of great bands and singers and I think it is time to share them with you now.

JUDY AND MARY

Judy and Mary were a pop punk band mostly active in the 90s who had so much energy. The band’s front woman, Yuki has one of those voices, really high and it comes as a bit of a shock after a rocking guitar riff. If you look past that though you soon get used to it and can be treated to some strange and eclectic stuff. Since they disbanded Yuki has gone on to have a very successful solo career, but other then having fabulous videos, I don’t think it has been a patch on her work with JAM.

Go! Go! 7188

This band is a strange one. Apparently they started as a Judy and Mary cover band back in the day but then branched out and started to write their own songs. The thing I find odd about them is that while they have written some brilliant, brilliant songs the rest are just a bit samey and they stick to the same formula religiously. Another thing worth noting is that I once went up to the bassist (the girl on the left) and told her I loved her. She looked scared.

Midori

It’s hard to define Midori’s style of music. My best attempt would be to say it is Jazz played in the style of a death metal band. They seem to be very proficient at their chosen instruments but sometimes tend to ignore this in favour of just hitting them over and over. Their lead singers voice ranges from sugary sweetness to demon from the pits of despair. Probably the only band I know with songs that have cute duets followed by a girl barking like a dog for the whole chorus. Can be a bit hit and miss sometimes but it is wonderful that they are trying to do something so different.

Also whoever decided to do this photo shoot with them deserves a prize.

Shiina Ringo

Have I ever mentioned I like this lady’s music before? Oh yes! Here, here, here, here and here. Go listen to her, she is incredible.
On another note, in this picture her right and left side look like two completely different people! For a woman who is so obsessed with symmetry I find this slightly ironic.

Tokyo Jihen

Ringo’s band. I once read them described as a multi-headed hydra, all pulling in different directions. In a way I agree, all of it’s members are very talented but together there is no leader and the music lacks cohesion and it dilutes  everything they do. Saying that though it’s still Shiina Ringo singing. I think this band really does shine when it plays live, just search “Dynamite Out” on Youtube for some of the most wonderful live music (and the most wonderful hat ever too).

X Japan

X Japan are pretty legendary, they more or less invented Visual-kei music but in all fairness that is more of a look and less about the music. In reality they are just a great speed metal band all of whose members are very, very talented at what they do. Yoshiki, the band’s main creative force, is both an excellent drummer and excellent pianist. It is sometimes shocking to so a man who plays the drums so hard he needs to wear a neck brace suddenly change instruments and play a beautiful piano piece.

the pillows

The pillows were the first Japanese band I really got into. I discovered them through a quite barmy anime called FLCL. Their music is a lot of fun and for a time in the late 90s to the early 00s they could do no wrong and would pump out great album after great album. They are still active now but for perhaps the last 5 years their albums have seemed a little dull and by the numbers, which is a shame.

So that’s a few bands who have been notable in my Japanese music listening life. There are plenty more good’uns out there that I haven’t mentioned and hopefully that I’ve still to discover. Still I hope after this you give the bands I’ve mentioned a bit of a google, it really is worth it.

I really don’t like Akihabara very much, the place is just full of electronic shops, a couple of model shops and that’s about it. Akihabara used to have lots of things go on when they used to close off the main road and have lots of cosplaying singers, dancers and other nerdy stuff there, but events put a stop to all that. I generally only go there if I feel the need for a some gadget or an import video game.

So now the only things of note in Akihabara is the awesome man rapping about contact lenses and Maid Cafés. Maid Cafés are kind of unusual, the seem to cater for the the fantasies of Otaku where basically the waitresses dress in costumes based on French maids and try to act cute or “moe“.

I first went to a maid café over a year ago and found the whole experience a bit uncomfortable. My friend and I ordered overpriced tea and when the maid arrived with it she made a heart shape with her hands and then said something I didn’t understand followed by “Chu, Chu, CHU”. With each chu she thrust her hands towards the cup and encouraged us to do the same. We just looked at each other, slightly frightened.

I found the only enjoyment I got from the whole expirience was watching other peoples reactions to this Chu Thrusting. One guy was really into it, the guy wearing a novelty hat and clutching the Maid Café DVD, he was enthusiastically chu-ing along with the maid. Another guy did the chus and then as the girl turned away he cocked his head in a WTF kind of a way. In the corner was a pair of guys laughing so hard that one almost fell off his chair.

I left that maid café thinking that I would never go to another one again. Later however I heard stories about other maid cafés, they sounded like they offered strange and unique experiences. Such as the one where the maid treats you badly until you turn to leave, then they are suddenly mega subservient, the one where the interior is set up like a train or the one where there is a huge mystery cave in there. By far the most interesting sounding however was Cos Cha.

So I broke my vow and gave Cos Cha a visit. This café offers a few unique products, the most interesting of all is the “Heaven or Hell Jan Ken Mixed Juice”. I ordered this and after a long wait the maid came with a mixer and a rather an interesting tray.

One side contained the heaven part of the arrangement. Melon soda, blueberry jam, caramel and chocolate spread.

The other was the hell side. Wasabi, raw egg and fried oysters.

Then a game commenced, the maid and I played Jan Ken 4 times, if I won I got to choose what to add in the mixer but if I lost the maid chose. In the end I lost 3 times out of 4 so I ended up with a mix of melon soda, blueberry jam, wasabi and fried oysters.

After it was mixed the next challenge was to down it in one.

This proved to be difficult. I was doing fine until I ran into the fried oyster resting at the bottom of the cup. I nearly gagged.

Because I failed to finish the concoction in one go my punishment was to be slapped in the face.

Hard.

Twice.

I can safely say that this was an unique experience and I had quite a laugh doing it despite the horrible taste in my mouth and the big red mark left on my face. Perhaps I will go to another maid café some time but I have had just about enough odd I can take for a good long while.

Don’t believe it when you read that Japan in a technophile’s dream. Free wi-fi hotspots are not available anywhere and at home, internet speeds are not super fast everywhere. Especially not in my house where streaming a clip from youtube and navigating a web page at the same time is considered an event to be celebrated for generations.

Having had to deal with my terrible internet for over a year, I suddenly snapped, decided to cancel it and bought this instead:

This little device is the EMOBILE Pocket Wi-Fi D25HW. It basically uses a 3G signal and broadcasts a wi-fi one so you can use any wireless device anywhere. It can achieve speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps which, unbelievably, is miles better than my home internet ever achieved. It supports up to 5 devices at once and now I can use my iPod Touch to surf the internet when out and about, rather than using my mobile phone and incurring mad charges from my phone company. Also now I don’t have to use the terrible Japanese Twitter mobile site, but that is another story.

The device is small an easily fits in your pocket but I have yet to take it to deepest, darkest Japan. So far it has worked great anywhere I have taken it except, oddly, my bedroom at night (which may or may not able to be classed as deepest, darkest Japan depending on your opinion). So it sits in the living room charging most of the time, it’s battery life is perhaps the only drawback. They claim it lasts about 4 hours of constant use and that seems about fair but if you use it while it is charging it does not completely fill the battery, which can lead you to being caught short.

All in all, this is a great little device that frees me from the shackles of an immobile internet and allows me to procrastinate wherever I want.