Hey, so the thing that I hate about a lot of recent hardcore bands is that they almost to a single band, drench their vocals in reverb, making them a unintelligible …
A collection of releases all in one place and serves as a pretty good introduction to the band – starting off with a wail of feedback and off and running with …
I try to every Record Store Day, sift through the absolute dreck of releases and list what you should and shouldn’t buy – of course my tastes lead me to only …
Visiting Hiroshima is a heavy visit. We didn’t have a ton of time to visit as we were staying in Miyajima to celebrate Kate’s birthday, but all that means is we’ll …
Visiting Hiroshima is a heavy visit. We didn’t have a ton of time to visit as we were staying in Miyajima to celebrate Kate’s birthday, but all that means is we’ll have to visit again.
First thing, we only spent half a day, if that in Hiroshima, so we didn’t get to do much more than go to Disk Shop Misery and see the Atomic Dome, then off to Miyajima. It was a must visit leftover from last time, that we never ended up doing. Beside the somewhat confusing getting from Hiroshima Station to downtown (I chose to walk, but next time, take the bus is the correct answer), Hiroshima reminded me of Osaka. Friendly town, interesting stuff to look at and well, Disk Shop Misery, which pound for pound, is one of the best punk focused record stores in the world.
If you’ve gone to the trouble of going to Hiroshima, you’re probably going to see what’s now called the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, or Atomic Dome, but is really the remains of the Hiroshima Prefectural Agricultural Hall. The atomic bomb detonated above the hall, and the vertical structures withstood the pressure of the blast, whereas everything around it was obliterated. In my opinion, it’s best to visit this in the morning, because it’s quite sobering to be in the shadow of the remains of the hall. Even as someone who’s well aware of the perils of war, I’ve never been close to anything resembling war. There’s just no evidence of anything like this in North America (outside of the south which has Civil War remnants throughout), and it struck me as to how divorced we are from the wars that our leaders engage in. Food for thought.
Record Stores
There’s only one worth mentioning, and you should go to it. Disc Shop Misery. This is, in my opinion, one of the best punk focused record shops in the world.
Sign for Disk Shop Misery
In many cases, things that I was looking for in Tokyo (new records and CDs) were here. And of course, Guy from Bloodsucker Records/Gudon/Origin of M was there and one can’t visit without getting a picture!
Your humble author and Guy from Bloodsucker Records/Gudon/Origin of M
Food
So we didn’t have any food in Hiroshima proper and I cannot weigh in on the Hiroshima style against the Osaka style Okonomiyaki. I assume Hiroshima wins, as I wasn’t that impressed with Osaka style – and noodles might just help. You tell me.
Venues
Club Quattro. According to the Internet and where bands tour. Of course those would be the larger shows. Smaller ones? Best bet is to head to Misery and pick up handbills. Here’s a map:
So, yes, I was just here less than a year ago. Please read the previous Kyoto travel blog, then come back here. This time we spent more than a half day …
So, yes, I was just here less than a year ago. Please read the previous Kyoto travel blog, then come back here. This time we spent more than a half day in Kyoto, and while I didn’t come in with a ton of expectations, Kyoto won me over a little more. Now, my experience of Kyoto will be atypical: coming at the beginning of what would later become a worldwide pandemic, made Kyoto somewhat vacant from it’s normal tourist business. Gion, the geisha district was certainly not busy, nor were many of the tourist spots. In fact, it was downright empty at Kinkakuji, otherwise known as the Golden Pavillion. There were moments where we had it all to ourselves it seemed. That was pretty magical. So onto a more nuanced understanding of Kyoto, and Japan.
Kyoto – old and new in contrast
I will say that there’s a ton of cultural things to see in Kyoto – including temples, castles and museums. You literally can’t walk a dozen blocks without seeing a temple which is likely older than your country. And it will all seem a bit overwhelming after a while, and maybe a bit repetitive. Then you’ll leave and wish you were able to do that one more thing – whether it go to Arashiyama and see the bamboo forest, or up to the Monkey Reserve, or over to Fushima Inari to see tori gates… and on it goes. I can’t imaging covering it all in less than a week, and then you might be over it.
Kinkakuji, The Golden Pavilion in late February, 2020
We were also lucky to get to see the Tenjin-san Flea Market at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, which provided an opportunity to dig for records (I did find a few singles that could’ve been resold, and some classic 70’s rock from Japanese artists) and some kaiju. We ended up going to see the temple, but the flea market took up most of the day – from about 11 to 4, and we could’ve easily seen more at the market and temple.
Record Stores
I will say, that Kyoto paid off in spades this time for punk and hardcore; of course, having four days rather than a half will get you more opportunities than usual. Again, maybe the lack of international tourists helped, or I just came at a good time. Last time I saw that I was preceeded by two European stores and at least one US one, so by late March, some of the better records were gone. Here’s where I hit up, and what was worth it.
Super Milk was a few blocks from our hotel, so it was pretty cool to be able to hit up a spot close by. I didn’t do any record shopping the first few days (after all I did go a little overbudget in Tokyo) however, this first spot nearly blew my mind. As normal, I walk in and scan the stuff behind the counter. My heart skips a beat. Nightmare – Give Notice of Nightmare. Now while this isn’t some super rarity – you can score it on Discogs pretty easily, but in the wild, it is a pretty rare sight. So I did what any nerd would do, I went to find the new wave/punk section. After flipping through and getting Adam Ant – Kings of the Wild Frontier (Japanese pressing of course; I’ll pick up variations on the cheap for Kate because she really digs the records and I dig variations) I pull that and walk back to the counter to ask to see Nightmare, and then notice Aburadako’s first on ADK! Well, damn, there goes the budget in 15 minutes. I ask to see both, navigate in broken English and Japanese through the transaction, complete the sale, and the the fellow working there asked, “Do you like Aburadako? I have more” and points to a box in front of me. Damn… if it isn’t the fourth LP (with no OBI, but still) and some Laughin’ Nose on AA (with a promo picture and Pon and Charmy autographs stuck in the sleeve).
Next up was three shops all in the same block, Workshop, 10000t, and Hot Line.
Motorhead bootleg from Montreal 1995 on VHS. Outside 10000t.
I went to 10000t first, and it is a much more indie rock feel, but basically a generalist shop with a fair bit of rock and jazz. With that said I grabbed Forward – Just Go Forward to Death LP (original pressing, yes!) and Gastunk – Mr Gazime 7″. Small shop, worth a browse and well curated. Upstairs from 10000t was Workshop, which was a little bigger with more variety. Again, jazz and rock focused, but had some more stuff on the walls that was pretty interesting: including The Stalin – 虫 – which I had already gotten in the mail, but this was one priced better, and in better shape so I’ll be selling off the one that I had sitting at home for sure. When I went up to the counter the owner (I assume) asked what I was looking for, to which I respond “old punk, hardcore like Gauze, Death Side, etc.” He responds with “Like Swankys?” Dumbfounded I was like “Sure, yeah!” So off we go to the back of the shop, and behind some boxes, he pulls out a box of Swankys, but more importantly, Gai-Extermination flexi. I flip through the Swankys and to be honest, I’m not that into them, but if I can get the Gai cheap enough (it’s not pristine, but many of these aren’t because of the slightly oversized sleeve and flexis aren’t the most durable) but for the equivalent for $40 US, I’ll take it. I was gobsmacked with my luck today.
If you weren’t aware shops in Japan are often stacked up – it’s not uncommon to have a restaurant on the sixth floor, a hair salon on the second. So don’t expect record stores to have prime real estate -they are often hidden and up a few floors. Look up! You’ll never know what you’ll see.
Lastly I went to Hot Line, which seemed like a CD shop, so I was in the mindset to look for CDs, but it was a vinyl shop, well organized, but not North American sized. There were a couple aisles I just couldn’t fit into. Didn’t grab anything too exiting, a Mission of Burma LP and Better than a 1000 2×7″ from their Japanese tour in 1997 or so. It was only $15 or so, so no big deal.
If you think this is an exaggeration of how packed Hot Line was, it’s not. Crate digging at it’s finest.
So after the high of getting a Gai flexi in the wild for a reasonable price, I felt, well, let’s walk back to the hotel, because we’re not that far and I don’t know the bus routes all that well, and you never know what you’ll see. What I didn’t realize is that I walked back to Super Milk within 15 minutes! I did see that there was a record store across the way in the morning when we were walking around the shotengai (covered shopping street). Pocoaloco was my last stop. I did think, well, I can’t end up with anything amazing here? I must’ve drained my goodwill, surely. Now, indie rock stores tend not to do well with me. I don’t have patience with well curated – I want to dig a little. However, I was browsing and my eye caught a interesting looking record and behold it was Hawkwind – Silver Machine 7″ – of course Japanese pressing. Typically I don’t drop coin on Hawkwind records, if they’re $10 – 15 OK, but my favourite song? Ahhh what the hell. When am I ever going to see it again?
Food
Despite being in Kyoto for four days, we didn’t really have a sit down meal more than twice. Once was conveyor belt sushi, Kaitenzushi Chojiro near Shijo-dori close to closing time (sushi was really good just not a lot of selection), and the other was a rather unmemorable teppenyaki – that’s not to say it was bad, it wasn’t just in the wildly memorable meals I’ve had in Japan. We did do a lot of grazing, at a market that we spent close to half a day at, to general Gion touristy stuff. The one thing that we did do fairly often as it was damp and cold a couple of the days we were in Kyoto was drink coffee, and man, there’s some good coffee in Kyoto. Outside of the Latte Art Junkies Roasting Shop 2nd (LatteArtJunkiesRoastingShop 北野天満宮店) which had the best coffee I may have had in Japan. We did find the Umaibo snacks that we were looking for, and ended up with a giant bag of them to snack on throughout the rest of the trip. Here’s the map:
Yes, you’re probably thinking you already read this? Yes, not even a year ago. Although it’s taken me a bit more time to do this one up. If you didn’t read …
Yes, you’re probably thinking you already read this? Yes, not even a year ago. Although it’s taken me a bit more time to do this one up. If you didn’t read that one, well it’s longer than this one. There’s not a ton to add to the previous one, Disk Union in Shinjuku is still great, Record Shop Boy and Record Shop Base are still great as well. While we didn’t do much different this time in Tokyo, we only had four days in Tokyo total, including the half day when we arrived and half day when we left. While we were running around a lot on the last day, I at least got everything done I wanted.
Stores
I didn’t really have enough time to go to record stores, this time around. Which is fine, I did a lot of that last time. I did go to Disk Union Shinjuku (punk market) as well as Record Shop Boy and Record Shop Base – the three must go-to record shops in Tokyo for punk. Where I did end up was Bunken Shoin which is a rock n roll magazine shop that had some pretty cool things especially if you’re looking for old Doll magazines, or perhaps a 1982 tour program from PIL. I ended up picking up an old Me-Her fanzine with The Stalin in it, as well as an early Doll with, again, The Stalin in it. Now the shop does mailorder (click the link above), but some of the more punk focused things are not online (that I saw).
Venues
We didn’t end up getting to see any shows in Tokyo except the Gauze one, which I wrote about already.
Food
We did eat at some of the same places we ate previously, only because we had such a great time the last time. Repeat performances at restaurants are always difficult to live up to, I’ll say that this time it was equally as good. Out of the new places we tried, nothing blew our minds like the 新宿立吉 秋葉原店 (Shinjuku Tatsukichi – a kushiage and kushikatsu place that we went to last time), which had a different seasonal meal. It was delicious, every round was a surprise and was often quite delicious. I know it’s not punk prices, but it’s not unreasonable for a special night. It seems that we always end up at some izakaya and someone ends up being our friends for the night – that happend as well at Kushikatsu Tanaka (立ち呑み串カツ田中 新宿京王フレンテ店) – which was essentially a standing bar with various deep fried foods. Hey, no one said we were super healthy, especially when there’s a wide variety of battered and fried foods! Might I suggest the Lotus root? It’s a vegetable right?
So, I finally got a chance to take a vacation and really I felt obligated to knock off one of the last American cities I hadn’t seen yet; Portland (Los Angeles, …
So, I finally got a chance to take a vacation and really I felt obligated to knock off one of the last American cities I hadn’t seen yet; Portland (Los Angeles, San Diego and Seattle are left). Now with any vacation to visit family, you’re going to have to negotiate time, interests and other bits and bobs. With all that said, Portland is a beautiful city, surrounded by some of the most picturesque nature, but it is absolutely fucked to get around (by car). As usual I’ll be writing about record stores, food and things punks might want to know about. The one thing I missed was the Japanese gardens, but since we’re heading back to Japan again next year, I’ll have to make do with a garden in Japan.
This was a different trip for us as we typically are on our own and beholden to no one else. This time we did have Kate’s brother and sister-in-law to hang out with, who did show us some of the lesser known options in Portland – which didn’t really differ from what the Internet, guidebooks and YouTube videos told us – there’s lots of great options for food and beer, some great record stores for punk and hardcore, and some great short, or long, commutes to nature. Oh yeah, everyone telling you it rains all the time was true for our visit – except for the day we arrived and the day we left. Maybe we brought the rain? Sorry, Portland. Here’s my take (and a map).
Record Stores
So there’s a ton of record stores, some good, some overpriced, some reasonable. I was lucky enough to hit up five different stores in my time in Portland. Landfill Rescue Unit, Exiled, Jackpot, Black Water and Tomorrow Records. Each had their own niche and were all worth visiting for punk and hardcore – except Tomorrow which was overpriced for almost all the stuff I was looking for. Of note was a “first pressing” of Damaged for $150 on the wall. Other records were priced 20-40% over where they should’ve been to be moving. I did spy some relatively obscure reggae, but wasn’t really motivated to buy anything at those price points. And yes, I know I missed Green Noise, 2nd Avenue and Crossroads. Next time!
Landfill Rescue Unit was probably the closest to my tastes, having a huge selection of punk and hardcore 7″ EPs to dig through – all at reasonable prices. There’s two kinds of record stores, ones that are priced to move stock and constantly turn over stuff, and ones that are happy to sell at a more inflated price, and rely on profit to make their ends meet. Landfill is definitely one of the first types. Not to say they didn’t have anything – I bought the most of my trip here – including a Really Red “New Strings for Old Puppets” as well as a grip of Japanese hardcore. Well worth it.
Landfill Rescue Unit – the best (for me) record store in Portland.
I hit Exiled Records next as it’s a short drive – and I will say that Hawthorne St., where Exiled is, has a cool vibe (probably due to the extensive gentrification…) Exiled was set back from the street in a strip mall so it’s easy to miss, tucked away in the corner. Exiled had some deep cuts – but not as much stock as Landfill – worthwhile for a visit. We ended up picking up a Sister Double Happiness 7″, Colin Newman (Wire) solo LP and The Ex and Tom Cora LP.
Exiled Records. Exiled into the corner of a strip mall on Hawthorne St. in Portland.
That evening we hit up Jackpot Records to pick up some re-issues (Poison Idea and Wipers). With some more digging I’m sure there would’ve been more to grab, but the used-to-new ratio was low on the used side, which is what I’m usually digging for. Jackpot also has the Portland Record guide brochure, which gives you a sense of how spread out the city is, so if you hit it first you can grab that and probably have a killer time just browsing. Also, the brochure is not entirely comprehensive.
Jackpot Records, You can’t lose (anything but money).
Black Water Records was the final must-hit for me (of course, if you’re not as laser focused on punk and hardcore as I am, your mileage may vary). It was well worth the visit as it paid off a bunch in having a few records that I had been looking for for a while – in particular a Zoe 7″ and The Minds 7″ that I thought might be more plentiful in the Pacific Northwest.
Also, Powell’s bookstore is fucking overrated. Great selection online, but in their downtown store, I was underwhelmed with the selections. Actually, I think the branch on Hawthorne was better…
Venues
So I didn’t see any shows in Portland while I was there, but I imagine Black Water Bar and the Twilight Bar would be your best bets if you didn’t know anything else. However, this being the Internet, you should probably check out the PDX show guide: https://pc-pdx.com/show-guide/ – it’ll give you a better idea of who might be playing where when you are there.
Food/Restaurants
So Portland is well known for the food trucks and we ate really well without breaking the bank. Sizzle Pizza had a good metal quotient (and the pizza was actually good New York style slices). Pok Pok was excellent thai food that was fairly priced for a highly regarded chef. Cascade Brewery had a great selection of sour beers (holy shit, they were too many to choose from) and each of them were great tasting. Salt and Straw ice cream was good enough to visit twice. Almost every restaurant we went to had at least one vegetarian option, and often went beyond to have several vegetarian and vegan options. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, you shouldn’t have a problem eating in Portland.
So in short, Portland was as good as people had described? My determinant is usually answering the question “would I live here?” and the answer is, well, maybe. Driving is a really annoying feature in Portland, it was bad enough for me to say no – but I didn’t take public transportation, so maybe it’s better? Judging from how many buses and trams I saw, I’d say it’s not likely. However the beer alone was worth it, so I might. I think I’d have to go back again to answer that question definitively.
Unlike the other entries from Japan, this one will be a bit shorter as Kyoto was a place that we wanted to visit more, but ended up spending half a day …
Unlike the other entries from Japan, this one will be a bit shorter as Kyoto was a place that we wanted to visit more, but ended up spending half a day in. It was an awesome half a day, but this is by no means authoritative. Of course, that won’t stop me from talking about it as if I know something more than the sliver I do actually know.
Kyoto, where nothing was bombed during the Second World War, so buildings can have a patina that doesn’t happen elsewhere.
My conceptions of what Kyoto was came from all of the multiple YouTube videos, travel shows, articles, and guide books. What I didn’t see anywhere in those sources were the more modern, and equally interesting stuff to look at in Kyoto rather than the big temples, ancient shrines, beautiful vistas, undeniable history and uniquely Japanese approach to life. While history is important, it’s not often what I’m looking for in a city. I’m looking for a record store, a music scene and good food. These are the signposts for a good city, in my opinion. It doesn’t necessarily have to be punk, but that is an excellent bonus.
If you’re looking for a broader sense of what I perceived Japan to be, check out the General Admission Traveller article on Tokyo, which had more general impressions of Japan and some more in-depth tips for traveling in Japan.
Record Stores
Looking online and at the Osaka Record Store pamphlet (Kyoto is a mere 30 minutes by Shinkansen or Bullet Train) there’s no punk specific record store like Punk and Destroy. However there’s a few that sell punk stuff. I’m more interested in used, and while our trip to Kyoto was not thoroughly planned, I did do a map. The map was incomplete at the time, and is likely to still be underwhelming. Feel free to copy it and add to it yourself.
As you can see, Kyoto is spread out if you’re on foot. The subway is not as frequent as Tokyo or Osaka, but does the job. We ended up hanging around Nikishi Market which isn’t far from the main station. Luckily, most of the record stores are clumped together (although like all record stores in Japan, are not often easy to find and are likely on the second or third floors). The two record stores we hit was Art Rock No. 1 and Happy Jack, which seemed to be just around the corner from one another. Neither were punk focused, but yielded some records.
First, Art Rock No. 1, which you can imagine was well stocked with prog rock, psyche, modern indie rock and some punk. I ended up grabbing a Friction LP, and pondered getting High Rise, but ended up going without. Again, like the record stores in Tokyo, not situated at street level, but handy personal-sized elevator to the third floor ejects you into a lobby with the record store on the right. Stereotypical record store almost, which may have been eerily like home to me in some way, down to the jazz playing while you browse. Anyways, it was neat to travel thousands of miles from home, but still have that familiar record store feeling. There’s something about super narrow aisles, records stacked in boxes two to three high that is comforting. Maybe a regretful decision not to buy the High Rise off the wall.
Happy Jack Records, focusing on 60’s Rock, Mod, Psyche
Next up was Happy Jack, which despite some thoughts it might be a dead end, it actually turned up some early Kyoto related flexis that were somewhat obscure. Not particularly cheap, but decent noisy punk. A decent shop with a good selection of stuff if you weren’t laser focused on punk and hardcore particularly – I saw a lot of two-tone ska, lots of Mod related 60’s stuff and a whole whack of releases that were not in my zone of understanding. Also quite a few of the Mod revival releases from the early 80’s (Purple Hearts and the like). I’m sure if I dug I could’ve found more. Alas that was it for records for us. Regretfully, I didn’t get to 10000t, which seems to be the most punk focused shop. Bootsy’s and Jet Set (of which there’s a branch in Tokyo as well) seemed like good spots to hit if you have more than six or so hours to hit up spots.
Venues
I don’t know shit about venues in Kyoto other than what I’ve read on the internet – Socrates is the place to be. I didn’t see any shows there, obviously.
Food
Well, we didn’t eat a full meal in Kyoto, but we did eat some stuff (sashimi, sliced fish and karaage, deep fried chicken) at Nikishi Market, and an apple and chocolate tart at a bakery off on one of the side streets. One of the things that we noticed almost immediately after getting to Japan was that it was incredibly easy to eat in a grazing pattern. Stop have a little snack, or bowl of ramen, then move on, eat a pastry at a cafe, and move on. Admittedly we ate the apple and chocolate tart later, and while North American tastes tend to the sweeter (or even too sweet), the apples were slightly sweet and tart; the chocolate bitter. In no way shape or form was it sweet like things are in Canada and the United States. Like elsewhere in Japan, we ate well and didn’t pay ridiculous prices. It was good.
Osaka is often referred to as Japan’s kitchen, and while I think that might be a bit overstated, the food, and hospitality in Osaka was definitely different than in Tokyo. Not …
Osaka is often referred to as Japan’s kitchen, and while I think that might be a bit overstated, the food, and hospitality in Osaka was definitely different than in Tokyo. Not necessarily better, but different
Osaka is also Japan’s unabashed no bullshit zone. While still maintaining a friendliness that permeates everyone I interacted with in Japan, it’s also a good way to get closer to how an Osakan feels about you quicker. It feels more real than Tokyo, which has a sterility, a formality, a veneer that needs to be peeled back to get closer to the reality. Osaka also doesn’t have the same perpetual rebirth that Tokyo has, where demolition and construction happens in a matter of weeks. You actually can see a patina on some of the buildings. That’s the sort of thing I appreciate in a city. That’s not to say that Osaka is run down by any means, it is just as neon filled, outlandishly flashy as Tokyo is, but there’s a slightly gritty edge.
Record Stores
For punk I really only hit up Punk and Destroy, Time Bomb and Disk Union. I should’ve gone to King Kong, and I will next time. Overall I liked shopping in Osaka better than Tokyo; the higher end items were not quite as expensive outside of a few rarities, which were competitively priced. The quality of a shop like Punk and Destroy is worth a visit alone, so if you have a day and a JR rail pass it’s worth your time. Where else are you likely to see the first Lip Cream 7″ and Death Side “Wasted Dream” on the wall? Well, you won’t see Death Side on the wall there anymore… While it’s a tiny, tiny space, in an underground cavern of dank bars (more on those later), and ill lit corridors, it’s perfect as a record store. Great selection, decent prices, a lot ot choose from, and despite his statement that his English was not good, the person who served me was absolutely able to hold a conversation in English (we talked about top 5 hardcore punk LPs — Death Side “Wasted Dream” is in that with Gauze, Black Flag, Poison Idea and Jerry’s Kids). Most of the punk (and punk related) record stores are in the Sinsaibashi district and are easy walking from Sinsaibashi station. Here’s a short video I took walking down the stairs to Punk and Destroy as it’s not clearly signed and hopefully will save you about 20 minutes of looking:
As I said, Punk and Destroy is definitely worth a visit for punk and hardcore, Time Bomb for indie rock and punk (as well as some amazing KBD style punk, and a smattering of hardcore). Frankly after Punk and Destroy, I felt a bit like I didn’t need to go anywhere else.
I should’ve gone to King Kong, and Rockers Island (who specialize in reggae) next door, and Revenge Records (who deal more in black metal, punk and grind) and Flake Records (who deal in emo and indie rock). Oh here’s a map with record stores, some food I ate at or was recommended by locals and some attractions:
So you can see, outside of a few outliers, that there’s a few record stores clumped within a ten to fifteen minute walk of each other. Just go to Punk and Destroy first — especially if you’re looking for crustier or classic Japanese hardcore. Time Bomb, is the classic has a smattering of everything indie record store and shouldn’t be underestimated; it likely will have something you want. Just not necessarily everything you want, or at the price you want to pay. However, you might find it here, if it’s outside the narrow definition that Punk and Destroy has. I also had some good luck finding some The Stalin CDs at the Book Off near Sinsaibashi station. Book Off’s aren’t always well stocked, and the vinyl, if they have it at all is very hit or miss.
I also found Disk Union near the Umeda/Osaka station to be decent — I saw a copy of an Order CD on East/West that was horror priced (around ¥9500, which is probably about right seeing as I’ve never seen it, but seemed ridiculous to me to spend that much on a CD). Disk Union, is always, always worth a visit even if it’s not punk focused.
Venues/Bars
In Osaka I didn’t actually get to any shows, despite there being one on the Wednesday night we were there. However, over the years I’ve seen that Namba Bears, Hokage, Fandango and King Cobra all have punk shows of some (ill?) repute. For drinks, and no shows, Bar Konton is your best bet, and it’s located across the hall from Punk and Destroy. Have I mentioned that Punk and Destroy was awesome?
Food
I wrote a little about finding vegan and vegetarian restaurants in General Admission Traveller: Tokyo. I’m not those things, so I will say the local specialties are okonomoyaki (think a savoury layered thin pancake or crepe, with cabbage, pork, bonito flakes, mayonaise and thick brown sauce, fried and cut like a pizza) and takoyaki (a piece of octopus tentacle in a deep fried ball). All I can say (and this is true everywhere, not just Osaka) is eat away from the tourist spots, even a street or two over is infinitely better food. As I wrote in the Tokyo entry, food is absurdly good even at the inexpensive local or national Japanese chains.
13 hour flight behind us, ready to sink into the neon (after finding our hotel and a good night’s sleep). Culture shock not really hitting full-on yet. Where are the record …
13 hour flight behind us, ready to sink into the neon (after finding our hotel and a good night’s sleep). Culture shock not really hitting full-on yet. Where are the record shops? What to do?
The answer is probably more than we were able to muster up in our total of six full days in Tokyo. Firstly, this is from a tourists perspective; I’m not going to get everything correct, or understand the nuance of some of the things that happened. From every possible angle, I’m not part of the Tokyo scene — I just visited and was lucky enough to know a couple people who introduced us to a few more folks. For that, I’m eternally grateful, because it made this trip much more special; to be able to speak to some folks and basically experience Tokyo a little closer to someone who lives there.
A few, small, notes about what people say on the Internet. I read a lot about Japan before going. That information was good to have, and helped navigate a lot of cultural things that I might not have known (like in Tokyo, stand on the left of escalators). Some of the things I experienced were understated in comparison of what people told me to expect, but other than that Tokyo was everything a major metropolis is. Full of tourists, some gracious and humble, some overbearing and downright rude. To the point you’d want to scream at the rude ones, “Just fucking shut up on the subway!” But that would be rude. Two specific things that I found not to be entirely true. One, on subways/trains, no one talks. I found that on JR Line trains, almost no one spoke. However, on the Tokyo Metro, many times young people were laughing, giggling and chatting up a storm. Maybe it’s just a cultural difference between a train and a subway? Two, people are hyper-polite. While an element of this is true, it’s not like everyone is saying “sumimasen” constantly (well, I was… but that’s my Canadian side showing). What I think people were experiencing is the formality of a typical Japanese interaction — lots of subtle cues that maybe westerners don’t understand — I certainly wasn’t able to grasp the nuance of everything but bumbled through just fine (although I wouldn’t know if I didn’t). Basically, if you bring some rudimentary Japanese phrases, and a bucket of humility, you’ll be fine. When in doubt, use the most formal version of the words you do know.
This guide is based on some minimal information and tainted by my experiences. Your mileage may vary. To me, punks are likely to want to know where to buy records, where to go to shows and where to eat, so that’s what I’m going to share.
RECORD STORES
In Tokyo alone, I went to NAT Records, RECOfan, Record Shop Boy, Record Shop Base and six different Disk Unions (three in Shinjuku, one in Ikebukuro, one in Shibuya and one in Ochanomizu). I bought a few records. Out of all of the ones I visited, Disk Union Shibuya (5F Punk), Disk Union Shinjuku (7F Punk Market) and Record Shop Base were the broadest, but if you were going more metallic, Record Shop Boy was pretty damn good too. Shinjuku is a bit of a nightmare to get around as it’s super easy to exit the wrong way from the station and get turned around. It took about three or four trips to the area to really “get” it. Even then, it was a bit of trouble. As you may or may not know, getting around Tokyo is difficult as streets aren’t always named, addresses are in blocks, and dependent on the order buildings were built. So you could have building #4 and building #12 next to each other. Thankfully as a modern traveller, I had Internet access and Google Maps rarely steered me wrong (remember to give it a minute to locate you because, lets face it, location based over WiFi is a bit dodgy). I have a rule that when on vacation try to buy stuff that is local, and my collection of Japanese hardcore had so many holes that I didn’t have a problem sticking too close to that rule. I did break it for a few purchases (Joy Division — Unknown Pleasures LP for Kate and for myself Crossed Out/Man Is the Bastard split 7″ EP, second pressing, and a Finnish split 10″ EP), but other than those three records in Tokyo, I bought Japanese records. Tokyo, like London and New York, is overall pretty picked over, so you’re unlikely to grab something unless you’re in the right place at the right time. I did see Black Flag — Nervous Breakdown 7″ (brick sleeve) in a Disk Union (Shinjuku, Punk Market to be specific). Outside of that, none of the big ticket Japanese records (Death Side, Gauze, early ADK Records, The Stalin, early Dogma Records, early Lip Cream, GISM, etc.) were on display. In fact, I did go back to Disk Union and someone had bought the Nervous Breakdown within a week of it going on the wall. Turnover, is clearly high. With that said, I did find some gems (Lip Cream — Kill Ugly Pop LP, Ressurection flexi, Warhead’s two early 7″ EPs) so I’m not disparaging Tokyo as a record shopping destination. Unlike London and New York — you can actually find things that are reasonable to purchase!
As you may or may not know Tokyo is made up of several wards. It’s a huge city, and for punks with a singular focus (on punk and hardcore) you’re going to be interested in the following areas at least: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Nakano and Koenji.
In Shinjuku you have the seven floor Disk Union, with “Punk Market” on the seventh floor. You also have NAT Records and another, separate Disk Union specializing in Metal (which of course has some, pardon the pun, crossover). There’s also a Tower Records and a HMV as well, both I didn’t visit. Oh yeah, if you’re not vinyl specific, there’s also a Book Off in Shinjuku where you might pick something up, but be prepared to search as not all Book Off’s sell CDs, and not all have handy “punk” sections — however Book Off definitely have discount pricing.
In Shibuya you have another Disk Union (the fifth floor specializing in punk and hardcore), RECOfan, Nerds and Face Records (there’s also a Tower and an HMV, which might have something as well). It’s likely that you’ll pass through those districts even if you aren’t staying in them. In hindsight, Shinjuku was a good place to stay, as it provided easy train access to all four of the areas I was interested in.
The other two districts; Nakano and Koenji were, in my opinion better options. Less crowded, a little more sedate, and probably where I’d stay (if possible) next time. Nakano is two stops from Shinjuku on the JR Chuo line, and while I didn’t end up at any record stores in Nakano, the ones that were suggested to me were Flower, Rare and of course, Disk Union.
One stops further out, was Koenji with Record Shop Base, Record Shop Boy and the unfortunately named Gas Chamber Records. I never did find Gas Chamber, but Base and Boy are must visits.
Neither of them have ground floor entrances, and Boy had no appreciable signage at the ground level, so make sure you do a google maps walkthrough before you actually venture out and get there. In addition there’s another Los Apson and Enban — who both don’t have a punk focus, but might have some things that interest punks.
VENUES & BARS
From the outside, punk shows typically happen in bars, and those bars are mostly in the performance spaces. However, in Japan it’s not uncommon to have the bar above, or below, where the show actually happens. If your preference is to get tanked at a show, make sure you at least keep enough wits about you to stumble down the stairs between sets. Here’s another thing (small sample though, but confirmed through a lot of conversation with other tourists and expats) shows run on time. If the door time is 7 PM, then be there no later than 7:30 if you want to catch the first band. Most shows run earlier than in North America (where it’s not uncommon to have the headlining band take stage at midnight or later), to allow for people to catch at least the last train home. If set times are posted, bands will be playing very close to those set times. That stereotype of punctuality was reinforced in my experience. And frankly, I’m old; I don’t really care for punk rock time, nor do I want to be up at 2 AM anymore. As you might imagine, rents are high everywhere in Tokyo, and prices for shows are high as well. Most shows I saw started at ¥2500 and upwards (Star Club, if you’re interested in seeing them was around ¥6000). That door price will get you one drink as well, but make sure you budget accordingly.
In Shinjuku, there’s at least five or six venues, or live houses, that could hold punk and hardcore shows; the two largest are Earthdom (slightly north of Shinjuku near Shin-Okubo station) and Shinjuku Antiknock — but there’s also Shinjuku Loft, Zone-B and Wall. All of them are on some kind of transit line, or within 10–15 minute walks from there. I should mention also that there’s a heavy metal themed bar in Shinjuku called G.O.D.S. that has some punk elements (thrash fanatics will dig the jukebox selection for sure) and there’s of course, a punk bar called H.O.D. (Hair of the Dog). I didn’t get to it, but it came recommended. Don’t expect day drinking, most bars open at around 5 PM or so. In Shibuya, there’s Club Quattro which tends to have larger bands (The Melvins sort of size). In Nakano, there’s Moonstep (there’s other locations with Moonstep as well, but Nakano tends to have more punk/hardcore acts). Lastly, Koenji has Sound Studio DOM and 20,000 Den-atsu (which is sort of between Nakano and Koenji JR stations).
Best bet? Try to find out a band that you want to see, figure out how frequently they play, and guess when their next gig will be (and book tickets way in advance if you’re not a baller). Or just go and see whatever’s happening. Chances are it’ll be better than what you see at home, because it’s happening somewhere else! If you’re looking for strategies on seeing particular bands, best bet is to follow them on Facebook, or their homepage if they have one, and bookmark the clubs I listed above and check their schedule pages for the dates you’re in Tokyo.
FOOD
Undoubtedly, your food choices will be regulated by whatever diet you attend to. Vegans, as you probably are already aware, will have trouble customizing food in Japan — however I did pass by several restaurants that were vegan in Shinjuku. The down side is that they were western style. One thing is you can look for restaurants that have a listing on happycow.net (and dang, there’s 432 when I filter vegan on Shinjuku Tokyo) so the vegan in Tokyo thing is probably been overstated a bit. At worst, you could find Buddhist temples that serve meals, or eat Onigiri from 7-Eleven all the time. I’m not vegan nor vegetarian, and didn’t come from California where sushi is closer to Japanese style so I was frankly amazed with the food that I was eating. For the most part, we didn’t eat three meals, but several smaller meals throughout the day. As tourists, we were free to stop and eat some conveyor belt sushi anytime we wanted, or drop in for a quick tempura or udon set, and head off to the next thing to see. Overall, the food was excellent, and not as expensive as one would have you believe. Outside of a swankier kushikatsu meal and a fancier tempura meal with sake, I don’ t think we spent more that ¥3000 for the two of us on a meal. Drinking as well was much cheaper than Canada (although that’s true throughout most of the world). Beer was usually around ¥300 — ¥400 for draft, and less if you were buying in a convenience store or vending machine. Mixed drinks were usually around ¥400 to ¥800, depending on what you were having. The best thing I had was a Lime Sour, which was some sort of Sochu spirit with lime, and it was sour, but easy drinking. Very, very easy drinking. One thing that definitely saved us money was the no tipping — at bars or in restaurants.
I won’t go into specific spots, because as long as it’s not geared towards tourists (especially restaurants in a touristy area of town) you will be fine. If you’re trying to stay on budget, we found that convenience store pastries and coffee was sufficient for breakfast. Despite my personal affinity for 7-Eleven, Lawson was the best out of the major chains. Then you can do an inexpensive, but good meal at a more reputable restaurant, which might run you ¥1600. Then do conveyor belt sushi, which won’t cost a lot unless you eat the sea of Japan’s worth of sushi. We would follow that model and on some days would only spend ¥3500 on meals. We probably could have even spent less than that, but it’s a vacation, so let’s live a little, no?
Admittedly, this wasn’t a personal vacation type trip; there was some of, well OK a lot of, the day job’s conference and post-conference social events. Including travel, I only had about …
Admittedly, this wasn’t a personal vacation type trip; there was some of, well OK a lot of, the day job’s conference and post-conference social events. Including travel, I only had about 18 or so hours in Houston to do what I wanted. So this will be brief, and not as comprehensive as you’d hope. That’s OK because what I did hit was quite good.
My flight had a stopover at Newark, and the CBGB’s overpriced emporium of shit food is in whatever terminal I was in. No, I didn’t eat there or buy a record in the shop next to it. Or a record player. Who the fuck does that? Buy a big awkward thing and lug it carry-on to the plane?
As I said on Twitter, What the fuck is this shit? CBGB’s very clean, upscale, bullshit on sale at Newark Airport.
Art in Houston is a thing. All throughout the downtown, which is where I was, there was art installations, large murals, and just generally interesting things to look at.
Large mural on Main Street, Houston.
Food. The food in Houston, was very good. Yes, I did hit up Whataburger, as I’m a huge fan of the regional chain, and having lived in Texas for four years in the mid-to-late 90’s, it was a taste of nostalgia and something I do whenever I’m back in Texas. I had tacos (at Biggio’s of all places, because that’s where some conference people wanted to go and it was the night we got in, and they were really excellent) and enchilladas that were awesome at Pappasito’s, which wasn’t surprising because most tex-mex places do those well.
Music. The sense that I got over my four days in Houston (and month of searching beforehand) was that punk in Houston was a bit on the decline or wane. There was a The Body show while I was there (unfortunately, it was a bit early starting on a Tuesday night, and I got into the hotel at 9, so was too late to figure out how to get there to probably miss the bands). Houston is large, and not always easy to get around. Public transit is pretty cheap, but limited. There was also another show on Friday night, but I was in flight back home by then. Now I get that Austin is only a couple hours away, and bands might take a look at Texas and think, hmm, let’s go to Austin, El Paso, then west and not take a day in Houston. I think you’re probably missing out.
Vinal Edge, Houston, TX
There’s a few record stores of interest, and unfortunately, I could only hit one (two if you count Half Price Books — which netted a couple of decent punk books for cheap — the records were mostly chud and reissues). That one record store is Vinal Edge (239, West 19th, Houston). Nestled on West 19th in the Heights, it’s a store that reminds me of Wax Trax Records (RIP) in Chicago, where it covers a lot of different genres, but all of them well stocked and carrying the absolute best of the bunch.
Vinal Edge. Punk Section.
While it wasn’t super impressive with the rarities on the wall, it did have some early Flipper and 13th Floor Elevators. Just to get a sense of it, they are the only record store in recent memory to have Coltrane in stock in the Jazz section, Einsturzende Neubauten in the Industrial section (which was more than 15 records!) and The Rita tapes behind the counter. That’s quite a variety. I bought Tetsu Arrey’s Core 7″, Persevere “Instant Accident” 7″, Cola Freaks “Farvel” 7″ and Ogreish Organism “4th Pill” 7″ for $31. I read somewhere that this place was overpriced, and maybe for the US it was, but nothing they had in stock seemed out of line. Like $32 for a new record isn’t that far off the price.
Big Boys Flyer, unknown year.
I have been to the venerable Sound Exchange in 1998, the last time I was in Houston, so I gave it a pass. I really wanted to get to Deep End, but of course, it’s on the other side of Houston, and everyone I asked about Houston said Vinal Edge was the best. They weren’t wrong.
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