Tag Archives: Television crew

The Fat Sumo Halloween Special

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My day begins with me being completely lost in Shinjuku, searching for an event called ‘Shinjuku Magic of Halloween.’ I was under the impression that the event starts with a massive street parade of people dressed in spooky costumes, but nothing of the sort appears to be happening. I give up searching and head back to the train station.

Outside Shinjuku Station, a television crew and a few people dressed up are standing in front of a big stage. With over two hundred entrances to the station, I have inadvertently stumbled upon the event I was here to see in the first place; and by the looks of it, the show is just about to start. Excellent timing as always. The lights come up, white smoke bellows from machines on either side of the stage, and the band comes out, much to the delight of the ghosts, witches, and Iron Man.

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Today, I get the pleasure of seeing Anna Tsuchiya singing live. The former Kamikaze Girls actress-turned-model-turned-singer is simply amazing. I am about six rows from the front of the stage and have a great view. The music is great. The atmosphere is great. The weather is great. Anna sings two songs about Halloween in English before contractually mentioning the video game Psycho Break, the sponsor for the event.

For the third and final song, we get a little bit more from the smoke machines, and Anna sings her third single and first top-ten hit, ‘Rose’.

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After singing, she thanks the crowd, and the band leaves the stage. One minute later, the entire crowd has dispersed, and I am the only one standing at the stage. So much for the Halloween parade. I follow the rest of the crowd into the train station and head back to Minowa.

The day is still warm, so I decide on a mid-afternoon bicycle ride. I cycle over the Sumida River in a straight line for ninety minutes, stopping off at the odd shrine or temple along the way. Eventually, I arrive at the Arakawa River and cross over into Edogawa. I haven’t been here before today, and I can’t find anything to do. I cycle around for a while until the sun begins to set.

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After watching the sun from the bridge, it starts to cool down, so I race back to Asakusa.

Tonight, I have been invited to a party celebrating the one-year anniversary of a sumo restaurant. I have things to do first, though, so I arrive rather late; everyone is already drunk. Blind drunk. A few of my friends from the boat party are here too, and they are struggling to stand. A never-ending supply of glasses filled with a suspicious green liquid seems to be appearing from nowhere, and the familiar drinking chant of, “Yoi yoi yoisho,” makes its rounds. A sumo wrestler consumes a giant bottle of tequila in one go.

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My masseur is here too; he tells me that my shoulders were the hardest he has ever had to massage in his entire career. Or at least I think that’s what he said; his slurs are somewhat difficult to decipher. I join in with the proceedings, enjoying the all-you-can-drink spread put on by the owner. Karaoke ends just as quickly as it starts, and bottles of spirits are passed around. I stay, drinking until I am dizzy, before deciding it is time to go home. As I leave, I am handed a gift bag filled with lovely souvenirs to go with my memories.

Bach No Senritsu Wo Yoru Ni Kiita Sei Desu

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I sign up through Craigslist for an event in March 2015. Bach’s 330th birthday celebration. All day and all night the music of Bach will be played in subways and public spaces. The website specifically states that, ‘Solos, ensembles, flash mobs and Bach marathons are all encouraged.’

Outside, rainy season has started. The unexpected heat wave during my first week here has now stepped aside and the rain has taken over. It will not stop raining now until mid-July. I take a ‘free’ umbrella from the hostel and walk to the boat terminal. Here I take a ¥1580 boat ride down the Sumida River to Odaiba; an artificial island. The journey takes about forty minutes.

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I see The Goddess of Liberty, a to-scale model of the Statue of Liberty. There is a giant Ferris wheel with no riders and a huge arcade with no customers. It is nearly lunch time and there is nobody else here. A Toyota theme park showcases new vehicles and offers driving lessons and ‘games’. A Shell museum offers not seashells but the history of petrol pumps and petroleum. I am very disappointed.

Japan are preparing for the 2020 Olympic games, and Odaiba, with its large areas of open space, is one of the venues that has been selected. I walk long distances in the rain trying to find the giant 1/1 scale statue of a Gundam robot. I never find it and there is nobody around to ask. I eventually give up and take the train back to Tokyo.

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For lunch it’s another Cheese Mushi Cake. This one is from Family Mart and is sadly not as good as the one from Seven Eleven. I also have a natto wrap and a bag of the ‘best crisps’, or so I am told by a member of staff at the hostel.

Natto is fermented soy beans. It is a traditional food of Japan and is usually eaten for breakfast. I once read that most people in Japan eat natto but don’t like it, and that they only eat it for its excellent health benefits. My natto is wrapped in rice and seaweed. The smell is overpowering, and the taste is disappointing.

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I spend the next hour or so in the hostel until I am in the right place at the right time. The hostel manager approaches me. He says a film crew for TV Tokyo are making a documentary, and are looking to film someone that is staying here for a while. I immediately agree and wait anxiously until the film crew are ready.

The director cannot speak any English but she has brought with her a language interpreter. I am asked to go to the reception so they can film the hostel staff recommending a strange place for me to visit. I already know that we are going to a bird cafe, so I have to pretend I don’t know where I am going; it is all very odd. The crew film me talking to Daisuke at reception. He recommends that I visit Asakusa’s Owl & Parakeet Cafe, before making me laugh with his chicken noises. We film the same scene again, without the chicken noises, and he marks the cafe on my map.

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The film crew then follow me through Asakusa. I rely only on the instructions from the hostel; I am not allowed to ask the film crew for help. Daisuke’s directions are pretty good though, and I find the bird cafe with relative ease. Once inside I am asked to stroke the birds, play with the birds, feed the birds, and get bitten by the birds. They ask me some really random questions. I am not sure whether to direct my answers at the interpreter or the director, and I’m never really sure which parts they are filming.

Once we finish the interview, we head back to the hostel. Overall the experience was rather enjoyable and I am pleased to have been given the opportunity to be on television. I have no idea which footage they will use for their program, only that it will air at the end of the month.

At the hostel I meet with a few of the nice people that I have spent time with over the last few days; almost all of them will be leaving in the morning and I will once again be alone. A few hours of whisky and beer later and the Thursday night Jazz Club is in full swing. Five of us decide to head out through the soaking and somewhat flooded streets of Asakusa to get some food. Tempura again for the third time this week; I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of it though.

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After food it’s back to the hostel to catch the end of the Jazz Club washed down with a few cans of Suntory Strong Zero 9%.