Japan Live

Izumi Ookawara Before I started this blog, before the 21st century even began, I used to go to music shows in Tokyo in the late 90'...

Hi, it's been a while. I haven't been going to as many shows as before, but a friend tipped me off to a gig I couldn't miss...

I've been to a few dozen rock clubs in Tokyo, but there are still places I've never heard of, and Billy's Bar Gold Star  in Sh...

Kounotori, which means 'stork' in Japanese (as in the baby-carrying bird...not very poetic in English), is an Osaka-based pop ba...

Hi. I'm still here. But I haven't been going to as many shows. I'm less willing that in the past to spend hours at night ...

When DJ Kamaage and I got into the Que for the Vasallo Crab 75 event "So Many Colours" after a couple of beers at the nearby Shi...

Happy New Year. It's taken me this long to find the time to write about a show on Nov. 25. It was the ninth Munekyun Arpeg...

Tokyo is my true love. Kyoto is a temptress. Walking Kyoto's mundane Japanese city streets, a temple or an old house emerges that g...

It felt like a while since I was last in Shimokitazawa. Walking down the stair of the south exit, for the how-many-hundredth-time?, I w...

I've drifted from the music scene for a bit, for various reasons, going to only a few shows and not having any idea what events are c...

Went to see Love and Hates , the indie breakbeat duo that includes Yuppa of Hazel Nuts Chocolate. The event started at 5 and went until aro...

A band called Plectrum turned fifteen and held their birthday gig. I used to feature them a lot, this power pop group that worships Teenage...

Advantage Lucy played at the Yoyogi Zher The Zoo after a six month absence from the live stage, and since they were opening for the Waffles...

Once in a while there's a show that reminds me why I became so crazy about guitar pop around 2003, almost a decade ago now, when I somet...

The Kurawood in Asakusa is such a nice live house, with a friendly vibe. I recommend it highly for any music-loving visitor to Tokyo, since ...