Current TV Fire Twirler Promo Vid

This is a promo vid I did for Current TV a few months back with footage from the Flaming Aussie set to traditional Japanese music.

http://current.com/items/77167652_flame_twirling_promo

Night Out with English Teachers and Japanese Staff in Tokyo

The following vid is a little slice of life of a group of English Teachers in Tokyo living it up with some of the Japanese staff. First it’s a Chinese Restaurant in Roppongi (Tokyo’s little den of sin) then it’s off to karaoke where alcohol fuels some crazy antics that come morning most wish to forget.
Anyone that has lived or spent time in Tokyo can probably relate.

 

Octopus Garden sung by co-worker and daughter

Here’s a vid I shot last month at a live show in Tokyo of a co-worker who plays guitar and does a lot of old songs from the Beatles, Neil Young, the Eagles, etc… Here he did a duet with his daughter singing Ringo Starr’s Octopus Garden. I added some captions with interesting factiods of the plucky octopus.

Japanese Night Festival Lights Up Cold Sky

Chichibu Night Festival Lights Up the Sky
Gigantic floats, chanting pullers and spectacular fireworks draw thousands of revelers

A decorative float burdened with singers makes it way down the streets of Chichibu, two hours northwest of Tokyo.

The Chichibu Yo-Matsuri (Night Festival), dating back to the 18th century, is one of the three most famous night festivals in Japan. The small city of Chichibu lies two hours northwest of Tokyo in the mountainous regions of Chichibu National Park. Despite the cold, large crowds descend upon the city every year in early December to see the colorful, illuminated floats parade through the streets.

Festival participants

Six massive decorative floats festooned with a myriad of lanterns are pulled through the streets by large teams of men and women in festival attire. The floats weigh nearly ten tons and some of them are over 30-feet high. These floats require teams of nearly a hundred people pulling and pushing to get them moving. In front of the floats two long lines of people pull on large ropes while chanting “Wa-shoi! Wa-shoi!” (which is like saying “Heave, ho!”). Between them, walked colorfully-attired men rhythmically clacking wooden blocks together.

On the floats themselves, groups of singers waving handheld lanterns chant and shout as they pass by. On each float a taiko drum is beaten furiously, accompanied by wildly shrilling flutes. On top of the float, sometimes a man stands waving a folding fan to the rhythm of the taiko drum and flutes.

A fishy decorated float

Occasionally, the parade hits a bit of a snag much to the relief of the rope pullers and float pushers, no doubt. Some of the rope pullers tried to bamboozle yours truly into pulling their seven-ton float, but I sheepishly declined, claiming an allergic reaction to physical labor.

The floats eventually come to a small, but steep hill where pullers and pushers have to gather up a surge of energy to yank their heavy float to the top of the hill, which also marks the end of the parade.

A singer aboard a float sings out into the cold night

South of the parade, fireworks light up the cold night sky. Below, dozens of temporary food stalls serve up piping hot food and drink to the thousands of visitors.

The backsides of two colorful floats

The Chichibu Yo-Matsuri is definitely a festival to experience. However, festival-goers should be wary of the earliness of the last trains back to Tokyo. The last trains back end around 10:30. This I did not know. When I took a train at 10:40, I reached a station that was still a good ways out of Tokyo and remained there until the next morning. I ended having to take refuge from the cold in an all-night “Manga-kissa” — Internet/comic book cafe.

Shanghaied!

Fireworks explode over a busy street

“Wa-shoi! Wa-shoi!”

Three red-headed maidens decorate the back of one float

Tokyo Yamanote Halloween Train Power Rangers On Parade

Tokyo Yamanote Halloween Train Power Rangers On Parade

This is from the 2006 Yamanote Halloween Train event where a group of crazy Spanish-speaking Power Rangers who on the second loop of the party would jump out at the stations and do a little martial arts dance.

Just some harmless mischievous bit of good fun.

The Tokyo Yamanote Halloween Train 2007 Video

 Here’s a video of the 2007 Yamanote Halloween Train which started in Ikebukuro and escaped the notice of the cops. It was a blast!

Happy Halloween!

 

The Yamanote Halloween Train Rides Into a Sea of Adversity

The Tokyo Yamanote Halloween Train Rides Into a Sea of Adversity
Semi-Annual Unofficial Tradition Sparks Heated Debated on the Net

Jumping up and down with excitement waiting for the legendary Yamanote Halloween Train

On the evening of the October 27, 2007, Tokyo was just coming out the grip of an unseasonable typhoon which struck the capital fiercely with rain and high winds. Broken umbrellas littered the streets like the battered corpses of a major battle. While the city was still reeling from this climatic chaos, an unsuspecting train was suddenly overrun by a horde of goblins, witches, devils, ghosts, ninja, power rangers, naughty school girls, and even Santa Claus. Yes, the legendary and notorious Yamanote Halloween Train rode once more.

This time there were actually two Yamanote Halloween Trains. One group started at Shinjuku station and another group started at Ikebukuro station a few minutes earlier. The previous two Halloween Train events had started in Shinjuku. This year, however, the organizers of the last two events sent out a mass email changing the location to Ikebukuro. Meanwhile someone else sent out a public notice setting the event in Shinjuku so there ended up being two separate Halloween Trains.

The Yamanote Halloween Train rides again!

I attended the Ikebukuro event. I was worried the typhoon would have dampened enthusiasm but there was a sizable amount of people gathered at Ikebukuro. There were more gathered at Shinjuku close to 500 whereas we had perhaps 100 to 200. All the police were at Shinjuku. Our party was a complete surprise to them.

We tried to merge with the Shinjuku party but we obviously messed up and boarded an earlier train. It was packed enough as it was. We completely filled two cars and spilled into another. It was much like the morning commute except with alcohol and a happier mood with no morning breath and no chikans (groping perverts on trains).

The author and a Red Guy congratulate Japan Rail for another great party

The usual Halloween activities then took place — drinking (if you had enough space to put bottle or can close to your mouth), chatting, snacking, chanting, climbing up on the scarcely-used overhead luggage rack, and singing. There were a lot of Germans on the train so we sank the Oktoberfest song: “Ein Prosit, Der Gemutlichkeit!” We didn’t chant the station names so much this time because the windows were so fogged up from the typhoon earlier so we couldn’t see which station we were at most of the time.

Nothing terrible of consequence happened with our Halloween Train. The worst I heard was a grumpy salaryman who got angry when one of the party participants accidentally bumped into him. He had boarded the train after the party had started. Had he walked a car or two down, he could have avoided the party all together. He was a bit taken aback though when the offending participant, a foreigner, apologized in very formal Japanese.

It’s the Great Pumpkin on the Yamanote Halloween Train, Charlie Brown!

Several other commuters joined with us drinking and eating what food and drink we had to offer. One salaryman had so much fun, he jumped up and down waving and shouting and giving high fives to everyone. Another satisfied Yamanote Halloween Train customer. We probably made his night.

Our Halloween Train lasted nearly an hour with many getting off at Shibuya before completing a full loop. A number of them got on the Yamanote Train going the other way to Tokyo station which is about 20 minutes away or so. So while the remainder of us continued onward, that group rode in the opposite direction. Meanwhile the Shinjuku Halloween Train was somewhere behind us. So for a short while there were actually three Yamanote Halloween Trains on the loose!

An amused commuter flashes a peace sign

While the Ikebukuro-initiated Halloween Train went off rather smoothly, the Shinjuku one caused quite the controversy. As it was the more publicized one, it drew a lot more attention, not too mention ire particularly on the internet.

Word of the event caused heated debate on sites like Youtube and various Japanese-related sites most notably 2ch.net. One of the chief complaints is that the event is perceived as being just a bunch of rude drunk foreigners making a nuisance of themselves on a public train. They often overlooked the fact that nearly half of the participants are actually Japanese — who are being rude and drunk and making a nuisance of themselves on a public train.

Singing Germans

It its earlier conception, the Yamanote Halloween Train was primarily comprised of foreigners. If there were any Japanese participants they were friends or significant others of the foreigner participants. In more recent times, Japanese participants have come entirely on their own or in their own groups. The Halloween Train has become even more of a multi-national/multi-cultural event. In the past it was seen by some earlier participants as a way to lash out at a conformist society. Now it’s seen as just a bit of playful mischief to indulge in and a little steam-venting.

I’ve ridden the Yamanote Halloween Train three years in a row now. All my experiences have been positive. I’ve never seen any participants aggressively harass commuters save to offer them snacks and alcohol. Nor have I ever witnessed any destruction of property. Some lights were switched off but they were switched back on fairly quickly. Members of the Ikebukuro Halloween Train actually went around and made sure there was no garbage left on the train when we exited.

Taking a sip

The critics of the event only know about the event secondhand and from Youtube clips. This hasn’t stopped some of them, however, from making outlandish assertions that the Halloween Train partiers hate Japan or that such events don’t happen in other countries. Some of these critics are Japanese who seem to hate the notion of costumed foreigners drinking on a train. Others are foreigners either living in Japan or elsewhere who lamented the fact (in their minds) that the partiers are giving all foreigners a bad name.

Some critics labeled us terrorists and hijackers. I hope those who used either word particular hijacker were not native English speakers who should have known better. Hijacking involves taking control of a vehicle and taking it away from its original destination. No Halloween Train I have ever been on ever took the Yamanote train anywhere or even stopped it. Saying we hijack the train is just melodramatic hysterics in overdrive.

Nigh naked guys feels the chill

What truly gets incredible is the “fight fire with nukes” syndrome that sprung up on the net particularly with 2ch.net. There were calls for deportation and arrests from both Japanese and foreigners. Some threatened to go there in person and actually physically hurt the partiers. Fortunately such violence is often only contained to the net as anyone who spends any amount of time on the internet knows, most of those who threaten physical violence on the internet rarely have the courage to follow through with it.

What amazed me were the number of foreigners I argued with who willingly defended actions that are blatantly xenophobic and racist. One fellow stated under a Youtube clip of the event: “And they wonder why some Japanese landlords won’t rent apartments to foreigners.” The actions of the few should not be used against the many. To deny living accommodations on the basis of race, ethnicity, and nationality is racist regardless if some within that group have an hour long party on a train once a year.

Drunk Sailor Moon girl flashes peace sign at imaginary people

Then there were the arguments made in ignorance such as parties like the Yamanote Halloween Train do not happen in other countries. Nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone who lives or has been to a country which is very sports-enthusiastic can attest to this. Just recently a cousin of mine witnessed 400 crazed Italian soccer fans board a train in Tuscany. The conductor ushered my cousin and his girlfriend to the front of the train for their own safety. On the Yamanote Halloween Train, we would have just chatted with them and shared our snacks and drinks with them or we would have just left them alone.

Then there’s the myth that Japanese are always quiet and reserved in public places that some critics continually brought up. Either the proponents of this myth are lying, oblivious to their surroundings, or they don’t get out much. In 2002 when Japan hosted part of the World Cup, many public places were filled with ecstatic soccer fans. In front of Shibuya station one night after Japan played, hundreds gathered to chant “Nippon!”

A pair of passengers partake of pretzels presented by the author

In Osaka around the same time, there were injuries and a fatality on an overcrowded bridge. Then there are the matsuri (Japanese festivals) where everything goes absolutely mad. Anyone who has attended a setsubun mami-maki can vouch that the Yamanote Halloween Train comes off as rather tame in comparison.

Also I’ve shown a number of Japanese students over the year my videos of the Halloween Train event and never have I heard any criticism. My students range in age from their twenties to their sixties. They’ve all enjoyed seeing the various costumes worn by the participants particularly the Power Rangers. The students often find the event amusing and some of them said they would like to attend some day if they had the chance.

Indian chief or the Village People?

In the end the controversy over the Yamanote Halloween Train is simply a mountain made needlessly out of a molehill. The event only happens once a year on a Saturday evening, lasts about one to two hours, and is usually confined to one train. This year was an exception. What I find worse is the critics’ attitudes towards the event which range from puritanical prudishness to xenophobic belligerence. What is truly worrisome is that while the Halloween Train participants will go back to their jobs and their normal routines after the event is over, a number of the critics will continue to harbor pent-up bitter resentment over it.

A waving witch

Who is truly more dangerous? The Halloween Train participant who indulges in a bit of Halloween mischief on the train for one hour or the embittered critic who wishes detainment, deportation, and even violence to befall a bunch of people just having fun? Some of these critics I worry will be the type that will walk into a fast food place one day guns a-blazing. Thank God, guns are not as readily available in Japan as in the US!

These critics could probably benefit from a little steam-venting by joining the Yamanote Halloween Train next year. There they would meet people from all over the world and find that most of them are really quite harmless and more than a little fun. The Halloween Train is an open party for anyone who wishes to join. None are refused. We do not discriminate unlike our critics. And its slowly becoming more and more a Japanese event as so many Japanese attend the event while many foreigners dress in costumes inspired by Japanese culture from samurai, geisha, ninja, power rangers, and anime characters.

So for all you naysayers out there, I urge you next year to lay aside your Bibles, remove the sticks from your posterior, take off your tinfoil hats, park your black vans, take your medication, and join us sometime on the Yamanote Halloween Train! You won’t be disappointed!

Happy Halloween!

Peace! Happy Halloween!

The Tokyo Yamanote Halloween Train 2006 Movie (kind of)

The Roving Ronin Report Presents the Full-Length Feature (7 1/2 mins) of:

The Tokyo Yamanote Halloween Train 2006

I finally got around to making a more indepth follow-up to my early Yamanote Halloween Train videos.I have more commentary from myself and from participants including one who confirms the existence of the Halloween Train event going back to 1990. It also contains a brief message to a pair of Tokyo-living Wikipedia users who last year did everything they could to get an article on the event deleted because they never heard of it.Also for some of the critics who decry the event as just crazy gaijin taking over the train, you’ll note that nearly half the people in this video are Japanese.And here’s last year’s montage video slightly modified with an opening sequence.

Some Highlights from the 2007 Asakusa Samba Carnival Video

 For over 20 years the traditional district of Asakusa in Tokyo has hosted its own Samba Carnival Parade with thousands of participants. Here are some highlights from the 2007 event.
 

A bit of Rio in Tokyo – Samba Style

Samba Meets Sushi
Brazilian Samba Carnival Celebrated in Tokyo Town

Scantily-clad Samba Girls attract lots of attention at Asakusa’s yearly Samba Carnival

Every year, the traditional district of Tokyo known as Asakusa gets treated to the very untraditional sight of samba girls dancing down the street in front of Senso-ji, one of Tokyo’s most dignified Buddhist temples. A kaleidoscopic swirl of color fills the street as musicians, dancers, and floats move to the sound of the samba beat rather than a somber Buddhist dirge.

Colorfully-attired musicians strike up a lively Latin beat

Asakusa’s Samba Carnival began in 1981. The mayor of the district at that time wanted the winners of the Rio de Janeiro Carnival to put on a display in Asakusa. It was so popular that the untraditional event became a tradition. Today the festival has become a four-hour long parade of samba groups from all over Japan.

A Samba Dancer atop a fiery float

Thirty to forty groups compete in three leagues for prizes every year. The top league is comprised of groups who take their samba seriously while the other two leagues are for those who are there mainly for the fun of it all.

The groups pick themes every year. The themes can be elegant like sparkling jewelry or autumn leaves or they can be comical like the one I saw this year where women had large doughnuts strapped to their shoulders.

Godzilla likes Samba?

Close to 4000 people participate in the Samba parade every year. The majority of the participants are Japanese but there are also a number of foreigners who participate most notably Brazilians and Japanese Brazilians.

The Lollipop Gang representin’

Japanese Brazilians brings some clarity as to why the Asakusa Samba Carnival exists in the first place. A large number of Japanese reside in Brazil. In fact, Brazil has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan. Migration to Brazil started in the early 20th Century with farmers looking for better conditions abroad. A number of them inter-married with Brazilians and converted to Catholicism.

In the 1980s during the Bubble Economy many Japanese Brazilians began to migrate to Japan. There are now over 275,000 “Dekasegi” – Japanese Brazilians – living in Japan. So Japan and Brazil share a special tie culturally – Japanese immigrants introduced judo which has became Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for example. Therefore the Asakusa Samba Carnival represent this cultural bond between these two countries.

Most visitors to the carnival are no doubt not aware of this nor do they likely care. They come for a taste of Rio’s famous Carneval; for the costumes, music, and splendor of the whole thing. And taking pictures – lots of pictures.

A Samba Dancer refreshes herself with bottled water

The scantily-clad samba ladies who best represent in most minds the Carnival are the targets of thousands of cameras which snap away in a frenzy of photographical ecstasy. I am somewhat hesitant to believe all those photographers were taking those pictures solely for artistic purposes simply because the designs of the ladies’ costumes – what little there were of them – were so gorgeous. However, I allowed ignorance to blissfully cloud my mind as I fought for space amongst the densely-huddled photographers to take my own pictures and videos.

The Asakusa Samba Carnival is held on Saturday towards the end of August beginning around 2 in the afternoon. With the enthusiasm of some photographers, it would be best for samba aficionados to arrive probably around noon in order to get a good view.

Mmmm…. sexy doughnut!

Viva la Carnival!

(Young) Elvis lives!

Record-setting costumes

“Don’t Turn Me Off!”

Bovine Beauties

…and on a final note…