Ninja vs Samurai at a Japanese Festival (Nagoya Matsuri)

The age-old question of “Ninja vs Samurai – who would win?” was tackled recently at Nagoya Matsuri in a fight between a blue-clad ninja (a Smurf ninja?) and an armor-wearing samurai. The results may surprise you; however with Ninja, things are not always as they seem…

Brief Interview with Cute sexy Peruvian Waitress of Japanese Descent in Nagoya

In Japan, you always run into interesting people. While I was chowing down on a burger at Shooters in Nagoya I happened to meet a cute sexy Peruvian waitress whose grandfather was Japanese. I decided to interview her in order to dig deep into the complex social nuances of a foreigner of Japanese descent in Japan and their immersion into Japanese culture and….uh….errr… oh, hell! Did I mention she was cute and sexy? I really have no other reason to upload this video except for that. I was just trying to rationalize it, sorry!

Osu Kannon Temple and Shopping Market in Nagoya, Japan

I was visiting Nagoya and decided to drop in on Victor aka Gimmeabreakman aka Givemeaflakeman. He gave me a quick tour of Osu Kannon temple and its nearby shopping market during his break between classes.

Osu Kannon is quiet contemplative spot right in the middle of hectic downtown Nagoya.

Samurai Dave on the Loose in Nagoya!

Here’s a video a youtuber Daichen in Nagoya got of me at a bar in Nagoya yakking about a festival in Gifu.

I’m very tired and unshaven. The night before I had come in on a night bus from Tokyo where I worked the day before. And the night before that I had come back on a night bus from Tohoku where I had spent eight days traveling to different matsuri/festivals while sleeping in internet cafes and the occasional business hotel.

Rockin’ It In Japan! – The Sushi Cabaret Club

Rockin’ It In Japan!
The Sushi Cabaret Club

The Sushi Cabaret Club.

“I’m big in Japan.”
—Tom Waites

There was a time when the Land of the Rising Sun was the lodestone for the aspiring and rising musician or for those who were long past their prime. With instruments, song sheets and dreams, these hopefuls flooded a Japan seemingly eager to be entertained by these wandering minstrels. The feeling was that in those glory days of yesteryear any musician with the barest inkling of musical talent could make it big in Japan. Perhaps that was the case or perhaps it was only a myth. Nowadays, musicians both domestic and imported have to struggle for recognition and tips like everywhere else.

The Sushi Cabaret Club has struggled like many bands in Japan but they have garnered some measure of success over the years having their music featured in Internet and TV ads. They have also played at Fuji Rock, which is no small feat. The Sushi Cabaret Club is a mostly foreign rock band based in Nagoya. They have been together since 2003, though its members have been in Japan for longer than that.

The music of the Sushi Cabaret Club as described by frontman Dave Wallace and bassist Aaron Beutel is good honest rock-n-roll with honest lyrics and containing some good ballads. It is a mixture of American rock and U.K. rock with a touch of rock from the southern states of America. They are an eclectic blend of a variety of inspirations from Hendrix, AC/DC and Pink Floyd to one of the original musical rebels, Beethoven.

Dave Wallace – lead vocals and guitar.

Wallace, from Scotland, is the band’s lead vocals and guitar. Before coming to Japan, he was playing guitar in Greece when he reached the end of his funds. When offered the chance to play guitar in Japan and make some money while he was at it, he jumped for it. He has been in Japan close to 10 years now.

Dave Freeman – keyboardist.

Dave Freeman hails from Britain and is the band’s keyboardist. He has been playing keyboard since he was 11 and has been in Japan for over 10 years. He is as he describes himself married to music in sickness and in health till death do they part.

Aaron Beutel – bass player.

Beutel was a bass player in Australia but he wanted to stretch his wings a bit and so off to Japan he went. Like many foreigners in Japan, he took the teaching route until he felt the call of music again. He hooked up the two Daves and became the band’s bass player.

Nobu Yamada – drummer.

Nobu Yamada is the newest member of the band. The original drummer was an American, Mike Bagley, but like the story of most bands, band membership is rarely a permanent thing, and he and the Sushi Cabaret Club went in separate directions. Enter Nobu. Nobu has been playing drums since childhood. Though newly come to the group, Nobu picked up the band’s songs in about two weeks.

The novelty of being a foreign band in Japan had long worn off by the time the Sushi Cabaret Club formed so they have had to rely on talent and good music, which they have plenty of, in order to build-up a fan base. Still it has not been easy as music organizers do not always know how to measure up a foreign band.

Audiences, however, have not been a problem and the Sushi Cabaret Club has generally received good responses wherever they have played.

The band has put out four CDs and a recent one is just coming out.

Visit them on their Myspace for more info:
http://www.myspace.com/thesushicabaretclub

3 Drunk Gaijin chat about Penis Festivals, Anime, and Japanese History

This vid is from Givemeabreakman’s response channel Gimmeaflakeman.

This was after the Nagoya Penis Festival back in March where Victor, Daichen, and myself drink Old Crow Whiskey and chat about the penis festival, our dislike of anime, and japanese history. I do a 2-3 minute spiel covering the ages of Japan from beginning to present day.

Enjoy our drunken ramble!

Komuso Zen Priest Playing Shakuhachi Video

Komuso were Zen Buddhist Priests who used to travel about playing the Shakuhachi (Japanese Flute) for meditation and alms. Komuso means “Priest of Nothingness.”

I encountered this Komuso while I was in Nagoya. Komuso ceased to exist from the late 19th Century onwards.

The titles are bits of Zen sayings from samurai and Zen Masters. The subtitles tell the tale of the Komuso and their ultimate fate.

It’s up for possible airing at Current TV:
http://current.com/items/88939627_zen_priest_playing_the_shakuhachi

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Samurai Dave meets Givemeabreakman at Japanese Penis Festival

I went to the Honen-Sai Fertility festival again in the Nagoya area. I bumped into a fellow Youtuber, Gimmeabreakman, who has quite a market share of subscribers and views. He does a number of videos on Japanese culture, language, and on the Youtube community.

Here’s a cool vid he just put up about this past Honen-Sai festival. Mine will probably be up in a few weeks as I have other vid projects to finish first.

Check out his Youtube page at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Gimmeabreakman