Well, it’s Golden Week here in Japan, which means I get a few extra days worth of relaxation before work, woo! If you want to find out more about Golden Week check out the page at the immensely useful Japan Guide website: Japan Guide Golden Week info
A lot of the Japanese choose to travel during Golden Week and as a result typical tourist hot-spots such as Nikko and Kamakura are even more crowded than usual. I’m trying to save money these days anyway, so I decided to stay within Tokyo. A variety of special events are held in celebration of Golden Week each year and this year I decided to check out even more free live music. First I started by heading over to Roppongi Hills – upon arrival I noticed the centre of attention was a rather old, but very talented, woman who was decked in traditional Japanese attire. She shared a few words with the audience before each song and I learned that she was from Okinawa. Anyway, to be honest, her music wasn’t really my cup of tea! I only stuck around for a few songs and then left to head for Akihabara.
I had heard of a special music event in Akiba which was happening right in front of the UDX building. I arrived just in time for a band called Soupnote, and I have to say, I was pretty damn impressed! They had some good laid back easy listening tunes – if you want to check out their site, here is the link: Official Soupnote website . I also saw a band performing after Soupnote but I didn’t stick around for long, I can’t even remember their name! Anyway, after checking out the music I decided to check out the Tokyo Anime Centre which is located inside the UDX Building. To be completely honest I thought it was shite – pretty much none of the merchandise caught my attention (no Hokuto no ken goodies to be found, talk about disgraceful!) and the place was tiny (I also noticed most of the merchandise just seemed to be for little kids). Anyway, enjoy the pictures!
