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Oktoberfest '09..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Sun, 31 May 2009 11:58:00 +0000

Yep: Oktoberfest in Tokyo, in May..

Headed over to Hibiya park on Saturday for my first ever Oktoberfest experience and right from the first tall Munchner Weisse I knew I'd made the right choice. Beer and sausage enthusiasts have been swarming down here all month, and while it was certainly packed, and difficult to find a table, the lines for the beer and food weren't too bad at all. We sat for a while while sampling the said brew, and then headed over to the stage area for what turned out to be truly one of the most entertaining and interactive performances I've seen. The lederhosen-clad, croth-grabbing German natives plowed through their set, partaking in the amber where they could and generally sending the crowd into an ever escalating state of feverish excitement. In short, Oktoberfest was awesome..

Shibuya Sepia..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:09:00 +0000

Messing about with my iPhone, Shibuya looks great in sepia..

The Mississippi Cookout..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Mon, 25 May 2009 08:45:00 +0000

As the flyer said: Grilled meats and beats by the river. I'd actually never made it out to a party on the Tamagawa, the lure and convenience of Yoyogi always having had won over any temptation to head out there, but this time I was very glad I did. A small but dedicated group of party goers were well into their day by the time I arrived, and despite a couple of visits by the boys in (dark) blue, the party went on until mid-evening. Will definitely be hitting the next one..

Ooooze Big Beach Party..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Mon, 25 May 2009 01:19:00 +0000

One of the many beach parties held in Kamakura through the summer, beats by Carlos Gibbs, Dave Twomey and others, frivolity and bikini clad loveliness from everyone else..

Shibuya de Ohara..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:08:00 +0000

I have to admit, sometimes I walk around this place and run into something that I have no idea about, (actually make that often) and Sunday was one of those days. My first thought as walking down a closed off Dogenzaka was that this was some kind of an Awa Odori, which it very well may have been. But anyway I was walking down to get some lunch and didn't really bother finding out, I mean it's just walking down the street on a Sunday, you don't have to know everything! What I did know was that these dancers, that seemed to come from far and wide, were having a great time spinning and singing their way up and down Bunkamura and Dogenzaka, that and.. I was hungry!

Postscript: Thanks to Elmimmo for filling me in, this was actually the Shibuya de Ohara Festival, inspired by the Ohara Matsuri in Kagoshima. As I said, sometimes I have no idea, fml.. >_<

Thai Festival '09..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Sun, 17 May 2009 00:15:00 +0000

The Thai Festival was as great as ever, and crowded, really crowded. The lines for food were ridiculously long, but the food of course is fantastic and that's I guess why people are prepared to wait. The atmosphere of the Thai Festival is different to that of say the Jamaican or the Brazilian Festivals, in that it's perhaps more culture than party orientated, but it's fun nonetheless. I didn't go too crazy with the camera this time, but I did manage to shoot a bit..

Gundam Odaiba..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Thu, 14 May 2009 12:38:00 +0000

Never been much of an Otaku, and to be honest, the relevance of Gundam is really beyond me. Nevertheless, while in Odaiba last weekend we decided to make the short trek over to see the 1/1 scale model of the big robot that has been built in commemoration of its 30th year. It really is quite big, and as we arrived close to the turning of the hour, we were able to see it do its little head turn and look briefly up at the sky. It also squirted some steam from various parts of its body, and then it was all over. The crowd of people were as entertaining as the robot itself, and almost as big..

Tokyo Graffiti.. 01

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:44:00 +0000

Shibuya seems to be covered in graffiti these days, a lot of it is just basic tags done with a black paint pen, but some of it gets quite creative. As for this little tag/sticker combo, to quote one of my favorite sayings: "what does that even mean?"..

In the drivers seat..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Mon, 04 May 2009 12:28:00 +0000

Well, behind where the driver stands anyways. Random Yamanote line action, taken somewhere between Shinagawa and Tamachi stations..

Tokyo City View..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Fri, 01 May 2009 23:14:00 +0000

A trip to the Mori Art Museum at Roppongi Hills to see The Kaleidoscopic Eye exhibition didn't yield many photos of art (no cameras allowed), but, did give me an opportunity to revisit the vast expanse of urbania that Tokyo is. Tokyo City View wraps itself around the outside of the 45th floor of the iconic landmark, and as the haze that is so much a characteristic of Tokyo's summer has yet to really kick in, I was able to get some pics of the said megopolis..

Hells Bar..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:23:00 +0000

Last weekend Sangenjaya's Hells Bar bar had one of the best parties I've been to in a long time. It was the official launch party of new event Cafe Kitsch, as well as the birthday celebration of Tokyo's very own resident Spyderman, and despite them not being able to turn up their bass bins (a residential thing), and the star dj not showing up (a night before thing), this little place kicked and sparkled in fine style.

The bar staff were going as hard as anyone there, and that's saying something..

The unisex toilet certainly gave credibility to the kitsch factor, with that big old vinyl sofa and an old school beatbox playing Bob Marley on entry..

Elmo was an early casualty..

And here's Jonny!

Finally, for those in need of a little bedtime story, a promo vid that Jonny put together..

Boys (and Girls) and their bikes: Mongoose edition..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 04:05:00 +0000

I spent some time on BMX bikes back in the day, I even recently bought and tricked out a Durcus One in an effort to reconnect with those days, but after meeting these guys I realized I wasn't even close. Dude-san's bike is an early 80's mongoose, completely decked out with vintage parts (sans the headstem), and he rides it as proudly as a 12 year old in the semi-finals at the Aussie titles. The girl was riding a much more contemporary model, which had been given to her by the bloke. Awesome..

Somewhere somebodies daughter.. 12

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 02:21:00 +0000

Is being teased by her friend, while being interviewed. Danny could be right, a credible looking press pass can practically afford you a conversation with just about anyone..

Cats hanging at the park..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 23:50:00 +0000

Wascha may be an ordinary house cat through the week, but on the weekends that all changes: that's when his loving owners take him to the park to hang out. Actually this was only Wascha's fourth time to Yoyogi, and I have to admit that he still didn't look all that impressed with the whole thing, but he was sooo cute..

Other cats were hanging out at the park too..

Kyuu Yamate and 246: The trap..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:01:00 +0000

This intersection is a bit of a trap for motorists heading into (or through) Shibuya as bike cops often sit there waiting for motorists to go through a stop sign before pouncing, and on this sleepy Sunday afternoon it also became somewhat of a hazard to one cyclists health. While walking to Daikainyama we chanced upon the aftermath of an accident between a bike and a car, all were fine, but for a bent up bike seat and an obviously rattled salaryman's composure..

Kabukicho by day..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:40:00 +0000

Kabukicho has a (well deserved) reputation for being an epicentre of vice, but by day, you can almost see a different side of the infamous Shinjuku suburb.

From the numerous hotels..

To the establishments of a more dubious nature..

To what seems like your average street scenes from a regular neighborhood, a walk around Kabukicho during the day leaves you with the realization that this place is anything but ordinary..

More trains going by..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:09:00 +0000

Shinsen station, Maruyamacho, Shibuya. The Inokashira line takes you to such wonderful places as Shimokitazawa and Kichijoji, and through the tunnel is about a 45 second ride to Shibuya station..

Yoyogi Park: Party on..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 11:29:00 +0000

Another sunny Tokyo weekend, and that meant another Saturday in Yoyogi park with friends, guitars, and of course beer. It seems that a lot of other people had a similar idea so once again the park was full of life, every which way you looked.

Most people were soaking up what was left of the hanami vibe that's been so great these past couple of weeks..

These guys took circle work to a whole new level, from early afternoon they blissfully circle-danced for hours..

Some people took to the trees..

While others made the most of their talents by entertaining friends..

Wine-bloke came and played us a tune..

And finally we took the time to grab a bite on the way out, it had been a very big day..

Dachambo..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 04:19:00 +0000

Their myspace intro comment says "Don't think it, feel it", and that pretty much sums them up..

Dachambo had a whole herd of people dancing and blissing away on the edge of the park post-hanami last Sunday night, and were completely blowing everyone away. Their amazingly super tight twin drummer set up, combined with a pulsating bass and swirling psychedelic tinged guitar lines, somewhat reminicent of Phish, or maybe even a dancey version of the Grateful Dead, provided the perfect soundtrack to the end of what was easily the best hanami weekend I've had the pleasure of enjoying in a long time. These guys are touring about quite a bit in the coming months and would definitely be worth catching if you have the chance..

Picture unrelated: Enoshima..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 04:16:00 +0000

Yoyogi Hanami 2009: Redux..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:01:00 +0000

I have to admit to being just about over hanami this year, but what turned out to be a long wait for the fluffy little flowers, certainly exploded into fruition last weekend around Tokyo. There are always loads of people enjoying sunny days at Yoyogi, but this little celebration was something else..

The trees were finally in full bloom and practically every area within a frisbee throw of the white petals was both groundsheet covered and occupied..

It's well known that hardcore hanami enthusiasts arrive very early in the day (or even the night before) to secure their prime position, all this preparation can make one pretty tired as the day rolls on..

Nothing like a suit and tie (and theramin) to top off the hanami experience..

Milk Suzuki from the Tokyo Milk Babies was ready to rock..

And good old Spiderman was on hand to save the day..

Until next year..

The Okay Idea live at the Ruby Room..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 03:10:00 +0000

Friday night's Ruby show kicked off with The Okay Idea powering through their set of electro rock/pop gems. It was the debut performance for our buddy Russell and the set also included some new material, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing these guys some more as the Summer goes on..

Post hanami: Parklife vol. 7

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 10:55:00 +0000

The Parklife party took a little while to get going, but once it did, driving beats provided an apt soundtrack to the post-hanami daze that it had all become..

Hanami 2009: Yoyogi Park..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:32:00 +0000

Yoyogi is always one of my favorite places to hit for hanami, and this year's (first) Saturday session was just as fun as ever. While many were killing time waiting for the Parklife party to get going, the bulk of the people that filled the more flowery parts of the park enjoyed their afternoon drinking to excess and letting it all hang out..

Dancing bloke: busted by the park patrol..

noreply@blogger.com (Mallocup) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 06:16:00 +0000

Dancing bloke was having a fantastic time at the park last weekend, grooving away to his favorite 80's hits and entertaining the masses as they walked through the gates, that was until the park patrol came and put an end to the fun. Seems sadly that the park-wide ban on entertainment is still in full force. It will be interesting to see what will happen this weekend as hanami parties get into full swing..