On the morning of February 24, 2020, our plane from Bangaluru, India touched down in Osaka, Japan. Covid-19 would not be declared a worldwide pandemic for a few more weeks, but Japan was hot in the news as one of the three countries to keep an eye on along with China and Singapore. Our original idea was to spend five weeks here, but we ended up with three—two in Kyoto and one in Kamakura. They were amazing, and I'm so thankful we made the trip. We'll be back for those other weeks.
(Please feel free to forward this blog to any family/friends you think would enjoy. Thanks!)
COLLABORATIONS
By the time we left Japan, I'd had seven musical exchanges, three of which turned into videos below. All were thanks to Japan's and my relationship with bluegrass. Not represented below are a bluegrass jam, an old-time jam, and a meeting with a shamisen musician. With so many great visuals everywhere, I continued my video concept from India which intersperses footage of the area with the musical exchange.
#19 • Bluegrass in Japan • with Taro Inoue [Read the blog]
#20 • Shamisen, Shaukachi, Fiddle • with Yutaka Oyama & Akihito Obama [Read the blog]
#21 • Biwa in a Cafe • with Reisui Ban [Read the blog]
#22 • Miyama Village • with Yukky & Taro Inoue [Read the blog]
TRAVELOGUE
Our trip may have been shorter than expected, but we made the most of it. Please check out the photo albums (below) since they can say so much more than I am able. And, each collaboration (above) has its own blog to take you deeper.
KYOTO
Upon landing in Osaka, we hopped on a train and headed 1.5hrs north to Kyoto, our home base for the first two weeks. The AirBnB was located in a more traditional neighborhood with two story wooden townhomes homes, trimmed with dark weathered wood, roofs covered in scalloped tile, non-wood surfaces painted white or off-white, narrow brick streets from the Edo Period, and small shrines. It was an easy walk to the train or bus, which is how we got around.
Unexpectedly, the first thing that stood out to me, having just come from India, is that nothing really stood out initially, at least not in the same way. There were no bold colors, although I would eventually see them at temples and shrines. Architecture seemed to have a coordinated or unified look that didn't compete for your visual attention. There were no loud noises and a lack of animals. There was a quality of reserve and order, or balance, that seemed universal. Subtle beauty was everywhere, with thoughtful details to take in. I had gotten used to crossing the street wherever and whenever, but I was going to have to reign that in here.
Our first few days were all about getting settled and finding our way around. I had been in touch with a couple musicians and making arrangements to meet up, but until then life was about finding food, withdrawing money, and transportation...and calm.
Kyoto
Daily life scenes, meanderings, and things that catch my eye (Click image for more)
One of our most fun dining experiences was the conveyor belt sushi restaurant. You sit in a booth and at one end there are two belts, a touch screen, and a vending machine with prizes. One belt has an endless supply of pods (for lack of a better word) enclosing various sushi, nigiri, and sashimi. You're supposed to open the pod as it is moving and remove the plate with the sushi. A bit nervous at first, we would steal glances at other tables for clues. Our first few attempts to free the food did not work and they kept scrolling by. Eventually we got one open and it was on. My daughter was grabbing them like they were going out of style. If you didn't see what you wanted, you would use the touch screen to order, and when ready, it would zoom quickly to you—and thankfully stop—on the second belt. Spent plates were deposited in a plate-shaped hole at the end of the table. For every 5th plate, some sort of slot machine game would commence and you might win one of the "prize balls" from the vending machine. We won twice.
Sushi belt success!
Daily coronavirus updates took lots of our attention. In Tokyo, the fate of the Olympics was in the balance while major museums and public spaces were shutting down. Around this same time, schools announced they would be closing for an extended spring break. The fear of traveling to Japan was spreading, but there still wasn't a lockdown and many regulations we're now used to hadn't come to pass. A gig I had been invited to play in Tokyo had been canceled and we started to think that an exit plan would be a good idea.
Most importantly, my daughter was about to turn 11, and we were starting to fear for our secret plans to take her to Universal Studios in Osaka . It seemed only a matter of time before they would close. Rather than miss our window, we decided to celebrate early and headed there the next morning. Imagining the most boring activity for her, and a very believable scenario for me, we told her we were going to a bonsai garden for the entire day. She was not excited, to say the least, but all that changed when we stepped out of the train into the Universal-land. To say we scored (as parents and people) is a huge understatement. The park felt empty, waits were short. And the very day after, it closed.
Aside from the amusement park, we took it easy in Kyoto. I went to an old-time gig and jam led by Japanese band Joke on the Puppy. I ventured back to Osaka one night for a bluegrass jam and a meeting with Chizuko Hirachi, a great shamisen player and singer. I had a night out with my mandolin buddy Taro Inoue and we hit a reggae jam; then I visited him in the village of Miyama (below). As a family, we explored different parts of town, looking for places that were still open. When we found one, we felt pretty special since they were nearly empty of tourists. Arashiyama and Fushimi Inari are two highlights (below).
ARASHIYAMA, FUSHIMI INARI, MIYAMA
Fushimi Inari,
Arashiyama,
Miyama
All magical places unto themselves. (Click image for more)
In the southern part of Kyoto, I spent an afternoon at Fushimi Inari Taisha. It's an important Shinto shrine famous for thousands of vermillion torii gates that cover paths through the forest. The shrine is dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice.
Arashiyama is an area in the far west of Kyoto which is home to an impressive bamboo grove. Nearly all the trees are bamboo, and it's quite an experience to walk down a path through the middle of the forest while the tops sway and rustle in the wind.
Just before departing Kyoto, I took a trip out to Miyama, located in the countryside northwest of the city. The village is known for its striking collection of traditional tall thatch-roofed homes. My friend Taro and his partner Yukky live there and we made music well into the evening (see collaborations above). The next morning, my family and I packed up and headed east.
KAMAKURA
We departed Kyoto on the Shinkansen bullet train and raced across Japan towards Yokohama at nearly 200mph (320km/h). The ride was butter smooth, but my body did feel the speed in some subtle way that I don’t have words for. The countryside flew by and the motion captured on my camera had a different look to it.
Kamakura, south of Yokohama which is south of Tokyo, was one more local train ride away. It's a cozy surf town with a lot going for it—good waves, a giant buddha from ~1200 A.D., a quaint walking district, beautiful temples/shrines, a charming local train, and a view of Mt. Fuji from the beach. The most special thing about Kamakura though, was that my friend Yui Inoue lived there. She organized my first tour of Japan 8 years ago, and we've been friends since.
Kamakura
Relaxed southern beach town. On a clear day you can see Mt. Fuji. (Click image fore more)
As in Kyoto, the normal tourist population was close to absent. We hit all the sights mentioned above, but there are two standout memories not included. The first is a small food counter (map link here, don’t know the name), one table outside by day and about six bar stools by night. I met my friends there and we filled the place. Huddled up at the counter, we watched our tapas-style Japanese food prepared, chatted with the chef, and enjoyed tall icy beers. It was so lovely that I took my family back the next afternoon, which is when I discovered that the inside wasn't open during the day, and some of my favorite items were only available at night.
The other memory that stands out is my last day. I was out getting groceries and sweets with my friends for our final home-cooked meal. They had another errand to run and recommended I check out the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine. It's at the end of the main road and on a clear day, you can see the ocean from the shrine steps. But it wasn't clear, it was raining...and then it started snowing unexpectedly. Seeing the snow fall on the shrine and melt on the spring flowers was magical. On our walk back to the house, still snowing/raining, the warmer ocean was steaming itself a blanket of fog.
While in Kamakura, two collaborations took place. One was with biwa master Reisui Ban in the back room of a cafe. The other took me up to Tokyo to meet with Yutaka Oyama and Akihito Obama, masters of shamisen and shakuhachi, respectively.
LISTEN [SPOTIFY PLAYLIST]
Here’s a small selection of Japanese traditional-based music I explored while on my Otherlands travels. I hope these artists and traditions take you down some new directions, as they did for me. Recommended to listen on shuffle. Enjoy!
About a week and a half into our trip, we started to consider an "exit" plan, since the media was projecting that this country was due for a big coronavirus outbreak. It seemed a reasonable conclusion, and we figured the safest thing to do was to continue our travels while still possible. Finland was the next stop, and we booked our flight to Helsinki after Kamakura.
Last words: Best gift in Japan? Extra long chopsticks made for cooking. And, for all the places we traveled, Japan ended up being my daughter's favorite.
Thanks for exploring, stay healthy, and travel safe if you’re traveling,
Casey
