Following on from the great success of the Tyler Battles the Cactopus gig in July, Jimo Cafe and PEPY present a live performance from JindaLee Lehmann. The event will be 7 to 10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13, at Jimo Cafe in Hatchobori, Hiroshima city. The event was organized by Hiroshima city JET Laura Graham. JindaLee is musician from Montreal, Canada, and currently a JET in Fukuyama.

As a foreigner with little knowledge of Japan, but a love of all things theatre, I was sure to come across Takarazuka revue eventually. Takarazuka is definitely a part of Japan that I am glad to have experienced.

Hiroshima, being the commercial and industrial hub of the Chugoku region, has a solid local music scene. Since coming here, going to local live shows has become a bit of a hobby, and through it, I have not only discovered some fantastic music, but also made some very close friends. Here’s a list of clubs in Hiroshima that you can look to for exploring the local music scene.

Living in Japan is a great opportunity to dive into the rich world of Japanese music, but getting to the good stuff can be difficult. If you’re only living in a place for a year, how are you supposed to find all the best music in that short time? This article will serve as a starting point, offering just a few suggestions to help you get into the music here. These aren’t just my personal suggestions, because that wouldn’t be terribly useful to most people. Rather, the stuff listed here is material that also tends to be popular with most JETs…assuming they ever have a chance to hear it!

Buono!Musica!2007: a weekend spent at a musical oasis. There was no J-pop. We didn’t hear the Beatles once, perhaps because of the absence of department stores and konbinis… Buono!Musica!2007 was simply a beautiful day and night of music, delicious food and camping. Held in a campground in Sera-Nishi, a small town an hour drive north of Onomichi, it proved to be a secluded spot with plenty of green-space, overlooking a peaceful lake. There was room for lazing around with a beer, or even tossing a frisbee, if you felt up to that strenuous task! In the evening, a big bonfire was lit for people to relax around. There were also barbeque facilities near the stage, so we loaded up on supermarket goodies before we arrived. It really was an excellent little valley for seeing some great live music.

“For those about to rock we salute you!” There are no better words to describe my feelings about the Fuji Rock Festival. Let’s be honest here; going to this festival is a true testament to your love of rock. The three-day ticket costs 40,000 yen, the Shinkansen costs another 40,000 yen, and then all the food, drink and swag you buy at the concert is going to cost you as well. Of course, you clever people will have figured out that there are cheaper ways to get around Japan, but I couldn’t go with the clever option. I had a workshop the day before and made the last train out of Fukuyama. I was off and ready to rock out with my wallet out!

I was once like you. Wandering the streets of Hiroshima, gazing at row upon row of snack bars, pondering where to go to listen to some decent music. Desperately searching, in vain, for good live music venues. Painfully sitting through one bad song after another at Club Jamaica / Sacred Spirits / ‘This is no longer a dancing establishment – please dance outside on the sidewalk’. Well don’t worry, there actually are things going on here. Granted, the local music scene possesses nowhere near the same level of cool as Osaka and Tokyo, but hey, at least we don’t live in Shimane. But before you buy that shink ticket to Kansai, listen up: my countless nights of wandering and bad music have paid off – I have uncovered a small yet enjoyable music scene in Hiroshima City.

I stood huddled outside the music room door in my socks, debating whether or not I really wanted to enter. Wide Island H.Q. had requested that I cover an aspect of Japanese culture; in particular, an aspect of culture that the busy gaijin about-town might like to get involved in to keep themselves warm during the winter of discontent. With that in mind, I had been asked for a few words about Japanese musical instruments. Keep you warm? Musical instruments? Perhaps they knew something I didn’t – after all, before coming to Japan a heated table was only the stuff of dreams. ‘Besides,’ I was told, ‘You might even have fun.’ It was with this damning prophecy ringing in my ears, and bearing about as much musical knowledge as there are copies of Mills & Boon publications in the Vatican library, that I stood attempting to infiltrate the secrecy of the music room.