My first time in Tokyo: lost guide books, Taiko legends Oedo Sukeroku, hardcore Miyake training, Bachiatari show, and delicious food, and so much more…
Arriving…straight to Oedo Sukeroku
I managed to hang on to my Lonely Planet guidebook of Japan for a whole ten minutes of being in the country before my sleep deprived mind was so bewildered by a space-aged toilet that I managed to leave it (and our hotel reservation documentation) by the wash basin and immediately get on a train to Ueno, Tokyo. So I am now in Tokyo with no idea where to go or what to do in the moments you realise you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time and need to fill a few hours. Note to self: read the guidebook before arriving in the country.
All of that aside, it’s a lot easier to get around than I had been prepared for; most stations have maps with English station names and ticket machines speak English too…literally. Not being a big fan of cities in general, I visibly relaxed to find that Tokyo streets are big and wide, and although there is no mistaking that you are in a big city there is a vibe of cohesion and order that is absent in London. People wait for the signal to cross the road at the designated place, regardless of if there is any traffic or not. No one rushes, everyone is at the same speed, and things glide along.
Oedo Sukeroku & the famous Friday night Oedo Sukeroku curry!
Arriving
at the hotel, we were presented with a fax sent from Mizuho Zako (staff member of Oedo Sukeroku) welcoming us to Japan; a big smiley face with bachi in hands, the hotel receptionist now knows that we’re taiko players. A couple of hours later, Jonathan and I went hunting for Oedo Sukeroku studio with only a very poor imitation of a map that I had copied and no idea what we were looking for. Luck more than judgement brought us to the studio just in time…it was a good moment to see Mizuho’s smiling face and be welcomed straight into the heart of Oedo Sukeroku, and introduced to Seido & Yuriko Kobayashi. Having talked and shown photos and shared delight in their affiliate Parisian group Wadaiko Makato playing at the 8th UK Taiko Festival just passed, we were straight downstairs into the studio for a lesson with Mizuho and Kobayashi-sensei…the first of a few during our stay…all within 5 hours of being in Tokyo. To top that, we celebrated new taiko friendships with a gorgeous meal with Mizuho and Yuriko and lots of talking until we couldn’t keep our eyes open any more…what a first day in Japan.
12 hours of sleep in one hit, then straight up, in the shower and onto the subway to Kanda to Oedo Sukeroku studio for more lessons….although I don’t want to talk about my thoughts/experiences on the practical taiko stuff yet until I have had a chance to observe, experience & absorb (a variation on a Stanford Taiko motto I picked up at the 8th UK Taiko Festival), I do want to say that being around that level of attention to everything twinned with such a beautiful way of expressing and relaying the information…I wanted to suspend every moment and try to drink it in! We were rewarded and honoured by eating the famous Oedo Friday night curry…how is it that all taiko players that I’ve met are GREAT cooks?! Lucky for me though: two of my favourite things – food & talking taiko!
Miyake Taiko!
We went straight to meet Ai Matsuda, and so happy to put such a smiley face to the name…we trundled off to a workshop with Miyake Taiko..,on our 2nd day of being in Japan ever, I felt very privileged indeed, and had an awesome time…they are full of grace, power, conviction…a little bit in love with them actually! Another wonderful day in Tokyo and feeling very lucky.
Taiko Show Time!
It was my first experience of watching taiko in Japan and was suitably excited…We partook in the crazy crossroads where people line up on the other side of the road like warriors, waiting for the green man to allow them to cross and the sudden onslaught of humanity advancing in your direction…in reality, it’s amazing how the crowds just merged and moved without collision (and apparently where a scene from Lost in translation was filmed, but I never saw it). This is the first time I had met with the wonderful Ai Matsuda – without her generosity of time, this trip would never would have happened like it did – so lovely to finally be able to say thank you in person.
First taiko show in Japan!It was a small venue, and hot, but Bachiatari were high impact and well worth seeing the energy of 15 men in just 5…it was bouncing out of them in the foyer at the end – incredible. It was really nice to go see taiko there with a Ai and her friends too; taiko is such a sociable thing, and far better enjoyed with some chat and some new friends made before and after, I think. It turns out I’ll be seeing Vince in Hawaii in a few weeks, and that I had seen Ai perform in NATC Taiko Jam in the August…what a small world, but what a wonderful one that is opening in front of me as I make the first scratch on the surface of this adventure.
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