Design Festa Tokyo 2009

If you are tired of all the doom and gloom that appears daily in the newspapers, nightly on TV, weekly, monthly, yearly… in the media in general, then it’s time for something else, something new, something worth both your time and your money, no?

In a city as replete with distractions as Tokyo, rivaling no other city than perhaps New York for the limitlessness of its possibilities, there is always something else to do, see, hear, eat and generally check out. With that in mind, grab a thick black marker and circle the dates May 16th & 17th on your calendar. Done? Good! Now, write in bold, black letters; “Design Festa vol. 29” Got that? Okay, now put away your marker. It’s really that simple.

If you want to spend a day, or two, meandering around the largess of what has to be one of Tokyo’s, and Japan’s, most innovative, architectural anomalies; if your eyes want to flit across a microcosm of Tokyo’s and Japan’s artistic community, peppered pelle-melle with some international flavor; if you yearn for strange, unique or kawaii gifts, knick-knack or doo-dads, if your ears want to drink in some new sounds, if your fashion sense is piqued by fresh, new designs and, if your palette desires some good food & drink, then come and behold what has loosely been coined ‘artistic chaos.’

The shear numbers say it all. Fifteen years strong, 28 volumes, 100,000 exhibitors & more than 9 million visitors – how much larger can an art event get? Next month we’ll all find out as Design Festa vol. 29 takes place, rain or shine, at Tokyo Big Sight’s West Halls 1, 2, 3, the Atrium and outdoors.

Envisioned as a no-strings-attached, nonjudgmental, non-corporate, freestyle art fair for anyone and everyone, Design Festa first opened its doors in 1994. Initially held at Harumi’s International Trade Fair Hall, before moving to it’s current location, Tokyo Big Sight, in 1996, it has developed into Asia’s (if not the world’s) single, largest art event held under one roof. Sometimes reminiscent of the mother-of-all flea markets, anyone with any artistic talent, no matter how latent or developed, can rent a booth, or a block of time, and be granted their fifteen minutes of fame.

Design Festa Sprawl (last year's event, click to enlarge)

And a blur it can be. Held over two days, a considerably limited amount of time needed to really get a sense of the depth and breadth of the entire exhibition, Design Festa is communal, fun, funky, loud, overstimulating, crowded and amazingly well organized. First timers may be overwhelmed by the number of booths, exhibitors, events and performances,while seasoned vets know that a bit of forethought will streamline their experience.

Through their website, www.designfesta.com, information leading up to the event is posted at fairly regular intervals, giving potential visitors the chance to execute their plan of attack, while others eagerly await haphazardly discovering something new, exciting and even strange, just by wandering about.

There are the hundreds of booths to peruse while shuffling along, a variety of performances and shows where you can take break and relax for a bit, live bands more-often-than-not thrashing about outdoors, mini-bars set up in strategic places, and the restaurant area where long lines are common, but move efficiently enough to make your refueling stop easy to bear.

Design Festa will be held at the futuristic Tokyo Big Sight

So forget the economy, geopolitics and all the rest of that stuff, and lose yourself in another world, one of fun, art, music, fashion, performance, food & drink. Inundate your senses and drench your peripheral vision, but don’t forget to load your camera and wear your walking shoes, ‘cuz there’s tonnes to see and miles to walk at this biannual art explosion.

Let the chaos begin!

Event Information:
Date: May 16th (Sat) & 17th (Sun) from 11:00 – 19:00
Location: Tokyo Big Sight West Hall 1, 2, 3, 4, Atrium and Outdoors
Map (click to enlarge):

Nearest station: Kokusaitenjijo-seimon (Yurikamome Line) or Kokusaitenjijo (Rinkai-Line)
Tickets:
FREE for children 12 years old and under
In Advance – single day ticket: ¥800 / two day ticket ¥1,500
Door price – single day ticket: ¥1000 / two day ticket ¥1,800

Article by Stephen Lebovits

Beatles music fans in Tokyo are spoiled for choice, with not just one, but two Beatles covers bars, both based in Roppongi. These are theme live houses, with Japanese Beatles look-a-like bands playing covers all night long. Abbey Road and the Cavern Club are located only a few hundred meters from each other, and are both packed to the eyeballs every night.

But according to “Docchi no Beatles-Bar Stippy” which is the better choice for a night out?

The 1960′s in Japan was famous for the Tokyo Olympics, the opening of the first Shinkansen, and Beatlemania. Abbey Road and the Cavern Club on a Friday night provide real flashbacks of this era with many of the clientèle “dankai-sedai” babyboomer salarymen. As the Beatles harmonize on the stage late in to the evening, many of these patrons can been seen sporting their neckties tied around their foreheads, staring toward the stage but with a distant look in their eyes, reminiscing about the past.

Despite the band members being Japanese and not speaking native English, for the most part they are surprisingly authentic in staying true to the original. They really give the impression that each of the band members completely live and breathe the Beatles. In traditional Japanese fashion, they have practised and learned to play the instruments impeccably, and every note is perfect throughout the Beatles extensive catalogue. This is particularly striking in the Cavern Club, which has superb acoustics, and the solo of While My Guitar Gently Weeps is so precise and full in sound that it is worth going just for that.

Both The Parrots at Abbey Road, and The Silver Beats at the Cavern Club have their star member of the band, who really makes it come alive. And in both cases, this member is John. Hidemasa Mabuchi from the Silver Beats has an uncannily resemblance to John Lennon. At only 27, he plays is a Rubber Soul era John, complete with the mop-top haircut, and the shaking of the head made famous in Twist and Shout. He commands a strong stage presence despite his age, and is a natural star.

Mamori Yoshi (Chappy) of the Parrots on the other hand, at 53, is an older era John, with the more respectable haircut, the round glasses, and gestures are identical to John from that period, right down to the over-bite singing style. He is established as world-famous John Lennon, and appears to love every minute on stage. He has an extremely strong voice which John himself would be jealous of, which is only done justice on certain tunes. His superior instrumental and vocal skills, as well as leadership of the band have made the Parrots world famous, and they have been asked to open for bands such as the Arctic Monkeys, who are huge Parrots fans.

Both the Johns are stars. It is the remaining members, and the atmosphere and food of the two clubs which separates them.

Akihiro Matsuyama, who plays George at Abbey Road is a delight to watch. The prodege of Yoshi, he is so precise on every note, and makes obvious effort to enunciate each word perfectly. Both Ringo’s have solid drums, and their vocals are pleasantly off key. Kame-chan at the Cavern Club has developed a cult following due to his average voice and enthusiasm. But the area where both these bands fall down is Paul. Such an integral part of the band, yet while both musicians are talented, neither are as authentic as the other members, which is a shame for those seeking a true Beatles experience.

In musical terms, Stippy rates Abbey Road as the better of the two. However it loses a lot of ground in other areas. The food and drink is expensive, and they don’t serve tap beers. 1500 yen for a bottle of Grolsch is just too much. The food is also expensive, and tastes average at best. It is the band which makes for an enjoyable night.

The Cavern Club has a more underground, crowded, and cosy atmosphere. They sell pitchers of beer at reasonable cost, and the food is all home-made and delicious. The acoustics reverberate extremely through well through the club. For atmosphere and dinner, Cavern Club is the better of the two by a long shot.

For more information, click for the homepages of Abbey Road, and the Cavern Club.

Last Friday night, Australian rock band Jet played at the Nippon Budokan, one of Japan’s most historic and revered event venues. The first foreign rock band ever to play there was the Beatles back in 1966 in a performance memorable for all the wrong reasons, and Stippy.com was there last Friday to find out whether or not Jet cut the proverbial mustard.

One of the biggest cheers of the night from the 10,000-strong, but rather subdued, crowd was saved for the appearance of two local Japanese heroes – one a rotund gentleman and one a younger thinner man. Jet, a rock band from Australia which has sold over 3.5 million albums worldwide, was in full swing and had just been joined on-stage by the newly-crowned Japanese national air-guitar champions. Wearing glow-in-the-dark white t-shirts, the two men windmill and power-chord in accompaniment to a suitably muscular Jet performance of Last Chance before leaving the stage covered in glory. It seems that moments like this are all part of the often surreal experience of attending a music concert in Japan.

On this particular evening, Japanese-style “meat pockets” or nikuman were the choice of pre-gig nourishment for the overwhelmingly young Japanese crowd, while only small groups of gaijins seem to be bothering with the time-honored pre-show ritual of getting hammered on beer. (Stippy Disclaimer: We were of course not involved in this). The band merchandise stalls were buzzing with customers as people waited patiently for an opportunity to buy an over-priced t-shirt or three. As a result, great throngs of people were walking round in black t-shirts which display the faces of their heroes for the evening. Japan is clearly a lucrative stop on the world concert circuit, and this is evidenced by the fact that it holds sway over the second largest music market in the world.

Japan accounts for around 20% of world wide music sales and covers more than 80% of the total amount of sales in Asian region. Concert venues can range from tiny live houses through to the mega arenas such as Tokyo Dome and Saitama Super Arena. Jet, however, was lucky enough to play at the historical Nippon Budokan – a hall originally built for the judo competition in the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Its name, rendered into English is “martial arts hall”. It contains three halls, the largest of which holds 14,000 people and is modeled after a hall in Horyuji Temple in Nara. It is located in Kitanomaru Park in the center of Tokyo, two minutes’ walking distance from Kudanshita Subway Station, and near Yasukuni Shrine, famous for being a spiritual home for Tokyo’s right-wing nationalists. The 42 m (140 ft) high octagonal structure holds 14,201 people.

The national championships of the different branches of the martial arts (Judo, Kendo, Karate, Aikido, Shorinji Kempo, Kyudo,　etc.) are held annually at the Budokan. Professional wrestling is also a tenant as the Budokan is frequently used by the Pro Wrestling NOAH association, who often hold major events there. These kinds of event show just what a cultural venue is to the Japanese, a far cry from the rock-band cries of Jet.

An intriguing part of the evening was crossing the moat and walking through the huge stone entrance which is akin to a great traditional temple, then entering the arena and seeing a huge Japanese flag hung in the middle of the arena, with Beatles music playing in the background to stir an excitement cocktail inside the stomachs of the beer drinking fans. Although many may not have been aware of the significance of this scene.

In the West, the Nippon Budokan is most famous for being the venue in which the Beatles made their Japanese debut. The band played at the venue five times between June 30 and July 2, 1966. The 10,000 tickets available for each concert sold out almost immediately, and the ticket stubs and pamphlets are now collector’s items and fetch premium prices. The Beatles soon found out that Tokyo was not all “free-love” and “peace beads”, however, as the group incurred the wrath of militant students who objected to their performance at traditional Budokan. Several death threats followed and the group left Japan in poor spirits after its four days in Tokyo.

A classic picture from one of the Beatles 1966 performances. Also, the group’s Budokan concerts rank as some of the worst performances the Beatles ever gave. The Japanese audience was instructed not to stand up during the show, and an overwhelming police presence meant that the audience was happy to listen intently to the music and give polite applause at the end of each song. This was the first time the Beatles could hear themselves during a show since they were used to a wall of screams confronting them at every concert and performance, and it was apparent that they sounded awful. Ringo Starr talked about this in the Beatles Anthology video, and even specifically cited the first Budokan concert as being the performance that really opened up their eyes as to how bad their on-stage playing and singing had become. Soon after the Beatles gave up touring and became a strictly studio-based band.
Jet’s Nic Cester could possibly sympathize with the Beatles on that point. The lack of crowd involvement on this night prompted the lead singer to chastise the audience on several occasions for their muted reaction. Hit songs such as Look What You’ve Done and Are You Gonna Be My Girl were greeted with hearty cheers, but predictably the songs taken from most recent album Shine On were tolerated rather than enjoyed. The guitars were huge and the band’s energy levels high, but the performance was blighted by muddy vocals – a surprise since the Budokan is such an acoustically-sound venue. The star of the night, however, is Jet’s drummer Chris Cester who looks like Dennis Wilson from a-far and drums in a style reminiscent of Animal from the Muppets. The band encore with Shine On and Rollover D.J. and the show finished exactly two hours after it began.

The crowd shuffled out in a controlled fashion and then headed off into the night. The black t-shirts mean that only heads and bare arms can be seen bobbing off into the distance. No fights, no drunks, no drugs, lots of spending, a little cheering and an almost full martial arts hall – the unique experience of attending a concert in Japan.

Saturday December 2nd saw the 2006 K1 Grand Prix at Tokyo Dome. The announcer claimed that 54,000 visitors had come to see the climax of what was another year of high tension action in the ring this year – and Stippy.com was there behind the scenes to bring you exclusive insights.

K-1 was first staged in Japan in 1993 by Master Kazuyoshi Ishii (“Ishi Kancho”) of Seido Kaikan Karate and derives its name from a wide range of martial arts beginning in the letter ‘K’ (Karate, Kung-fu, Kempo, Kick-boxing all part of the Kakutogi family) It is now the biggest spectator sport in Japan.

The greatest thing about K1 is that all the top fighters are highly trained and dangerous so anything can truly happen to the toughest fighter – one clear punch or one well placed kick and its lights out! It’s this teeth clenching excitement that keeps me going back year after year to be present at the Tokyo Dome finals.

The Grand Prix Final always features the top 8 fighters that have earned the right to fight for the title through a series of matches held throughout the year. Nothing is spared to electrify the atmosphere – fireworks, cute ring girls, huge lighting shows and raging music – I won’t mention the detracting magic show this time – but all ‘n all it’s an atmosphere worth paying to be part of and never fails to raise the crowd from their seats.

This years fight night saw several huge surprises as Peter Aerts returned to Tokyo Dome in a reserve fight, winning against Japanese hero Musashi, and ended up in the final facing 2005 champion Semmy Schilt from Holland (as are Hoost, Aerts and Bonjasky!)

Remy Bonjasky was supposed to be the lucky one to get a shot at the Kings crown; he recovered from two hard shots to the testicles and won his fight against Stefan Leko in the semi finals – but then Remy was then pulled from the tournament by his doctors who worried about his family jewels. This then left the door open for Leko to face the champion. However, Leko had a suspected broken ankle during his bout against Remy and he too pulled out of the tournament. Before the match Leko swore he would quit K1 if he lost that night….he lost by decision but let’s see if he has a change of heart. Once you get this close to the taste of victory it’s hard to turn your back on it for long. The continual return of veterans Aerts, Hoost and Le Banner proves it!

So following the K1 rules, the winner of the reserve bout had the right to carry on to the next round – enter Aerts. The crowd went wild as Aerts , previous 3 times champion, had returned in the best form I have possibly ever seen him in. He seemed to have more stamina and upper body power than ever and of course his kicks are legendary. He wasn’t ahead on points by any means but only he was able to reach the chin of Schilt in a truly threatening way, shaking the confidence of the huge Dutchman at one stage. His popularity with the crowd was also plain to see.

After taking a front kick to the mid section Aerts crouched over for a count of 5 but it was enough to give his opponent the points needed to decisively win the final judges decision. Personally, I think they should extend the championship fight until a clear decision is made by a K.O.!

The real upset of the night, however, which almost bought me to tears, was the retirement of “Mr. Perfect” Ernesto Hoost . At 41 years old he is still a top fighter and has taken the crown 4 times in his fighting career. Loosing his match by decision to Shilt marked his retirement from the K1 ring. Having had the pleasure to act as interpreter for him and other top seeded fighters on several occasions, I swear the guy is a gentleman through and through. He is quiet spoken and respectful to all around him. Just don’t expect to leave the ring walking! He really deserves his own full page write-up but today I will settle for expressing a hearty “Thanks!” for everything he has done for the Sport.

Keep watching this space for the other evolutionary branch of the Martial Arts – PRIDE

“My name is Blue, and I am an addict”..

When I was still a coffee cherry-boy, back in the days when all I knew was instant Nescafe (I still shudder when I think of those times!), I always used to scoff at the self proclaimed coffee habitués that loved to tell everyone within earshot how they couldn’t get through their morning without (insert number here) coffees. I was introduced to real coffee at quite a late stage in life, I guess when I was around 20. It was in Kyoto at Gold’s house actually, and I have never forgiven him for it..!

I am now as hooked as any of those junkies that used to preach to me, and I now want your sympathy for my caffeine addiction..!! Only joking, but I am hooked, and am the proud owner of one of those fancy espresso makers which make reasonable milk foam in the comfort of your own home. It is a Saeco Magic model, a little expensive, but damn it is easy to make a pretty reasonable cappuccino. You can click here to view it on Amazon.co.jp and buy in English, or just click on the image to the right. That is the machine in action.

Anyway, I don’t want to waste your time boring you with my addiction. I want to let you know about a little known but nevertheless cool coffee related event on in Tokyo a little while ago, which all coffee lovers should know about. As news, this may be a little old now, but this is a story which should have a close affinity with many readers – after all its about coffee!

In August, the Specialty Coffee Association of Japan (SCAJ, there are some wonderful associations around aren’t there?) held the World Specialty Coffee Conference & Exhibition 2006 (SCAJ2006) from Aug7-9, 2006 at the Tokyo International Forum in Yurakucho. It was – according to the SCAJ homepage – “The Biggest Independent Coffee Conference & Exhibition in Japan”, and they estimated “5,000 Coffee Professional Guests” would attend (I hope I was considered one of the five thousand, although I am not sure what makes one a coffee professional guest).

Perhaps the most interesting part of the show for most though, was the “Latte Art Exhibition”, where 6 professional barristas from all over Japan showed their flair in a competition where they had to whip together 6 cups of fancy coffee within a set 8 minute time limit. They had the following guidelines, and apart from these, how they created their art was left to their own style.

They had to make 2 café lattes, 2 café macchiatos, and 2 original beverages, using at least one non-alcohol ingredient.

Well, what a performance! In spite of the fact that this is a heck of a feat to carry out in 8 minutes, all the participants kept the crowed on their toes with excitement as they whirled their cups around the coffee makers and milk steamers under the heat (and pressure) of TV cameras and lights. There were only a hundred or so chairs set out, and by half way through there were twice that many people again standing stretching their necks to catch a glimpse of the performers and their pizzazz.

They were judged on aesthetic quality based on:

• Whether the pictures they drew in the top of the lattes were smooth, and identical in both cups
• The creaminess and quality of appearance of their milk foam
• The contrast of the white fluffy foam vs. the coffee brown espresso art on top

And also on the taste and aroma of the beverages covering:

• Balance of espresso and milk
• Temperature
• Smoothness of drinking
• Taste of the milk foam

If they finished within the 8 minute time limit, they were rewarded 5 points for every 15 seconds, and stripped the same amount for every 15 seconds of overtime. The whole exercise being focused on how fast they could make a consistently good cup of coffee that pleased all the senses! This according to the SCAJ is the 使命 (mandate) for every aspiring barrista.

How is that for a coffee lover’s spectator competition! The winner was Miyuki Miyamae of Cafféra (a coffee shop inside Daimaru Kobe). She is also the holder of 4th place in the 2004 World Latte Art Championships.

Miyamae started her bout with her macchiatos. The crowed was engulfed in the tense air of the competition, totally gripped by her speed and fluid movement of her hands which were clearly visible on the massive TV screens projecting from behind her. The clarity of the heart shapes she drew with espresso wowed the crowed as they were formed in perfect identical shapes on top of the shaving cream like milk foam on both cups. She was careful to clean the espresso machines as she went (cleanliness of the whole process was also under scrutiny), and on she proceeded to her 2 cups of latte.

Her original piece was also exquisite. She again pulled the crowd off their seat with anticipation as she poured hot espresso on top of smooth white chocolate and coconut syrup topped with rich marshmallow like milk foam. In this, she swiftly painted the face of a teddy bear with waves of espresso and a flick of her spoon on top of both cups, and she was done. The bears appeared like magic in what seemed to be only seconds. It was easy to see that this is not something that one could not easily perform at home without years of practice – the sign of a true pro. This fantastic finale once again drew an awestruck「ほぉ〜」(wooow..) from the crowd in unison.

2nd place was taken by Kumiko Saito, and 3rd by Dominik Majdadzic from Australia (go the gaijins!). The competition was a fresh chance to see something (that I now take for granted as a relaxing caffeine “hit” each morning) being created as artwork with speed and dexterity that demonstrated just what it is to be a pro in your field. These people obviously love what they do, and enjoy serving up the best cuppas in Japan. Their attitude was something for all of us to aspire to.

Think about the part coffee plays in your daily life, and in the lives of hundred’s of millions of people around the world daily. Have you ever tried to give it up? I don’t like your chances – It’s a tasty drink, and powerful but thankfully legal drug!