A Walk to Harajuku and Back / アパートから原宿往復の散歩

Last October I had a reason for wanting to walk from our house in Wakabayashi to Harajuku. At the La Foret building, there was a KISS exhibition. I thought that would be a fun thing to check out as I had been a long time KISS fan and KISS was the first concert I went to. Walking from our apartment to Harajuku would take us about 45 minutes to an hour but we enjoying walking on the weekends.

去年の１０月、まだ東京に住んでたころ、うちにある若林から原宿まで散歩に出かけました。距離は結構ありますが、歩けば４５分が一時間に原宿に着く。今日はちゃんとした目的があって、原宿に行こうとしたんです。ラフォーレ原宿にあるラフォーレミュージアムでロックバンドのキッスの博覧会がある。キッス好きな僕は行くしかないと思った。自分の初ライブもキッスだったし、面白そうと思った。

I also like checking out public art pieces whenever we go walking.

散歩中にいろんな銅像や彫刻も興味もあり、つい写真を撮ってしまう。

Here we are at La Foret in Harajuku.

ラフォレー原宿に到着。

I was pretty excited about checking out the KISS Expo...until I saw the entrance fee. 2000yen (about 20-25 USD). That would mean almost 40 to 50 USD for me and my wife. I had thought the entrance fee would be a lot less than that. I was willing to spend no more than 1000yen. 2000yen just seemed like a rip-off to me. I'm sure we have Gene Simmons to thank for that - greedy bastard! Not wanting to contribute any more to his wealth, I told my wife we could skip the exhibition.

結構ワクワクしてたが。キッス博覧会。楽しみだ。っと思ったが入場金を見て、２０００円？その半分くらいならわかるけど、２０００円の価値あるかな。迷わず見るの諦めた。ジーン・シモンズの貪欲には貢献したくない。妻に別に見なくって良いわと言って、私たちはそのまま散歩を続けた。

Hey, but I like cool cars and in front of La Foret, this BMW was displayed.

カッコイイ車も好きなので、ラフォレーの入口の前にこのBMWが展示されてた。

Since we are in Harajuku, we decided to walk along Takeshita Street, one of the most popular tourist spots in Tokyo.

せっかく原宿にいるから、竹下通りにも散歩しました。

My image of Harajuku are the crepe shops.

原宿と言えばやっぱりクレープの店のイメージがあるな。

Harajuku Graffiti / 原宿落書き

The main entrance to Takeshita Street.

竹下通りのメインの入口。

Can you believe the city of Tokyo wants to tear down Harajuku station and replace it with a more modern structure (and a larger one too) as Harajuku on the weekends gets quite crowded. It would be a shame to lose this structure though in my opinion. We also had lunch here in Harajuku at one of the most popular ramen shops in Tokyo, but I had already written about it.

東京都が原宿駅の再開発も検討してるので、原宿駅を壊して、もっと大きくするかどうか。こんな可愛い駅を壊すのは残念と思う。僕はこのまま原宿駅が残って欲しいな。味がある駅だ。でも最近の利用客の人数が半端ないので、もしかして、このビルはなくなる。原宿の人気ラーメン店で昼食を食べましたが、そのネタは書き済でした。

And for once, there wasn't an extremely long line in front of Garrett's popcorn shop so we decided to buy some to see what all the fuss was about.

原宿にあるギャレットポップコーンの店、今日行列がないため、買っちゃいました。

Yeah, they were good, but I don't understand why anyone would stand in line for two hours to buy them.

美味しいは美味しいけど、２時間の行列に並ぶほどではないと思うな。

A mobile vegetable stand!

移動式八百屋だ！

This looks like a nice house or so I thought but my wife recognized it as a high end restaurant called [Chez Matsuo] which is owned and run by Kozo Matsuo. Oh my, I wish I knew about his place when I could still afford to indulge in high end eateries (not that I really had the money to do so), but at least once would have been enough.

この家が素敵だなと思ったら妻が家ではなく高級料理店の分かってた。店の名前は「シェ松尾」。松尾幸造の店です。渋谷の近くにこういうレストランもあったんだな。渋谷と言っても高級住宅街の松濤にある。昔からあったみたい。もっと前に知ってたら一回は行って見たかったな。でも夜は一万円から二万五千円くらいみたい。

Should we eat lunch here? The course is just a little less than a hundred dollars!

ここでランチ食べようか？ランチコースは一万円くらいみたいよ！

And a short visit to Nabeshima Shoto Park.

鍋島松濤公園をちょっと覗いてみた。

A little history about Nabeshima Shoto Park. This area was originally owned by the Tokugawa family. They then sold it to the Nabeshima family who turned the area into a tea garden and called it Shoto Garden. The tea garden closed in 1932 and the land was given to the city of Tokyo. Control of the park was then handed to Shibuya Ward in 1950 and is still Shibuya Ward's responsibility.

And did you know there was also an art museum in Shoto near Shibuya? This is the Shoto Museum of Art.

渋谷区の松濤にアートの美術館もあるのご存知でしたか？ここは松濤美術館です。

From Shoto back to our apartment took about another 30 minutes where we called it a day.

松濤からうちのアパートまでは３０分くらいの散歩です。帰って今日の冒険が終わりました。

Loud Park 16 (Day 2 Part 3) / ラウドパーク １６ （デイ２ パート３）

Part 3 of Day 2 of Japan's only Heavy Metal Festival.

ラードパーク二日目、パート３．

After the Uli Jon Roth set, it was time for Symphony X. I didn't bother checking out Enslaved at the Extreme Stage whose set started in the middle of Uli Jon Roth's time slot. And since I had seen Symphony X in concert before, I decided to continue watching from the stands.

ウリ・ジョン・ロットのあとはニューヨーク出身のバンド、シンフォニーX。以前もライブ見たこともあって、スタンドの席から見ました。ウリのセットの途中、エクストリームステージにEnslavedのライブも始まったが、そっち系は全然興味なく、見逃して良いと思った。

ENSLAVED

Set List:

1.Roots of the Mountain

2.Building with Fire
3.Ground
4.Ethica Odini
5.Allfodr Odinn
6.Isa

SYMPHONY X

Set List:

1.Nevermore

2.Underworld
3.Run with the Devil
4.Without You
5.Set the World on Fire (The Lie of Lies)
6.Serpent's Kiss
7.Out of the Ashes
8.Of Sins and Shadows
9.Sea of Lies

After the Symphony X set, It was about 5pm. I decided to go in search of food so I missed out on the bands that played that time slot. Killswitch Engage on the Bigrock Stage and Amorphis on the Extreme Stage.

Symphony Xのライブが終わったら丁度夕飯の時間になった。５時の時間帯で演奏するバンドは全然見てなかった。ビッグロックステージにKillswitch EngageとエクストリームステージにAmorphis。ま、食べ物、食べ物。

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE

Set List:

1.My Curse

2.Strength of Mind
3.Beyond the Flames
4.Rose of Sharyn
5.Alone I Stand
6.The New Awakening
7.Hate by Design
8.Always
9.My Last Serenade
10.This is Absolution
11.The End of Heartache
12.In Due Time

AMORPHIS

Set List:

1.Under the Red Cloud

2.Sacrifice
3.Bad Blood
4.On Rich and Poor
5.Drowned Maid
6.Silver Bride
7.House of Sleep
8.Hopeless Days
9.Dark Path
10.Death of a King
11.Black Winter Day

But I did want to catch Dizzy Mizz Lizzy's set. I had seen them last year and was impressed. They are quite popular in Japan but most of my American friends have never heard of them.

次のバンドのセットを見逃したくなかった。去年のラウド・パークでも見たのに、カッコイイと思った。デンマーク出身のDizzy Mizz Lizzy。日本には結構人気ありますが、アメリカでははとんど知られてない。

DIZZY MIZZ LIZZY

Set List:

1.Phlying Pharoah

2.I Would If I Could But I Can't
3.Waterline
4.Barbedwired Baby's Dreams
5.Find My Way
6.Forward in Reverse
7.Brainless
8.Rotator
9.Silverflame
10.Love at Second Sight
11.Made to Believe
12.Glory

Uh, yeah, I skipped the Dark Funeral set as well.

うんと、はい、Dark Funeralのライブも行きませんでした。

DARK FUNERAL

Set List:

1.Unchain My Soul

2.666 Voices Inside
3.Ravenna Strigoi Mortii
4.The Arrival of Satan's Empire
5.Atrum Regina
6.As One We Shall Conquer
7.Stigmata
8.Nail Them to the Cross
9.My Funeral
10.Where Shadows Forever Reign

NIGHTWISH

But I was excited to see Nightwish.

でもナイトウィッシュのライブは絶対見ると決めてた。

I also met up with my good friend Maki. I usually see her once a year, here at Loud Park. She had just become a mother and she said she wasn't sure if she would be able to go this year but her husband let go for the second day only to see Nightwish.

Nightwishのセットが終わったら、自分の仲の良い友達を発見。新米ママになったばっかりだから今年ラウドパーク来るのかどうかと思ったが、彼女の旦那が一日許した見たいけど、Nightwishのライブのあとに帰った。でも会えて良かった。何年か前から年に一回しか会わない様になった。いつもこのラウドパークで。今年旦那がちょっとの間子守とお留守だったみたい。

Set List:

1.Shudder Before the Beautiful

2.Yours Is an Empty Hope
3.Storytime
4.Elan
5.7 Days to the Wolves
6.Wishmaster
7.I Want My Tears Back
8.Nemo
9.Last Ride of the Day
10.The Greatest Show on Earth

WHITESNAKE

David Coverdale and company! What more needs to be said?

デヴィッド・カヴァーデールのホワイトスネイク。ほかに聞くことある？

Set List:

1.Bad Boys
2.Slide It In
3.Love Ain't No Stranger
4.Deeper The Love
5.Fool For Your Lovin'
6.Ain't No Love
7.Judgement Day
8.Guitar solos
9.Slow & Easy
10.Cryin' In the Rain
11.Drum solo (Tommy Aldrige)
12.Is This Love
13.Gimme All Your Love
14.Here I Go Again
15.Still of the Night
encore
16.Burn (Deep Purple cover)

As with Klaus Meine of the Scorpions the night before, David Coverdale has not lost his voice. I remember seeing them when Steve Vai was in the band for the album "Slip of the Tongue" sometime back in the late '90s. A very decent set too that covered all the hits or at least the songs I wanted to hear. And their encore ended with a cover of Deep Purple's "Burn"! What more could you ask for? So ended another of year of Loud Park. I hope to see you next year!

前日スコーピオンズのクラウス・マイネ、デヴィッドの声も絶好調！なんだか９０年代の終わりくらい、スティーヴ・ヴァイが参加した”スリップ・オブ・ザ・タング”のツアーを思い出す。結構自分が好きな曲をやってくれましたな。最後のアンコールはパープルの”バーン”でした。や～、超嬉しかった！そして今年のラウドパークの幕が閉じた。また来年会場で会いましょ！