This weekend was the Fuji Rock festival in Naeba Japan. 4 days of camping and 3 days of music in some beautiful mountains in the Western side of Central Japan. There was pretty big group of us including: Scott, Lockie, Simon, Grant, Shuichi, Masaki, Sagen, Tomo, Hikaru, Sam, Simon, and Jetty. Most of the guys live in Koenji and we end up drinking there nearly every weekend so I designed and made a flag for our campsite which you can see below. The flag says Koenji Kaizokudan (高円寺海賊団）or Koenji Pirates. The trip was some of the most fun I have had in Japan and really some of the most fun I have had in many years. We saw some great acts and the Franz Ferdinand show was most definitely one of the best live performances I have ever seen. I actually have to thank Flavor Flav and his criminal background for the opportunity to see Franz Ferdinand. Unfortunately throughout the festival there were many bands I wanted to see which conflicted at the same time forcing me to make some hard decisions. Franz Ferdinand and Public Enemy were one of those conflicts. I had all intentions to see Public Enemy when shortly before they were scheduled to perform Grant mentioned he noticed something on an information board regarding Flavor Flav. It turns out he was denied a Visa into Japan which was likely because of his less than clean police record. Since I felt Public Enemy without Flavor Flav would be a bit odd (even though Chuck D is really what PE is all about) I made a last minute decision to join the others at Franz Ferdinand  which turned out to be fantastic. Thank you Flavor Flav and Grant!

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(Franz Ferdinand)

Click Read the rest of this entry for highlights from the festival

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This Ramen turned out to be one of the best bowls of Ramen I have ever had. It is definitely a bit unusual and not traditional at all. The bowl was filled with large pieces of seared pork and fish cake as well as two wantons and a soft boiled egg. The broth also took on a nice smokey seared flavor from the meat. There are quite a few kinds of seared pork options on their menu so I will definitely have to return soon to try some others.

According to Natsuko the Dorayaki from this place is loved so much by the creator of Doraemon that it was the reason why dorayaki is such a big part of the Doraemon character.

After last years Chofu Fireworks we wanted to try this ramen but the line was too long and the rain was too heavy. This year there was still a line the weather was good. This was a solid Shoyu Ramen (Soy Sauce). Nothing about it was particularly unique or especially standout but the everything just worked really well. One thing I have come to learn about Ramen is that it is really hard to make all the different parts work well in harmony together but this Ramen is very successful at that.

Japan now has an ID card system for buying cigarettes from vending machines called Taspo. Basically it is some kind of RFID card required as ID to prevent purchases by minors. The card is free and I thought it was interesting even though I don’t smoke. Turned out it was good Japanese practice for me to talk with the people at the Taspo office and fill out the forms. And while waiting for my card there was a problem which they called me on my phone to take care of which I managed to handle without a problem which I was happy about.

Another good bowl of Ramen in Koenji. The noodles were a bit thick and hard for my taste but the soup and pork were excellent.

I have always been curious about Freshness Burger but for whatever reason I have never tried it until now. I was surprised to discover it was probably the best hamburger I have had here in Japan (not that I have tried too many). So if you are in Japan and you have a craving for a real burger with a bun skip McD’s or Mos and give Freshness a try.

Saw this classic arcade game at the Jam studio in Koenji. RIP MJ.

I was hoping they were gonna break out some synthesizers before my train came but I am happy with the picture anyway.

While checking out my friends band “The Virginations” in Koenji we popped in this place for a bowl of Ramen. It turned out to be an excellent bowl of Tonkotsu Ramen. Unfortunately I have no idea what it is called (the street is too small to check on Google Street View), I’ll have to check the next time I am in the area which will be soon enough.