J-Plus continues with Kobe and Kyoto, but because there’s a story to go with my trip to Kobe, let’s go to Kyoto first.
This isn’t the first time I’ve been to Japan, Osaka, Tokyo or Kyoto – I visited when I was in elementary school on an exchange trip between elderly Americans and Japanese families.
You might wonder how I, not an elderly American, became part of the trip. Well, my grandparents went, and brought me with them to Yamaguchi Prefecture, among other sights. I remember well waking up to a hotel breakfast in Tokyo and seeing the news ticker lined with Kanji, or Chinese characters – easy reading for having grown up learning Mandarin in Taiwan; it felt familiar.
Kyoto was about the same as I remembered it, just with a lot more Chinese tourists this time. I will let the photos do the talking.
At one point I found myself at the foot of a hill, and started walking up through the mosquito-laden area to a view of the city.
Kobe began with style in the harbor, fancy restaurants and bars, scoring a picture of me when I was 25 years old.
Also impressive were the Japanese wrestling posters and other ads. But the return journey featured a highly inebriated man, who almost lost his phone were it not for the timely intervention of a good samaritan – myself.
He writhed and wrangled his way across the train car to the disgust of many, but I knew the feeling.
Next time, the castles, gardens and paths of Kanazawa…And now, your J-Plus tape, which apparently was released along with a magazine covering Japanese music of the same Sounds of Japan name:
A hybrid of aerial circus and circuit training gets you the zusi Circuit, special programming on rotation shared by special people. For our inaugural Circuit we have Peter S., last seen in the the Dream Journal, provide Peter’s Picks, 14 songs he’s been listening to recently and from COVID times.
When my friend Phil asked me to write a guest entry in his blog to share some music, I was honored and excited. When he asked me to keep it to ten songs (five I’ve been listening to lately and five from the Covid years), I was…skeptical I’d be able to do that. Alas, my submission consists of 14 songs. Sorry Phil! Here are Peter’s Picks:
I’ve been a fan of Daphni’s Dan Snaith – a Canadian mathematician-turned-music producer better known by his other stage name, Caribou – since high school. This remix (not to mention its AI art inspired video) has been a highlight of 2023 for me so far.
Here’s how German duo Brigade describes their music: “if Han Solo and Chewbacca went through a dub techno / funky house phase, instead of joining the rebellion, this is what they would sound like.” Not sure how to interpret that but I like it.
My friend Dave has this song on his diaper changing playlist as an instructional reminder, to go along with several other aptly named classics like “Push it” and “So Fresh, So Clean.” I’ve been enjoying this faithful Sam Evian cover a lot lately too.
Andy Shauf consistently makes quality music with fantastically rich storytelling. If you enjoy this track, I highly recommend checking out two of his earlier albums: The Party and The Neon Skyline.
When the pandemic broke out I was living and working in Panama. The government there quickly instituted a quarantine during which I was allowed to leave home for a two hour window, two days per week. Amen Dunes’ amazing 2018 album (ironically named Freedom) was one of the things that helped keep me sane during those months spent pacing around my little apartment. This song in particular perfectly distills so many of the emotions from that time period.
Ween was a go-to during the pandemic when I needed a laugh. Not only are their songs hilarious, they’re incredible musicians with the ability to play music from a huge variety of genres.
A friend and I did a road trip through California and Nevada in the fall of 2020, shortly after I moved back from Panama. This song came on as we passed through Yosemite Canyon, which was full of beautiful fall foliage at the time. It was the perfect complement to a gorgeous dreamscape.
