Yamashirogumi in Shinjuku

Entertainment on Sunday was a brief trip to the Epson Epsite gallery in Shinjuku. Sadly Gallery 1, where the reptile and amphibian exhibition was on, was closed on a Sunday. Gallery with 2 with Yukikazu Ito's exhibition titled "The Rain, Asphalt", had, well, pictures of rain bouncing on to.. you guessed it, asphalt.

The first couple of photos were OK, but half way round the small gallery I was thinking, yes, OK, I've seen rain on the road.. The final shot was the kind the kind of out-take I would just delete, but he seemed to think it was worth while printing anyway.

The gallery acts as a showcase for Epson's range of printers and output devices. One gentleman was getting a photograph printed, which was a lot more presentable than some in the gallery. It's not clear if you have to pay for it, or they offer it as some kind of demonstration. I'm hoping to go back to see the Ryu Uchiyama's reptiles in Gallery 2 before it finishes on Aug 22nd.

Location : First floor Shinjuku Mitsui Building. Nearest station Nishi Shinjuku, or 10 minutes walk along the underpass from Shinjuku station. Entrance: free.

Outside in the plaza a large set had been contructed for the CAK festival. The Yamashirogumi group of percussion enthusiasts were formed in 1974 and play over eighty different types of folk music from around the world. We watched them playing some excellent xylophones.






There's a three minute recording I took from the afternoon on YouTube here along with some other videos other users have uploaded too.

Tokyo Players: NY Style Comedy

I just got back from the Punchline comedy night at Pizza Express that I mentioned before. It was an excellent night of stand-up comedy at its best. Mandy Night was wickedly abusive to many members of the audience. The lawyer in the front row certainly got a lot of attention from her and I wish I could have seen the expression on the young lad who was with his parents when she was trying to embarass him with her desire for young men. Tommy Campbell had me spilling my drink with his story about the dog and a condom. Carey (from the Dairy) Marx, with his teddy bear named Parsnip, told some cracking jokes and stories of a seriously non PC nature.

It's only now, after I revisited their website, that I notice that it is run in association with The Comedy Store London which explains why it felt so much like being back in England. That, and the fact that 99% of the audience were expats.

The Japan Times this morning was advertising some more comedy, this time with more of an American flavour. The Tokyo Players are presenting a comedy play entitled "The Plaza Suite" which sounds very good. The newspaper is running a lottery to win a pair of tickets. Just go to this page and use the password "comedy" before Feb 22nd. The shows are on Feb 29th, March 1st and March 2nd at the Akasaka V Theater which is a 3-minute walk from Akasaka Station on the Chiyoda Line. Tickets are ¥4,000 for adults. For more information and bookings, go to www.tokyoplayers.org.

Meanwhile in Korea, not comedy but music, I spotted Mark Russell of Korea Pop Wars has started the Korea Gig Guide so that you can find out what's going on in the Korean live music scene. Well done Mark, it looks as if it's off to a great start with plenty of gigs on the calendar.

He's based the idea on the Tokyo Gig Guide which I had not heard of until now. Another two links to add to the blogroll.