Live Music Club Around the Corner

 We've been coming to the area for over ten years and yet there are always new things to discover. Friends were playing at a live music club nearby and invited us along. The Tomo Club is run by....Tomo. A 60ish beatnick with long hair and a warm smile.

Its upstairs above a shop nearby  and all these years we never knew it existed.

Once a month there is an "Open Mike" afternoon.

The studio/ cafe is also used for recording and radio broeadcasts so the sound quality was terrificc.

Locals crowded in and enjoyed a most pleasnat afternoon of music. Drinks were cheap and there was a interesting menu with three choices.

Thai Curry
Spam Burger
Chili con carne

Oh well, you can't have everything I suppose.

On this occasion it was a fund raiser for Cambodian orphans, the owner has done a lot of helping over there over the years.
He is a terrific musician and kicked off with half a dozen songs.

  Next came these two guys. Both professional musicians. The one on the left had had a stroke and could walk or speak a year ago. But boy you should hear him now. The one of the right is one of the best blues, funk  R&B guitarists I've ever heard. He embellished each tune with goergeous licks and musical interjections.
Japanese rock and jazz musicians bring a typical level of perfection to everything they do, without losing any spontaneity and emotion.

Last were   "The Yoneshiro band".
This is the band I played with last year at a long, long anniversary party.
These are not professional musicians, but they could be, they're very good. Formed around the lead gutarist who runs our favourite little restaurant and bar, "Yoneshiro"

It was a great afternoon all around. Its wonderful that out here in the suburbs of Tokyo ther eare these local community events that are really so enjoyable.

Tidying up the Local Shrine

 Diagonally across the very narrow street in front of our house, there is a Kamakura era shrine. That makes it about 700 years old.


One of our neighbours, the frighteningly effecient Mrs Sasaki, had organised a working bee to tidy up the grounds.

So in the light drizzle about 12 of us from the surrounding houses duly reported for duty, 9.00 am sharp Sunday morning.


Sasaki-san gave instructions and firmly but politely  quashed silly suggestions from a few old men present. No buts, we were going to tidy up the correct way, the Sasaki way.





It was all a lot of fun, branches were lopped, weeds uprooted and paths swept.

I won many local brown points that morning.

Although it may be part of larger suburbs or a city each small area in Japan in organised on a village basis. In fact we even have a village chief.

There are down sides to living in such an orderly and obedient society. But one of the big advantages is the way everyone gets involved in community activites .Even in posh areas the locals have street sweeping roster and so on.

Walking to the station in the mornings there are pensioners in uniform at each major intersection directing primary school kids in snake lines across the road. When you get to the station two or three others are sweeping out front and picking up rubbish. Someone elso is watering the station's flower pots. Marvellous really. Local important information is relayed by an interesting method. In our village house number 1 gets the notice, reads it then puts their seal on it. They then put it in the next house's letter box and the reading and sealing continues to the last house in the village.