Japan’s number one English language magazine JUNE 2014 Songs from the Heart Chris Hart Lets His Music Do the Talking COME TOGETHER Our Summer Festival Guide HELL ON WHEELS Vintage Motorbikes Tear Up a Saitama Race Course WORLD CUP 2014 The Samurai Blue Get Ready to Hit Brazil ALSO: Director Steve McQueen Exhibits a Daring Short Film, People Parties and Places, Agenda, and More ... JUNE 2014 www.tokyoweekender.com JUNE 2014 CONTENTS 10 HELL ON WHEELS A band of vintage motorcycle enthusiasts push their bikes to the limit 6 8 12 SUMMER FESTIVALS CHRIS HART WORLD CUP GUIDE The best action of the season, from The crooner talks about his path from We look ahead to the teams and players who shitamachi samba to a rock fest in Niigata vending machine technician to J-Pop star are preparing to take Brazil by storm 13 Manabu Saito 18 Seisen International School 26 Movies The Yokohama F. Marinos star looks Discovering the joys involved in giving Wes Anderson returns, and Jon Snow goes forward to shining on the world stage back to the community up against a volcano 14 World Cup Wallchart 19 Poppins International School 28 Agenda Keep track of your favorite teams’ Combining cutting-edge research with Club action galore, a charity “Yamathon,” progress towards the championship children’s natural love of learning and bugs that light up the night 16 Steve McQueen 22 People, Parties, Places 30 Back in the Day An artist and filmmaker displays a new Bill Hersey, catching up on Tokyo’s ever Chinese students in Tokyo stage a rally in work at Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo busy social scene support of the Tiananmen protests www.tokyoweekender.com JUNE 2014 THIS MONTH IN THE WEEKENDER like Chris Hart, finding fame as a J-Pop crooner (and as our cover star for the month). Not only did Hart’s JUNE 2014 Japan’s number one English language magazine JUNE 2014 vocal stylings land him an album deal, it put him in touch with his future Songs from wife: not a bad turn of events for a guy the Heart who came over to Japan working for a Chris Hart Lets His vending machine company. Music Do the Talking It must have been quite a vision Publisher BC Media Group that inspired a pack of vintage Chairman Ray Pedersen COME TOGETHER motorcycle enthusiasts to pack Our Summer Festival Guide Executive Producer Asi Rinestine up dozens of bikes into a shipping container and send them across the Editor Alec Jordan HELL ON WHEELS Pacific from California for a day Art Director Liam Ramshaw Vintage Motorbikes Tear Illustrator Liam Akin Up a Saitama Race Course of racing on a Saitama dirt course. We have to admit that reading this Media Director Kotaro Toda WORLD CUP 2014 account of the Hell on Wheels crew’s Account Executives Nobu (Nick) Nakazawa The Samurai Blue Get Ready to Hit Brazil adventures in Kawagoe had us reveling Ohad Elbaz ALSO: Director Steve McQueen Exhibits a Daring Short Film, People Parties and Places, Agenda, and More ... in the heady funk of engine fumes and Media Consultant Mary Rudow nd with that, spring has imagining a dirt-biking alter ego. Marketing Ingrid Dubreuil shuffled off over a few And even the Americans among Editorial Consultant Sami Kawahara short weeks. We’ve still us know that something big is coming A up in the sports world this month, an Society Bill Hersey got some time—and plenty of rain—before Japan’s summer days event that fans and athletes alike have Editorial Associates Vivian Morelli hit us with their full oppressive force, been dreaming of for months and Matthew Hernon years. Whether you played a bit when Mace Bertumen but we’re starting to get a hint. One thing the coming of summer you were younger or are just getting Film Christopher O’Keeffe reminds us of, though, are those lazy to know the game better, you’ll want days when you could just look up at to check out our guide to all the action IT Manager Nick Adams that will be going on down south. Development Manager Stephane Boudoux the clouds scudding by and daydream Finance & Admin Sakura Arimura entire afternoons away. And even in So, stay cool, stay dry, and we’ll DBA Iryna Sundutova this busiest of cities, we’re still prone see you again once things have really to stealing a bit of time to dream warmed up next month. about what we’ll be when we grow up, and you can read about a few of them this month. Some of us might harbor fantasies EST. Corky Alexander, 1970 of taking our singing outside of the Editor shower or the karaoke room, and Published monthly at the Regency Shinsaka Building, 5th floor 8-5-8 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052 (03) 6666-4924 / (03) 6432-9229 (fax) [email protected] To subscribe to the Tokyo Weekender, please call (03) 6666-4924 or email: [email protected] For ad sales inquiries, please call (03) 6666-4924 or email: [email protected] www.tokyoweekender.com Opinions expressed by Weekender contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher Published by BC Media Group www.bulbouscell.com Fried Sushi by Liam Akin. To see more of Liam’s work check out www.friedsushi.net JUNE 2014 www.tokyoweekender.com www.tokyoweekender.com JUNE 2014 Gearing up for a summer in Tokyo? You don’t have to go too far to get your share of fun—whether you go in for music festivals, beach bashes or traditional mat- suri. Time to let your hair down and fill up your calendar with some celebration By Vivian Morelli HOSTESS CLUB SUMMER SONIC 2014 WEEKENDER AUGUST 16–17 JUNE 21–22 WHAT IS IT: A short (and cheap!) WHAT IS IT: Music festivals don’t train ride away in Chiba prefec- get much more indie than this. ture, Summer Sonic has been The twice yearly festival brings building a solid reputation over together a mix of old favorites and the last decade. Expect an eclectic obscure bands for a two-day show- mix of important international case. This June edition presents Blonde Redhead and Cat Power as names as well as local talent—everyone from pop megastars to 90s headliners, alongside Simian Mobile Disco, Cloud Nothings, Perfume punk rockers will be taking it to the stages of Makuhari Messe, Marine Genius, Sohn, Toy, Highasakite, Joan as Policewoman and The Bohicas. Stadium and the beach. So far, Arctic Monkeys, Avenged Sevenfold, Phoenix, and rock legends Queen and Robert Plant have been an- FOR YOU IF: None of those band names sound obscure, and you’ve nounced. managed to install Spotify in Japan. FOR YOU IF: You like your music with a side of air conditioning. WHAT TO WEAR: Pair those New Balance sneakers with stonewash jeans, we hear normcore is big this year. WHAT TO WEAR: Flat shoes, as the distance between the Marine Stadi- um and Makuhari Messe isn’t short, and a watch, as you won’t want to miss your top acts. ELECTRIC RUN JULY 11–12 WHAT IS IT: Fitness and laser SONIC MANIA 2014 shows? Run a 5K along a AUGUST 15 neon-adorned course on the WHAT IS IT: The all-night dance shores of Chiba, and end the work- party is Summer Sonic’s warm-up, out with a huge party featuring and is held the night before the DJs, lasers and glow-in-the-dark actual festival. It caters to a bit of beachballs. Participants are encouraged to wear their flashiest cos- a different crowd, but if you have tumes and to walk or even dance the race. enough energy and luck getting your hands on some tickets, you should stick around for the main FOR YOU IF: A 5K seems like a challenge. event. This year’s Sonic Mania presents Kasabian, Kraftwerk, Mogwai and Krewella. WHAT TO BRING: Your sneakers and some glow-in-the-dark gear. FOR YOU IF: You’re more EDM than classic rock. WHAT TO BRING: A change of clothes for the next day, as you’ll be pulling an overnighter. JUNE 2014 www.tokyoweekender.com YOYOGI CULTURE FESTIVALS ALL SUMMER WHAT IS IT: You know it’s officially summer when Yoyogi Park gets overtaken by swarms of people, waiting in front of countless food stalls exuding delicious, spicy aromas—for every single weekend until the leaves turn red. Sample foods and performances from Indonesia, Brazil, Thailand, Latin America, Vietnam, India and Sri Lanka, to name a few places. FOR YOU IF: You’d rather not leave the city and don’t mind queuing FUJI ROCK 2014 up for food. JULY 25–27 WHAT IS IT: An outdoor, weekend-long festival tucked amidst the misty WHAT TO BRING: An empty stomach and your patience. mountains of Niigata. Whatever the weather—it will rain, and you will get a sunburn—the trip to Japan’s best-known music festival will be an epic journey. This year’s lineup includes Arcade Fire, Denki Groove, Manic Street Preachers, The Flaming Lips, Jack Johnson, SUMIDA RIVER Franz Ferdinand, Blur’s Damon Albarn, Travis, The Lumineers, Out- FIREWORKS FESTIVAL kast, Lorde, Basement Jaxx and a few more handfuls. JULY 26 WHAT IS IT: By far the oldest and FOR YOU IF: Camping for three nights and skipping a few showers largest (not to mention busiest) doesn’t make you want to run away. fireworks display in Tokyo, the Sumida River Fireworks Festival WHAT TO BRING: Mosquito repellent, rain boots, a tent and sunscreen.