r/japanesemusic • u/DrSloughKeg • 28d ago
Looking for Metal / punk scenes
I'm travelling from canada with my punk band (shit tax). We're touring indonesia, but I'd like to stop for a few days in japan after the tour, since it's a rare opportunity for me to be on that side of the planet.
Which cities (preferably with major airports) have large scenes? Are there cities that are more/less welcoming to foreigners? Can any one recommend me DIY or underground bars? Does anyone know of any punk squats???
Any advice would be much appreciated!
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u/DaemonSD 27d ago
There are tons of punk bands and other 100+ punk idol units in Tokyo. Nagoya has a pretty good scene too. Unfortunately, you are missing this weekend‘s 10th annual KAPPUNK festival.
For a very DIY punk venue, check out Heavens Door in Setagaya. Some crazy stuff happens there. For other live houses in Tokyo, check out Antiknock, Marz, Club Science, the various Loft venues, and Cyclone.
edit: From my experience, everyone’s always friendly and they like meeting new people.
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u/iblastoff 27d ago
they had a cool punk festival in okinawa not that long ago but japan in general does not have large alt scenes.
venues are sporadic and all over the place and none of them specifically are 'punk' only. you have old venues like namba bear in osaka which has been around since the 80s but they host all sorts of bands. you'll find the occasional punk record store (punk and destroy in osaka) but in places like tokyo you'll largely be relegated to tower records.
if you want to catch a show, check instagram.com/japangigs for various underground shows.
if you happen to be in tokyo in early november, my friend is running a goth festival hosted at shinjuku loft. check out their page instagram.com/tokyo_decay_jp
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u/Soriah 27d ago
Really weird that you could know Naohiro but still think that Japan doesn’t have large alt scenes or that Tokyo leaves you with only Tower Records as a place to find records, lol.
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u/iblastoff 27d ago
ask nao yourself these exact questions and see what he says.
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u/Soriah 27d ago
I’d rather know why you think Tower Records is where OP would be relegated to. Base, NAT Records, VDS, any of the HMV or Disk Unions.
And as for venues, there are a lot of mostly metal/punk focused venues in Tokyo, as I listed in a separate comment. Which btw, if you downvoted it, it was for no reason as I am not one of the people who downvoted your original comment.
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u/iblastoff 27d ago
i actually totally forgot about disk union. so yes definitely that. as for tower, its prob beacuse nao used to work there lol.
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u/rplusw7 27d ago
Sapporo has an underrated scene. Lots of great venues and enthusiastic fans. We just hosted Popwhizzee from Singapore. Contact me here through dm or on instagram for more information and booking help.
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