I need to move back to gunma.

Every time I go back it's like I never left. I have real friendships that have stood the test of separation while I've been away. The beauty of the surroundings. Drivers on the road that don't suck. The strait-talking zero-BS way of life. I miss it so much. I'll give up everything in a heartbeat for any job that pays halfway decently back in Gunma.

Flashback to 2010 - Flowers for the Broken Spirits Live.

I miss this band.

Click image for a gallery of my flashbacks (facebook)

Follow these social accounts for more of my live music photography and the Japanese underground.

YouTube - http://bit.ly/darcjp666

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/darc.jp/

Twitter  - https://twitter.com/darcjp666

Shot in the back #RandomJapan

Kanonyama, Takasaki, Gunma #RealJapan

Feel free to use this pic as a wallpaper (If you want to use it for anything else, contact me please.)

Daruma, Gunma, tripping and more... | 7 Days 7 Minutes (2015-06-22)

I went back to Gunma in this week. I missed it so much thjat I flooded this 7 days 7 minutes with footage from there. It's also, one of the most random 7D7M episodes I've ever made.

Music:
"Chillin'" by DJ Russell CrossFire 

 "Illumination" by Little Light 

DARUMA!

shot at the Daruma Buddhist Temple in Takasaki, Gunma, Japan.

7 Days 7 Minutes (2014-06-30) Nagano, A Holy Vending Machine, Driving and More...

00:00 notMONDAY Nagano is Beautiful
01:00 TUESDAY Just Driving
02:00 WEDNESDAY First World Problems
03:00 THURSDAY Bird Watching
04:00 FRIDAY Holy Vending Machine
00:00 notSATURDAY Anti-Nuclear Protest
00:00 notSUNDAY Always the best part of the trip.

Tuesday music was all shuffled form my iPod while driving.

Thursday Tune by Manny Marx. Support him and his epic music.

Locations:

Chikuma City, Nagano


Zenko-ji, Nagano City, Nagano (fri & sat)

7 Days & Minutes (2013-09-16)

MONDAY: TYPHOON! 00:00:00
TUESDAY: HELLO 00:01:10
WEDNESDAY: No Pants! 00:02:00
THURSDAY: Tokyo Station 00:03:00
FRIDAY: FollowFriday - Nagi (bass) from DevilVi 00:04:00
SATURDAY: Emergency!!!!!! 00:05:00
SUNDAY: darc.jp 00:05:43

Take a look at my photography portfolio: http://www.darc.jp
follow Nagi: https://twitter.com/nagi_negi_yagi

Another Night. Another Live ~5 hit combo~

The 宇チューJins Live in Takasaki ~5 hit combo~

One of the better smalltime bands from Gunma. The 宇チューJins (pr. The Uchuujins) tore up the stage at Club Fleez in Takasaki a while back. Here are 5 shots I took at the live.

If you want to know how they sound? Check out their album “Makla 'Tosh” for yourself:

Incidentally I also shot the photo on their album cover ;)

VERSAILLES spring tour 2012 @Takasaki ClubFLEEZ 2012-05-20 LIVE REPORT

The first time I saw Versailles was at the Chateau du Versailles tour final a long arse time ago... The last time I saw them was before they officially announced Masashi as their bassist That was pretty damn spectacular, but since then, I have been to some even more amazing live events and while the memory of the first time will never fade, the impact has since been superseded by the likes of Children of Bodom, BLOOD STAIN CHILD and Deluhi. On the 20th of May 2012, Versailles struck back!

Love Rock 7 2012-04-21 @ Trust55

This is not so much of a live report really. Franky was having another Love Rock event and Quintet performance was going to be getting back together for it. I had been busy for the last few so I made a special point of going to this one.


more words and many pics after the jump...

Love Rock 4 @ Trust 55–Takasaki (2011-10-09) Video Test.

The sound sucks because there is no way to change levels on my cam.

IJust wanted to check how the footage in a live would come out.

Love Rock 4 @ Trust 55–Takasaki (2011-10-09) Live Report of sorts… PART 2

 

Continued from here.

So having built up a charge of energy worthy of a metal show far beyond that which I had expected for a show of this size. I waited to see if the following band would do anything to let me release that charge…

In two words… FU*K YES!

Love Rock 4 @ Trust 55–Takasaki (2011-10-09) Live Report of sorts… PART 1

We just had another long weekend in Japan and slap bang in the middle of it was another one of those big small live festivals at Trust 55 in Takasaki. After making so many friends the last time, I knew my lady and I would have fun at this event. I was right…

Beyond The End Of Tears vol.2 LIVE REPORT (2011-09-17)

My lady told me about a live that her underclassman was performing in and mentioned that Flowers for the Broken Spirit was going to be playing. It coincided with the information given to me by their guitarist when I chatted to them at the Blood Stain Child live a few weeks before… The one I had said I would try my best to see.

It was decided then.

Blood Stain Child and others - CLUB FLEEZ Takasaki 2011-08-24. Live Report.

After the last time I saw Blood Stain Child, It was pretty obvious that I would be seeing them again. Getting to see them in my local however was quite the surprise! Even more so was the fact that they were with a bunch of really good support acts. The theme was female fronted hard rock. Apologies for the photo quality, I needed to snatch them with my iPhone...

By the Warbling Gourds of Fruity Pebbles

Summer is the time for stupid fun, usually involving the consumption of larger than usual quantities of alcohol. Said consumption has the tendency to make for great times with good mates and when that happens... it is always good to put it on the internet.

Alternitively you could use this as an free advertisment for the Takashimaya Beer Garden in takasaki city which is a great nomihoudai for the summer months.

If however you are of a foreign persuasion, be nice and have good fun because the owner dislikes foreigners a fair amount. Can't blame him after being at a few of the ALT beer gardens and seeing how we take over the place. I would hate us too if it were my joint. So go with a few mates... drink up and party up! In the end. when we don't gaijin smash the crap out of the place we tend to be the life of the party... but maybe thats just cos my mates are epic!
RnK


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Shots #35 & #36 Faster than a speeding bullet

Not really but its still quick. A magnificent machine that carried me to Nagano for a great final day of the first decade of the 21st century. Well not quite…

Mine was a little less impressive looking:

It will be a long post…For now, this will do for a preview.

The station, The clock and the Pudding.

So in japan on amoeba blogs and .fc2 you get these random "blogged from the phone" posts. And to be fair I have done a few of those myself. But I tend to stick to the pretty photos piste from my PC type posts for the most part.

Now. I know there are quite a few of you reading this random collection of japan experiences hat I have managed to accrue over the last 2 years despite the woeful lack of comments.

I have been thinking. That in addition to the usual stuff I can make a point of filling in the blanks with these random Cellphone musings.

If you want.

Well how about it.

Let me know.

By the way. It's now 10 to 4 in the morning and I am just about finished my milk pudding.


-- Blogged in the field.