95% of japanese TV is garbage. and in Toyama, where I have been for the last few days, we essentially have 4 broadcasting stations and a few other satellite ones. there really is no escape from this steaming pile of turd. cannot stand watching so-called “dramas” cuz they simply SUCK; it is entertaining in the way how Korean Soaps can be, but I personally can take only so much of ex-teen-idols and theatre veterans overacting the shit out of a horribly-written script. some game shows were pretty entertaining but mind-numbing at the same time. and goddamn they like food shows. all the familiar faces that used to star in films and top-rated dramatic series back in the day are strolling about, sticking their heads into local delis or diners and stuffing their mouths in such a disgusting way that it does no good for the business that is getting the exposure. but it must be working – boy did I see a lot of these shows in the past few days. thought I escaped from the reach of Food Network when I left home.
and all of these programs (even the news) feature “talent” which really is an ironic term, for it mainly applies to those who have NO talent at all. they are the mediocre citizens of the TV realm, appearing on any show they can and making a few remarks here and there to earn as much camera time as possible. they can’t act, they can’t sing, they can’t dance (and they’re mostly dumb), yet once people recognize their names/faces they get to do all of the above. and people love ‘em. or love to hate ‘em. they can’t get enough of ‘em. and these people have been around for ages. they might start out as singers (this seems to be the most common gateway into the industry where the standard of vocal ability is VERY LOW), athletes, sometimes academics and professionals, and some folks end up in congress or even in national government. one of the current ministers used to be a swimsuit model. how great is that?
above all, I HAVE to step outside of this house. since I forgot to bring my international license my folks would not let me drive and there’s no bicycle available for me to ride. I could take buses but they only come to the nearest stop once every hour, and I’m not that knowledgable of the system. having to rely on others to get around makes you feel like a second-class citizen. and it’s been cold as fuck and raining. it was working out fine for the first half of the stay; I walked Madoka the dog princess twice a day getting my workout (even when it pours the dog does not give a shit if she gets wet), I chatted with Mama Kawasaki which was the main purpose of this trip, and I was working on music and writing this shit. but after a week of staying in I now have the desperate urge to experience the outside world, as boring as I remember this town was.
Yo, my brother a year and half junior to me, moved back to Toyama after 10 years in Tokyo. and one of the first things he did is to have his room equipped with PC, Internet, and PS3 complete with now-discontinued SHARP “Kameyama model” LED TV. Gran Turismo 5 on this setup was as good as a gaming experience can get. I also got to try Final Fantasy XIII, the visual is stellar but the writing and VO so lame that I got annoyed within 30min. and the music is appropriately scored and it sounds like a real movie soundtrack, but SO pedestrian. FF series had some of the best score in gaming history (my favorite is FFII) and they utilized the limitation of NES chips to the fullest. they had only 3 voices to work with, but they had strong melodies and careful arrangements so it never bothered me when the counterpoint dropped out as the sound of a critical hit came in. whatever was missing, we filled in with our imagination. and that is one crucial aspect lacking in the pop culture of today. it is rare for me to encounter something that triggers my imagination. we are so constantly fed with information overload that we’ve lost our ability to fill in the blanks. technology used to be supplemental to our brain power, now it’s the other way. some says that computers are the next level of human evolution, and our species is only here to exist so that we can yield to CPUs. when I was in middle school, a 40MB hard drive was more than any consumers needed. 20yrs later we carry a thumb drive that is 100 times bigger in data capacity yet is the size of your pinky. when I’m 93 and my body is about to give up, I would very much like to copy of my brain onto a server and continue to exist in the cloud.
so I was online looking for things to do, and found that there’s a screening of El Topo in Sogawa; a local shopping haven that’s been abandoned since the US-style shopping malls started to appear in the suburbs with much bigger parking lots. wow, a digitally remastered Alejandro Jodorowsky classic in Toyama? I can definitely go for this. I thought about taking a bus but it was POURING, so mom volunteered to drop me off. I took her up the offer but refrained from inviting her to the film; even though I haven’t seen this film, I can easily picture the awkwardness of being in most likely an empty movie theatre with my mom, who literally is in love with Charlton Heston and romanticizes the Golden Era of Hollywood.
I was dropped off at Sogawa, where I walked with my first love on my first date ever. awkwardly holding each other’s hands, we kept looking for things to do. I could not find anything then and I cannot find any now. mediocre shops line up modestly under a gloomy-looking arcade that’s been around since 50s (one of the first for this type of commercial district to have an arcade) and all it does is to provide shelter from rain, which we get a lot here in Toyama. I used to hate the fact that this was the best we’ve got, and the fact that we ain’t got shit to do. ended up spending a lot of time at a bowling alley, a karaoke box or when I was with my buddies we usually hit a game center, which is a JPN term for an arcade (the one with video games). and right next to the joint that we spent a lot of time at was Taiki; a birthplace of special ramen now dubbed Toyama Black and is available nationwide in a Top Ramen form. back in ’47 when this town was nothing but the burnt-down wasteland, and all the construction workers sweating to rebuild needed a quick grub, the owner came up with a bowl of thick ardente noodle and a thick chashu in salty soup. the ridiculous amount of sodium was something that workers needed then, definitely NOT what we need in this day and age, but it has been a Toyama staple ever since. we certainly took advantage of this moderately priced ultimate fast food more times than we should have, and nearly 20 years have passed. I have not visited this place for so long since I have a few other go-to joints when it comes to ramen in Toyama, but I just got dropped off around the corner from there and had 20min to kill. I could not resist.
the place hasn’t changed much except all the Shunga on the wall has been replaced by more generic ukiyo-e and historic artifacts. no one wants to take a bite on this salty-ass noodle while gazing at an octopus eating some girl out, I welcome this change. it was way past lunchtime and there was a group of 4 salary-men already eating, giggling over their bowls of OG Toyama Black whispering “god how can you eat this without rice?” and they have a good point – as long as I remember, they never offered a bowl of rice which would really help to neutralize the stinging taste of sodium. but no, you have to face the beast on your own. they must have come here for the buzz; Taiki is actually NOT the one that is producing/distributing the instant version of Toyama Black that is sweeping the nation right now. according to Yo the Bro, this other place called Iroha took the recipe and ran with it, right in the middle of a nationwide local ramen fad. it mirrors the food truck craze of Los Angeles, in the way that it’s a fairly safe startup for young entrepreneurs. all you need is a small joint and a good damn recipe, and if the buzz gets around people would gladly wait in line. actually, they might not come in if there is no line. it is fascinating how much JPN folks love to stand in line; they don’t wanna take a chance in a place where people won’t wait in line, I assume. I finish my bowl of ramen in about 5min and head back out in the rain. the film is about to start in 10min.
the theatre is not small once inside, but is not the easiest to find. regular moviegoers these days flock to multiplexes at shopping malls to watch Night and Day or Harry Potter, so a small theatre like this has to find a niche and I appreciate that. but they have to come up with a better way to let people know where they are than to stick a piece of paper on the billboard of Everything Locally Grown that says “Movies: go inside and take the elevator to 4F.” sure thing, once I step inside there’s about one person reading the flyer for other screenings, sipping his coffee and patiently waiting for the film to begin. the place does not look like an arthouse, rather your auntie’s pad where your relatives gather and watch Elf on DVD. but when I look around there’s plenty of interesting looking independent movie posters around and some flyers for local music shows. they supposedly host live music inside the theatre – so this might be a hang for hipsters/artsy-types in Toyama?
if you don’t know Jodorowsky and/or El Topo, no worries; I didn’t know much about him either except that this film was distributed with the help of Allen Klein, the manager of the Beatles and was hailed by Lynch and Fonda/Hopper etc. Wiki pages says The Lamb by Genesis* was inspired by this film and that is an automatic expectation boost. I went, goddaman it must be TRIPPY – and that’s exactly what it was; a TRIP. it is relatively narrative but very heavy on visual that’s pretty Dali, making me feel like I was on half a hit of acid or something to that effect. it switches gear halfway and the acid western turns into the Shakespearen tragedy that reeks of anti-Hollywood surrealism ambition. man I wish I was high; wasn’t even drinking at this point and there was no way I could have gotten high unless I huffed gasoline or something. or buy plastic models of Gundam and sniff on the glue? no, modern pla-mos don’t even require glue! clean-living motherfuckers, what’s the fun in building stupid-looking robots and starships when you don’t have a bottle of good ol’ clear?
I stepped out of the theatre and walked around the block. they’re trying to revive this hood and I can see the effort, including the 8-story parking structure that used to be a department store. but I have to say that the lack of attractions (despite the presence of OG Toyama Black) is pretty fatal. where else in the world does McD’s go out of business, replaced by a German bakery? if I had money, I would open a nice sized bar with live music every night, where strangers can mingle and hit it off. they don’t have enough of that. all the youngsters go to Karaoke with their own friends, not even listening to each other and flicking through the books. Dart Bars are somewhat of staples nowadays in Japan but definitely not enough interaction outside of your own group. people do not have opportunity to meet one another, then there’s a 55-yr-old single man living with his mom in our block. my mom’s favorite car salesman who’s been hooking her up for 20yrs is about the same age and never had a GF. Yo the Bro is actually doing better than the most, organizing parties for his peers at a language school ranging from age 18 – yet he is single. so is his pal from kindergarten who is gonna inherit his dad’s business. he’s not loaded but no lame either, but single. no wonder JPN males turn to AKB48 and tentacle porn. one of these days, I’ve gotta bring party back to my hometown so the peeps can get laid. cuz they do. without whoring themselves like some do.
