Yokaichi Summer Music Festival

Sunday was an absolute post card perfect sunny day, so I drove back down to Yokaichi to help some friends with preparations for the Yokaichi Summer Music Festival which kicks off August 13th.

I arrived in Yokaichi about 2pm and met Richard Jordan, one of the festival's main promoters and an avowed British hooligan, at a McDonald's near the highway. He was treating his two young children to French fries and hamburgers, so it was an easy place to meet.


Richard Jordan- British hooligan, music promoter, father

After lunch, I followed Richard's dust trail down narrow side streets and a dirt road to the festival site. It's located on a nice, grassy campground with a few scattered shacks and sheds covered in stylish graffiti and surrounded by a considerable amount of tress, but there was a nearby noisy highway that was a little obtrusive.

I spent most of the afternoon talking with Richard about my Japanese music website idea, drinking beer, throwing a frisbee, and providing moral support to all the hard working helpers building the foundation to the stage. I did offer a hand occasionally.


HeyHey's Helping Hand

Richard was not much better, but he had a good excuse. He was babysitting his children, and his adorable son Kai needed a lot of attention. Kai's about two years old, so anytime someone picked up a hammer or cranked up a noisy scooter to go four wheeling around the campground, Kai would cower to daddy for safety.


Kai striking a pose.

By about 5pm, the foundation of the stage finally started to take shape. There were a few mishaps along the way with the number of supports needed and getting everything spaced properly because no one knew exactly what they were doing. It was a group of various craftsmen including painters, plumbers, and construction workers, but stage design was new to everyone. Eventually we got it all sorted and leveled.


Yamagato testing his balance and checking if it's really level.

The balancing act looked so much fun we all decided to give it a try. It's much harder than it looks if you've been drinking beer, so I accidentally discovered it's more fun to trot from beam to beam in an improvisational way to avoid falling.


Everybody joining the fun.

The Yokaichi crew will continue working on the stage and other preparations every Sunday until the second week of August. Unfortunately I will not be in Japan to attend the festival and reap the fruits of their labor (or lack there of), but hopefully I will make back down at least one more time to goof off.