Tokyo Halloween Ball, 2018

The party began at 2pm, and ended at 6am. That was just the first night. With 40 bands and 16 DJ’s across two rooms, it was still a tight schedule. The second night was a little more loose; starting at the leisurely time of 5pm. It still went until 6am, and the after party stretched even later into the day but we made it. The 2018 Halloween Ball was a success!

Tokyo’s underground garage scene is held together by countless bands and the Back from the Grave Presents gang (Daddy o Nov, Mr. Death & B.B. Clarke). They put on heaps of shows but if you ever want to jump whole hog into Japan’s garage rock belly, the Halloween Ball is it. It’s more or less the who’s who of the last 30 years of rock n’ roll in Japan.

Local bands like The 5.6.7.8.’s and Guitar Wolf are popular headliners along with international acts like The Black Mambas and Bloodshot Bill.

This was my second year attending and DJ’ing (I was also there in 2016) and I hope to never miss the Halloween Ball ever again.

If a picture is worth 1000 words, please enjoy this encyclopedia of the 2018 Halloween Ball! Scroll back up and click your way through the gallery for some of my favourite pics from the two days/nights.

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Yoshi's First Holidays!

The doorbell rang, pin pon! Who could it be? I grabbed Yoshitora and ran to the door. The camera was ready. It was Santa and Rudolph! They were making their Christmas Eve rounds and decided to pay a special little boy a personal delivery for his first Christmas. The bewildered Yoshi didn't really know what was going on, but Santa didn't miss a beat. He informed Yoshi that tonight was Christmas Eve and that Yoshi had been a very good boy. So good that Santa had brought him a special gift. He reached into his sack and pulled out a large present. We took pictures, and I profusely thanked the incredibly wholesome Santa and Rudolph for making this night so special. Christmas isn't a huge deal in Japan. It's not a holiday and is celebrated more like Valentine's Day as opposed to what I'm used to in the west. Typically couples go out on a date while families keep it low-key with one or two presents for the kids and a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Jesus is largely a

Inaka Life

We both sighed heavily. We were next in line but the senior woman ahead of us and the cashier were having a lively chat, disregarding the time it was taking to finish checking out. My husband, Yasu and I weren’t in any particular rush ourselves, but waiting was frustrating. Yasu mumbled something about them needing to hurry up before catching himself. “Wait.” He said, “they aren’t wrong. We’re wrong. We need to slow down, like them. That’s inaka life.” I nodded in wise agreement. It was the first of many times we’d been reminded to slow down since moving out to the Japanese countryside. It’s been two months since moving to Eiheiji, Japan; famous for its temple and the slogan “Zen: Do you feel it?”. We arrived from Osaka without an ounce of zen in our bones and made the decision that needed to change. That wasn’t the only thing due to change though; two city folks moving out to the country meant a lot of adjustments were going to have to be made. Our local train station, very differ

Yoshi's First Cherry Blossoms

It’s the best time of the year here in Japan - sakura season! Coming from Toronto where there are only a couple of crowded spots to see the cherry blossom trees, living in Japan has made me spoiled. Here, the cherry blossoms are everywhere; in parks to parking lots - I can see them no matter where I look. One of the most time tested traditions is hanami (admiring the blossoms) and this is usually done by gathering under the cherry blossom trees to indulge in food and drink. It’s one of my favourite leisure activities and this year I was able to bring Yoshitora to indulge as well. I didn’t explore as many places as I did in previous years but went to two pivotal spots in Osaka; Mt. Showa and Osaka Castle Park. Photo: Brooke Fromm-Sarto First, Yoshi’s papa and I took him to Mt. Showa, a man made mountain not too far from us. Built in 1970, Mt. Showa is 108ft tall, offering a great view of the city as well as the nature within. This was Yoshi’s first chance to see the blossoms up close a

Fujiiyama Mama

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