Japan

[Dan The One Man Band]

Come on Gerry, tell Chance all your favourite pitches. You could be his warm up act or you might consider doing a show together! I love how the busking world is one big happy community! The love and compassion between performers is a beautiful thing.

DTOMB

[Stephon]

[quote]Originally posted by le pire:
<strong>Those dirty bastards stole my act!!!
</strong><hr></blockquote>

Well, Steve, turnabout is fair play. . . [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Chance]

So far this thread has twice as many replies as the next busiest thread in this section. And from all the replies this is what I have learned (in successive order):

...Robert Nelson has a tattooed head, and occasionally wears a toupee.

...Robert Nelson has a long list of outdated Japanese management contacts gathering dust in his address book.

...Rich Potter worked Japan 12 years ago but has not been back since.

...Gerry Nelson is a One Man Band now working in Japan.

...Gerry Nelson hates jugglers.

...Gerry Nelson is anal-retentive when it comes to sharing current information regarding the workability of the street in Japan.

...Jonnyflash is not gay, and hopes to visit Japan soon.

...When he finally does visit Japan this September, Jonnyflash is going to locate Gerry Nelson's favorite pitch and juggle to Gerry's funky beat.

...Flo loves Canada and has posted no less than 29 messages at performers.net.

...Scott Free has been gang raped by the Canuck branch of the Hells Angels.

...Dan, also a One Man Band, thinks the world is not big enough for both he and Gerry to occupy at the same time.

...And finally, Chance, the OP, (that's me) while laughing his ass off at all the antics, is still looking for current info on Japan.

[worldwidese]

Chance, I have no personal knowledge of present setup. but I do know of 2 different performers who both tend to work the smaller family type garden parks. Both are rather more "arty" than "circusy" acts.

[gerry nelson]

Chance, thanks mate. I was having a really shitty day 'till I dropped in here. Now I've had a good laugh. Seriously though, everything I've said on this page is the absolute truth. I'll admit I don't give much away, but I don't tell lies either. And I don't hate jugglers except for when they happen to be doing it IN MY FACE.

[jonnyflash]

What about when they do it ON your face??

[jonnyflash]

P.S. That was a sexual innuendo, rather than belligerent machismo. <img src="graemlins/haha.gif" border="0" alt="[ha ha]" />

[Flo]

Make that an even 30 [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

Flo

[le pire]

Hey Stephon,


Yeah, lesson learned.

e t i e n n e

[gerry nelson]

jonnyflash, Isn't it amazing how deceptive photos can be. From your picture that accompanies your posts i'd have sworn you look older than fifteen...........

[Chance]

Just wondering how long it is going to take before someone offers something current and helpful on Japan. What do you say, guys? Any takers?

[jonnyflash]

Hope this helps;
The CIA World Factbook sez;

Size:slightly smaller than California varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
Literacy:total population: 99% (1970 est.)


47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi,Yamanashi

Jonny Flash has heard that Kyoto and Osaka are the best places to work.

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Shunji YANAI

chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700

FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187

Economy - overview: Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) have helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and third largest economy in the world after the US and China. One notable characteristic of the economy is the working together of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely-knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The much smaller agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self-sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 50% of its requirements of other grain and fodder crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades overall real economic growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s largely because of the aftereffects of overinvestment during the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Government efforts to revive economic growth have met little success and were further hampered in late 2000 by the slowing of the US and Asian economies. The crowding of habitable land area and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic strength, with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000 "working robots".

Currency:yen per US dollar - 117.10 (January 2001),

[Butterfly Man]

Chance et al,
I would be glad to participate in a dicussion of this wonderful country (I just returned on Tuesday) but am unsure if you guys want the skinny on street or stage ... as most of you know the best time to go is NOW as "Golden Week" starts Sunday and there is a plethora of gigs out there for gaijin performers. Alas, if you have not been approached for a booked gig then my advice is to go to Osaka or any big town and sniff out a pitch (usually around shopping centers) and just do it (although not totally legal) ... the reason you can get away with it most times is the rules don't apply to gaijin and it's easy to play dumb ... especially if you have a cartoon on your head.
Just a word of caution here ... the economy over there has taken a bit hit since the gravy days of 10 years ago and alot of the acts are struggling just to make their nut ... so don't expect any welcome mats. Take your shoes off anyway and tiptoe through the cherry blossoms. Gambatte

[mario the one man band]

hi i am Mario the one man band.

I worked in japan long time ago and I know Gerry he is a nice guy believe me, and its true things or not good anymore in japan. I went back there a few years ago and its not good anymore. You need permit, a lot of problems with police and yacouza (Japanese mafia) don't believe me and try if you wont to, you will regret it japan is expensive, Europe is better.

Personally I don't do the street anymore. I'm a dive instructor in Thailand in ko tao and play sometime in clubs.

So I understand that Gerry wanna protect is place there he have a family and just wanna survive that all.

Mario

[lodge]

I remember a one man band showing me pics of him performing in Nippon. There were actually 1000+ people around him - totally huge edge. I asked him how much he made and he said $5. He then explained busking wasn't native and he was just a living curiosity.