Yet again, the year 1967 rears its head. One of my all time favorite albums is, PROCOL HARUM, the group's first self-titled album released, of course, in 1967. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the group's first big hit, A WHITER SHADE OF PALE. I originally had this album, along with the included fabulous full-size poster. In later years I regretted no longer having the first release album and poster. I have no memory what I did with it. Maybe I got rid of it because I purchased the much better British mono release to replace the rather poor American electronically-reprocessed stereo release. Anyway, today I'm at Disc Union in Kachijoji, one of Japan's premiere used record and CD chains, and what should jump out at me from the "P" record bin but THIS same album WITH the original poster. The poster, album cover, and record were in excellent condition. I couldn't believe it. Finding this poster in ANY condition is amazing in and of itself. It took me thousands of miles of travel to once again find a missing piece of my youth-to-manhood year, 1967, in a strange land. I wonder what else is waiting to be found.
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Well, what's next didn't take long. It wasn't 1967, but it was 1966, the year Bob Dylan's famous double album set, BLONDE ON BLONDE, was released. I had an early pressing, but not early enough. On the very first pressing, Dylan included a picture of Claudia Cardinale. Very soon after, Dylan was forced to remove the picture due to copyright infringement. This first release was also notable because after it was released rumor has it that Dylan demanded one of the songs, Visions of Johanna, be remixed because the inspired guitar playing was uncomfortably (for Dylan at least) competing with Dylan's singing. To this day in all subsequent pressings the searing guitar can barely be heard on that particular song. I have searched in record bins for years in the U.S. for this release and there it was at Disc Union. Japan is being amazingly good to me.
On June 6, 2017, Jody and I decided to visit Mt. Takao which was relatively close to Hachioji by train. Mount Takao is a mountain in the city of Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan. It is protected within Meiji no Mori Takao Quasi-National Park. Standing 599 metres (1,965 ft) tall and located within an hour of downtown Tokyo, it is a popular hiking spot, with eight hiking courses and more than 2.5 million annual visitors. The Tama Forest Science Garden is also located at the mountain's base. Mount Takao is closely associated with tengu, minor kami from Japanese folklore, and the daitengu Naigubu. A Buddhist temple, Takaosan Yakuōin Yūkiji, is located on the mountain. Visitors to Mount Takao can choose to start climbing from the base, or take a funicular or ropeway ride halfway up the mountain. That is what Jody and I chose to do and it was a VERY smart choice. We did walk down from the top and that was ardous by itself due to the steepness of the paved roadway and the number it did on our feet, particularly our toes. Walking up it looks incredibly difficult. Mt. Takao is known for lots of flying squirrels, as this little sculptured "Rocky" who greeted us at the base. We took the open roapway ride half-way up the mountain (notice no arm rails in front). It was quite a fun ride and VERY long. Rubbing the octopus for "good luck." A little child ringing the shrine's bell for "good luck." One of the many sets of stairs we encountered in our climb to the top of Mt. Takao, not to mention the numerous shrines. Japan is preparing BIG TIME for the 2020 Olympics by renovating their important shrines and temples. Notice the dog-like creature running between his legs with the tail out the back and the head in the front. We were just walking along going from temple to temple and I spied this little guy on a fence post. Well, naturally I had to take him home. We made it! Looks almost like Middle Earth. Jody having fun with her camera. And now we start our long trek down Mt. Takao. What fun - a suspension bridge. What a beautiful green forest. Still pretty high up and a long way to go. Man, did our feet hurt when we hit bottom.
So, on the final day of our Ginza trip, we made our way out to explore again. So where do we stop to eat but at an Italian restaurant, of course. It was intimate and delicious. In the afternoon, this entire street is closed off from traffic for several hours so people can shop and have fun without vehicles around. As our feet were hurting and it was approaching mid-afternoon, we decided to bid adieu to Ginza and make our way home visa train.
On Friday, June 2, 2017, Jody and I took a weekend trip into Ginza to experience Kabuki Theater and the sites of Ginza. For those who don't know, Kabuki is a classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. The individual kanji, from left to right, mean sing, dance, and skill The Kabuki-za in Ginza is the principal theater in Tokyo for the traditional kabuki drama form. The Kabuki-za was originally opened by a Meiji era journalist, Fukuchi Gen'ichirō. Fukuchi wrote kabuki dramas in which Ichikawa Danjūrō IX and others starred; upon Danjūrō's death in 1903, Fukuchi retired from the management of the theater. The theater is now run by the Shochiku Corporation which took over in 1914. Unfortunately, we weren't able to take pictures of the actual performances, but they were spectacular. We experienced three widely different plays over a 4-hour period. They were highly entertaining and colorful. We even had an English translation device with us at our seat. Below are pictures of the building, the cast, as well as a picture I took of the very wide stage prior to the performance.. Following the Kabuki, we strolled off through Ginza in search of someplace to eat. We finally lighted at this Japanese steak house where we had fabulous Kobe beef. What a treat. Following are pictures from this day's walk around Ginza. We must have walked several miles as day turned into night looking at the fabulous archetiture. Ginza is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo, with numerous internationally renowned department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses located in its vicinity. Ginza is recognized by many as one of the most luxurious shopping districts in the world, attracting visitors and regulars alike from across the globe. Needless to say, we mostly did window shopping. The famous Tokyo Tower gleaming like a jewel. The Kabuki Theater lit up for the night. Frankly, we got so lost in this huge section of Tokyo that we ended up taking a cab back to the Kabuki Theater. Why the theater instead of our hotel which was just a few blocks from the theater? Because our cab driver couldn't even find the hotel on his GPS. Go figure. The biggest problem with the map we had was that it was in Japanese and really hard for us to find our way around. Just some window shopping. We can't even imagine what these two above items cost. Anyway, so ends our first day in Ginza. Talk about being tired.
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July 2017
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