Before I arrived in Tokyo, I had spent a lot of time searching for places to see live music. I feel like art, especially music, is an extremely powerful tool to bridge gaps between people. Everybody has some medium that they love, and sharing that can lead to deeper connections that casual small talk just can’t catch. Chasing this value led me to a neighborhood named Shimokitazawa. Famous for its music scene and thrift stores, it seemed like my kind of place. I was right because, in hindsight, it easily takes my top spot for things to do in Tokyo.
My first time there didn’t go as expected. I met up with some friends I didn’t know too well and we were going to see some indie bands none of us had ever heard of. When we got to the venue and saw the massive ‘sold out’ sign I was kind of anxious as, it being my plan, I felt some responsibility to take action.
This is when the true beauty of Shimokitazawa showed up. I quickly pulled up Google Maps and found a few different music venues literally around the corner. We randomly picked one and we found ourselves at an energetic punk show in a dingy dive bar. While we weren’t exactly fans, my friends and I were there to enjoy the music and that was enough for everyone. The people were extremely friendly and we even had some short conversations with one of the band members. From this moment I was completely sold. On top of that, witnessing the performance brought my friends and I closer and we started consistently going to shows.
There was a seemingly endless amount of music-related experiences to be had and as someone who enjoys all genres, this place seemed like heaven to me. From someone singing on their guitar in a bar to DJ’s playing hyperpop until 5AM. Anybody can find their scene there. More powerful than this is the transcendental nature of the art. While I struggled with the language, I was still able to fully participate.
My favorite thing about Shimokitazawa was how strong the sense of community in the area truly is. This became extremely clear during one of my last, and favorite, nights there. Towards the end of the semester, I finally hung out with some people I would only see in class. We were studying for our upcoming final together and what we did on weekends naturally came up. Naturally, I gave them my spiel about Shimokitazawa, the local shows, and the friendly people. This got them really interested and they wanted to try going out and talking to new people. So that night, Thursday, I went to Shinjuku with one of them. Nothing. Then Friday we tried Shibuya. Nothing. So by the time Saturday came around, we had a plan with eight people and an ardent ambition. There was no way it could possibly fail.
Only three people, including myself, showed up.
On top of that, one of my friends had a final assignment to submit so we sat outside the train station for about an hour. On top of that, during the time that she was finishing the assignment and I was awkwardly making small talk with her friend, the show we had gone to see passed. I wasn’t worried this time, though, since I was confident about finding another place. After wandering around for a little bit we found a bustling jazz club with the door wide open and music ringing out.
We descended the stairs and were greeted by the owner of the venue. After we paid our admission we sat down and began enjoying the music. Not long after, we were approached by some of the other attendees. There was a bit of a language barrier but we were all able to properly converse and share our experiences. On top of that, they began handing out tambourines so we were able to kind of participate in the music.
After our conversation, the woman we were talking with went on stage and began singing, it was at that point that we realized that we were the only people there who weren't performing. Which I think is extremely profound. Even though we don’t speak the same language, we have a common passion for music. Through shaking the tambourine to the beat of the drummer, I was communicating, having fun, and sharing human experience with all of the musicians and other attendees.
The main thing I learned in my time abroad is that belonging is created, not found. Through sharing interests and passions, you can go from strangers to friends in a single night. Beyond all of that though, hanging out with cool people and conquering the language barrier is just really fun.
Eduardo Gonzalez del Valle
Spring 2024
GW Exchange - Waseda University
Elliott School of International Affairs
International Affairs Major