The Greatest Street Performer Ever

Yuki and I took a trip to Hakodate, it was fun and we had a good time but I got sick and then my heater bust and now I'm feeling a little sorry for myself. More on Hakodate in the next few days, but for now actual recorded footage of a street performer I saw in Sapporo performing late at night in Tanuki Koji last week. I dismissed it as a crazy dream as soon as it had finished, but in Hakodate I came face to face with it once more, and have to admit that the Dance-Painter is real:

I want to start talking about it... but where do I start? With the execrable euro-house? With his sublimely unselfconcious dancing? With his obvious chops as a painter? (He was painting a completely different picture when I saw him in Sapporo)

Why not just let the video speak for itself? I've already mentioned that I believe the future of sport lies in combining disciplines, like Chess-Boxing or Crossword-Tennis. How could I have been so blind as to exclude the arts from this rule?

Odori Street Performance Festival Thing

This Wednesday post was beamed back in time from the day after.

I honestly can't remember what this thing is called, but I stumbled upon it for, like, the third year in a row last week. They close all the streets and put on tons of different performances - from rock bands, to hula dancing, to shamisen warriors, to acrobats to who knows what.





This year it looked bigger and better organised actually, so maybe it's taking off. I like it most because of the fact that the streets in Odori are suddenly pedestrianised, and the whole area feels completely different. It feels wonderful in fact, really relaxing and open, and it makes you actually look at the trees. Odori has some really nice trees y'know.