When I first stepped off the train at JR Kamata station, on a humid afternoon in 1998, being escorted to my company apartment by my boss (who had once been a somewhat well-known child actor in Japan) I heard for the first time the distinctive station music of Kamata koshin-kyoku (which, by the way, if any of you could find the midi version of this, I would be very, very grateful). Leaving Kamata eki and walking out onto the street I was struck by the throngs of people, the noise, and the chaos - and it seemed that the immortal words of Obi Wan Kenobi sprang unbidden into my mind: "Mos Eisley Spaceport; a wretched hive of scum and villany. We must be careful...". Indeed Master Obi Wan, indeed. Turns out that Kamata was the home of yakuza , North Korean gangs and lots and lots of suspicious characters
(to steal a phrase from Casablanca). Oh my. However, Kamata also turned out to be a hive of interesting shops and bazillions of Chinese restaurants - my favourite by far though was the gyoza-centric Nihao (better gyoza than Utsunomiya - by far!). The picture above is of Keikyu Kamata station, which is nearby Nihao (maybe less than 100 meters). The Keikyu line - a.k.a. "Red Thunder" - has the distinction of being the fastest in the Greater Tokyo Area; plus, the Keikyu train drivers have the exciting habit of sometimes falling asleep and missing the occasional station (or just over-shooting it, forcing them to back up). I love the wabi sabi feel of Keikyu stations, too! Ah, natsukashi ! From Keikyu Kamata you can go down to Kawasaki or up to Shinagawa, or over to Haneda airport (which is neat, because the train actually has to pull out of the station and cross over a major street - it is really fun! Soon there will be a link between JR Kamata and Keikyu Kamata. Earlier I spoke about train station music and midi versions - here is a link to a website that has some versions of Tokyo and Yokohama station music: http://members.at.infoseek.co.jp/seawater/midi.htm (and like I said before: if you know of any sites that have Kamata koshin-kyoku, please let me know!). Rock on, you lovers of eki music, rock on!
4 comments:
Just waiting for the flood of eki music people to wash over me... in the meantime, I think I'll go make some gyoza!
That site is just bizarre - but you gotta love it! Those platform tunes do it for me everytime.
I've never ventured to Kamata, but after reading this I almost feel like returning to Tokyo to sample its delights. I was in Utsunomiya for the Gyoza Festival and there was some mighty fine dishes on offer; are you seriously telling me I could do better in sleazy old Kamata? I guess I really will have to go and take a look...
What a great name for a train - Red Thunder - and I love the idea of the reckless drivers. Usually everyone who works for the train companies, in whatever capacity, takes their jobs so damn seriously. You know, lighten up a bit...
All this reminds me of the day I arrived in Japan, negotiating my way through Ueno and ending up in Urayasu on what must have been the hottest day of the year. Mos Eisley Spaceport seems to be as good an analogy as any.
Don't those train station tunes just bring you back? Oh, how I miss them! Seriously though, Kamata, aside from its gritty reputation, does have the best gyoza in Kanto, and the JR eki music is top notch (and they have two different version for the nobori side -"climbing" towards Tokyo - and the down-ward side tracks!). My best memories of Kamata are of the crazy people who seemed to congregate there. There was a barefoot homeless guy who spent all his time lounging on the steps of the station talking into an obviously defunct keitai. Then there were the Harley Davidson biker clubs who would spend all weekend roaoring up and down the main plaza in Nishi Kamata. And how could I not mention the Kanagawa-based lowrider group (replete in full East L.A. fashion: hairnets, baggy chinos, plais shirts buttoned tightly only at the neck and white t-shirts). All those lovingly modded Ford Falcons with the hydralic lift kits... ah, magic I tell you, magic!
Ahh, the underbelly of Japan; out of sight out of mind, but very much alive and kicking. Wasn't that the place where you told me the street thugs bashed cars with baseball bats? Marvellous.
I just found out that I drive past a Yakuza office every Thursday on my way to work. It's said that if you are unfortunate to have an accident nearby, they'll come piling out, deal with the police, tidy things up and then make sure you're in one piece. After that they own you. Well, I'm bound to come a cropper, aren't I? Actually, I was done for speeding just across from that spot two weeks ago...
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