Last Days in Japan, Tokyo…

Headed back to Tokyo via train.  I think it’s important to note that the train system in Japan is so efficient!  Trains are used by everybody and usually all the trains are filled.  Also, these trains work like clockwork.  They are on time, all the time!

Tokyo is a real interesting city.  It’s totally populated, and reminds me of a circulatory system with all these main arteries, and then tons of smaller streets like capillaries.  Most of the streets don’t have names, you just sort of get to where you’re going!  On every corner of every street is a convenient store and/or soda machine.  Although these machines rarely sell soda.  It’s more like teas, energy drinks, and coffee drinks.  In Tokyo there are so many small shops, restaurants, and bars!

The Shibuya Station area of Tokyo is probably the most popular location in the city.  This section of Tokyo is alive at all hours and is a true assault on the senses.  I ate Ramen here and it was awesome!

Finally had to take the Narita Express back to the Tokyo airport.  Wow, I’m really going to miss Japan…

Leaving Matsumoto…for the last time.

Well, my trip is almost over and these are the pictures before I headed back to Tokyo for one last night.  Before I left Matsumoto I did some shopping!

Then I was invited to a barbecue!  One of the local families invited me to their house and it was so nice!

Then I visited a Wasabi Farm.  Do you know the green horseradish that is always included with sushi?  This particular farm dates from way back and it’s setting was used for a famous movie!

The wasabi is grown under these tarps and the farmers use this interesting system of irrigation, supplied by the nearby stream.

First Publication!!!

My visit to Japan was covered by a few newspapers and magazines!  I was interviewed four times during my travels, so I’m not sure what’s going to be published or who is going to publish anything. Regardless, here’s the first article that’s been published, and one of my Japanese friends just sent this to me…

The Fujigen Factories in Matsumoto

I travelled back to Matsumoto to visit and tour the Fujigen factories.  The Fujigen company setting is among what’s commonly referred to as the “Japanese Alps” since there are huge mountains all around.  Truly breathtaking!

Fujigen is one of the most famous guitar factories in all the world!  They make professional grade guitars here, but with rather affordable prices when compared to many other guitar companies.  Fujigen has a long history dating back to 1960, and would you believe some of the same people who worked during the 1960s are still working here?!?!  It’s true!  Many things impressed me about this facility.  First, everything was kept immaculate and clean.  Second, everyone smiles and says hi.  And third, there’s a big commitment to making guitars!  They take this art very seriously, and value the age and experience of their employees.  All these qualities originate with the founder, Mr. Yokouchi.

If you’ve ever owned a “Made in Japan” Fender guitar, there’s a good chance it was made at this factory.  Same goes if you’ve ever owned a really nice Japanese made Ibanez or Greco electric guitar.  In fact, Fujigen has been making all the nicest Ibanez guitars since the 1970s!  Another really interesting part of this woodworking factory was the wood drying area.  The wood used for guitars has to be properly aged and dried, and the Fujigen factory takes this very seriously!  Inside, they even play classical music….to the drying wood!

 

Nagoya City

Nagoya City was a HUGE wood manufacturing hub in the 1960s.  Of course, during the guitar BOOM many factories that had previously made coffins, wooden sandals, and barrels, were being pressed into making electric guitars.  The picture above shows the Suzuki Violin factory in Nagoya.  The company had been making violins for many years but for about two years even they produced electric guitars.  The original factory is the far right and back, in the photo.

Here is the founder of Suzuki Violin, and this statue is sort of famous around the world.  This man’s son was the guy who invented the “Suzuki” method for teaching children to play instruments.  Even my daughter plays violin and uses the Suzuki Method!

Here the the past three presidents of Hoshino Gakki.  This company has sold hundreds of thousands of guitars over the years, and in the USA we commonly know their “Ibanez” electric guitars.  The man in the middle is the current president, Tom Tanaka.  Just like everyone else in Japan they were super nice, and Mr. Tanaka drove us around Nagoya to look for old guitars!  Fun!

This last picture is for my new friend in the states, Shunsuke.  He told me that Nagoya City is famous for their chicken wings, Tebusaki (I hope I spelled that right!).  Shunsuke, these were REALLY GOOD!!!  Thanks for the information!!

A Day in Hamamatsu…

After leaving Tokyo I took a train south to the town of Hamamatsu.  It’s a big city, but very different from Tokyo.  The first thing I noticed was in Tokyo, all the cars were really tiny.  But in Hamamatsu, the cars were much bigger and I even saw large SUVs!  Anyway, the town of Hamamatsu is home to some really big and famous instrument manufacturers like Yamaha, Kawai, Roland, and Tokai.  Today I visited the Tokai factory and had a great time.

 

The Tokai company started making reed instruments such as harmonicas, but during the 1960s the company produced some of the coolest guitars to ever come out of Japan.  There were a few models but they all were named Hummingbirds.  Here are some pictures…

These designs were just outrageous for the time, and never sold very well.  But today they are very desirable and very hard to find.  When I got to the Tokai offices, I went up to the meeting room and they had just one old Hummingbird.  Of course I had to play it!

Then I got a tour of the factory.  The president of the company, Shohei Adachi, is the third generation of his family to run the business.  He gave me a personal tour!

I also got to meet the man who makes all Tokai acoustic guitars.  He makes every single one by hand, from start to finish!

Now if you want to hear what one of these guitars sounds like, check out this video we did a few weeks ago.

Two Days in Tokyo….

Hey everyone!  Tokyo’s been a blast but now I’m off to Hamamatsu to visit new places and interview more people.  I wanted to share a bunch of pictures with you, since there’s so much going on in Tokyo!

Here was my room in Tokyo.  The first time I opened the door I was in shock, it was so tiny!  I measured the room and it was 7×6′.  Hey math students, what’s the perimeter?  Ha!  The bathroom was also tiny but something interesting is that all the toilets in the hotels have heated seats!  There’s also two ways to flush: BIG flush and little flush!

Kind of gross, I know…

And here was an interesting dinner.

Besides all the interesting food and hotel amenities, I did discover a lot about old Japanese guitars.  I discovered the original location of several factories, including Teisco and Guyatone.  And I talked with the only surviving original member of the Teisco company.  Guyatone and Teisco were the first electric guitar companies in Japan.

 

The Weekend in Matsumoto

This is the hotel where I stayed for my first weekend in Japan.  The breakfast was so interesting because there were foods like salmon, soup, and broccoli.  It was most definitely the healthiest breakfast I’ve ever eaten!  The people here have been truly wonderful and welcoming.  Extremely kind would be an understatement.

Matsumoto is a city in central Japan that lies in a flat basin between massive mountains on all sides.  A very beautiful area, the climate tend to be very dry and conducive to wood-working.  There were many guitar factories in this city from the 1960s, but now only a few remain.  The oldest one is called Fujigen, and I was able to meet with the original founder of the company and many of the original employees.

The founder of Fujigen, Mr. Yokouchi, lives in one of the oldest homes in Matsumoto.  It’s an historic place that gets quite a bit of photographers seeking to capture the essence of old Japanese architecture.

 

There are beautiful gardens surrounding the home, and it’s just something I’ve never seen before.  Truly remarkable!

 

Getting to Japan…

 

Oh boy, this is a picture of a Japanese bullet train, or Shinkansen as they’re more commonly known.  After 13 plus hours of flying on a jet, I spent another 5 hours on trains!  My destination was Matsumoto and I arrived her safely but sort of tired.  Not too bad, but I did sleep very well!  The bullet trains are very interesting and totally noiseless!  Click on the above link to learn more about these unique trains.  Below is another picture of the Shinkansen, and my new friend and interpreter, Patrick.  He’s originally from the US and I happen to work with his mom!

Why Vintage Japanese Guitars?

 

After World War II, guitars were still a relatively new phenomenon.  A student would be more likely to take organ or accordion lessons than guitar lessons.  The guitar was thought of as a sort of “fringe” instrument, not ready to take the center stage.  In Japan, electric guitars were being produced.  But Hawaiian style lap and pedal steel guitars were much more popular than the electric guitar.  As the 1950s rolled around rock ‘n’ roll became very popular and people like Chuck Berry and Elvis were gaining great popularity in Japan, thanks to the many American servicemen who were stationed in and around most of the port cities there.

But when the Beatles hit the airwaves, the popularity of electric guitars simply exploded!  It was often called the “guitar boom” and was felt from 1963-1967.  In that short time span, it could be argued that the ratio in the USA of guitars to teenagers was 1:1!!!   And who supplied all these guitars?  Well, at the time there were many big American guitar companies such as Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, Kay, Harmony, and Valco.  There were even guitars pouring into the states from Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Holland!  But for the beginning or intermediate player, parents (as they are today) aren’t always willing to dish out big bucks for a professional level guitar right after their kid saw the Beatles and decided that being in a band was a life decision!  I can’t think of any other time in American history where people could buy electric guitars in grocery stores and pharmacies!  That’s how popular guitars were!

This is where the Japanese makers came into the picture.  The Japanese designs just seemed wild!  And to catch that kid’s eye, the designers created some very original designs.  As a teenager, I was really attracted to these guitars, especially since they were so cheap and easy to find.  But I always struggled with who made these instruments, and where did they come from.  Coming from the mountains of Pennsylvania, Japan might as well have been the moon!  So, why am I writing about vintage Japanese electric guitars?  Why am I traveling to Japan to meet these original guitar people?  Really, it’s about learning, researching, and answering the questions that I’ve always had about these guitars.  But most importantly, I want to give credit to these men and women.  To honor them by making them realize how many people started down the path of music because of a guitar that was affordable enough and cool enough that mom and dad decided to take the plunge and allow guitar lessons!