Yabai! (やばい)

12 Reasons why I want to visit Japan (Craig David's less successful B-Side)

Reason 1)

Sushi is awesome. How do I know? Because I've seen this...


...but honestly, I do love sushi SO MUCH. I spend, on average, over 30% of my income is spent at Itsu. It's a food-dream to actually eat some in Japan.

Reason 2) 

Mr Matthew Bowden, one of my best mates who was born and raised in the northeast of England,  considers Fuji Rock festival to be the greatest thing that has ever happened, ever, in the entire universe...ever.

He flies out every year, just so he can wear a Viking helmet whilst listening to some of the greatest music on earth...and ultimately rub it in my face. I need to get back at him.

Matthew Bowden (left), Arthur Viking (right), photo-bomber (very far right)

Reason 3)

Occasionally, I write about music for a living and one thing I love is Japanese pop music / Ja-pop / J-pop / JP / crazy-I don't care that you're wearing a fully grown bunny-boiler costume-music.

But I also love the flip-side to the Japanese music spectrum. Take Fumitake Uchida, for example, who makes UNBELIEVABLY beautiful music. Check out his website here and take a listen to one of his tracks called 'Snowy Dream', below...

I also met a band called The Apricots in New Cross, southeast London a few years back - we drank far too much Guinness and I promised them I'd go see them live in Japan. As you may have guessed, this has not happened...

Reason 4)

Over the past few years, I've built up an amazing apparel company called 'Look Behind You' and we've prided ourselves on only tweeting occasionally. Please have that in mind, when I unearth the following fact.

We just tweeted this...

Songs with 'Japan' in the title

Reason 5)

Here's a poem I made up about Japan.

Get ready, this is going to blow your mind....

"Konichiwa",
"Thomas, face it, you can't speak Japanese",
"Konichiwa, wa, wa, wa",
"Honestly Thomas, pack it in, it's nearly midnight",
"Konichiwa, wa, wa, wa, waaaa"
"I give up, night Thomas"
"私が本当にやりたいことは日本で日本語を学ぶされています。それは驚かトートだろう！"
"Thomas, stop using Google Translate. "

Reason 6)

[WARNING - THIS POST CONTAINS TEXT ONLY]

Until the age of 11, I grew up in Hong Kong, where I lived, predictably, with my parents, after which I was placed in a comprehensive school in the north of England.

One of the things I was constantly asked was...."What was it like growing up in Japan?"

"I don't know", I'd say. "I've never been there"

I still get called 'Japanese Dave' to this day by some people, without ever stepping foot in Japan.

Best. Reason. Ever.

Reason 7)

In a recent poll*, 86% of people said they love Adam and Jo. They are brilliant. Ever since they went to Japan for a BBC TV series, they've been in my top 3 presenters, ever.

This clip here shows why I want to follow in their footsteps.



*poll made up

Reason 8)

listen to ‘Reason 8’ on Audioboo

Reason 9)

Dull fact - in all the countries, in the whole world, Japan ranks #1 on my list of 'countries to visit' in my lifetime...

Reason 10)

Unique creativity...

Nakanoshima Park, Osaka, Japan

Mention Japan and the one thing that comes to my mind is the culturally unexpected. From the cartoons, to the street art, to the fashion, there's a uniqueness about the place that I'd love to experience first hand.

Reason 11)

For years I've been bombarded with images of amazing Japanese countryside and it would be amazing* to see some in real life. I would attempt to take more photos than a the entire internet could probably cope with.

Okunoin Cemetery, Mt Koya

*In the proper sense of the word...I would gawp in amazement.

Reason 12)

And finally....

...Well I asked Google why I should go to Nihon. This is what it told me.



..who am I to argue?