"Real Black Music" in Japan

So not everyone in Japan listens to overproduced J-pop.

This sign in the first picture is on the doorway of Jirokichi, a smokey basement bar in Koenji. They've been booking live music for 30 years and the signatures on the wall show the American acts they've had over the years. Even with the $25 cover, this place was still packed.

The group we saw was a Chicago blues cover band. In spite of the slightly awkward renderings of the English lyrics, these guys did the blues like the best of them.

So how do people get this kind of music halfway across the world? At places that sell "Real Black Music!!" of course.

Pictured below is Sam's in Shibuyu, a small record store in a basement. Slick 80s Minneapolis funk hit our ears when we walked in. The selection is incredible and if I weren't spending worrying amounts of money already, I'd bring home a pile.