Ticket To Ride: road trips with a tuneful twist.

Made plans for the summer yet? Heading abroad again? Well, cancel that flight and put the passport back in the drawer, Kansai Scene brings you the definitive guide to having a (speaker) blast without the airport tax.

WIRE04 @ Yokohama Arena

2004.07.17(SAT) OPEN/START:18:00
DJs & LIVE acts: DENKI GROOVE, HELL, JOSH WINK, KEN ISHII, MARCO BAILEY, RYUKYUDISKO, TASAKA, WESTBAM , ZOMBIE NATION + more.
2004.07.18(SUN) OPEN/START:18:00
SPECIAL GUEST LIVE: ORBITAL-Last ever Show in JAPAN
DJs & LIVE acts: BAD BOY BILL , ELLEN ALLIEN, FUMIYA TANAKA , JEFF MILLS, KAGAMI , LUKE SLATER, MONIKA KRUSE, PASCAL F.E.O.S., TAKKYU ISHINO+ more.
1DAY TICKET: ¥10,500 / 2DAYS TICKET: ¥19,800
INFO: www.wire04.com / Tel: 03-3475-5999

Not content to be the biggest and best techno rave in Japan, this one is up there with the very best in the world. Returning, after a couple of few years at the ridiculously massive Saitama Super Arena, to Yokohama Arena, it will feature over 30 genre-defining techno artists from across the universe (Jeff Mills is not of this world, you see…) squeezed into two floors of dancing, chilling and eating.

Among this year’s highlights, Orbital play their last ever gig in Japan and, humorous pop-tech duo Denki Groove, are back on stage after a three -year hiatus.

Other places to see around Yokohama

China Town: San Francisco it isn’t but it’s still one of the biggest China towns in the world and certainly a lot bigger than the one in Kobe.
Kamakura: You can say hello to Kanto’s very own big Buddha. This one doesn’t have a roof over his head but he does have a beach a quick walk down the road.

Getting there:
A day bus from Osaka to Tokyo or Shinjuku station is probably the cheapest way to get there without hitching. One way is ¥6,000. A round trip is ¥10,000.
Info: www.nishinihonjrbus.co.jp

FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL ‘04 @ Naeba Ski Resort

2004.07.30(FRI), 31(SAT), 08.01(SUN)
GATE OPEN 9:00am /START 11:00am
Lineup: ASH, BASEMENT JAXX, BELLE & SEBASTIAN, BEN HARPER AND
THE INNOCENT CRIMINALS, THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS, COURTNEY LOVE, GRAHAM COXON, HAVEN, JACK JOHNSON, JET, MORRISSEY, THE LIBERTINES, LOU REED, OZOMATLI, PRIMUS, PRAXIS feat. BILL LASWELL, SPACE COWBOY, THE WHITE STRIPES, ZERO 7+ much, much more!!!!
3-day ticket (only – no 1 or 2 day tickets this year!) ¥36,000
Car park: ¥6,000(a car) Campsite: ¥2,500
INFO: www.fujirockfestival.com / Tel: 0180-993-998

High up in the beautiful mountains of Niigata, the biggest music festival in Japan, the FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL, kicks off. It’s HUGE. There are three main stages, three more chilled-out stages and two other stages outside the site. It would take well over 30 minutes to walk from the gate to the farthest area, even without tens of thousands of people in your way. You can enjoy over a hundred musicians and bands, have fantastic food from all over the world, play in the river, take a nap with the dragonflies and watch stars while dancing at night… Hardly surprising then that’s it’s rated one of the best festivals in the world.

Daytime sees mainly rock along with funk, hip hop and world music. Come dark, the turntables and mixers come out and the dance party begins. The indoor stage, the Red Marquee, becomes a massive dance tent and there will be a rave called All Night Fuji on the first night. Unofficially of course, every night is an all-nighter – seasoned FRF veterans book Monday off to recover! You can bring your own tent and camp, or you can stay at a hotel if air conditioning is your thing.

Other places to see around Naeba

HOUSE OF LIGHT: created by the lights artist James Turrel.
You can meditate through this experimental art of lights.
Tel: 0257-61-1090 / www11.ocn.ne.jp/%7Ejthikari/
DREAM HOUSE: Yugoslovian female artist, Marina Abramovic’s art project. There are four rooms each representing a dream: green,
blue, red and purple. Sweet dreams, indeed.
Tel: 02559-6-3134 / www.matsunoyama.com/dream

Getting there:
Probably the cheapest way to get there, unless you can get a group together and drive (be warned, Niigata is not down the road) is to go for the JR seasonal ticket Seishun 18 kippu (summer season: from July 20 to September 10). ¥11,500 for 5 tickets.
www.jr-odekake.net/guide/toku/18.html

Text: Terumi Tsuji