Kameraoke —
A photographic scavenger hunt

Two Kansai-based photographers are organising an open photographic event with the aim of getting people together, having fun and raising a bit of cash for charity.

The organisers, John Russell and Danyk Amyot, are inviting anyone and everyone to get involved taking pictures around the Kansai and then exhibiting them at Calibre Café on Sunday, November 28th.
As with a scavenger hunt, participants will get a list of things to find — only in this case it is a list of things to photo. Contact the organisers for your list. (Contact info below.)

“The aim [of the event],” John explains, “is to produce an eclectic collection of photographs; the good, the bad and the plain ugly — to explore the everyday life and experiences of the Kansai area.”
The intention is to exhibit all of the photos, and participants will be able to enlarge their best images and enter them in competition.
“There is only one important rule,” he adds. “You must use those cheap-ass throw away cameras.”

The use of disposable cameras is intended as a leveller. “It brings everyone down to the lowest common denominator and gives the participants the opportunity to distance themselves from the technical aspects of photography and focus entirely on the subject matter.”

The event will support AGS, a non-profit organisation dedicated to helping children in hospitals around Kansai. Participants can make donations at Calibre Cafe.

If you wish to get involved or find out more, contact John or Danyk: kameraoke@hotmail.com

Art museum reopens

The National Museum of Art, Osaka, which has been closed since January, is once again opening its doors to visitors at a new location.

The new museum, which open on November 3, is in Nakanoshima in strikingly modern, purpose-built premises. The design is inspired by bamboo, a hardy and fast-growing plant and all three stories are underground.

The museum formerly used Bankoku Museum in Expoland and the new building has been five years in the making. The opening exhibition is to be Mirrorical Returns: Marcel Duchamp and 20th Century Art.

The museum is close to Osaka Science Museum and is a short walk from Higobashi station on the Yotsubashi line.

Z 06-4860-8600 • www.nmao.go.jp

KR & AC's 134th Anniversary Celebration
— Special offer for KS readers

Kansai's oldest sports club (and Japan's second oldest) has just celebrated its 134th anniversary. The Kobe Regatta & Athletic Club was founded September 23rd 1870 when the foreign population of Kobe, excluding Chinese, stood at only 300. The KR&AC is credited with having helped introduce many western sports to Japan such as rugby, baseball, tennis as well as football. The first ever game of football in Japan was played between the KR&AC and its counterpart in Yokohama the YC&AC on December 24th 1870.

Today still the KR&AC is an active sports club and very much a home away from home for its diverse 300-plus members. As the KR&AC soccer, rugby and hockey teams are heading into the second half of the season following the summer break, the club is on the look out for new members to strengthen the squads.
The Kobe Regatta & Athletic Club is a sports members club in central Kobe offering a range of sporting and social activities to a diverse international membership.

To celebrate the launch of Kansai Scene's new sports section, the KR&AC is offering all KS readers who apply for membership their first month's subscription free.

Simply contact Akitoshi Hirata at info@krac.org or call 078 231 2271 to arrange a free tour of the club and remember to bring your copy of Kansai Scene with you to qualify.

If you know of any newsworthy events in the Kansai or Japan, if you are about to dive naked into a vat of hungry piranhas for a bet, be sure to let us know. mailbox@kansaiscene.com