I Like My Music With Strong Visuals

Along with shopping and interesting food, Hyper Japan Christmas Market also had entertainment to offer! There was so much happening at the event that it was impossible to see everything, but we did manage to cram in a few performances, including two rock acts and a chindonya!

Lacroix Despheres were an interesting combination of rock and opera, with a line-up that included flute and clarinet! They have a strong visual style and a sound reminiscent of some of Japan's old 'Visual Kei' bands, with both male and female vocals.

We didn't have a great view for this performance, but it was still enjoyable!

Electro-rock act WING WORKS was next to perform, and this time we managed to get closer to the stage and more central in the audience.

I enjoyed this artist's music too, and liked that the big screens were used to play video clips and animations along with the performance.

Bands aside, another performance group we stopped to watch was BENTENYA, a 'chindonya' group from Nagoya.

Chindonya are essentially a type of street musician, who wear gaudy costumes and advertise local events, establishments, services and promotions.

BENTENYA are as fun as they are brightly-coloured. I spotted them performing a couple of times around the venue, several times in a performance area and once parading around the venue (still playing, of course).

Many people stopped to watch, film, and photograph this group as they performed, so I was lucky to get the few pictures I managed!

Until attending Hyper Japan, I was completely unaware of chindonya!

Apparently there aren't as many chindonya around as there once was, but it's still a really interesting part of Japanese culture. Considering how attention-grabbing they are, it's no wonder such a method of advertising (performance advertising?!) exists!

I'm counting seeing BENTENYA as the completion of another goal from The List:

042. Check out a different type of performance art

Whilst they are still a musical act, they are entirely different to the average band, with chindonya essentially a category of performance in its own right!