1 – Jack White
There’s nothing else I can do than to bow down to this man. I grew up listening to The White Stripes, but I hadn’t paid too much attention to Jack White since those days (Sorry, man). But after seeing him perform right from the pit, I have newfound respect and love for him. Not only was his whole stage setup (black, white, and blue!) iconic, I couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping every time he riffed his guitar; nonetheless, with his eyes closed for the majority of the time. It was an honor and a joy to experience the musical genius perform at Fuji Rock!

REPORT

2 – Japanese Breakfast
I’ve been waiting to see Michelle Zauner perform in person for so long, and I sure wasn’t disappointed. I’ve followed Japanese Breakfast since the beginning, mostly drawn by the band name and shocked to find out that she wasn’t Japanese, but Korean American instead. What’s race got to do with it? Well, as a fellow mixed-race Asian-American, she represents someone like myself, doing something she loves and being an incredible creator. She recently added “author” to her many titles and boy, did her novel “Crying in H Mart” really hit a note with me. So again, just being in the same space as her was a dream of mine, and to see/hear her live on top of that was fantastic. The ultimate peak was when the band played their Fleetwood Mac cover of “Dreams”. I got goosebumps!

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3 – Global metal bands
There’s something abut coming to Fuji Rock that makes me feel like I’m cool enough for heavy metal. Last year, I covered Japanese metal band, SiM and was hooked. So this year, I made sure to check out both Bloodywood from India and The Hu from Mongolia. Not only was it awesome to support bands that came to the festival from so far away, it was seriously spectacular to watch them perform this genre of music while incorporating sounds from their home countries.

BLOODYWOOD REPORT
THE HU REPORT

4 – Return of Thursday and evening fun
It’s so good to have Fuji Rock’s old traditions back. Last year, we barely had much of a celebration on Thursday night besides the fireworks. But this year, we had the Bon Odori as well as the special guest artists performing at the Red Marquee. People flocked to Oasis for some food and fun, and I could see many happy faces who were probably reunited at and with Fuji Rock for the first time in three years. While music stopped at midnight last year (sigh), this year, it went long into the night, which have always been some of my best memories of Fuji Rock, so I’m glad the late-night fun was back again. Let’s *hope* that Crystal Palace will be back by next year!

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5 – New food and drink options
Speaking of food, there were quite a few new vendors this year. While it’s always great to come back to the same delicious stalls, I loved being able to try new dishes. I especially loved the all-vegan food stall, Righteous Burger. The vendors themselves were so excited to be there, too! There were new drink stalls, like Iichiko sake and the Highball bar. They even served up a special “Fuji Rock Highball” which was rimmed with salt and kinako (roasted soybean flour) that I’m still drooling over now!

REPORT

Hopes for Next Year
1. Water re-fill stations: In an effort to look out for festival goers and Fuji Rock’s value in sustainability, I really hope to see water re-fill stations in the future. This year was especially *HOT* and I had to witness some folks struggling from heatstroke. The last thing we want is for people to have to cut their weekend short due to the lack of water supply at the festival. Fuji Rock branded steel water bottles and refill stations all around the grounds? Yes please!

2. Merch tent expansion and education for bringing kids to music festivals: How do these two topics go hand in hand, you say? I’ve noticed that not enough young children were wearing protective noise-canceling ear muffs. I even saw a girl suffering because her ears hurt. At western festivals, ear muffs for kids is a must, and I hope to see Fuji Rock continue to be an advocate for safe and ethical festival fun for the whole family. If we had merch tents in more than one spot (i.e. in front of the main entrance), not only would there be less queueing, families would be able to buy the Fuji Rock branded ear muffs no matter where they are inside the grounds.

The stage changed from the yellow hues of the lamps to pink lights on one side of the stage, and blue on the other as Obukuro began singing a love song; it felt as though the man and woman were singing to each other. The gospel-inspired R&B music was layered on with hip-hop and the DJ. Obukuro, as well as his backup singers’ vocal ranges are absolutely one of the best that were heard all weekend at the festival.

Once there was a pause in the music, Obukuro made note that he just returned from England, after 3 months of his tour. Fuji Rock ’22 concludes his tour and he asked the audience if it would alright to open a can of beer at the end of his set, since he hasn’t drank over the tour. He also exclaimed that he turned down live streaming for his set from the festival because “my music isn’t meant to be watched on a computer screen,” and he praised the crowd for turning down big-namers, Superorganism (who were playing at the same time on the White Stage), to be at his musical experience all the way out in the countryside of Niigata.

His set transformed from Sunday-morning gospel to deeper, darker beats heard at clubs as the sun began to set. Whether people were there to wind down after a long, hot weekend, or to start off their long night ahead, Obukuro provided the perfect amount of musical entertainment.

Obukuro is the CEO of Tokyo Recordings, which has produced acts such as Wednesday Campanella and Kou Shibasaki. He has also co-produced music with famous Japanese American musician, Hikaru Utada (which was briefly rumored to be a secret act at Fuji Rock this year).

Their set was shortly after the rain had cleared, so more people finally came out to enjoy them right in the open-air pit.

At first, Cody Lee’s songs gave off retro pop vibes as well as funk groove. Lyrics transpired relatable Tokyo scenes – simple joys like walking along the streets of Shinjuku or waiting for friends at a train station – right onto the stage in Naeba.

“There’s a special feeling in being able to experience Fuji rock in person,” said the male lead, Hibiki Takahashi, “we want to end the set with a song that gives you the same feeling as the first time you meet someone you really begin to like.”

The band kept up the same happy energy as when they first started, although their music was much more heavy rock by the end. To witness that transition and to still somehow keep a consistent sound that reflects the band is impressive.

Caravan, a one-man Japanese musician, played his folk-inspired set right before midnight. Many were sat on the grass or getting late night drinks at the moon and candlelit stage on the west end of the festival while winding down to his music that were lullabies to the ears.

He brought out his harmonica and talked with the audience between songs as if to tell bedtime stories, reminiscing on his childhood spent in Venezuela, and about the last few years of the world. He has wandered around the world and has been creating music as a solo artist since 2001, producing about one album per year for the first decade. In 2011, he even launched his own label, Slow Flow Music.

His set consisted of tales in spoken word and song, and brought on a guest singer to accompany him halfway through the set.

For anyone looking for a slower pace of fun at Fuji Rock, many artists featured at Pyramid Garden are a must, and Caravan was the perfect act to see before heading off to bed.

The band formed in 2013 in Philadelphia, PA, USA, while Zauner was still part of her emojified band, Little Big League. Japanese Breakfast has garnered worldwide attention especially over the last year, since Zauner published her memoir titled “Crying in H Mart” which illustrates her life being Korean-American, and her relationship with her mother who passed away from cancer a few years back. While Japanese Breakfast caught my attention as musicians years back, this memoir is the reason why I’ve gained deeper love and respect for Zauner and her music, due to the fact that I too, grew up in Oregon to an Asian mother and frequented H Mart (Asian grocery store) together. Zauner’s story of love and grief, and her relationship with her mother is truly relatable and thus, being in her presence at Fuji Rock was one of the most attractive parts of the lineup this year.

There was even a commemoration to her mother during “The Body is a Blade” with rotating photographs of Zauner’s childhood and photos with her mother. As the song came to an end, the backdrop displayed a photo of Zauner’s mother and got an closeup footage of Zauner on the side screens, showing how similar the two look — a sweet nod to a person who has influenced Japanese Breakfast’s career immensely.

Throughout the set, Zauner was very expressive with her movements; from passionate hands that stretched in all directions, to her smile the kept the skies sunny for the hour-long set. The visuals on the backdrop were also unique to each song, often displaying lyrics or themes that matched the energy of the song.

The cartoon visuals during “Glider”, which is a song the band produced for the Xbox game, “Sable”, made the audience feel like they were in the video game themselves. During “Everybody Wants to Love You” the words were displayed in the back, making it easy for even a non-English speaking crowd to follow along.

During “Slide Tackle”, Zauner yelled out “1, 2, 3, 4” in Japanese as she got the crowd to jump up and down to the band’s dream pop vibes.

The band then played their most famous cover, “Dream” by Fleetwood Mac as they encouraged the audience to sing along. Lastly, they ended with their greatest hit, “Diving Woman”. As the crowd cheered them on, the sun came out shining brighter than before to hint at the great set that just concluded.

The lead singer/rapper/poet/flute player, yutaozaki told the audience that this is their first time performing at a festival, and how it’s an honor to have it be Fuji Rock.

The set began with the captivating sounds of yutaozaki’s flute, which is classically trained. As the drums (Suga Akase) and bass (Ryo Yonemitsu) join, yutaozaki switched to rapping lyrics as beja on keyboard joined the rest in their song titled “the ray of youth”.

The band prides themselves in each member having a unique and original sound, and what brings them all together is the flute at front and center. For their second song, “ubiquitous”, more jazz influences are heard even among the rapping by yutaozaki.

As the stage lights turned red, so did the music with darker and heavier tones to match the mood. The second half of the set included various musical monologues by yutaozaki singing, rapping, and talking about the struggles of the pandemic and the beauty to play in front of an audience. Peaceful bells created a sense of pause over the second half before he dove back into an poetic monologue about life. This, titled “Do you head the hymn?” concluded the newcomer band’s set.

All in all, the band brought a new breath of “poetic justice” to the stage and the festival, as they experimented with various genres from jazz to rock to rap to classical.

But worry not! There are charging booths right outside of the main entrance into the festival. Both a Nanaco Card-specific booth and a Suica charging booth that is also an ATM (provided by Seven Bank) are available at this station. Since there is only one ATM machine for the whole festival, lines may get long so be sure to go early.

Opening hours: 11:00AM – 8:00PM
Number of ATMs/Top up machine: 1
Number of Nanaco Card machine: 2

Fuji Rock sells their own branded set of ear muffs that come in three colors: pink, blue, and yellow. For ¥2,500, these comfortable ear muffs also come with branded bags to keep them safe in. They are sold at the merchandise tent so get a set for your kids – it’s not too late today, or for events in the future!

This year, they appeared on the White Stage at the perfect time – sunset. Whilst the sky turned hues of orange and pink, they began their set with “SE aftergrows”.

The band’s eclectic sounds some from the mixture of using the steel percussion, giving them a tropical vibe, and combining it with techno and club sounds. It makes one feel as if they’re both on the beach and inside a club at the same time in smooth transitions that transport its listeners to another dimension.

This time on stage, they also brought on a harp to accompany the trio in a melodic harmony that married the sounds of the steel drums, harp, and electronic tunes. At the peak of the show, D.A.N. played “Native Dancer” as the crowd swayed to the sounds. The set wrapped up with “No Moon” and “Tempest”, as the sky continued to turn darker and off they sent the audience – put in a trance – to the evening of the first night.

Kyoto Jazz Sextet opened with “Father Forest” featuring legendary Japanese jazz drummer, Takeo Moriyama. Upon finishing the first song, MC Shu Okino introduced Moriyama and had him say a word. “I didn’t know what Fuji Rock was long ago, but I’ve wanted to be here since I found out about it…I might be the oldest performer here this year,” he said in a frail voice that is a mismatch for his steady drumming hands.

Moriyama, who is 77-years-old, has been playing drums since he was in his late teens. He has toured around the world with notable jazz bands, as well as starting his own groups based in Nagoya. He has recorded and performed with severable notable jazz artists from all around the world. His most recent project is this one, with Kyoto Jazz Sextet.

Over the hour-long set, the group performed the following pieces: “Father Forest”, “Forest Mode”, “Kaze (wind)”, “Sunrise”, and “Watarase”. Do you see a theme here? I can only imagine this to be intentional; to set the mood for the environment they were playing in and to call in the energy from the elements surrounding all of us.

There’s no denying that all the performers in project are impeccable; from trumpet solos done in one breath to piano solos that made me dizzy, all while Moriyama kept a steady beat the whole time. A truly legendary collaboration that could only be heard in the middle of the forest, this one was for the books.