- Techno, a flower park and a swimming pool—Japan's Zipang is a festival like no other.
- Now in its fourth year and with slightly more than 1000 attendees, Zipang takes place at Shirahama Flower Park across Tokyo Bay, close to the city of Chiba, which, in techno circles, is known as the home of DJ Nobu and Hakura's Future Terror party. The festival's main aim, according to the organisers, is to showcase Japanese artists. With acts like DJ Nobu, Haruka, Gonno, Iori, DJ Yazi, CMT and Shhhhh, the 2018 lineup was a solid representation of the country's rich electronic music scene.
Housed in an old amusement park by the beach, Zipang offers stellar views of the Pacific Ocean. Ravers navigate between vegetables and aloe vera plants to reach one of the three stages, Highlife Floor, a warehouse that was way too hot during the day, when temperatures soared to over 30 degrees. As a result, most people gravitated towards the main stage, Zipang Floor. Though it was smaller, it sat next to a large pool that doubled as a makeshift dance floor.
Earlier this year, I wrote that Japanese festivals are big on being family-friendly. Zipang is no exception. The pool was quickly taken over by kids of all ages, as well as adults reliving their youth, all of them engaged in water-pistol battles. For the beach types, the easy access to the sea provided a beautiful, more secluded option, away from the silliness of the pool.
As the sun set, the pool emptied out and I headed over to the third stage, Jungle Floor, which sat within a gigantic greenhouse filled with rows of strange and exotic plants, some several metres in height, all lit up by candlelight. Together with an enormous disco ball, they lent the space a freakish atmosphere. It was the perfect setting for Medical, whose set was haunting and creepy, shifting between bass-heavy drone tracks and spacey ambience. Aalko, AKA Akiko Kiyama was more uplifting and poppy, setting the mood for some more uptempo music.
As the temperature fell, Highlife Floor quickly filled up. Inside, Taku Hirayama was playing deep, trippy techno. Gonno took over and shifted to house, with the occasional Voiski-like trance track. Classics like Green Velvet's "La La Land" turned the dance floor sweaty. Over at Zipang Floor, Iori was busy showcasing the best in Japanese techno, delivering a set heavy on hypnotic tracks. He set the stage for DJ Nobu, who moved gradually into more pounding four-on-the-floor, much to the delight of the crowd—by this point, everyone was hungry for straight techno. He closed with Donato Dozzy's "Cleo," before being replaced by local legend CMT, who surprised the audience by launching into disco. Listening to tunes like Mr. Mendel's edit of Trio Ternura's "A Gira" while the sun rose over the ocean was an idyllic way to start a Sunday. I slipped into the sea and began floating away, opting to watch the remainder of the spectacle on my back.
Photo credits /
Ken Kawamura - Lead
Kenji Nishida - All others
As the sun set, the pool emptied out and I headed over to the third stage, Jungle Floor, which sat within a gigantic greenhouse filled with rows of strange and exotic plants, some several metres in height, all lit up by candlelight. Together with an enormous disco ball, they lent the space a freakish atmosphere. It was the perfect setting for Medical, whose set was haunting and creepy, shifting between bass-heavy drone tracks and spacey ambience. Aalko, AKA Akiko Kiyama was more uplifting and poppy, setting the mood for some more uptempo music. As the temperature fell, Highlife Floor quickly filled up. Inside, Taku Hirayama was playing deep, trippy techno. Gonno took over and shifted to house, with the occasional Voiski-like trance track. Classics like Green Velvet's "La La Land" turned the dance floor sweaty. Over at Zipang Floor, Iori was busy showcasing the best in Japanese techno, delivering a set heavy on hypnotic tracks. He set the stage for DJ Nobu, who moved gradually into more pounding four-on-the-floor, much to the delight of the crowd—by this point, everyone was hungry for straight techno. He closed with Donato Dozzy's "Cleo," before being replaced by local legend CMT, who surprised the audience by launching into disco. Listening to tunes like Mr. Mendel's edit of Trio Ternura's "A Gira" while the sun rose over the ocean was an idyllic way to start a Sunday. I slipped into the sea and began floating away, opting to watch the remainder of the spectacle on my back. Photo credits / Ken Kawamura - Lead Kenji Nishida - All others