Tokyo's Coolest Sound

Many of the musicians friendly with the group Three Berry Icecream live in that rectangular zone in Tokyo west of Shibuya, surrounding Shimo-Kitazawa, along the Inokashira-line and east of Mitaka. It's a (relatively) green area, with modest homes for the most part, school kids, locally run shops and restaurants, and a feeling of community. Tokyo is a huge metropolis, but inside it are many neighborhoods that are like small towns. Exiting those communities, their residents are swept back into the anonymity and isolation of Tokyo's large crowds.

I thought about these communities because I knew many of the musicians playing an afternoon gig at Mona Records lived in them. Their homes just a few blocks apart, bumping into each other in the local market, chatting on the street--those are important things.

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