I had the pleasure of attending a Japanese reggae concert in Nagoya a couple of weekends ago. It was an experience I had never had before. One, being that I have never been to a reggae concert ever, and two, I had never been to a Japanese concert either.

The kids were all reggaed out with their dreads and Jamaican flag colored shirts, sweatbands, and marijuana leaf paraphernalia. Crazy swinging of towels in the air in tune to the beat. Jumping. Hopping. Chanting. The lighters came out when the performers yelled out "One Love!".

And I felt like an imposter in the crowd with my Asian face as I stood there looking around for social cues as to how to act in response to commands being issued from the performers.

"Yukie, there are no other foreigners here."

"Yes, this is an all Japanese event."

"But I am a foreigner."


It was a great night though, which didn't finish until 6 in the morning.

Mid-day naps are a godsend.