Hayashi Tetsuji no Sekai -- The City Pop Chronicle（林哲司の世界）

 

The above is a distant photo of the Tokyo International Forum in the Sukibayashi neighbourhood, just five minutes' walk north of Ginza. Although I never got to see a concert there, I've passed through the building a number of times, and I believe the 2021 edition of NHK's Kohaku Utagassen was held there while the Shibuya hall for the national broadcaster was undergoing renovations.

Earlier this afternoon, I was talking with podcaster Rocket Brown and he was kind enough to send me an image of a poster advertising an event there which will be held on November 5th from 5 pm. It turns out to be a concert titled "Hayashi Tetsuji no Sekai -- The City Pop Chronicle" (The World of Tetsuji Hayashi) which is a one-night-only performance of Hayashi's creations as done by many of the original singers including Yurie Kokubu（国分友里恵）, Anri（杏里）, Omega Tribe（オメガトライブ）and Akira Terao（寺尾聰）. Prices are around 15,000 yen per seat according to the poster.

I usually don't advertise concerts here but I felt that this one was too tempting to not talk about. Mind you, being late to the party as usual, I came across a Reddit string which was already rapping about this Hayashi event a few months ago. And at the same time, I'm uncertain whether the concert is already sold out. But one never knows and perhaps some of you City Pop fans who may be in Tokyo in early November might have the opportunity to check it out. Of course, if you are able to catch it, maybe you can let us know how it all went.