Two Shops: Oto no Yo-Ro-Do（音のヨーロー堂）and Marubell-Do（マルベル堂）

 

I wasn't surprised but the episode of "Uta Con"（うたコン）that I just finished watching almost a half-hour ago was the last one for 2024. The next show will be on January 21st 2025. Things will probably be going into high gear for the preparation of the 75th edition of the Kohaku Utagassen on New Year's Eve.

At least, tonight's episode was on the happy rediscovery by Generation Z regarding all those Showa Era kayo kyoku. It seems as if the current crop of junior high school kids and folks in their twenties have been enjoying all those songs from the 1960s to the 1980s. For a guy like me, that's always heartwarming to realize. Moreover, it says a lot about how long "Kayo Kyoku Plus" has been running when every single song that was featured on "Uta Con" tonight has been covered on the blog. For those young people who are into kayo kyoku and want to brush up on their English, we bid you a cordial welcome here.

It's pretty rare that I actually put up a Sites article since I thought I'd put up every place that I used to frequent in the Tokyo area for my music. However, "Uta Con" itself did something pretty rare for the show and actually had enka singer Keisuke Yamauchi（山内惠介）and a couple of members from Sakurazaka 46（櫻坂46）do an onsite segment in Asakusa, Tokyo which is apparently the Mecca for enka music (I had personally assumed that Osaka was the birthplace).

Of course, I have never visited these places myself but Yamauchi and those two aidoru were kind enough to introduce a couple of shops in Asakusa (my old stomping grounds in the mid-1990s). One is Oto no Yo-Ro-Do (Music Yo-Ro Shop) which can be found by going beyond the famous Kaminarimon gate onto Nakamise Street and then hanging the first left before going down several metres past the bar called Walk and seeing the store on the right. The first floor sells enka and kayo kyoku singles and albums but the second floor is a tiny live house where a lot of singers got their humble start including Yamauchi. In the above video which is a year old, new singer Kokoro Umetani（梅谷心愛）introduces herself and actually she was also on "Uta Con" tonight with Yamauchi. It's just too bad that the shop's YouTube channel doesn't seem to show any exterior shots of Yo-Ro-Do.

I had better luck with Marubell-Do (Marubell Shop) which can be accessed by going deeper onto Nakamise Street and then taking the third left onto Shin-Nakamise Street (I've walked along this street many times in search of food or heading for the Rox Building) and then heading down until you almost reach Asakusa Chuo-Dori Street. It will also be on your right. The first floor is famous for its sales of those bromides...promotion photos of the stars ranging all the way back to the Queen of Kayo Kyoku herself, Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）. On the second floor is a photo studio where customers can pick their items and costumes to get their own bromides of the Showa Era taken by the owner.

Oto no Yo-Ro-Do: 1-18-6 Asakusa, Taito Ward, Tokyo (10:30-5:00). Closed on Thursdays and Fridays.

Marubell-Do: 1-30-6 Asakusa, Taito Ward, Tokyo (11:00-4:30 on weekdays; 10:30-6:00 on weekends and holidays)