Chindonya troupe

チンドン屋

I was cycling home from work in Yotsuya, passing through Shinjuku just near the west exit of Shinjuku station, when the distinctive wail, thump and bop of a chindonya troupe caught my ear.

I've only ever seen two or three other chindonya troupes in Tokyo, and the others I'd seen had been all-female. However, today's group was made up of two guys and a woman, all of them in their twenties - again, unlike the others I've seen which were made up of decidedly older performers.

This troupe was advertising a retro Japanese-style pub in Shinjuku's entertainment district of Kabukicho.

Listen to the chindonya troupe here.

Also, I had a brief chat and exchanged cards. You can check out the troupe's website here. No English, but colorful.

Check out another sound from JapanVisitor's podcast: an all-female chindonya group.

Tags
Japan
Tokyo
music
performance