osaka – Dotmaster

Osaka

After a crazy week in Tokyo it was a quick dash on the Shinkansen (bullet train) down to meet old friends kenichi yamamura (ken) and Ben Eine and Massagon. It was a blur of paint drink and laughter in equal measure. Christ we got drunk! First off painted Malu the craziest hairdresser in Osaka, he has a full recording studio and VJ set up inside, working as he cuts hair…Thanks for the haircut!

Then a quick stop at Banquet and great bar round the corner and a couple of small works dotted around while i sampled the joys of Japanese whisky.

Ben, Ken and Massagon are dangerous guys to go out for an evening with, if it wasn’t for then i may have never found my way home. Waking up in the morning finding photos of things i didn’t remember…like painting people’s clothes in the street?

The next day saw an early hungover start and some more rude kids on shutters at Kenmuri

Then a quick visit to the mayor..?..!..?

Of course the evening turned out stranger than i can remember and on the last day in Osaka another wall and another bar…

I love Osaka, mostly because of the people . Thank you so much Ken and massagon your amazing hosts, thanks for keeping us all safe and sound finding some great walls and great bars and restaurants. Great to spend some time with Ben and MC, see you both in London! It was a great 3 daze!

What can I say? Absolutely bowled over with Osaka! Rode into town on the shingasen super express necking beers with Gaz Mayall who was playing at a club called Stereo. As soon as we arrived were met at the station by the incredible Masa (Japanese on the outside but a true Jamaican to the core). An afternoon guided tour of the underbelly of downtown osaka by Gaz, Elenor and Masa of course accompanied with copious amounts of sake and eating anything from sparrows to poisonous fish, thanks guys you set the mood for the rest of my stay!
Eine had hooked me up with a local contact for finding spots to paint, enter KEN!!! Its hard to explain just how amazing this guy is. Japan is not the easiest place to get a can out, its a straight to jail gig if your caught and at best works are cleaned the next day by the owner, local knowledge is essential and you don’t get any better than Ken and his good friend Masagon ( the ninja assist). With Ken’s brother Takuya as driver we set off on our mission, 4 spots with almost 5 hours driving just to get to them all, in just one day. Of course with Ken as tour manager, masagon as the ninja assist (even had a torch for the last after dark hit) and Takuya at the wheel it was in the bag.

Met some amazing people along the way, ate amazing food and got up across the city. Thankfully the last spot was Stretch a really cool bar where we watched japan trounce the Egyptians (I know how lucky can you get?) Couldn’t of done it with out the OK crew,. Cheers guys! Osaka I love you!