Two weeks ago, I went to a jazz festival. I haven’t been to one in a long while. I think the last one that I went to was more than ten years ago when I went to the a reggae festival in Sapporo to see my favorite Japanese reggae artist, Pushim.

I forgot how much fun it was to go to an event. Plus, since I love music, it was so good to hear artists play live instruments to produce really amazing music. It was a good experience overall. I love jazz, too, and the night was amazing because I heard not just music from this genre, but all kinds that spanned rock, to classic, to opera.

My friend invited me because the original person she was going with bailed on her on the last minute. Since I was available, I jumped at the chance to go see the concert especially since I knew it was going to be at Hitaru, the newly opened concert hall a few years ago.

Before the pandemic hit, I went with some friends to go see the opera Carmen, so I already knew the acoustics of the place was going to be amazing. I wasn’t disappointed. Also, the seats were so close to the stage, so I wasn’t going to complain. And the best part was, the seats were free. My friend had entered a contest to win them and she was picked. How lucky was that?!

Hitaru is housed in the same building as a library, a large hall, a television broadcasting station, a community center, and lots of office space in the upper floors. It’s a wonderful place to visit and take a break in.

My friend and I got to the venue a little early so we decided to grab an early dinner at the Tully’s on the first floor. There’s a 7-11 convenience store, too, on the same floor, but we decided to skip that because we actually wanted to sit down and eat, no just grab something quick. Tully’s didn’t have a lot to offer for food, though, and we settled on just some simple Italian food. This was supposed to be lasagna. But of course, the coffee was enough to hit the spot. It was a warm day so I decided to have an iced mocha drink.

The coffee shop is located next to the On-chan Terrace. On-chan is a character for the local channel, HTB. Its offices are located in the same building, and as we were eating. The staff walked in and out of the terrace/space to film the weather report outside, right at the entrance to the building but still on the street outside.

And just to give a little shoutout to Hokkaido-born celebrities: This is a panel of the famous acting group TEAM NACS. They’re a five-member team of actors whose hometown is Hokkaido. They’re very famous among locals but they also appear in several movies and shows.

So there you have it. Just a little post to show that things are starting to move back to normal. This small jazz festival wasn’t too crowded, but it’s part of the usual tradition in Sapporo to have music events in the summertime. I think this was meant to be an offshoot and part of the usual Pacific Music Festival held in Sapporo. Also, Hokkaido is gearing up for the more famous summer music festival in Iwamizawa, the Rising Sun Rock Festival.