Fuji Rock Festival 2012

[spu001]

Gotta be more than that, right? It's 8 or so from Melbourne/ Sydney to Hong Kong.

Sorry you are right it is 8hrs Gold Coast to Osaka sometimes less...crazy Jetstar pilots but I think it was 9 give or take when I went direct to Tokyo. Still possible but like Blue Stapler said nobody is gonna wanna walk off a plane and onto stage.

What do you think the possibility of Jack White being on the green stage before Radiohead would be? It is a pretty prime spot to be given

[gweilo]

What do you think the possibility of Jack White being on the green stage before Radiohead would be? It is a pretty prime spot to be given

I think it's a toss-up, really. They're both good spots. A Green Stage sub-headline gig means he's still playing an hour, maybe a bit more, and it's not like he'd be insulted by who the headliner is.

Actually, if I had to bet, I'd say Green.

[gweilo]

Then again, there's that "White on the White" thing.

[seanbear]

man wouldn't it be cool if he could join buddy guy on stage for a rousing version of mustang sally?

[Blue Stapler]

Buddy Guy's confirmed for Saturday, so I don't know if Jack White can make it in Naeba by then. I assume he'll headline the Field of Heaven or Orange Court, so maybe.

And I agree that Jack White is a toss-up between Green sub-headliner and White headliner. I'm personally leaning towards White, but yeah, it could go either way.

As to the Saturday headliner, they're raising ticket prices on May 19, so perhaps they won't announce it until then? Although they usually announce the day-to-day split in late April or early May, which is when we normally find out who the headliners are. But they haven't exactly been following precedent this year...

[seanbear]

Buddy Guy's confirmed for Saturday, so I don't know if Jack White can make it in Naeba by then. I assume he'll headline the Field of Heaven or Orange Court, so maybe.

And I agree that Jack White is a toss-up between Green sub-headliner and White headliner. I'm personally leaning towards White, but yeah, it could go either way.

As to the Saturday headliner, they're raising ticket prices on May 19, so perhaps they won't announce it until then? Although they usually announce the day-to-day split in late April or early May, which is when we normally find out who the headliners are. But they haven't exactly been following precedent this year...

I keep reading the Smash-UK line-up as divided into days. Apparently it's not.

[fnmore]

hmmmm....listening to Jack White's new record right now makes me wanna drop everything and head straight to Japan for the night he plays

[fnmore]

hmmmm....listening to Jack White's new record right now makes me wanna drop everything and head straight to Japan for the night he plays

and after watching this..........I'm hooked

http://www.youtube.com/user/JackWhiteVEVO/unstaged

[spu001]

Amazing show gets me so pumped for Fuji...only 90 days

[Trafford1980]

Hey guys.

Been awhile since I've posted here!

My brother and I are looking to travel from Aus to Japan for Fuji 2012. Just decided on this over beers last night.

I just had a couple of questions that I'm hoping some seasoned fuji vets may be able to answer..

Our preferred flight arrives at Narita around 7:30 A.M on Friday July 27th, has anyone had issue with finding a good camping spot on the Friday? Is it recommended that we arrive the Thursday instead?

Obviously, all accommodation close enough to stumble to has been snapped up, so camping remains our only real option. Can someone please give some feedback as to the kind of wait times required for onsen, showers,toilets etc? Any tips to overcome this - besides showering when the green stage headliner is playing.

To paint a picture. We're in our late twenties, stoked about the line-up, but not so stoked with the idea of camping. Camped plenty of times before but this has been at 15-20K capacity festivals with less demand on facilities. From what I've read in several fuji blogs, camping at Fuji is pretty rough at the best of times. Hopefully this is just scaremongering?

Really appreciate any insight - hopefully if all goes well, we can catch up with a couple of you from this thread!

[gweilo]

I'd recommend getting there Thursday if possible. If you fly into Narita at 7:30am on the Friday, you're likely to arrive at the ticket area and campsite around 1pm. I'm guessing that by then, most of the good spots will be taken. (And you're going to be missing some bands.) The three years I camped, we always arrived around 9pm on the Thursday and most of the flat, lower areas were already gone, so we would go way to the top behind the treeline. You might be able to get a spot up there on Friday -- not sure. The other bonus of arriving on Thu is that you get to catch a couple of early bands and party in the Oasis area with all the other early arrivals. Every year I look forward to that first Thu night sake!

I have no idea about showers. The first year I went, I would use bottled water to wash off next to my tent. Then the next two years we started going to the Dragondola station, using the bathrooms and the hose around the side. It's probably not as nice as a shower and onsen, but at least you don't have to wait in line.

Anyway, don't get too turned off by the idea of camping at Fuji. In some ways it adds to the experience. Just try to find a spot that will be shady enough in the morning so you don't get baked out of your tent too early, and make sure your tent is rain-proof (because it WILL rain).

[Trafford1980]

I'd recommend getting there Thursday if possible. If you fly into Narita at 7:30am on the Friday, you're likely to arrive at the ticket area and campsite around 1pm. I'm guessing that by then, most of the good spots will be taken. (And you're going to be missing some bands.) The three years I camped, we always arrived around 9pm on the Thursday and most of the flat, lower areas were already gone, so we would go way to the top behind the treeline. You might be able to get a spot up there on Friday -- not sure. The other bonus of arriving on Thu is that you get to catch a couple of early bands and party in the Oasis area with all the other early arrivals. Every year I look forward to that first Thu night sake!

I have no idea about showers. The first year I went, I would use bottled water to wash off next to my tent. Then the next two years we started going to the Dragondola station, using the bathrooms and the hose around the side. It's probably not as nice as a shower and onsen, but at least you don't have to wait in line.

Anyway, don't get too turned off by the idea of camping at Fuji. In some ways it adds to the experience. Just try to find a spot that will be shady enough in the morning so you don't get baked out of your tent too early, and make sure your tent is rain-proof (because it WILL rain).

Thanks for your reply gweilo!

Your feedback is great. I think we'll leave a day earlier then and arrive at Narita early Thursday morning then.

Camping does sound like the way to go, as we definitely don't want to leave the festival before the green stage headliners are done, only to wait in line for shuttles and trains for hours on end.

We had also considered staying in Minakami, at a hotel that is listed as being 16KM from Mt Naeba Ski Resort. But I couldn't find much info supporting the availability of public transport and/or taxi cabs to and from the festival but there are a few hotel options left in the Minakami area - although they're pretty damn expensive.

Cheers for your help.

[spu001]

This will be my first time camping also and was wondering how does everybody get their shit to and from the festival?

How much can you take on the Shinkansen and shuttle bus and that sort of business?

[gweilo]

This will be my first time camping also and was wondering how does everybody get their shit to and from the festival?

In a big-ass backpack. I could fit a tent, sleeping bag, ridge rest and ground cover plus five days' worth of clothes in my pack, which I think is 75L expandable. Something like that is no problem on the trains or bus.

[Blue Stapler]

Trafford - I'll echo what gweilo said regarding arriving on Thursday vs. Friday. I'm a bit worried about showers myself. In previous years, one my friends would drive us to a public bathhouse near the festival site, but with the demand being insane this year, he couldn't score parking tickets so that option is closed...

As to toilets, some entail longer waits than other. The best ones, in terms of wait times, are probably the ones outside the Green Stage and the ones between the Field of Heaven and Gypsy Avalon. The lines can be really long outside the Green Stage depending on what time it is, but they move surprisingly quickly so it's not as bad as it looks. The worst by far are the ones at the Orange Court IMO. If there's a long line there, you'll be better off taking that five-minute walk to the ones next to the FOH. Keep in mind that I'm a guy though - not sure what it's like for the other gender.

spu001 - If your luggage is small enough for you to lug around, then it's small enough to be carried into the train and the shuttle bus, so no worries on that count.

[Al & Mel]

Looks like they've finally split the lineup into days so let the real conjecture begin! They've also added some more bands but I think they might all be locals so not sure what they're like. Blue Stapler I think you might be right about them not releasing the third headliner until the full price tickets go on sale. I have to say the Lineup page (http://www.smash-uk.com/frf12/lineup.html) looks a bit strange with that big gap in the middle of the top row...

New bands are:

The Birthday
Boom Boom Satellites
Caravan
Humbert Humbert X Cool Wise Man
DJ Kentaro
Mouse on the Keys
Acidman
Frontier Backyard
Hoshino Gen
Fumio Ito
Seun Kuti & Egypt 80
A 100% Solars
Alt-J
Cero
Chthonic
Locofrank

[Blue Stapler]

That, or they're still negotiating with that third headliner. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Ray Davies (or perhaps the Specials) ends up being bumped up.

Yeah, the new acts are mostly (not all) local. Some of them are good (Mouse on the Keys), others terrible (Locofrank), but all in all a weak-ass lineup addition IMO. Seun Kuti is always fun though, even if I did see him at Asagiri Jam last October...

Saturday being weak and Sunday being loaded has become the new Fuji Rock tradition.

Edit: Also, I'm not seeing any obvious closers in the Sunday lineup, except possibly Shibusashirazu.

[seanbear]

In a big-ass backpack. I could fit a tent, sleeping bag, ridge rest and ground cover plus five days' worth of clothes in my pack, which I think is 75L expandable. Something like that is no problem on the trains or bus.

5 days worth of clothes? that would be a sonic youth t-shirt and a joy division t-shirt, rotate, repeat.

[Al & Mel]

That last announcement seemed to say that Saturday is the 'legends' day so maybe they are still negotiating with someone in that category! I think the Beach Boys with Brian Wilson are playing some shows and Neil Young and Crazy Horse are playing Outside Lands a couple of weekends later in San Francisco but both of these might be beyond Fuji's budget after paying for Stone Roses and Radiohead. Still hoping for The Cure as they have a big gap in their festival schedule around Fuji, but I think I'm dreaming...

Blue Stapler - you mentioned that the parking tickets have sold out, do you think this is going to mean a lot more people using the train and shuttle bus option?

[spu001]

The Cure do have a big gap around that time and would be a ticket selling headliner and aren't too expensive. I can see the Specials taking the Headline spot but maybe Ray Davies or Costello are bigger, but because i agree they are holding out til full price tickets are on sale I think it will be somebody different to get them higher tickets sold. It would seem pointless to not annouce as a headliner Davies or Costello straight away and to annouce after higher ticketing starts.....and I knda think they are abit lack lustre for the spot.

There is the possiblilty that they lost negotiations with the third headliner and are trying to do a quick fix.

[Blue Stapler]

Al & Mel - Whoops, I need to correct myself. The parking tickets themselves haven't sold out, it's just that the parking spaces near the festival grounds are (most likely) gone. You can still get parking tickets, but you'll end up with a space that's removed from the site and would require a shuttle bus for you to access. But yeah, I fully expect the buses and trains to be more crowded than usual because this.

I'm pretty sure the Beach Boys can be ruled out. Summer Sonic teased their appearance with a "Fun Fun Fun" reference, but it turns out that they'll be playing the Marine Stadium (Summer Sonic's main stage) right before SS instead of SS proper. Can't really say much regarding the likelihood of Neil Young or the Cure, except that I'd welcome either of those two. I'm pretty sure I'll be seeing both the Roses and Radiohead though, so I won't really mind spending my Saturday night at someplace that isn't the Green Stage.

seanbear - I hope you'll be bringing more than one each of those Sonic Youth and Joy Division T-shirts. As long as you're camping, washing them won't be an option if we get the kind of weather we've had for the past three years. Or rather, you could wash them, you just won't be able to dry them off...

[Blue Stapler]

There is the possiblilty that they lost negotiations with the third headliner and are trying to do a quick fix.

Exactly. If Ray Davies or the Specials do end up being promoted to headliner (but not Costello, he's playing Sunday) though, that's essentially an admission by Smash saying "okay, we tried to go after someone else but it didn't work." That's pretty much what happened in 2008 (not Primal Scream, that was due to an artist falling ill, but Asian Dub Foundation being the closer has to be the result of negotiations not working out).

[Trafford1980]

The Cure do have a big gap around that time and would be a ticket selling headliner and aren't too expensive. I can see the Specials taking the Headline spot but maybe Ray Davies or Costello are bigger, but because i agree they are holding out til full price tickets are on sale I think it will be somebody different to get them higher tickets sold. It would seem pointless to not annouce as a headliner Davies or Costello straight away and to annouce after higher ticketing starts.....and I knda think they are abit lack lustre for the spot.

There is the possiblilty that they lost negotiations with the third headliner and are trying to do a quick fix.

I noticed on the cure website that there's a news item with all of their upcoming festival dates.

At the bottom it states that there's "MAYBE 1 MORE TO CONFIRM..."

And there's a nice gap right where Fuji Rock takes place.

[Al & Mel]

The Fujirockers blog has now started to speculate about the lack of Saturday headliner. Not sure if they have any inside information (they do have a link from the official site) but they're also starting to talk about the possibility of someone already on the lineup being bumped up to headliner.

http://www.fujirock.com/2012/05/anticipation/#more-6771

If this is the case then I'll probably do the same as others and use the time to see acts on other stages that night. First time at Fuji Rock so kinda want to experience as much as possible.

Blue Stapler - thanks for the clarification about parking, I guess I'll book our train tickets when we get to Tokyo the week before if you think they'll definitely be busier this year. Just a question about train tickets, if I book them for the trip back to Tokyo and miss the train because of long delays getting a shuttle bus do I lose them completely and have to pay for new ones once we get to the station? Or do you think it really shouldn't be too hard to get on a shuttle as long as we give ourselves a decent amount of time (90 minutes?) to get from Naeba to the station?

[fnmore]

I camped and it sucked ass. No sleep. Rain outside and inside the tent. Set up camp in the rain. Woke up to find Japanese folks had set up their tents 3 inches from our tent (no lie) on each side of the tent. Was sleeping on a hill. Walked through mud for 3 days straight. Saw handicapped people being pushed through the mud on their wheelchairs since it was the only path to and from stages. Prepare for all this and you will have a blast. It's a beautiful area. Most beautiful festival I have ever been to.

Prince will headline Saturday night.

[gweilo]

I camped and it sucked ass.

In 2008-2009 I found it bearable, but 2010 sucked ass. We had to pitch in the rain, which doesn't take long but still isn't fun. And somehow I didn't get my tent aligned properly behind some trees, and the sun was hitting me hard by 6:30 or 7 every morning. That's brutal when you're going to bed drunk at 2am each night. By Sunday you're pretty zombiefied.

But I never had a problem with rain or dampness. If you have a good tent, with storm shield and seam sealant, you should be fine.

For Trafford, seanbear and anyone else who might be camping, I would recommend getting as high up the campsite as possible and under the shade of trees, wherever you can find it. It can make a difference of an extra half-hour to hour of sleep each morning.

[seanbear]

In 2008-2009 I found it bearable, but 2010 sucked ass. We had to pitch in the rain, which doesn't take long but still isn't fun. And somehow I didn't get my tent aligned properly behind some trees, and the sun was hitting me hard by 6:30 or 7 every morning. That's brutal when you're going to bed drunk at 2am each night. By Sunday you're pretty zombiefied.

But I never had a problem with rain or dampness. If you have a good tent, with storm shield and seam sealant, you should be fine.

For Trafford, seanbear and anyone else who might be camping, I would recommend getting as high up the campsite as possible and under the shade of trees, wherever you can find it. It can make a difference of an extra half-hour to hour of sleep each morning.

yeah I camped way back in 2005 and the worst part was the sun hitting the tent at 6 am. the key i guess is to get there as early as possible on thursday to get a good spot. as I remember it fills up real quick.

[gweilo]

The mistake most people make is trying to get a spot close to the entrance. Not only is it more exposed, but it's louder. When we camp, we hike it 10-15 minutes straight up the mountain. It sucks a bit when you just want to go to bed, but it's quieter, cooler and sometimes shadier.

It has to be said ... camping is also a ton cheaper than a room.

[gweilo]

Bored with the wait. Any baseless speculation on the next announcement? Foo Fighters? Soundgarden? The Gary Glitter Revival?

[seanbear]

Bored with the wait. Any baseless speculation on the next announcement? Foo Fighters? Soundgarden? The Gary Glitter Revival?

The suspense is killing me...