Fujirockers: The official Fuji Rock Festival blog

Don't be lost when the time comes!

Wouldn’t it be great if you could bring everything that you could possibly need or want to FRF? Well, maybe not. The first time I went to a three day music festival, I took a single courier bag. What didn’t fit, I didn’t need, I reasoned. At that same non-FRF festival last year, I filled a car with three others. A big car. What happened along the way? And I still forgot some of the things I needed. With only a few shopping days left til FRF, here is my list of essentials.

There has been much debate on footwear this year. More even than usual. Kern likes his Sauconies. Sean recommends Nikes, on the advisement of Dave, then in the next sentence says he won’t be wearing them hisself. I say Gore-tex is for pussies. The Don will try his luck with open sandals for the first time. Jeff says wellies. I wholeheartedly agree. After slipping a pair on my third year into the fest, I’ll never go back. Shawn, who has wisely stayed out of the argument (this is a topic close to our hearts here, and tempers can flare) sent me an email this week asking if I had saved his pair from last year. As if I hadn’t! I count him amongst the wellie’d. I know Jinki is a wellie man. Clint and Spykee? Well they’re new, and haven’t announced their swinging vote yet.

Jeff recommends a slew of green devices, That’s Eco to you. The Don says bring a chair. I like the way he’s thinking. Last year, at my favourite non-FRF summer festival, during one of the most intense DJ sets of the weekend, this civilised gent was spotted mid-madness, right down the front, appearing more relaxed than most, casually reading Manga, making the most of a 9am set. I thoroughly approve!

Manga Man

As you can see, his choice is Crocs.

But what else should you bring?

Here’s my top three. These are the things I can’t go without. This list is written in blood, as the reason they are listed here is they are the things I more often than not forget to bring, or didn’t relise I’d need until it was too late.

You might call it a flashlight. Don’t misspell it when you do a google search or you might get more than you bargained for. Or you might get what you’ve been longing for. Anyway, seeing as a good third of the festival takes place after dark, in the mountians, without such niceties as streetlights, you’re bound to lose a contact lens. Drop your special tobacco. Or drop your lenscap. You know, the black thing. That’s now in the mud. The dark brown mud. Yep, you sure wish you had your torch now, don’cha?

*Disclaimer: This won’t help you if you lose your dignity. You’ll need to go on looking for that blindly in the dark.

It’s gonna be hot and sunny. It’s gonna piss down rain. Either way, you’ll want one of these. It doesn’t matter your style. Ten gallon. Pork Pie. Panama. Fedora. Bowler. Hip-Hop-Homie-Hooray perched-on-the-top-of-your-head-like-a-tit-with-the-gold-sticker-still-on-it trucker cap. Hey, I won’t judge you. But this bit of kit will keep the sun out of your eyes. And the rain out of your ears.

*Disclaimer: The homie cap won’t help you if you wear it Shibuya stylee.

This you can buy there, but it’s better to bring it yourself, and put that ¥500 towards a beer. This will be your greatest savior. It will stop your neck from getting sunburnt because you forgot your sunscreen. And you can soak it in water to lower your core temperature. Win-win I say.

*Disclaimer: This won’t help you if your number one game is looking Omotesando stylish!

Special mention: Insect repellant. Another written in blood, in the most literal sense. I forgot it once, and paid the price. Dearly. This will be a lifesaver, without you ever knowing it. Also worth noting is that perfumes and deoderants often have an ingredient that bugs and other nasties quite like the smell of. So leave it at home. It’s a three day festival fergawdsakes, no one expects you to smell onsen fresh all day.

Well, maybe Kern does, in his fresh-pair-of-shoes-for-each-day smugness…

MangaMan photo by Leah ee.