Welcome to the Great Rock & Roll Amusement Park!

Hey, fujirockin' babies and kids and girls and boys and whatever... How are you all doin'? It's only 4 months to go for the Fuji Rock Fest '01!! The fujirockers.org has finally been renewed and many big acts like Neil Young and Oasis have been confirmed so far. I'm feeling like already rockin' and dancin' even though we have another season to get through for summer of love!.

My girlfriend is telling me that she wants to go to the festival this year. Oh no... I hope she won't be freaked out 'cos it's a mega experience. She's only been to one open-air concert by a female singer at Hibiya Kokaido and with that experience, she was saying so scared. OK baby, I know that the first experience is always worrying thing, but try me, baby, I can give you a hand or whatever needed. But even without me, just check this site out! You can get lots of information and if you are the first timer and becoming a festival goer, like my girl-friend, I do recommend you to check the previous Fuji Rock Express.

Anyway, I'll give you all the information I know so far about the festival site as such here. It might be quite a long one, but please do read through.

◆Listen to the Music!◆

---（Green Stage）---
Getting through the Main Gate and keep walking for like 5 minutes, you'll see the enormous Green Stage that can hold about 40,000 rockers. In front of the stage, there is a quite large flat area from where a mild slope with lawn spread where you can drink, relax, lie down or whatever. I guess you can chill out here if you don't like be in the middle of kids moshing, diving, and surfing. There are huge screens at the both sides of the stage and the width of the stage is well enough for Mick Jagar to run around. There are little shade in the Green Stage area and the sun light in the height is quite strong, but it seems that people get used to the situation by preparing a sunshade. Please remember that you could use that kind only near the edge of the arena.

---（White Stage）---
If you pass the Green Stage and keep walking for about 10 minutes, you'll reach the White Stage. The bands playing this stage are more 'alternative' than those of the Green Stage. With unique concept, the line-up is made each day and you wouldn't be bored to stay at this second stage all day. The audience area is also flat and you can enjoy dancing or moshing there. The standing area holds about 10,000 people and this year, we have some legendary artists like New Order and Brian Eno as such play on the stage. When Underworld performed 2 years ago, there was an admission limit and some many people couldn't get into the White Stage area.

---（Red Marquee）---
Pass the Main Gate and turn left just before get to the Green Stage. Walk along the World Restaurant area and the Oasis Field, and you will find a huge Red Marquee tent which holds about 5,000 people. The size of the tent is like the well-known Akasaka Blitz in Tokyo and I can say it's like bringing it to Naeba. Great lighting and staging by live bands will blow your mind during the daytime. In the evening, many DJs play good dance tunes! Other outside stages will be closed before midnight, but this tent will continue the music until the next morning. Remember this is not a camping tent and do not sleep in here or you will be kicked out!

---（Avalon Field）---
If you pass the White Stage and keep walking for a bit, you will see the Avalon Field on your left hand-side. This area was created last year and a small stage called Gypsy Avalon Stage was added, which is a success gateway for amateur bands. If you would like to play here, please keep checking the fujirockers.org every day!! We'll announce the details of how to apply for the audition, I hope.

Also in the Avalon field, there is the Horror House which was produced by Taisho last year. He says it's going to be much more scary than last year. Serious?? I wonder which is more scary, the horror house or TAisho...

There are a Free Market area and the massage tent! You can find some delicacy as well.

---（Field Of Heaven）---
When you have spent enough time at the Avalon Field, you can walk in to the Field Of Heaven. As the name says, this is a heavenly area of the festival site. It may take about 30 minute from the main gate to get to the heaven, but there are so many things to see on the way and you could not possibly get bored. In fact, a lot of friends of mine say the Field Of Heaven is the best area of all. The area is covered with great love and peace vibe surrounded by woods and I am sure you would be feeling like been in Heaven.

In FRF '99, Phish did the beautiful performances for three hours every night. There are more attractions, a part from music, in the Heaven like craft shops and art presentations, and if you are after a great cup of organic coffee, this is the best place to visit.

◆Let's have fun!◆

---（Circus Of Horrors）---
The reason why FRF is not just an open-air concert is because there are so many enjoyable things happening a part from on stage music performances. Little by little, there have been something exciting and amazing been brought in to the festival every year, and FRF is becoming far more exciting than any of those artificial Theme Parks.

This year, a 'Circus' is coming to the festival!! As you might have already known from the Taisho's message and articles in some magazines, it's not juts a circus you might imagine. If you think of one of those circus shows featuring a pierrot balance on a rolling ball and an elephant flies with ears(?), and say that it is only for small kids and I don't want it, you will blame yourself after the festival.

Sure! When I first heard about the 'Circus' from Taisho, the first thing came up in my mind was a circus that my dad took me to when I was a kid. Taisho then kept laughing at me and said "No, no, no! It's not a circus like you imagine. Just go and try it!! It's a real fun!" In his words, it's like "a shocking funfair where Rocky Horror Show comes with Alice Cooper and his explosive glam rock performances" if you know what he means.

This guy in his 50s gets very excited telling me that "With this circus, the audience this year will see the ideal form of FRF we can possibly offer", so we have to check it out!

---（Fishing & BBQ Garden）---
Would you like to do fishing at the festival? When I heard that Taisho is bringing a fishing pond to the festival this year, I just couldn't help laughing about this stupid idea! But Taisho himself is serious... By the shipping pond, there will be a BBQ garden where you can cook ones you fish! Maybe it's a good idea.

Actually, I went to the fishing pond last year. Yeah, there is a fishing pond, but I thought it's quite far, like 15 minutes' walk from the festival site and located near the river. When I complained about the distance, Taisho goes "You damn stupid!! If the pond was inside the festival site, the music would be too loud and kill the fish!!" Is he serious? I heard him saying that there might be some Hawaiian bands playing there...

---（Casino）---
My eyes just popped out when I heard another shocking idea by Taisho. What the hell is Taisho trying to do to the ROCK festival? Now, I can see the picture of Taisho in a bathtub smiling and whispering "a fishing pond, a casino, a circus, a horror house, mmmm it's done for this year!!"

Nothing's confirmed yet for the casino. Legally we are not supposed to bet in Japan so it will be a 'casino-like game center', I guess. I hear that the prize will be something well prepared from a Naeba radish to a, surprisingly, a flight ticket! To be honest, I want to have a look for a bit.

---（For Kids）---
Taisho is thinking of creating a small amusement park for children and it will be a great idea for families! It would be a problem if your child likes this area so much and you might miss your favorite live acts.

Taisho also wants to have a solar powered car for kids. Maybe he just wants to ride it by himself.

---（Fujirockers.org Net Cafe）---
Although it's not officially confirmed yet, there will be a internet cafe somewhere in the festival site!! We, fujirockers.org staffs, might be there to have a break and we'd be happy if you give us a shout! I prefer speaking to pretty gals in person, so please don't throw stones on me.

---（Pre Festival）---
We're having this big party again this year!! You can enjoy the Japanese traditional Bon dance, fireworks, secret live acts, and lots of DJs!! The admission is free for all!! The fireworks will be much bigger than last year and you can rock even before the festival begins! If you are complaining about the price of the festival, you can attend the free pre-festival party. Why not?

Taisho never tells me about any acts playing as it has to be secret, but when I asked about it, he grinned at me. I guess he's hiding a special card for this, I am sure. Last year, acts like Trojans, Kemuri, Pealout, Scafull King and some members from Fishbone played at this party.

◆Let's Eat!◆

---（World Restaurant & Oasis Field）---
There will be a variety of food and drink stalls all around the festival site and they are all inexpensive!! If you go to other festivals in Japan and compare, you'll see how inexpensive foods are in FRF.

Go to the World Restaurant area and you'll taste foods from all over the world. A friend of Taisho, Solomon, opens an Ethiopian restaurant called Queen Sheba. Let's try the ethnic don, a stewed beef with rice, and see how good the taste is!! Many musicians visit there and he Smash Bar, where you can have organic wine, directly imported from France, for reasonable price. Other great tasty foods include the famous Thai curry, kebab, traditional English foods, Chinese dim sums, noodles, tacos, a mochi-pork, also the famous grilled beef, Japanese famous shaved ice, and so on. I need more than 3 days to eat everything.

Also, this year will see the grand opening of Naeba Diner!!! You can try a grilled fish set meal, natto (Japanese traditional sticky beans smells so bad!), and some flavored seaweed, and of course, the main thing is rice from Niigata Prefecture (where Naeba is located and also the best rice is produced in Japan).

Moreover, a Ramen (popular Japanese style noodles with Chinese influence originally) restaurant will be there for the first time this year. Staffs from Ezo Rock Festival in Hokkaido will prepare the original Miso-ramen, Nagahama-ramen from Fukuoka, and Okinawa-soba. Oh no... I don't wanna get fatter!! I wish there will be a Japanese cafe with some traditional Japanese sweets...(Can you hear, Taisho? I know you hate anything sweet...)

◆Tired?◆

---（Open Spa）---
When you get tired, why not try the Japanese onsen, open-air spa! I hear there will be one open-air spa in the camping site this year. Guys and gals cannot take the spa together unfortunately, but there will be a shift system brought in, and you have to wear your swimming suit. It won't be very big and don't forget to take a shower before you enter the spa, OK? If you don;t know about Japanese style of taking a bath, please ask to whoever experienced which is very different from the West.

◆Let's Sleep!◆

---（Camp Site）---
You can stay at the less expensive B&Bs or the luxury Naeba Prince Hotel, but if you want to feel the heavenly air and vibe of a festival most, please try camping. There is no limit of how long you can stay within the festival period at the camping site and it's 2500 yen (about US$20) per a person, so this is the cheapest way to stay at the festival!! I hate an idea of spending money only for the time to sleep and instead, if I camp, I wonder how much beer I can drink for the same price. You will be able to enter the camping site at about noon on the day before the festival starts, so if you want to secure a good place, you better go to Naeba as early as Thursday. If you are not experienced camping, it's almost impossible to pitch your tent at night.

You need to exchange your camping ticket for a wristband at the entrance. I saw some people sleep outside of the camping site without a tent under the sky, but it's absolutely suicidal! The weather in mountain sis as delicate as a small baby. During the night, it is quit cold, and in the morning, you will get soaking wet with the evening dew. You can now imagine how cold it will be if it rains. Remember rain in this area is not just rain. It can be amazingly heavy and, in fact, in '99, a bridge in between the White Stage and Green was destroyed by 10 minutes evening sudden shower! That night, it was like winter been back to the festival and freezing cold. You have to try not to make your parents cry.

Why not buy a tent with your friends and you can use it for next year too! This time before the summer season, the tent tends to be quite cheap. Some people sleep in their cars with their engine and stereo on. It could kill you, man! And the battery could also die. Those people are against the Taisho's environment-friendly Fuji Rock Festival.

My friend told me that sleeping in a car make you more tired than you expect. You don't want to have a car accident on the way back, do you? I'll recommend you to go to the festival site with your girlfriend(s) on Thursday, put up your tent, go to the spa, enjoy the pre-festival party, look up the stars, and you will already see the magic of the festival.

◆Go For it It!◆

---（Access）---
If you are coming by car from Tokyo, take the Kan-etsus Highway, take the Tsukiyono IC out of the highway, follow the directions to Naeba, and after 45 minutes drive from the IC, you will get to the festival site. If you are coming from a northern part of Kan-etsus Highway, take the Yuzawa IC out and it takes about 30 minutes to the festival site. As you can imagine, there might be a traffic jam on the Friday morning when people from all over Japan try to arrive at the festival.

This year, a car park ticket can be used by the minimum of two people together, but the car park ticket tends to sell out very quickly, so you better buy one early if you can. If you consider the line-up of this year, you know it could be quickly sold out than previous years. I wouldn't know when to sell out the car park ticket, so please do not ask me the question by e-mail on this matter.

The best way I guess to access the festival is by train with its accurate timetables. You know what the Japanese system is like... Take the Joetsu Shinkansen and get off at the Echigo Yuzawa station. The ticket holders of FRF will get the free shuttle service from there which will take you direct to the festival site.

If you understand Japanese, please visit the Naeba's tourist information web-site with which you could find some traditional ryokan, inn, type of accommodation or some inexpensive one with a parking.

There will be an official package tour from all over Japan. For more information, please check out the official FRF web-site or its English version.

◆Here I come!◆

---（Main Gate）---
Have your ticket ready and exchanged for a wristband. Now you can enter the festival! There is an official festival goods stall outside the entrance, but there will be more goods stalls inside as well. You can bring a cooler, a mat, and a sunshade, but bottles and cans are prohibited inside the festival for safety and environmental reasons and they will be taken by the entrance staffs. You cannot enter with your bicycle or scooter.

Every year there is a long queue for the entrance. It gets very hot under the mid-summer's sunshine... But your message on the VOICE BBS changed something on this situation for this year, and you can get a wristband from Thursday. What a great news!!!

---（Rest Room）---
Smash is trying to increase the number of toilets. There were scary lined-up toilets last year. I found out that everyone was queuing very long without knowing that there were many empty rooms. The festival is like a dormitory where you spend lots of time with your friends. If you find an empty one or when you finished your work in there(!?), you can shout like "This one's free!!" for other rockers. Remember the ones near the Main Gate were quite empty.

---（Weather）---
Do you guys know that Naeba have some kinds of a sudden shower? Although we had only a light rain during the festival weekend last year, there was a heavy rain until two days before the weekend and a bridge was drifted down by the flooded river.

If we have a sudden shower this year, I think most of rockers will be in trouble if they wear like previous years. It will be fine if it's only a sudden rain, but if it doesn't stop raining for a ling time, you will definitely catch cold. It will spoil all your festival experiences if you are not well prepared. I remember last year when I headed for a headliner band, I was wearing a long sleeve shirt because it was getting cold. We had great weather last year and I can understand that everyone's are expecting the best, but you better take it serious of what I say, "You better well prepare for any weather conditions".

◆Finish Off!◆

Well, a long piece, innit?(to translate too!) Sorry about this!! But. let's start preparing for this year's festival little by little with the beginning of the NEW fujirockers.org and make this one a great year!! I will constantly update the festival site information, and please do not hesitate to leave your opinions or questions on the VOICE BBS.

For rockers who e-mailed me so far.
There were some e-mails that I couldn't reply, sorry! I'm definitely reading all the e-mails. Thanks a lot!!

OK then, I will see you soon. Keep rock 'n' rooooooll!!

Reported by camel
Translated by Yohei  (March 30, 2001)