Naeba, Niigata Pref. – I have been in Japan for 15 years, and this was the first time I attended the institution that is Fuji Rock Festival. Until now, I’d contented myself with smaller gigs in Tokyo at smoky, cramped and sweaty venues. Fuji Rock seemed like the polar opposite, except for the sweat.
Spanning a whopping 13 stages over the course of three days, some 200 musical acts performed to a cumulative 96,000 spectators. I was tasked with shooting the bands, which meant maneuvering through a litany of regulations and restrictions — some explained, some not. It was enough to make even a Nagatacho bureaucrat throw their hands up in frustration.
Luckily, what’s happening on stage is really only part of the Fuji Rock experience. Whenever the music died down, I turned my lens on the community. Held at the Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture, the setting is beautiful. This year, the weather largely held out, too. Apart from a few scattered showers, the humidity was low, and there was enough shade — if you sought it out — to keep the sun from being too punishing.
The days are long; at any given time a noticeable number of festival-goers are to be found napping, either recovering from the night before or catching 40 winks in between their favorite acts. A creek of beautiful, clear water running through the grounds provides a place for people to cool off and relax.
Undoubtedly, the biggest spectacle of the weekend was the very last act on the White Stage: American hardcore punk band Turnstile. Under intermittent rain, the crowd’s anticipation was electric, and I wonder how many among them and the staff were truly ready for the whirlpool of energy that formed as people moshed and crowd-surfed their way through security, eventually consuming the entire stage. I saw it as a victory against the red tape.
While Omar Apollo’s vocals set the scene for young love, I photographed a couple kissing in front of the Green Stage. As it happens, although they came to Fuji Rock together, they told me they only officially became a couple here amid the festivities.
As a street photographer, I strive to capture the human moments that take place in front of us every day. At Fuji Rock, these moments were as loud and clear as the bass from the stages’ biggest speakers.
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