Japanese Cowboys?

I know what you're asking. "Is there some sort of cowboy cosplay convention in town?"



A legit question, since cosplay isn't just about anime and comics, but other fun things (nazis?). Nope, this is just a bunch of fine folks who love country western music. Fuckin' American country music!



I was showing these photos to a girl the next day, and asked her if she had ever listened to country music. "You mean like Taylor Swift?" Hell no! This was nothing but classics from the likes of Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, and Willie Nelson.



How did I end up here? I was supposed to meet Keizo, Nate, and some out of town friends for ramen, but was riding my bicycle and got there way to early. So I was just biking around the alleys of West Tokyo, trying to kill time, somewhere near Daitabashi station. A neon Budweiser sign and cowboy hats caught my eye.



"C'mon in! Have a drink!" slurred a drunk Japanese guy. Don't mind if I do. It was this group of about 30 friends, let's call them The Rad Old Dudes who Love Country Brigade. So the RODLCB was having their bonnenkai, end of the year party, singing and drinking.



A couple bourbons later, and I figured I should document this most random of hours in my life.





Slide guitars and shit. Fresh.



Everyone's English was pretty good, but the bassist of the band, David, clued me in on the deal. This bar was owned by a famous Japanese fiddle player, and has been serving the country music loving crowds of Tokyo for decades.



The fact that my granddaddy came from Texas actually worked in my favor for the first time in my life!