Magic Bar Review: Nishioka

I went to Fukuoka for a project meeting in March 2013 and I found time to visit the magic bar Nishioka there. Nishioka is (probably) the oldest magic bar in Japan. It has been over 40 years since they opened, I was told.

2013年の3月に出張で福岡に行った。マジックバーに行ける時間もちょっととれて、「奇跡の店西岡」に行った。日本の一番長くやっているマジックバーだと思う。40年以上、と言われた気がする。

The bar is mainly one very long bar counter. It seats over 20 people I think. The interior looks like it has not been changed since when they opened 40 years or more ago, which gives it a very nice atmosphere.

バーの中は長～いカウンターがある。20人くらい座れると思う。昔からインテリアが変わっていなさそうで、昔風な雰囲気がある。きれいだ。

When I got there, which was fairly early in the evening (around eight or so) there were no other guests there. There were three magicians, and they each came to my part of the counter and performed magic for 10 to 20 minutes for me. As they were doing so, other guests started coming, and when the last magician was finished at my place the bar was full. I was allowed to stay around and watched the magicians performing for the group of people sitting next to me too. For most guests, as soon as the last magician finished the "mama" of the place showed up with the bill, and people came and left pretty quickly.

僕が割と早い時間（20時頃だったかな？）に入った。その時に他のお客さんがいなかった。マジシャン3人がいて、1人1人で僕のところに来て、10～20分のマジックを見せてくれた。マジックを見ていた時に、どんどん他のお客さんも入って、最後のマジシャンが僕のところに来た時にもう満席だった。僕は3人のマジック全部観終わっても残っていて、隣のグループに見せていたマジックも観た。他のグループはだいたい最後のマジシャンのマジックが終わった瞬間にママがチェックを出したから他のお客さんが入って、マジック観て、結構早く帰った。

The magic they performed at Nishioka was very nice. They did a lot of very famous classical tricks, that are classics because they are great tricks. Some of the things they are famous for are the cups and balls (8 lemons showed up in total) and watch steal (pickpocket magic). The group of girls sitting next to me saw the same girl having her watch stolen several times (every magician wanted to take a watch for some trick, and since she had the only watch...).

見せて貰ったマジックが結構良かった。有名な（クラシックな）マジックを沢山見せて貰った。西岡で有名なマジックは例えばカップ＆ボール（レモン8個も出る）やピックポケットで時計をとるマジック。隣に座っていた女の子たちの時は同じ女の子の時計2～3回取られた。マジシャンが皆時計取りたがってて、時計している人はその女の子しかなかったから毎回その時計になったね。

The son of the owner of Nishioka complained that I did not give him fair warning when exactly I took a photo of him, so he did not have time to adjust his face...

... so I took one more photo and he was very happy with that. No noticeable change at all, though, haha.

I also had one of my 10,000 yen bills signed and then made to disappear, and it later appeared inside a box of matches that had possibly been on the table the whole time. There was also a production of 50 or so sponge balls, which was very funny. The group of girls next to me also got a huge sponge penis (which the magician did not produce for me). I also saw rope magic (professor's nightmare), coin magic, card magic, strange iPhone apps, ring and string magic, a three shell game, the China rings, magic with safety pins, and the invisible deck. All in all, they showed me a lot of magic, in a very high tempo.

他に、僕の1万円札にサインして、お札が消えて、ずっと置いてあったマッチボックスの中から出てきた。スポンジボール50個くらい出てきたし。隣の女の子たちの時に観たことのないデカいちんこも出たが僕にマジックを見せていた時にそれ出さなかった。ロープ・コイン・トランプ・アイフォーンのアプリ・指輪と紐・シェルゲーム・チャイナリング・安ピンのマジック・インビシブルデックもあった。クラシックなマジックをバンバンやっていた。


Summary:
Location: In the entertainment district Nakasu, easy to get to by subway.
Type of magic: Close up.
Quality of magic: Good.
Cost: 5,500 yen, including one drink.
Interior: Old, nice.
Staff: Funny.
Overall impression: Lots of classics of magic. Recommended.

まとめ：
場所：中洲、行きやすい
マジックの種類：クローズアップ
マジックの質：良かった
値段：ワンドリンクで5,500円
インテリア：昔の雰囲気できれいだ。
スタッフ：面白い。
全体的な印象：クラシックなマジックを沢山やる。面白い。