Magic in Japan

Many people e-mail me when they visit Japan asking for tips regarding magic in Japan, so I decided to write down what I know here (you can still e-mail me and see if there is something special going on at a certain time, or if you just want to say hi).

Scroll down to the bottom for my overall recommendations.

Many of the magic bars that I have visited have more detailed reviews on this blog, so try looking clicking on the "magic bar review" tag to get a list of posts with more information and photos.

General info

English

Most people in Japan do not speak English. If you do not speak Japanese, many of the really funny magicians will be less funny. Most can still do magic that you will understand even if you do not speak Japanese, but the funny parts may get lost. I am told Tokyo and Osaka are better than the rest of the country when it comes to speaking English, but since no one ever speaks English to me, I cannot say for sure :-)

Magic Bars

In Japan there are lots of magic bars (probably more than 100). A magic bar in Japan is a place that is open six or seven days per week, usually from seven or eight in the evening until at least midnight but often until four or five in the morning. Almost all places will do magic for you at the counter or table when you show up, no need to reserve in advance or show up at some special show time. Most places will do at least 30 minutes of magic, many more than an hour, for you. Some have small stages and also do stage magic. All places serve drinks, some serve food.

Shops

In Japan (and I guess most of the world), most magic props are sold in the bigger online shops nowadays. There are quite a few Japanese online magic shops, though most probably do not ship outside Japan.

There are magic shops in Japan where you can buy lots of magic props, books (almost exclusively in Japanese, though), DVDs etc. The staff can usually show you what the tricks look like if you ask.

Magic props can also be found in other shops. The chain Tokyu Hands sells all kinds of crazy things and usually has a fairly large selection of magic props. Most larger toy stores sell the Tenyo line of magic props, as do Don Quixote and Village Vanguard chains (usually in the "party goods" area). In Tokyu Hands, there are sometimes people demoing the magic props live.

Here are some magic shops in Japan:

Magic shop Magic Land, in Tokyo. A bit hard to find, as it is located in an anonymous apartment building and the sign outside is very discreet (thank Google Maps), and located in an area where there is nothing else of interest. You can often see famous magicians visit there.

Magic shop Fantasia, also in Tokyo, also hard to get to. I have not visited this shop.

Magic shop Panoramagic. Near the Ikebukuro station in Tokyo. Very small shop that sells many original tricks (though many are word play jokes in Japanese that will not translate easily into other languages).

Magic shop Mebius, the only magic shop in Sapporo.

Magic shop Atlantis in Sendai. Colocated with a diving shop. Very friendly.

Magic shop French Drop, famous magic shop in Osaka where you can often meet Ponta the Smith (since he works there). Also has a large online shop.

Magic Bars in Japan

From north to south, here are some of the magic bars I have visited, and a few magic bars I have not visited but that are famous.

Prices vary, with Tokyo being most expensive and smaller cities cheaper. In Tokyo, expect to pay between 6000 yen and 10000 yen (more if you order food or drink a lot). Osaka is a little cheaper, usually from 5000 yen. Sapporo, where I live, is much cheaper and 3500 yen gets you 90 minutes including all drinks.

Both Osaka and Tokyo have many more magic bars that I have not visited and that are not mentioned here. Most larger cities in Japan have at least one magic bar, so I believe there are many many more magic bars in Japan than the ones mentioned here (since I have not traveled very much in Japan).

Asahikawa City

Te to te to te [closed], this was the first magic bar I ever visited. It is now closed.

Arukana (Arcana). I have not visited this magic bar, but I have met two of the magicians that run it and they are quite nice. I have never seen them perform magic, but I am told the magic bar is fun to visit by friends who did visit.

Welcome. I have not visited, but I have met the owner. Many people I know have visited, and they all speak highly of the magic bar. Also serves cocktails of very high quality.

Otaru City

Magic bar Packet, small place run by a young magician I used to work with. Very technically skilled. Can also solve a Rubik’s cube in under 25 seconds without using magic.

Sapporo City

Hey Pola, the oldest magic bar in Sapporo that is still open. Nice place with good magic and good use of music.

Trick bar Twister, the magic bar where I work. I am usually there on Fridays and Saturdays (unless my main job has me away on some business trip), and then you can see magic in English (or Swedish). There are also four other magicians working there, two of which are very good.

Magic bar Trick, the most expensive magic bar in Sapporo and the magic bar with the most magicians in Sapporo (more than 10, though the number goes up and down quite a lot). One of the magicians is arguably the best in Sapporo, so if you visit on one of the one or two days in the week when he is there, you can get some very good magic. The guy who runs the bar is also quite good, and I hear good things about one other magician too (though I have not seen him perform). The rest apparently are not that memorable, since no one who has visited seem to remember much else.

Tomarigi. The magician who runs Tomarigi used to work as a dealer, showcasing magic props in stores. This gives his magic a very different feel than the other magic bars.

Yorozuya. Very technically skilled, and if you ask him he can probably show you a very good classic pass, Ray's rise, or sliding coins up and down the arm etc.

Cocktail bar Harada. Strictly speaking not a magic bar (a normal bar), but if you say that you would like to see some magic the younger of the two Harada who work there is usually happy to show you 20 to 30 minutes of magic (unless they are very busy with the normal bar business). Not being a magic bar means it is very cheap, you only pay for what you drink (or eat). Harada also speaks English very well, so if you do not speak Japanese this is great.

Ropossa. Not a magic bar (a Japanese "snack" bar, which means a bar with women who talk to you and karaoke), but the woman who runs it does a magic show every night. She does sponge magic, spoon bending, and a three minutes magic show to music very very well (she does some other magic tricks too, but insists she is not a magician). The place also has lots of puzzles (like Rubik's cube, boxes that are difficult to open, etc.), games (board games, card games), weird and wonderful items (optical illusions, strange musical instruments, random weird stuff), and interesting customers (lots of street performers, for instance). Food (lots, if you are hungry) and drinks are included in the cheap price of 3300 yen.

Sendai City

Tejina-ya Sendai. Tejina-ya is a chain of magic bars in Japan. The Sendai bar is pretty new. As all Tejina-ya, they will do a stage magic show where each of the three or four magicians working that night will do one routine on stage. There will be a show when guests show up, so you do not have to go there at any particular time. They will also do some table magic for you.

Tokyo

Tokyo: Ginza/Shinbashi

Half Moon is usually mentioned as the best magic bar in Tokyo. The magician Hide who works there has a very special style, quite different from most magicians in Japan. He also does very strong magic (as in maybe 10 or 15 tricks that are used as the one closing finale in other magic bars). You usually have to reserve in advance, and the magic shows happen at fixed time so you have to be there on time. Last time I visited it was 9000 yen for 90 minutes of magic, including two or three drinks and some snacks. 9000 yen is much more than you pay in many other magic bars in Japan, but it did not feel expensive in relation to what you get for the money.

Toto's Bar is also usually mentioned when people talk about which place could be "the best magic bar in Tokyo". Toto does very strong magic and is invited to perform at the Magic Castle in Hollywood one or two times per year (so try to visit Toto's Bar when Toto is not in the Magic Castle). Also has good food.

Juniji (12 o'clock) is part of a chain of magic bars in Tokyo (including Juji (10 o'clock), Hachiji (8 o'clock)). They will do a stage show (producing doves for example) whenever guests show up, even if there are only two of you and you show up at three in the morning. They also do table magic.

Joker. I visited many years ago and the master did lots of very strong tricks (more than 10 that are used as the one super finale in other places).

Tokyo: Akasaka

Surprise is famous for having many female magicians. There are usually three or four magicians working each night, and at least one or two are women.

Tokyo: Shinjuku

Cuore (previously Calvados). I visited once many years ago. The owner, Kokoro, used to work in show business as something other than a magician and has a different view on magic than many other magicians which gave his magic a different feel.

Tejinaya-Shinjuku. Tejina-ya is a chain of magic bars in Japan. The Shinjuku bar is said to have some of the funniest magicians in the whole chain, and it was indeed very funny when I visited. As all Tejina-ya, they will do a stage magic show where each of the three or four magicians working that night will do one routine on stage. There will be a show when guests show up, so you do not have to go there at any particular time. They will also do some table magic for you.

Tokyo: Roppongi

Osmand has a quite large stage and when i visited the had the whole stage on fire and produced young women out of boxes. They also did table magic. Osmand is also famous for inviting great magicians from all over the world to perform at special events quite often.

Tokyo Magic O (previously Magic Bar Issey) has several young and very cool magicians (most appearing on TV from time to time too) doing young and hip magic. Very high quality table and stage magic. The stage shows have fixed times, so you have to show up at an appropriate time to see that, but they do table magic for you at any time.

Yolo is a magic bar I have not yet visited but that my magician friends speak highly of. It is pretty new and is said to have some of the best quality magic in Tokyo at the moment. May be a bit difficult to get in, possibly needing some form of invitation.

Yokohama

Hearts is a magic bar in Yokohama. The first time I visited the magician did very original magic, producing a Christmas tree (small plastic tree, but still) and many other interesting things. The most recent time I visited he had changed the theme to mentalism and only did mentalism. Some of it was quite interesting and original, but I thought he was more entertaining as a magician than as a mentalist.

Kanperce [closed] was a nice magic bar I visited in Yokohama where they did all kinds of magic that I have never seen in any other bar.

Nagoya

Momentos is a very entertaining magic bar in Nagoya. Magi Shinji, who is famous from TV in Japan as a comedy magician, works there a few days per week and he is really funny. The other two magicians I saw were also very good, and the did famous tricks in very different ways (I have never seen such an original version of the Chinese linking rings, for example).

Triangle is a magic bar I have not visited but that is quite famous. The main star Shinichi Maruyama is extremely good technically.

Move is a bar I visited once where the man who runs it does some quite original stuff. He had lots of paddle tricks that he created himself, for example.

Kobe

Tejinaya-Sannnomiya. Another Tejina-ya place. Tejina-ya is a chain of magic bars in Japan. As all Tejina-ya, they will do a stage magic show where each of the three or four magicians working that night will do one routine on stage. There will be a show when guests show up, so you do not have to go there at any particular time. They will also do some table magic for you.

Osaka

French Drop is possibly the most famous magic bar in Osaka. The also have a magic shop in the same building, and an online shop. The bar has two or three magicians working each night, and the do close up magic at the counter and have a special show area with slightly larger magic. Many magicians want to visit to see Ponta the Smith perform, as he works there. I have never seen him in the bar, though I have met him in the shop.

Osaka: Shinsai-bashi

A-Omoro is famous for having the magician Ars working there. He is incredibly skilled and if you can visit a day when he works (there are many magicians working in the bar, usually three magicians are there each day), it is well worth seeing him. The other magicians are usually good too.

A-Majide is the magic bar in Osaka that I have visited the most. It helps that they are open on Sundays and open until 4 or 5 in the morning, so you I can visit after work meetings finish. The magic is quite strong and fairly original, but the main selling point is just talking to the staff who are very funny.

Osaka: Umeda

Magic Time is run by Messieur Pierre, a Japanese magician who used to be on Japanese TV quite a lot 10 years ago. He speaks English very well. He is very funny and also very technically skilled.

Vernon's Bar has many different magicians performing. Close to Magic Time.

Ube City (Yamaguchi)

Magic bar Manbo. When I visited Ube for work, I thought there may not be any magic bars there since it is a small place, but there turned out to be a magic bar two minutes walking distance from my hotel. It also turned out to be one of the funniest magic bars I have ever visited! Highly recommended if for some reason you ever visit this part of Japan.

Fukuoka City

Fushigiya, entertaining and does some original stuff (like a chop cup routing with potato snacks).

Red Carpet, run by a guy I know. Funny. Often produces a live hamster.

Nishioka, the oldest magic bar still open in Japan. Very experienced magicians. Famous for every single magician doing the watch steal (sometimes three magicians in a row steal the same watch from the same person without being noticed).

Jonas's Recommendations

In Tokyo, visit Half Moon (everyone thinks it is the best), Toto's Bar (if Toto is there), Tokyo Magic O (for the illusions).

In Osaka, visit French Drop if you are a magician and you are there when Ponta the Smith performs (because all magicians I have met want to see him), visit Magic Time (speaks English, very skilled, very funny), visit A-Omoro (if you are a magician and if you are there when Ars performs, because he just so super skilled), visit A-Majide (if you speak Japanese, because they are just funny to talk to).

In Sapporo, visit Trick bar Twister (when I am there, so I can meet you). Send me an e-mail and I can try to be there on any day that works for you. Send me an e-mail if you want to visit some other place and we can go together and I can translate for you.  I like watching magic and any excuse to visit other places is great.

In Nagoya, visit Momentos.

If you are going to Japan but do not know where in Japan to go, go to Tokyo. It is huge and has everything.

Slit mouthed woman doing some magic in Ropossa

On my way back after doing a magic show as the "kuchi sake onna" ("slit mouthed woman" urban legend monster), I stopped by Ropossa. The mama of Ropossa had requested that I stop by when in this costume. I ended up doing some table magic for some other guests there. It was a lot of fun.

口裂け女の仮装でマジックショーをやってから、ロポッサというマジックスナックにもちょっと寄った。ママが口裂け女の仮装どうしても見たいって言っていたから。他のお客さんにテーブルマジックを見せることにもなった。楽しかった。

Magic show at the El Mango Halloween Party

The first of November, there was another Halloween party and did another magic show. Again dressed as the "kuchi sake onna" ("slit mouthed woman" urban legend monster).  The party came with lots of good food, and many different performances. Apart from my magic, there was Latin dancing, Kung-Fu stunt action fighting, singing by imitating famous people, hip-hop dancing, and salsa dancing.

11月1日にもハロウィンパーティーがあった。またマジックショーをやった。また口裂け女の仮装でやった。パーティーでは色々な食べ物もあったし、他のパフォーマンスも色々あった。サルサダンス・ヒップホップダンス・物真似・カンフーアクションパフォーマンス、色々あった。

For a Halloween party, the number of people with funny costumes was quite low. There was a costume competition, and I voted for a Marilyn Monroe girl. In the end, I won the costume competition and got a massage cushion.

ハロウィンパーティーだったが仮装の人がそんなにいなかった。仮装コンクールもあって、僕が優勝した。僕のがマリリンモンローの仮装に１票。

When I was preparing for my performance, one of the dancers from a previous performance came into the only back stage room. She took a look at me and asked: "You are not really a woman right?" and then asked me to leave the room. She wanted to change out of her performance costume and into her Halloween costume. I wanted to prepare for my performance, since I was the next person to go on stage, but I figured I was pretty much done and gave her the room.

裏で僕のパフォーマンスの準備をしたら、別のパフォーマンス組の女の人１人が入ってきて、僕の方を見た。「本当は女の人ではないよね？出て行って貰えませんか？」と言われた。パフォーマンスの衣装からハロウィンのコスチュームに着替えたかった。次のパフォーマンスが僕だったから、もうちょっと準備したかったが準備がほぼ終わっていたから部屋を譲った。

She also noticed that not only am I not a woman, I am also not Japanese. She asked where I am from, and when I said that I am from Sweden she started speaking Swedish to me. When we spoke more later, she said that she went to a Swedish high school for one year. She speaks quite well, but with a very strong southern Sweden dialect. That she speaks with a much better southern Swedish accent than I could possibly manage (despite me being quite good a Swedish in general :-) is pretty funny when she looks very non-Swedish.

女の人ではないのもばれたし、日本人でもないのもばれたから「何人？」と聞かれた。スウェーデン人だと言ったら、スウェーデン語で色々言われた。ビックリ。後でもっと話したら、高校１年間スウェーデンの高校に行っていたそうだ。スウェーデン語がきれいだが南スウェーデンの方言が強い。日本人がその方言できれいに喋るのがうけるなぁ。

The always popular "signed card into unopened (sealed) PET bottle". The girl who signed the card remembered (and recognized me without being dressed as a girl!) me when I ran into her at a Christmas party two months later.

She also turned out to work at the same university that I work at. We now have lunch together once per week (except when I am travelling, which recently is like all the time).

そして、もうちょっと話したら、職場一緒！僕の出張がない時に（最近出張しかないけど）週１回くらい北大で一緒に昼ご飯を食べる。

Two people who can speak Swedish

My magic show went fine. People laughed when they were supposed to etc. I had some problems with walking in my very high heeled spike heel shoes (they are size XXL but much too small for me, since it is Japanese girl size XXL). People thought that was funny, so that was still good, I guess. It was also pretty funny when a photo of me kept appearing in one magic trick, but no one could recognize who it was since I was dressed as a woman on stage. I learned that it is annoyingly difficult to carry your magic props around with you when in women's clothing, since apparently women do not use pockets...

僕のマジックショーが無事に終わった。皆笑ってくれた。まあまあ高いスパイクヒールで歩くのがちょっと難しかったというか痛かった。XXLを買ったがそれでもかなり小さい。女の子の足がめっちゃ小さいんだね。苦しんでいる姿も、皆笑ってくれたから、結果良かった。他に面白くなったのは、僕の顔の写真が何回も出てくるマジックで、「この人誰？」と皆なった。僕の素顔を知っている人がいなくて、口裂け女のメイクで全然分からなかったみたい、笑。勉強になったのは、女の人がポケットを使わないんだね。服にポケットが１つもなかった。マジック道具を持って歩くのが大変だった。

Kung-Fu action stunt fighting

Magic bar Surprise

After doing some work in Kawasaki, I also had time to stop by the Magic Bar Surprise in Akasaka (Tokyo). There were four magicians there, three that I had seen there before, and a girl who I had never seen before. They all showed me magic.

川崎の研究の打ち合わせの後、東京に泊まることになったからマジックバーサプライズにも行けた。マジシャンが4人もいた。3人は前にも見たことがあったが見たことのない女の子もいた。4人ともマジックを見せてくれた。

First, the magician Izumi showed me her deck of cards that was hand drawn by kids with crayons, which then turned into a normal deck of cards. The hand drawn cards were cuter, though, haha. She did some more card magic, and then she did some magic with a ring and a rope.

最初にマジックを見せてくれたマジシャンがマジシャンイズミだった。子供がクレヨンで描いたトランプを出して、本物（普通）のトランプに変わった。子供が描いたトランプの方が可愛かったけど、笑。他のカードマジックも色々やったし、ロープと輪っかのマジックも見せてくれたし。

Next, the magician Akimoto, who I have met several times and who is also one of the few people connected to me on Google+ that actually updates anything there (actually, he is one of the few people connected to me on Google+ period, haha), showed me more magic. He did magic with different coins, with three green balls, and with cards. He has a very good second deal.

次は秋本というマジシャンが色々見せてくれた。前にも何回か会っている。Google+で繋がっているし。Google+で友達になっている人の中の一番アップしている人かも。まぁ、繋がっている人があまりいないし、誰もアップしないし…今回コインマジックも小さなボールを使ったマジックもカードマジックも見せてくれた。毎回思うんだけど、セカンドディールがきれいなんだよね。

Then the magician Suzumu came and showed me magic. He did a cup and balls routine, the traditional coins and ring trick where the coins travel, some magic with a string and the ring, and then various card tricks.

3人目のマジシャンがマジシャン進夢が来た。カップ＆ボール・コインと指輪・指輪とロープ・カードのマジックを見せてくれた。

Finally, Ryusei Kamiguchi also did some magic requested by the other guests sitting next to me at the counter. He is always funny, and this time he was crazier or in a higher gear than normal, haha. He did a funny card to forehead routine, and had a "marked card" where the marking (drawn with a sharpie) moved around on the card. He did many other card tricks too.

最後に上口龍生も、カウンタの隣のお客さんのリクエストで、マジックを披露した。いつも面白いが普段よりもテンションが高かった。カード・トゥー・額とか、マッキーで書いたマークがカードの裏で動いたとか、色々なカードマジックを見せてくれた。

Toto's Bar

I had to go on a quick trip to Kawasaki, which is close to Tokyo, and I found an hour or so to stop by Toto's bar and see some magic. There are two very cute owls there now. I also noticed that they had changed the color of the Toto's bar playing cards they have in the bar. Their logo is green, so they have started printing their playing cards in green now. Toto's bar is always great, and this time was no exception.

仕事で川崎に行くことがあって、東京で1泊した。ちょっとだけ「都々's Bar」に顔を出す時間もとれた。最近、フクロウ2羽いる。可愛い。他に、都々's Barトランプが今緑色のなっている。都々's Barのロゴが緑色なので、トランプも緑色にしたそうだ。都々's Barがいつも凄く楽しい。今回もそうだった。

Magic show at a Halloween Party at cafe An Be

One of my friends has a "senpai" working in a restaurant/cafe/bar called Cafe An Be. My friend has done magic shows there many times, and when asked to do a show at their Halloween party, he asked me if I could help out, since he was running out of material. I said sure, and we ended up doing a half hour show together.

マジシャン友達の先輩が「Cafe An Be」という店で働いている。友達が何回もそこでマジックショーをやってきた。ハロウィンパーティーでまたマジックやって欲しいって言われた時に、僕に「一緒にやる？」と聞いた。ネタがもうない感じだった。僕が「やりたい！」と言ったから、2人で30分くらいのショーをやった。

Before our time to go on stage, we waited around in the back for quite some time. We got some very nice food to eat, though, so that was fine. Before us, there was also a group of women performing poppy versions of anime songs and other music. They were very nice.

ステージにあがる前に結構待っていた。待っている間、美味しい食べ物を貰った。うちのショーの前にアニソングとかをやってくれた女性のバンドもパフォーマンスした。良かった。

We did our magic show by first me doing one magic trick, then my friend doing one, then me again, and so on. This worked really well, and was a pretty good way to split up the work and to get some good variety into the show (we did not have time to rehearse any routines to do together).

マジックのショーは、僕が1ネタをやって、友達が1ネタをやって又僕、みたいなやり取りにした。結構良かった。キャラの違いがあって、2人でやった方が良かった。2人で一緒にやるネタの練習時間がなかったから、簡単なやり取りくらいしか出来なかったが結果良かった。

I had been told that the audience would be mostly drunk grownups but it was in fact mostly families with children. I have a lot of material that works well with kids, but had not brought very much of that. I did have some things that work great with kids, though. When I ask kids to help me out on stage, usually there are lots of volunteers. This time, there were none, haha. Probably because I was dressed up as the "kuchi sake onna" (the "slit mouthed woman", a Japanese urban legend monster that kills children with her scissors).

行く前に、酔っ払いの大人が多いと言われたが当日に来ていた人が子供連れの家族が多かった。子供にうけるマジックをいっぱい持っているが持って行ったマジックの中はそんなになかった。子供うけが良いネタを何個かがあったけど。普段「手伝ってくれる人がいる？」と子供に聞いたら、やりたい子供がいっぱいいる。今回は誰もいなかった、笑。僕が口裂け女の仮装していたから、皆怖がっていたみたい。

In the subway

Our show was appreciated. People laughed a lot, and afterwards people came up and wanted to take photos with me. One woman came up to me and said that she had thought I was actually a woman up until I started speaking, haha.

マジックショーが好評だった。皆笑ってくれた。終わってから、一緒に写真撮りたい人もいたし、「喋る前に本当に女だと思った」と言ったおばさんもいた、笑。

On the way back to the magic bar where we then were to do more magic, we met one of my friends in the subway. She thought it was strange to ride the subway dressed the way I was.

地下鉄でマジックバーに戻る時に、たまたま僕の友達に会った。よくその格好で地下鉄に乗れたねと言われた。

Magic at a Bridal company party

After the Halloween magic show, I immediately left for Tokyo to meet people from Sweden who were visiting. After a few intensive days in Tokyo, I flew back to Sapporo, went straight to work, and left from work straight for a party with people working in the bridal business.

ハロウィンのマジックショーの次の日にスウェーデンから知り合いが東京に来たので、僕が札幌から東京に会いに行った。忙しいが楽しい東京の2日間の後、飛行機に乗って直接職場に行った。職場から直接ブライダル系の会社の集まりの宴会に行った。

A woman I know works with finding entertainers for weddings. She connects people organizing their weddings with people playing the violin etc. Sometimes people ask for a magician, and then she sometimes asks me if I have time to perform at a wedding or two.

知っている女の人が結婚式などに生演奏の人とかを紹介する仕事をしている。たまに「マジシャン紹介できますか？」と聞かれる。そういう時にたまに僕にどこかの結婚式に出れる？と僕に聞いてくる時がある。

At the party, lots of people in her business were gathering, so she wanted me to come and do some magic for the rest of them, in the hope that they might ask her (or recommend people getting married to ask her) for a magician.

その宴会で、ブライダル的な仕事の人がいっぱい集まっていたから、皆にマジックを見せたら、マジシャンのリクエストが増えるかもしれないから無料でやって欲しいと言われた。趣味でやっているから面白い相手なら無料でも全然やる。

I walked around the tables and did the tricks that I often do at weddings, and people were very impressed. I also saw the boss of one of the biggest bridal companies there, and we had met once before. I did a magic show at a wedding were the groom was one of his relatives, so he was sitting at one of the head tables. I was asked to do something special at his table this time, so I ended up putting a card that he had signed inside an unopened (sealed) PET bottle. He seemed very impressed with that (and the sponge rabbits trick I do).

テーブルを回って、結婚式でよくやるマジックを見せた。大きなブライダルの会社の社長（？）も来ていた。前に結婚式でマジックをやった時に、その社長に会ったことがある。新郎さんが親戚だったみたい。今回、社長のテーブルで特別なマジックやって欲しいと言われたから、結局サインして貰ったカードを新品のペットボトルに入れた。うけが良かった。まぁ、いつもやっているスポンジのウサギのマジックもう相変わらずうけた。

Magic show at H's Cafe

In recent years, Halloween has become more and more popular in Japan. People celebrate Halloween by dressing up in mostly cute or sexy costumes and having parties. I was asked to do a magic show at a place called H's cafe, where I quite often have dinner (they have excellent hamburgers), at their Halloween party.

最近日本でもハロウィンが流行ってきた。日本では可愛いコスチュームでパーティーするだけだけどね。H's Cafeというバーのハロウィンパーティーでマジックショーをやった。ハンバーガーがうまい店で、よく行く。

I dressed up as a zombie, since that means you can still have pockets to carry your magic props around with you. I got 30 minutes or so to do a show in front of all the people at the party. People seemed to enjoy it, though it was difficult to tell the facial expressions of most people.

ゾンビの仮装して、マジックをしに行った。ゾンビだったら、ポケットがあるコスチュームなので、マジック道具とか持って行きやすい。30分くらい皆の前でマジックショーをやった。うけたと思うが表情が分かり辛い人が多かった、笑。

There was also a costume competition at the party and I got second place there.

コスチュームコンクールもあった。2位になって、賞を貰った。

Costume competition winners

My prize

Below the belt magic

I saw this painting on the wall in Magic Bar Stockholm. If you look close enough, it turns out this magician is using an unusual method to levitate the woman.

この絵がマジックバーストックホルムにあった。よく見たら、美女が浮くイリュージョンにだいぶ珍しいやり方を使っているんだね！ｗ

Magic bar Stockholm visit 4 of 4

My last visit to Magic Bar Stockholm during my vacation in Sweden was also on a day with a stage show. I got to see the very young magician Carl Stanley and the mentalist Micke Askernäs. I saw Carl Stanley walk around the tables and do some card magic. Micke Askernäs did some fork bending at some tables.

スウェーデン旅行の最後のマジックバーストックホルムの時にまたステージショー見れた。若手マジシャンカール・スタンリーとメンタリストのミケ・アスケルネースがステージマジックもテーブルマジックもやった。

Carl Stanley

Carl Stanley was the first to go on stage. He was very funny. He kept saying things like: "Hi, I am a magician. But I would have preferred to have a girlfriend instead." He did a lot of gags. I liked it when he brought forth a wooden duck that picks one card from a deck of cards (a pretty expensive prop) and had a spectator shuffle a deck of cards. He then put the cards in the duck prop and had the duck take one card. He then asked a spectator to "name any card you want". They named the nine of clubs or something, and he looked at the card the duck had picked and said: "Amazing! This is the same card." Then he never showed that card to anyone, and put away the duck.

最初にステージを出たのがカール・スタンリーだった。面白い人だった。「カールと申します。マジシャンです。マジック出来るより彼女出来るといいけどなぁ…」とか、ギャグいっぱい言っていた。ギャグネタのマジックも多かった。カード当ての木製のアヒルを出して、観客にカードを混ぜて貰った。カードをアヒルの前に置いて、アヒルが1枚だけ取った。「好きなカード何でもいい、言って下さい」と観客に言って「クラブの９」と言われた。「アヒルのカードと同じだ！すげー！」と言って、カードを見せないでアヒルとトランプを閉めた。

He had a very nice presentation for the magic trick where two spectators each hold 10 cards but then 3 cards mysteriously disappear from one spectator, who ends up with seven, and appears with the other spectator, who thus has 13. The idea was to determine who was the coolest person. Do you know how to measure how cool someone is? No? When I was in elementary school, the guy with the most Pokemon cards was the coolest. So he gave the spectators Pokemon cards to hold on to, and the one that ended up with the most Pokemon cards was obviously the coolest.

喋りが基本的に面白かった。観客2人がトランプ10枚づつを持っているのに、1人のトランプから3枚が消えて、もう1人のトランプが13枚になる有名なマジックの話が面白かった。2人の観客をステージに呼んで、「誰が一番かっこいい？」と聞いた。「人のかっこよさ、どうやってはかるか、知っている？小学生の時に、ポケモンを一番沢山持っている人が一番かっこいいと分かった」って説明して、ポケモンカードを20枚取り出した。その有名なマジックをやって、13枚を持っている人が一番かっこいい人だという結果になった。

Micke Askernäs

Micke Askernäs did mostly classical mentalism things. He started with some spoon bending, and had a woman come up on stage with him since the spoon was too small for people in the back to see, so she was there to confirm that nothing suspicious was going on. He was also funny, and asked her to hit him on the forehead with the spoon to confirm that it was a hard normal spoon. He also said that since many people tell him they think he has some special chemicals on his hands to help make the spoon soft, she should lick his hands to check that there were no suspicious chemicals there.

メンタリストのミケ・アスケルネースが割とクラシックなメンタリズムを沢山見せてくれた。最初はスプーン曲げをやった。小さくて、遠いテーブルまで見れないから女の人をステージにあがってもらった。「怪しいことしていないのを他の人の為に確認してくださいね」って。マジシャンのおでこをスプーンで強く叩いて下さいって。曲がりやすいスプーンではないよねって。他に「手に何かの化学的なのを付けて、スプーンを柔らかくしているでしょう？」とよく言われるから、科学的なものが手に付いていないかを確認する為に私の手を舐めて下さいって言ったが女の人が舐めなかった（笑）。

He also did a tossed out deck routine, the John Archer version of Kolossal killer, and a lot of billet work. I liked his idea of what to do when blindfolded. He taped his face with duct tape so he could not see, and had someone grab a bunch of cards from a deck. He then proceeded to name all the cards they were holding. When thanking the spectator and helping them off the stage, he also stuck all the tape he removed from his face on their back, which was pretty funny. He ended with a Russian Roulette routine with huge staplers.

他にTossed out deckやKolossal Killerもやっていた。小さな紙に地名や人の名前を書いて貰って、当てるマジックも沢山やっていた。目隠しの使い方が面白かった。顔にテープを沢山はって、見えない様にしてからカードを何枚か取って貰った。観客が持っているカードを全部言い当てた。一緒にやっていた観客がステージから降りた時に「ありがとーね」と言って、観客の背中に使っていたテープを全部つけちゃったし、笑。最後にでかいホチキスみたいなものでロシアン・ルーレットをやった。

After the show, I bought a bunch of bookmarks to use as gifts. They look either like normal old photos or like monsters, depending on the angle. I also talked a bit to the owner of Magic Bar Stockholm, who thought it was funny that I was there 4 days in one week. He asked me if I wanted to do magic there the next time I am in Sweden, and suggested perhaps doing table hopping on a Tuesday or something. That would be great fun, I think, since I have done almost no magic in front of Swedish people.

ショーの後、お土産も買った。角度によって絵が変わるものを沢山買った。マジックバーストックホルムのオーナーと話したら、1週間に4回も来るのがうけたみたい。またスウェーデンに来たら、ここで2日間とか働いてくれない？って誘われたし。楽しそうだね。スウェーデン人にあまりマジック見せたことがない。どういう見方するか、気になるね。

Magic bar Stockholm visit 3 of 4

My third visit to Magic Bar Stockholm during my brief vacation in Sweden was on a Wednesday. There was no stage show, but there was a special close up show in one of the smaller rooms (and of course there was magic at the tables too, as always).

スウェーデン旅行の3回目のマジックバーストックホルムは水曜日になった。ステージショーがなかったが小さな部屋にクローズアップショーがあった。テーブルでテーブルマジックも毎日あるから、それも勿論あった。

Fredrik Ahlbertz was the magician of the night. He showed me some very nice versions of "matrix" (4 coins under 4 cards magically move to different places). He did some card magic too. I especially liked when he dealt 4 cards and then suddenly there turned out to be a big coin under each card.

Fredrik Ahlbertzというマジシャンがクローズアップマジックを色々見せてくれた。テーブルでコインマジックのマトリックスの色々なバージョンを披露した。カードマジックも見せてくれた。例えば、4枚配って、配ったカードの下にでかいコイン4つ現れた。

At the close up show, I got a seat towards the back, but since the chairs had different heights that was not a problem. Again, there was quite a lot of very nice coin magic. There was also card magic, including a color changing deck and an invisible palm routine.

クローズアップショーの時に後ろの方の席になったが段差があるから、全然大丈夫だった。色々なコインマジックがあった。結構凄かった。カードマジックもあった。デックのカラチェーンジやインビジブルパーム。

I noticed a straitjacket on the wall together with a flyer for a guy I know as Magic Brian. I once saw him do a straitjacket escape in Stockholm, and he was hysterically funny in general.

I also saw Anders Moden, a Swedish magician who is most well known in Japan for inventing a was to make an empty and crushed can of CocaCola come back to normal shape and be full of soda again. He recognized me since we met twice in Magic Bar Stockholm in 2011. He invited me to sit with him and another magician and eat my food at their table. Later, even more magicians showed up and I got to hear a lot of stories from the magic community in Sweden, which was interesting (since I learned magic after moving to Japan, I know almost nothing about magic from a Swedish perspective).

他に、コーラの復活のマジックを考えたクリエーターのマジシャンのAnders Modenさんにも会えた。2011年にもマジックバーストックホルムで会った。覚えてくれた。Modenさんのテーブルに誘われて、そこにいたマジシャンたちと一緒に食べることになった。遅い時間にマジシャンがさらに増えてきた。スウェーデンのマジシャンの話を色々聞いて、楽しかった。日本に来てからマジックを覚えたから、スウェーデンのマジックに関して、何も知らない。

Magic bar Stockholm visit 2 of 4

On my second visit to Magic Bar Stockholm this trip, I had my brother and his wife with me. They had been there once before, but that was a long long time ago. This evening, Tom Stone was doing a stage show, and he had mentioned the day before that he was working on a new routine that seemed fun.

今回の2回目のマジックバーストックホルムの時に弟夫婦と3人で行った。弟たちも昔1回行ったことある。トムストーンがステージショーをやる予定だった。前の日に新しいマジックを今作っていて、ステージでやるって言っていた。

Before adding the soup

After adding the soup

We got there in time to have dinner, and I ordered different food this evening and it was great again. I also got a spoon that looked like someone had used it in a spoon bending routine and then tried to straighten it out.

晩御飯を食べる余裕がある時間に来たから前回と違うものを頼んだ。美味しかった。僕が貰ったスプーンはどう見ても誰かがスプーン曲げに使って、適当に戻した感じだった、笑。

A spoon that has probably been used in magic

Robert Ace

While we were waiting, I saw a young guy playing with a deck of cards. He looked very much like a guy I saw do magic on the street in Stockholm on another visit to Sweden. I spoke to him at that time and he mentioned that he was going to go to Japan to train some Japanese martial art. Looking closer, it did indeed seem to be Robert Ace this time too.

テーブルで待っている時に奥の部屋に若いお兄さんがカードで遊んでいた。前にスウェーデンに来た時にストリートマジックをやっていたお兄さんと似ているねと思った。その時にちょっと話して、日本に格闘技を習いに行くって言われた。よく見たら、同じロバート・エイスだった。

Fish

Grilled lamb and potatoes

While we were waiting for our food, Tom Stone came to our table and did some magic. He also talked to us for a bit. He did a nice routine with a coin and a pen, and a trick with a deck of cards with names written on the backs. He also said that he was nervous about his new thing that he planned to do on stage that he had only performed two or three times before.

食べ物を待っている時にトムストーンがテーブルマジックを見せてくれた。コインとペンのマジックが面白いなぁ。裏に色々な人の名前が書いてあるトランプを使ったマジックもやった。マジック以外の話も色々してくれた。ステージで新ネタをやるから緊張しているって。

Chocolate mousse and blueberries

Later, Robert Ace came by our table too, and I said that I remembered meeting him. He also said: "Ah, and you are the one from Japan?", so I guess maybe someone in the Magic Bar Stockholm staff had tipped him off that the strange guy from Japan who comes every night was here again. But he turned and looked at my sister in law, and directed the question at her. She is also from Japan, so he was not wrong. Then he said something like: "I can speak a little bit of Japanese, but I am not very good at it", in Japanese to her. Well, so can my brother, and I can speak a bit too, haha.

その後、ロバートエイスもうちのテーブルに来た。僕が前に会っているよと言った。彼が「あ、日本から来た人だよね」と言い出したから、マジックバーのスタッフに毎晩来ている日本に住んでいる変な人があそこにいるよって言われたかなと思ったが僕ではなく、弟の嫁に言っていた。まぁ、確かに弟の嫁も日本から来ている（日本人なんだ）。その後、ちょっと下手な日本語で「日本語ちょっと話せる。上手ではないけど」と言ったし。うん、うちのテーブルの人も、皆話せるよ、ｗ。

Me and Tom Stone

Tom Stone did some of his famous routines on stage. He did a coin routine ending with the production of a bottle, he asked a spectator to join him on stage and did his cups and balls routine for her, he did a "pretentious rope routine" (very funny), and he did his new thing. He also used the "select a random way to greet the spectator" which ended up having him hug her, which is a trick that was also used by other people on stage in Magic Bar Stockholm. I was also completely fooled by the cups and balls and did not see the shoe appear on the table, even though I have seen this routine (on video) many times, haha.

ステージでトムストーンが自分の有名なネタを色々見せた。コインのマジックで最後にボトルが出てくるやつとか、ステージにお客さん1人呼んで、カップ＆ボールもやった。最後に面白いロープマジックもやった。新ネタのマジックも面白かった。お客さんにどうやって挨拶するか、サイコロで決めるマジックもトムストーンの本に載っているネタもやった。そのネタは他のマジシャンもよく使っていた。カップ＆ボールを何回も動画で見ているのに、靴がテーブルに来た時全然気づかなかった、気持ち良く引っかかった、ｗ。

An old poster that was very funny. Advertising "On of the worst magicians in Sweden" and mentioning many bad things about him.

His new routine was very funny. He had two spectators on stage with him and everyone of them had a cigar box with something in it. One spectator had a deck of cards, one had a book, and Tom Stone had an empty box. The were also marked with colored squares, so you could tell which box belonged to whom. Then he put a Post-It sticker over this square on his own box, and said that now since we cannot see the color, we cannot be sure whom this box belongs to. Which in some sense makes sense, but since the spectators were holding on to their boxes and no one had touched the box after he covered the color, it might be reasonable to suspect that the box was still the red box belonging to Tom Stone... He said things like: "So, as far as we know, this could be the blue box. That was your box. And it had a deck of cards in it", and when opening the box it did indeed have cards in it. There were lots of other things going on, and a very mysterious ending. It used many different things, like something like the "Pegasus Page" trick, to achieve some very entertaining.

新ネタのマジックも面白かった。お客さん2人とシガーボックスを使ったマジックだった。シュールな喋りで、僕が凄い好きだった。色々な有名なネタを使って面白いルーティンを作ったって感じだった。

An envelope that later turned out to contain an iPhone 

After Tom Stone finished, the mentalist Ray Matson also did a stage show. This was pretty much the same as the night before (that I also saw).

トムストーンの後、メンタリストのレイ・マットソンもステージショーをやった。前の日と同じだった。

A painting of an original way to perform levitations

After all the magic, the owner of Magic Bar Stockholm also took us on a tour of the places, pointing out interesting details. There were chairs bought from some antique shop that had been sat on by famous people, there were lots of optical illusions and trick art, and much much more.

ショーが終わってから、マジックバーのオーナーが店のツアーみたいに、色々な面白いところも見せてくれた。目の錯覚やトリックアートがいっぱいある。有名人も使っていたアンティークの椅子とかもあるみたい。ツアーも面白かった。

A levitating ball

A levitating bottle

A levitating deck of cards

A levitating card