When you read a special book, you want to spend that time in a place you love.
Where do you like to read: on your sofa at home, by a river, in the mountains, or at a coffee shop?
I love turning the pages of a book over a cup of hot coffee, and gazing out at the tranquil Seto Inland Sea.
In early summer 2024, a concert of music for reading was held at belk, a cafe on Ojigadake Hill overlooking the Seto Inland Sea. I brought along a few favorite books and joined the event.
The information presented is current as of the article’s publication in June 2024. Please note that it may differ from current information.
What is a concert of music for reading?
The concert of music for reading was held on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, at belk, a cafe on Ojigadake Hill. It was organized by belk and Folklore.
This concert, held at belk with a different musician and bookstore invited each time, was being held for the fourth time.
With the theme of “making time spent reading richer than usual,” participants read their favorite books at their own pace while listening to music by Tanabe Gen, a musician based in Yamanashi Prefecture, whose music accompanies reading.
Books selected especially for this event by BEEK, a bookstore in Yamanashi, and Nohohon will be on display. You can discover a new book there, or bring along a favorite book for the occasion. There will also be a stall by Okayama City bento shop Obento, Nichinichi., so you can enjoy a picnic on Ojigadake Hill before or after the concert.
The concert has two sessions: the first begins at 1 p.m. and the second at 4 p.m. Both performances last about an hour and 45 minutes.
The first part of the concert of music for reading
I attended the first session, which began at 1 p.m.
The venue was bustling, with nearly every seat inside occupied and some participants reading on the benches outside.
I arrived a little early, enjoyed a picnic with a bento from “Obento, Nichinichi.,” then joined the concert of music for reading. Here’s how it went.
A picnic with a spectacular view from Ojigadake Hill
When I arrived at the venue, delicious-looking bentos were lined up at the entrance to belk. They were from “Obento, Nichinichi.,” which had come from Okayama City to set up a stall for this event.
The weather was lovely that day, so I picked up the bento I had reserved, spread it out on my picnic sheet, and enjoyed a picnic.
The bento menu was as follows:
- Rice with glutinous barley and peas
- Nanbanzuke-marinated young sweetfish and new onions
- Zucchini omelet
- New potato salad with kinome miso
- Broccoli aglio e olio
- Three-bean sesame dressing
Every dish had a gentle, comforting flavor, with the taste of the ingredients coming through in every bite.
The sky was wide and clear that day, and the Seto Inland Sea before us was calm. Paragliders soared above Ojigadake Hill, where peaceful scenery stretched all around. It was a picnic that left both my stomach and heart full.
They say “food is all about presentation,” but the setting in which you eat may also be one of the things that makes a meal even more enjoyable.
Taking time to choose a book to read here today
With my stomach and heart full, I returned to belk. More and more participants were arriving, picking up and browsing books selected by BEEK and Nohohon.
The musician Tanabe and the booksellers had all made the trip to Kurashiki from Yamanashi Prefecture. The books had been selected to suit the venue’s scenery and Tanabe’s music. They all looked so interesting that none of the participants could quite make up their minds.
I had visited belk several times before, so I brought a few books from home that I had thought, “I want to read these here.”
The first was “Umi ni Moguru” by Akashi Yuka, an essay by a woman who divides her time between Kurashiki and Tokyo. Akashi Yuka works as an editor.
The second was “Kaetteiku,” a zine by Manju Koki. Manju also divides his time between Okayama and Okinawa and works as a photographer.
I moved from Tokyo to Kurashiki in December 2023, so I’m also a newcomer to the area and cheer on these two as fellow newcomers of my generation. Like them, I fell in love with the Seto Inland Sea scenery and decided to move to Kurashiki, so I brought these two books about life by the Seto Inland Sea to read at belk.
The other book was “The Day 100 Years from Now When Neither You nor I Will Be Here” by Domon Ran. I bought it at aru, a bookstore in Karakoto, Kurashiki City, run by Akashi Yuka. I had been meaning to read it for a long time, but it had become one of my unread books, so I decided to take this opportunity to read it.
Listening to music, enjoying the view, and reading
Once inside, I ordered a drink at the counter and took a seat of my choice.
I chose a seat by the window overlooking the sea.
At the appointed time, Tanabe quietly began playing guitar. Drinks were still being served, so the guitar gradually emerged alongside the sounds of coffee beans being ground and water being boiled. With so many sounds around me, I couldn’t concentrate yet, so I started by turning the pages of Manju’s photo book.
Every so often, I sipped my coffee, gazed at the Seto Inland Sea, watched Tanabe play, then turned my attention back to the book in front of me. Little by little, I became absorbed in reading.
The music grew more and more stirring, and the participants increasingly entered their own worlds.
Everyone was in the same place, listening to the same music, yet each person was immersed in their own world. I was struck by the strange feeling of time passing that way.
Toward the end, Tanabe announced that for the final song, everyone should close their books, watch him play, and focus on the music. The concert ended with a big round of applause. Wrapped in the lingering afterglow of the coffee’s aroma, Tanabe’s music, and the stories each of us had opened, everyone headed home.
From the Writer
The sense of togetherness that you can’t experience when reading in silence, and the individual worlds you can’t experience at a live performance where everyone focuses only on the music, came together at once. I think that was the unique atmosphere of a “concert of music for reading.”
It was a concert that gave me another place where I’d like to read, and another kind of music I’d like to listen to while reading.
What music and books will I discover next time? So many interesting books had been selected, and next time I’d like to try choosing a book from among them to read that day.
Music Concert for Reading Information
| Name | Music Concert for Reading |
|---|---|
| Date | Tuesday, June 4, 2024, Part 1: Doors open at 12:30 p.m./Concert begins at 1 p.m.; Part 2: Doors open at 3:30 p.m./Concert begins at 4 p.m. |
| Location | 7 Kojima Karakoto-cho, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Admission (tax included) | 2,500 yen + drink |
| Website | belk official Instagram |
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