Justin Miller isn't a stranger to Japanese TV. He has been a guest on various morning shows to promote Showa Kayo Night, a party he co-founded in 2011. But the reaction he got after appearing on TV Tokyo's evening program "You wa Nani Shi ni Nippon E?" ("Why Did You Come To Japan?") really surprised him.
"It aired in May and I saw the impact at the next event," he says from a fittingly retro bowling alley cafe in Tokyo's Sasazuka neighborhood, near his day job. "I was coming from my school's sports day, after running around in the sun all day. It was the first time I was late to it. I walked in, and everybody just started clapping."
The attention gave the party, which focuses on Showa pop songs, quite a boost. So much so that, for the first time, the gathering is being moved from its usual Rhythm Cafe space in Shibuya to Ebisu's Act Square for a special "Ooomori" (big) edition. It's a spacious venue with wooden dancefloors and a high-tech video board that wraps around the interior.