Rock guitarists have a penchant for collecting instruments. Rick Nielson of Cheap Trick allegedly owns more than 40 guitars. Ace Frehley of KISS resides somewhere in the low 30s. And Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap, well, one can only guess. Things sure have changed since the day Les Paul decided to Edisonize his six-string.
But would ol' Les have ever thought he'd need a bottle of Brass-O to maintain his guitar? Well, if he could wing it on over from New York and step into The Hard Rock Cafe in Nagoya's Fushimi, that'd probably the first thing that would pop into his mind. When you walk through the back doors of Japan's newest, largest Hard Rock, you'll be greeted by a brass railing supported by a gleaming brass Les Paul, setting the tone for what's to come when you reach the top of the stairway to Design City's rock 'n' roll heaven.
Nagoya's Hard Rock is part of an overall Japanese tour de force that includes established stores in Osaka and Tokyo, and another new location in Yokohama that will open this summer. A fifth Hard Rock is scheduled to launch in an as-of-yet-undecided location by the time Prince's "1999" is back on the charts as a New Year's anthem.
"The people who often go to Osaka for shopping on the weekends come to The Hard Rock Cafe and ask why we don't have one in Nagoya," Yoshiyuki Hayashi, general manager of Hard Rock Nagoya, says. "Nagoya is the third largest city in Japan; when we brought the plan to the city, they welcomed us."
During a telephone interview, Akio Uchida, a marketing and promotions manager associated with Hard Rock, tells me the Yokohama store was planned to complement Hard Rock Tokyo.
"We're opening on July 18 in Queen's Square," he says. "Hard Rock Yokohama is on the first floor of Queen's Tower A, very close to Sakuragi-cho Station on the JR line, about 30 minutes from the Tokyo store." It also skirts the harbor area, a major tourist destination and, if I may editorialize, a very pleasant place to pass an afternoon.
Like the Axl Rose of yesteryear, the Hard Rock prefers to be in the thick of things, mixing it up. This seems to be an important component of the franchise's business philosophy. Hayashi explains that the Fushimi location, between the Sega game center and the Hilton in Naka Ward, was chosen for its proximity to the proverbial action.
"We had many sites [available to us], but this was the best," he says. "It's in a nice, active area, near hotels and shopping. We wanted to have an international atmosphere that attracts an exciting crowd." Uchida echoes this idea like feedback through a stack of Marshall amps: "The Queen's Square location is a busy, exciting place."
Before I sat down with Hayashi in an unfinished booth in a then-skeletal Hard Rock, I strolled around on the dark, wooden floors to check out the behind-the-scenes scene, trying not to get in the way of a videographer there to document the store's gestation process. On one wall was a stained glass tribute to rock icons. Elvis, King of Kings, is the centerpiece of this kitschy, quasi-religious rendering. Outside at the main entrance, the rear end of a vintage pink Cadillac juts through the wall, as if Springsteen and Aretha had been out on a bender and never made it home. (The car�s front end will grace the Yokohama location.) There are two eagles -- birds, not Frey and Henley -- at either end of the bar. And then there are all those cool brass Les Pauls.
But what about the memorabilia? Most Hard Rocks look like the "Sanford and Son" set would have if it had starred Jimi Hendrix and Keith Moon. Uchida says their stores get the stuff -- the instruments, the clothes, the gold and platinum record awards -- two ways. "We have crews who join auctions. Basically, this is how we get the memorabilia. Another way is to get it directly from the artists."
Hard Rock also operates what Uchida calls a "huge, huge memorabilia warehouse" near its Orlando, Fla., headquarters from which stores can procure items for their decorating needs. Looking around his store, Hayashi adds that he, too, is expecting to get mementos this way. And it's more than a coincidence that Hard Rock Nagoya is a guitar pick's throw from the Hilton: Most of the of big and not-so-big acts playing Nagoya shack up there, and Hayashi says he's going to encourage these people to come to his store: "Since many artists stay at the Hilton, I think it's natural for them to stop by here." Uchida is more direct when asked whether or not he'd invite rockers to Yokohama: "It's the key of the Hard Rock business."
Of course, the memorabilia is cool to look at, but the main reason anyone goes to any restaurant is to eat and drink. The Nagoya and Yokohama locations will the default Hard Rock menu, featuring what Hayashi and Uchida take pains to stress is "authentic American food," and Hayashi says there will be daily lunch specials in Nagoya from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For instance, Y900 will allow you to taste rarities such as swordfish sandwiches. Happy hour at the Hard Rock will run from 4 to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and will feature half-price drinks.
And speaking of drinks, Hayashi makes the bold claim that his store serve the best Bloody Marys, complete with bushy stalks of celery (!), in the city, perhaps in all of Japan. From behind the eagle-flanked bar will also come an array of Western-style (read: not thin and watery) cocktails, rock 'n' roll birthday drinks named after aging artists and a respectable selection of Western beers.
Despite the promising flow from their bars, pomp and circumstance are not going to be a part of the Hard Rock openings. Before I actually laid eyes on Hard Rock Nagoya, I heard plenty of scuttlebutt about the new locations and opening events, but little of this word-of-mouth gossip proved accurate. This gossip suits Hayashi and Uchida just fine, because they have an Oscar Wilde-ish credo about the openings. As quipped Wilde, "There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." The want word of mouth to propel their stores into the limelight, so don't expect bells and whistles before the doors actually open.
"We want people to know that we have great food and great service," Hayashi says. "We have 15 full-time and 80 part-time workers here. We hope people will enjoy the atmosphere and service." Uchida agreed, adding, "We don't have so many plans for the opening. We're giving away fans with the Hard Rock logo printed on them." He tacks on a characteristically Japanese promotional coda: "Please feel the exciting atmosphere. Enjoy!"
The Nagoya Hard Rock will be open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. till 11 p.m., and 11 a.m. till 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday; the Yokohama location will be open daily until 4 a.m.
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