♪♪ Jacob: After a 14 1/2-hour flight from New York to Tokyo, it feels like you've stepped out of a space capsule and emerged on a futuristic planet.

At first, the sleek modernity of the city feels familiar.

But before you can say konichiwa, you start to notice that many things in Japan are not always what they seem on the surface.

♪♪ It's a city of clean lines and striking, modernistic architecture, impossibly polite pedestrians that actually wait for the light to change before crossing the street, and high-tech trains that are quiet, fast, and always on time.

♪♪ But there's a beautiful chaos alongside the neat orderliness, explosions of light and color emanating from indecipherable signs... ♪♪ ...and the frantic, computerized blips and bleeps of pachinko parlors and video arcades that give the city an electric soundtrack.

♪♪ On almost every level, Tokyo boggles the mind.

Yes, Dorothy-san, you're definitely not in Kansas anymore.

Pilot: Flight 527 ready for departure.

♪♪ ♪♪ Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, once again, "Music Voyager"!

Jacob: You may think you've heard everything, but the world is full of surprises.

And when you're hanging out with musicians, nothing is off-limits.

Is this what you guys do every weekend?

Every night.

Every night!

Yeah.

My name is Jacob Edgar.

Music is my life, and life is short.

So crank up the volume and let the voyage begin.

[ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ [ Asian folk music plays ] Despite its orderliness, or perhaps because of it, this city is filled with eccentricities.

You might even call it strange.

But it's a good strange -- an enchanting, beguiling strange, the kind that's like a mystery begging to be solved, or at least understood.

♪♪ Take Japan's pop music, known here as J-pop.

One of the biggest stars in the country is Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, and her current hit, "Mottai Night Land," is literally playing everywhere we go.

♪ Monotarinai kara ijiwaru na koto mo shichau ♪ The video is so bizarre, you just might think someone laced your last sushi roll with a tab of LSD.

♪ Mottainai, mottainai ♪ ♪ Hora issho ni mottai naito rando ♪ We'll admit, the song is catchier than H1N1 and maybe even harder to get out of your head, but it begs the question, "What the [bleep]?!"

What inspired this surreal imagery, and how did it become so popular in Japan?

To help answer these questions and begin to wrap our head around this country, we sit down with the man responsible for this music, Yasutaka Nakata, a producer for some of Japan's biggest J-pop stars, including Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and the hugely popular girl group called Perfume.

[ J-pop music plays ] Nakata is also a successful musician in his own right, comprising one-half of the electropop duo CAPSULE, who released their 14th album recently.

[ Electropop music plays ] Nakata meets us at our hotel for an extremely rare on-camera interview.

Who are some of your influences?

Who do you gain inspiration from?

How would you describe Tokyo?

I mean, what's the ambiance of this city?

Jacob: Nakata's chart-topping artist, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, has a colorful style that is closely associated with Tokyo's Harajuku neighborhood.

It's a well-known fashion epicenter, which was the source of a revolutionary new look in Japan.

Harajuku style is strange, but it's not exactly counterculture.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu garnered over 50 million hits on YouTube for her music video to "Pon Pon Pon," a song that she released in 2011.

♪ Moshi ano machi no mannaka de ♪ ♪ Te wo tsunaide... ♪ To find out what inspired the look that led thousands of Japanese people to dress like psychedelic 6-year-olds, we go to meet the art director for the "Pon Pon Pon" music video, Sebastian Masuda, one of Japan's most famous fashion designers and the owner of 6% Doki Doki.

This is his playground -- a tiny boutique with an outsized influence located in the heart of Harajuku, where this whole movement began.

It turns out there's one particular word in Japanese that's come to define Harajuku's style and culture.

Kawaii may mean "cute and small," but I don't find this rat fits either of those adjectives.

♪♪ Sebastian Masuda's "Colorful Rebellion" -- the audio and visual palette of J-pop, the kitsch of kawaii -- it all seems to come down to a playful refusal to grow up.

♪♪ This might explain why Nakata's musical journey has largely been inspired by the sounds of his childhood -- the bright, synthetic tones of video games.

Akihabara, the Tokyo neighborhood also known as Electric City, is a nerd paradise.

Anything that plugs in, powers on, or boots up -- You'll find it here.

It's also a gamer's mecca and home to Nakata's favorite video-game arcade and supply store, Super Potato, or Su-PAH Puh-TAY-to in Japanese.

You can smell the sweaty aroma that emanates from all-night video-game sessions, which break only for fuel in the form of ramen and other colorful snacks.

[ Groaning ] Whoa!

Oh!

♪♪ It's easy to imagine how young musicians would be influenced by the jumpy, electronic sounds looped on game consoles.

If pop music gets stuck in your head, this stuff is like superglue on the brain.

♪♪ And for those who consider themselves experts at traditional instruments, like the Japanese taiko drum, these Electric City boys will give you a run for your quarters.

♪♪ That kid made this seem easy.

It might take a few years and $20,000 in change, but I'll catch up to you one day, kid.

♪♪ The Japanese are known for being exceptional musical imitators.

This is the birthplace of karaoke, after all.

And it goes far beyond late-night renditions of "Hotel California."

Looking for world-class salsa... bluegrass... hip-hop, rock?

It's all here in Japan.

But does that mean that the Japanese, masters of technological innovation, are just mockingbirds when it comes to music?

♪♪ One artist who seems to have some answers is Miyavi, a virtuosic guitarist at the top of the Japanese rock scene.

♪♪ ♪♪ I used to love blues music like Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Jacob: But the world already had Stevie Ray Vaughan.

It didn't need a Japanese carbon copy.

Miyavi needed an angle.

♪♪ Miyavi: As a Japanese, as an Asian artist, I wanted to have something kind of, you know, different.

Jacob: For Miyavi, this meant honoring his own cultural legacy, adding in distinctly Japanese flavors to his sound.

You know, in Japan, there's a traditional instrument.

It's called shamisen.

It's Japanese guitar.

I got an idea from shamisen, you know, players, the way they play.

It's really kind of intense.

I play the guitar like katana -- you know, Japanese sword.

[ Yells ] People started calling me "Samurai guitarist."

Here we go!

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ Hi, my name is M-Y-V ♪ ♪ Yo, what's up?

I got an M-I-C ♪ ♪ From Tokyo to rock you ♪ ♪ All with the bling-bling six-string thing ♪ ♪ You know it's time to bang ♪ ♪ Get you the sound made in Japan ♪ ♪ Rock, punk, hip-hop, and funk ♪ ♪ Bet you guys can't stop the dance ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ I just came to Tokyo when I as 17.

I can't describe this city.

It just never sleeps.

It's crazy.

♪ What's my name?

♪ I'm proud of living here.

But now I think it's time to export our music.

♪ World peace through good music, right?

♪ ♪ I don't care what they may say, this is my way ♪ ♪ Today's the day to break away ♪ ♪ Oh, by the way, you guys know my name?

♪ Jacob: More than just a master mimicker, Miyavi represents the unique character of Japanese musicianship.

Beyond studying and recycling the sounds the world makes, it's about making them their own and taking them to the next level.

Miyavi: Ohh!

♪♪ Jacob: If the Japanese are playing rock, they're crushing rock, bringing to it the same masterful technique and devotion to excellence that's made Japanese products so successful across the globe.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Despite its size and bustling energy, Tokyo can be oddly quiet compared to Western cities.

The subways are so silent, you can hear a chopstick drop.

You might get the impression that Japanese people are buttoned-up or just plain shy.

But what we find in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park proves that looks can be deceiving.

Music is everywhere, from street musicians looking to be discovered to young people dancing to the latest J-pop hits.

This is where Tokyo comes to let its hair down, and like the classic mullet, Tokyo is business in the front, party in the back.

♪♪ The food in Yoyogi Park is also erupting with adventurous flavors.

Octopus balls, anyone?

Jacob: So, what are these called?

Takoyaki.

Takoyaki.

Oh, wow.

And that's pickled radish?

Ginger.

Ginger -- pickled ginger.

I'll give it a taste.

Mayonnaise, seaweed, fish flakes, teriyaki sauce -- You name it, delicious.

Mmm!

♪ Hey, hey!

♪ Jacob: The music from the park sometimes spills out into the nearby streets, and it's here that we happen upon Tacuma Bradley -- half-Japanese, half-African-American, and always one to attract a crowd.

Tacuma offers to take us to his favorite Tokyo ramen shop, Ah-Ka-No-Den in the neighborhood of Roppongi.

Arigato.

[ Speaking Japanese ] Dude, are you hungry?

Yeah!

[ Conversing in Japanese ] What does "ramen" mean in Japanese culture?

You'll see a millionaire business dude sitting next to some working-class train conductor or whatever, eating, slurping up.

I don't know if you knew this, but slurping is totally the way to go here.

Slurping is cool?

Yeah.

Why be all conservative?

I may need some slurping lessons, 'cause I want to make sure I'm doing it the right way.

Well, I think you're gonna be a natural.

That is beautiful.

Arigato, arigato.

Wow.

Mmm!

Throw some of this pickled ginger in.

Mmm!

I can't get enough of the sesame, as well, so I'm just gonna ground up a bunch of sesame in here.

Alright.

Now I'm gonna just kind of mix it up just a little bit.

Okay, okay.

Want to get the scallions involved.

I got my bamboo shoots involved.

Mmm, mmm!

Alright.

Make sure it all mixes.

Yeah, yeah.

Oh, yeah.

Now I see you're doing this two-handed.

I like to have a little soup on the side so I'm getting everything in one bite.

You know what I mean?

Nice, nice.

That's neat.

Neatly done.

Alright, soup in.

I kind of like let it go in there a little bit.

And then... [ Slurping loudly ] What?!

Wait, wait!

Wait a second.

That was like -- That was like speed ramen.

I don't know if I can do it that fast.

Put a lot of pressure on me.

Alright, here we go.

[ Slurping loudly ] Man, you're a natural, see?

You got that.

Mmm!

I got a little dribble on my chin there.

I believed in you.

Well, you know what?

It was your first time.

You're allowed.

Mmm!

That's good.

The dribble's good.

You save it for later.

Oh, my God, that is so good.

I'm in heaven!

I'm in ramen heaven!

Jacob: College students around the world owe a great debt to ramen.

But the dry block of noodles and MSG-loaded flavor packs that define ramen for most of us pales in comparison to the original, made-from-scratch ambrosia that can be found in Japan.

I don't ever want this to stop.

♪♪ Jacob: Jazz is one of America's great musical art forms, but it's long been more appreciated and respected abroad then it has been in the country where it was born.

That's certainly true in Japan, where many jazz musicians who went unrecognized in their homeland are "big in Japan," as they say.

One of Japan's best-Known jazz musicians is Naruyoshi Kikuchi.

♪♪ His avant-garde jazz fusion invokes the spirit of 1970s Miles Davis, when rock and funk met jazz in incestuous "Bitches Brew."

♪♪ After three days wandering the spotless streets of this immaculate city, Kikuchi seems like the perfect guide to Tokyo's more gritty underbelly.

We meet in Shinjuku, a neighborhood that's long been home to Japan's counterculture.

So this is like the East Village of Tokyo, you could say.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

What was it about the music that spoke to you?

Jacob: Free jazz, with its emphasis on improvisation, can often be an exercise in the unexpected.

The same holds true for Kikuchi's Shinjuku tour.

Jacob: So, I asked you to take me to your favorite place in the neighborhood, and I thought you were gonna take me to some little jazz club or, like, a little night-food spot.

But you've taken me to a department store.

[ Laughs ] That was the last thing I expected.

Uh-huh.

You know, that sounds a little creepy.

[ Both laugh ] Yeah?

What's your reason?

Jacob: As he tells it, Kikuchi grew up in a red-light district, a neighborhood filled with gangsters and ladies of the night.

His parents' restaurant was a popular hangout for the locals, and seared into his cherished childhood memories are fond images of watching working women putting on their make-up as they prepared to ply their trade.

I have viewpoint.

You have a place where you go?

Seriously?

Jacob: Which brings us to the cosmetics department of the Isetan department store.

Like a free jazz solo, sometimes you just got to go with the flow, even when it takes you to -- hmm -- awkward places.

♪♪ Tell it to the judge.

♪♪ Jacob: We couldn't come to Japan without trying sake, a wine made from rice.

This place is members-only, and the sign out front reads "sake only" to ward off people looking for other spirits.

Sake sommelier Toshiki Takeguchi pours us his five favorites -- an array of flavors ranging from sparkling, dry, fruity, mild, and something he describes as "vintage."

Is there anything special I have to know before I start drinking, or can I just drain 'em?

He said, "Go slow, buddy.

Take your time."

♪♪ Mmm!

Oh!

Yes.

Very fruity, very sweet.

You think I can get to be a member?

I promise to behave myself.

Kanpai!

Kanpai!

Jacob: Kanpai, the Japanese word for "toast to your health," also happens to be the name of one of the most popular songs from a Tokyo-based rapper who goes by the name Chinza Dopeness.

He's certainly not a rapper who could be accused of taking himself too seriously.

[ Rapping in Japanese ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ We meet up with Chinza Dopeness at his studio to get a sense of what makes his brand of hip-hop uniquely Japanese.

Jacob: Now, the thing I like about your music is that you seem to be having fun with it.

You don't try to be gangsta.

Hero songs.

Hero songs.

Oh, that's cool.

Jacob: Like a Japanese Beastie Boys, Chinza Dopeness brings a light-hearted playfulness to hip-hop.

Alright, I have to ask you about your name, Chinza Copeness.

Where did that come from?

Jacob: His youthful spirit, which is also reflected in the skateboard culture and anime characters that accompany his style, is another example of how in Japan, growing up doesn't mean you have to stop acting juvenile.

♪♪ [ Beatboxing ] ♪ Dopeness freestyle ♪ [ Singing in Japanese ] ♪♪ Jacob: Tokyo is like a cultural geode.

It appears nondescript on the surface, but crack it open and you discover a rainbow of color.

Sometimes, it seems that the music of Japan will forever be a dialect whose complexities are lost on the foreign visitor, but that doesn't mean we can't appreciate it for what it is -- a vivacious, animated, quirky, and sometimes just plain weird reflection of Japanese culture.

We've had just a small taste of the cultural umami that is Tokyo, and our appetite is far from satiated.

We look forward to discovering more of Japan's exotic flavors on the next episode of "Music Voyager."

Until then, sayonara!

♪♪ ♪ Hi, my name is M-Y-V ♪ ♪ Yo, what's up?

I got an M-I-C ♪ ♪ From Tokyo to rock you ♪ ♪ All with the bling-bling six-string thing ♪ ♪ You know it's time to bang ♪ ♪ Get you the sound made in Japan ♪ ♪ Rock, punk, hip-hop, and funk ♪ ♪ Bet you guys can't stop the dance ♪ ♪ Come on, ha ♪ ♪♪ ♪ What's my name?

♪ ♪♪ ♪ What's my name?

♪ ♪♪ ♪ What's my name?

♪