At around 8:30, I went out to catch the subway. The weather was great, and my neighborhood was still fairly quiet.

A quiet side street in the Shimura district of Itabashi Ward in Tokyo, Japan, on a Saturday morning. © 2025 Norbert Woehnl Photography.

I rode the subway to Suidobashi Station, where I had to change trains.

Emerging from the subway to reach this crossing towards JR Suidobashi Station. © 2025 Norbert Woehnl Photography.
The station is on the opposite side of the Kanda River. © 2025 Norbert Woehnl Photography.
Waiting for the connecting train on the platform of JR Suidobashi Station. © 2025 Norbert Woehnl Photography.
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After arriving at Ochanomizu Station, it was just a two-minute walk to reach the studio, where I found a drum kit in my reserved room, and got ready to practice.

Looking through the door of my drum practice room. The kit looks set up and ready to be played. © 2025 Norbert Woehnl Photography.
Ready to start practicing. © 2025 Norbert Woehnl Photography.

I practiced for almost two hours. Among others, I tried to play along to “Alive”, a song by famous Japanese rock band Mr.Children.

Just for fun, I also tried to play Ringo Starr’s famous “Come Together” drum fill. Only after the session, I noticed that in the first bar, I should have played the ride cymbal instead of the hi-hat. Guess I’ll try again next time. 😅

Overall, I was happy with my session, and the rental studio was great. At only 770¥ per hour for individual practice, it is a very reasonably priced possibility to circumvent the problem of not being able to have a kit at home due to space and sound annoyance restrictions.

Unedited photos shot with iPhone 15 Pro.