I think I was quite strange-looking that time. I had really long hair, and I think a lot of people watched me because they were curious about who I was. I don't know if anyone actually enjoyed it. They were curious about me because it was the end of 60s and in this period, there were not many Japanese people, or Asian people, in general, in Europe. I had an androgynous look, so people would wonder, ‘Is it a girl or a boy?’ They watched me as if I were an animal in a zoo. They weren’t interested in hearing my music or songs, they were just curious about who I was.

Every other busker played far better than me. Many of them were professionals. I wasn't good at all, but maybe some people liked it because it was more unique. When people play perfectly, it's not always good. They must have something different about them. I remember one good performer from my past. He was quite old, probably around the age I am now. He dressed like a hippie from an ancient time. He played his own instrument, which he made himself. It was pure noise on the street. Most busking is covering someone else’s songs, but this was different.

Every country is totally different. Nowadays, the situation is a lot better. But some countries had horrible police that cracked down on hippies. In Paris in July of 1969, I was just walking down the street with my broken guitar and sleeping bag and the police arrested and held me for five hours just because I had long hair. There were a lot of abruptly shortened busking days because the police would show up and throw me in jail.

I would always busk on the main street of a city. Sometimes I would get in trouble because some smaller cities, like in Sweden for instance, have narrower thoroughfares and when there were too many people, there would be a traffic jam. Then the police would come and tell me to go elsewhere. But I liked the central areas because there were many different people to see.

It's not really a good business, but I was just happy to get some bread for the next day and have a place to sleep. I met a lot of nice people, too. This was the most important thing for me at that time. I met so many interesting people who supported me and who would let me stay with them. The times were different. There was so much more communication and real connection than there is today.

I have a lot of memories. If I close my eyes, I can see a city and a person who helped me. Sometimes I can remember faces from forty-five years ago. I'm sixty-five now. Normally people don’t remember so much. It's almost like a movie.