Lola Amour On New Discoveries, Record Shopping, Food Adventures, And Their Dream Tour In Japan

For Lola Amour, 2026 kicked off with a bang, as they spent 11 days in Japan, away from their comfort zone and home country. With over 10 years invested in their career, the Filipino funk-pop band finally got to tick a bucket list item off and fulfill a long-held dream as they performed in Japan.

“As a band that takes influence from Japanese music, it was flattering to say the least to see so many local fans come to our show alongside the Pinoy community. It was also a new experience for us to be touring together in another country for two weeks,” says frontman Pio Dumayas.

Initially announced as a one-night gig for the band’s ‘Around The World’ Tour on January 24 at Heaven’s Door in Sangenjaya, demand from the Japanese crowd to see them was high. Two additional shows were added: a January 27 show at Tokio Tokyo in Shibuya, with Tokyo-based hip-hop group It’s US!!! as special guests, and a January 30 show at Yogibo HOLY MOUNTAIN in Namba, featuring Japanese singer-songwriter baboon as the opening act.

Landing in Japan, it didn’t feel like an entirely new experience. Most of the band members have previously visited the country, and trumpeter Angelo Mesina shared that there’s always something new to do or discover. “What was different this time was that we were there to perform. The feeling of performing for the first time in a new place, especially a new country, is really exciting at the same time scary,” he shares.

Lola Amour and Japan have always been a perfect match. Their hit song “Raining in Manila” is inspired by Japanese city pop, so it’s no surprise that it gained recognition in Japan. Manu Dumayas shared that performing the song there was especially meaningful, given how the local community recognizes its Japanese musical influences. “It’s a song that resonates with them, without boundaries of language, because it’s a familiar sound to them. And to be able to finally play it in Japan feels like a full-circle moment. A culmination of our efforts and literally how far ‘Raining In Manila’ has taken us.”

Even with a bit of a language barrier in their songs, performing for the Japanese crowd in Tokyo and Osaka was a wonderful experience, according to Mesina, “The Japanese crowd was great, and we’re really thankful for those who gave the time to watch us.”

During their time in Japan, Angelo added that one of the most memorable moments was simply the band hanging out together in between activities when they weren’t performing, “You can just imagine how much of a sitcom situation it is with the Lola Amour team in one apartment building.”

To the band’s surprise, the crowds at the Tokyo and Osaka shows even sang along to some of the lines from their songs, including the less popular tracks in their discography.

Saxophonist-clarinetist Jeff Abueg shared that one of their favorite experiences exploring Japan was discovering the variety of unique shops scattered across the cities. “There was this one store that was selling one of the best karaage and yakitori we’ve ever tried, and it was five minutes away from our Airbnb,” he says. With beautiful parks and tons of Gachapon shops, exploring the city became more interesting and exciting for the band.

According to Jeff, the band was excited to reunite and work with KOKORO of the Japanese boyband Psychic Fever, who was featured on their track “The Moment.” “It’s such a pleasure working with him and his management. We hope to get to work on something with them in the near future. We admire their talents, skills, and professionalism,” he shares.

Meeting the other artists who performed with them at all their shows was a fun experience, as they got to chat and share stories. If they had the chance to return, they would definitely make a point to visit the convenience stores again. During the trip, Jeff noted that there wasn’t a single day they didn’t stop by at least one konbini, which had quickly become a staple of their experience.

In the spirit of music, the band also went record shopping at Disk Union and said they would love to do it all over again. “Despite our busy schedules, we made time to check the place out, and it was an amazing experience. Compared to the other record stores, Disk Union had more underground picks to choose from, and it really had an old-school vibe to it,” Jeff shares.

During their stay in Japan, the creative flow never really stopped. Manu shared that they were exposed to so many artists, both familiar and new to the band. As a result, finding fresh inspiration for their upcoming projects in the foreseeable future was never difficult.

“While we can’t really say yet for sure what we have lined up for the future, expect that we will continue to innovate and build on each project, especially with the learnings that we gain from our tours,” Manu says. “This was also the first time we played a live band version of one of PSYCHIC FEVER’s songs, “Gelato,” alongside KOKORO, which the team really loved.

Sure enough, the addition of the signature Lola Amour sound seamlessly translated to the style of PSYCHIC FEVER. “Maybe (just maybe) it will open some discussion to some future projects together,” Manu adds.