I was following GAKU 岳 on Tiktok (where he has 3.7m followers) and was surprised to suddenly see him busking in Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall one day, which also happened to be his 1st day in Sydney as a working holiday visa holder from Tokyo, Japan.

Exactly 1 month later, I bumped into him again at Circular Quay and luckily had the gear to interview him as he made his way to perform at Darling Harbour.

Busking/performing is his current full-time job in Sydney and he hopes to turn it into a proper career one day.

Lugging around his heavy drums & gear everywhere and the constant rain in Sydney hasn’t dampened his spirit and he hopes to bring joy to those who watch him perform.

His fame on TikTok started during the COVID lockdowns, where out of boredom, he started posting several times a day. It took him 1 year to reach 1 million followers and not long after that to reach 3.7 million.

If you ever see him in public, don’t be afraid to say hi and show some support. You can also follow him on his main social media platforms @jugglingdrummergaku:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jugglingdrummergaku/?hl=en

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jugglingdrummergaku?lang=en

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv46-vmHzbybq7FRwxAPjRQ/featured

Watch this video to hear a bit about his time in Sydney, Australia so far.