Miho Fukuhara "ひまわり-sunflower-"

I feel like lying on the sunflower field on a spring day. Maybe that's how I've always wanted my life to be. Of course there are hard times in life and there were for me too. But maybe it helps to be positive sometimes. Just try to be a bit positive, and the sunflower field is always gonna be there. God I'm phony and I'm lovin it for the moment.

Ayaka Hirahara "誓い-Vow-"

　Thank you for everyone and thanks for beautiful songs. There has always been special Jpop songs to show appreciation. And I think that's one thing I like about J pop. It could sound phony. But being thankful is more important than being sexy,naught and bitchy. Just save if for later.

　

Love Y'all Part2

We might go our way but these 5years are full of memories here with everyone. Whether it's good or bad, it means something to my life. I really appreciate that they accepted me as I am. I almost feel like I have wasted the first 2years not saying it at all,putting distance to them. I feel much better now. We were all independent doing things we wanted to but somewhere very subtly we were supporting each other. It would have been impossible to have such a blast in school without this. Thank you love' all. See u in the future.

Love Y'all Part1

It was the very last day of school today and we had a farewell party part1(Part 2 after gradutaion ceremony) in the evening. After 5years of hangin out with my classmates, I finally realized it's important to have someone who understands you as you are. Everybody wanna live as they are,which could be tricky sometimes. But in an open environment like the one I fortunately fell into,it's possible. I didn't know. But everyone knew me as I am. Yet they accept me as I am. Maybe that's how it should be. Thank you for everyone tonite. I love y'all.

Eri Nobuchika "Voice"

I didn't know her at all. She's not known here at all. But my friend showed a video of her like a few years ago. And she's so good at singing and though she's just released one album. It was well produced. Too bad she didn't appear on media and didn't sing live much. I don't know where she's gone nowadays, but I wanna see her live if I get a chance sometime.

UA "光-Light-"

In this video she doesn't appear. But she's really funny. And I don't know how she got this name UA, I've heard it means flower+Kill in Swahili. I listen to ethnic music and world music...don' really know how those genre really should be classified though. It's maybe because I used to listen to her music as a teenager.

Bird "Mind Travel"

When I was 12,one of my classmates liked her and she looked and sounded exactly like Bird. Maybe they had something in common. I like the production of her. It sounds kinda ethnic and maybe this kind of sound might sound phony for real southern american. But for me it works.

Yokohama

One more thing I think is underrated is the city Yokohama. Just because the world's biggest city is lying right beside this city doesn't make the significance of Yokohama smaller. I think Yokohama is a very attractive city. Or I have a thing for the city beside the bay. There's something mysterious about a city with bay. Maybe because it means the city is more open.

Japanese sweets

I really think Japanese sweets are underrated. It might be a rip-off from french sweets. But as Japanese ppl were always good at stealing stuff from abroad and creating new things out of it. Sweets are one of them. I mean the taste is important but I would say the appearance is as important. Well at least those sweets that professionals make.

Ayumi Hamasaki "Voyage"

【PV】浜崎あゆみ - 28 Voyage
Uploaded by kenjikasukabe

She's said to be one of the most successful Jpop artists and it must be true. I didn't particularly patronize her. But some of her songs are really good. Anyone around me can sing a song or two of her. And yet it's true that nobody says they really like her either. But maybe really popular artists are like that.

Mika Nakashima "Legend"

She would be like the best colour-lenses user of the year. Most of her songs are ballads and some of them are pop-rock kinda mixture style. I prefer those ballad songs of her though. I don't know so many J-girls who can take command of the colour "black" as well as her. No wonder so many of her fans are into Jp sub-culture too.

Hitotoyou "もらい泣き-Morainaki-"

Her name is so unique that I could never guess how to pronounce her name until she made a big hit with this song. It's another song that I can't get out of my head. I remember a fat evil guy told me my fav music would be somthing lke this song when I was in high school. But I don't see any problems in that. And it's true.

Luminarie Kobe

I thought last year was the last one they had this big illumination festival in memory of the catastrophic earthquake 15years ago in Kobe. It's just not right to let go. Kobe is a very modern, well-organized with fashionable stores and petite restaurants. And suddenly one morning thousands of people died and still some young people stand in front of the station and collecting money for the orphanage fund for those who lost thier parents in this earthquake. Luminarie may be just a festival. But if the show has the right motive, I think the show must go on.

Ghost Parade

I was always fascinated by those Japanese created spirits and monsters by people in old times as a kid. I actually believed in those when I was a kid, like maybe not a monster in the closet. But everything has a spirit kind of thing. So the geeky side of me was really aroused when I heard there was a street called monster street in Kyoto where they have regular parade. I'm not especially interested in cosplay or anime in general, but I guess it's the same psycology.Oh God that was exciting. And as my friend poited out " which god are you pointing at", I should probably say "oh Shintoist god". not that I'm religious.

Perfume "ポリリズム-Polyrhythm-"

They are seriously the biggest "Otaku"'s idol last year and that's why I was putting a distance to them...being full of prejudice ignoring the fact that I'm kind of Otaku too though I'm not an anime nerd. This song is a catch. Once I heard the song, it's repeating in my head all the time. A really gripping technopop song I've heard last year. Maybe because they were doing the funny dance to the song and appearing on TV shows sooo many times.

MiCHI "Promise"

MiCHi Promise PV
Uploaded by soakoas

When I was browsing thru new music at HMV in Kyoto. This song was so gripping and the remix by some french DJ who collaborated with Daft Punk was sort of good too. This style could get boring after a while. But it's good while it's hot. And she's cool! I wonder if this gleaming jacket is available anywhere, or more like a jacket and constantly following light from the mirrorball.

Ami Suzuki "Can't stop the DISCO"

Anyone who knows her from a long time ago when she sucked at singing. It's a complete make over in style. This kinda electronic style actually suits her, I think. She can't sing and that's a fact. It's really cool that she or someone around her decided to take this style instead/ It's just one disadvantage. No more song of her in Karaoke~ it's impossible to improvise this voice anyways.

Cheap Monday could look really cheap.

It's just so hard to have a sense of combinating clothes well. I really like colourful clothes and that's a fact I can't deny. And especially those Cheap monday trousers with check patterns. I used to wear them with the other colourful top and one time I looked too colourful to sit beside anyone on the train= I started reconsidering my sense of fashion nowadays. It's just...is it more important to fit in or stand out...or what is the right kind of combination anyway?

The overpriced mango

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a mango at the supermarket inside Tokyo station. It was 21,000yen. It's like a charter trip somewhere close...I don't know who would pay that amount to just one mango. I wonder if it tastes any better than the other mango?

Maybe I can take the charter trip down somewhere like Thailand and I could get a better tasting mango>>???

Just amazing.

Miki Nakatani "クロニック・ラブ－Chronic Love－"

　It's quite an old song by Miki Nakatani. Her movie "Matsuko" is absolutely one of my fav Jp movies all time. I like the composition of this song. The whole lyrics should've stuck to Japanese though. Engrish lyrics kinda bug me because otherwise I think it's a nice song. Reminds me of the old time, it's been like 10 years since I watched the TV-series, Keizoku.

Chihiro Onitsuka "Cage"

I've always been a big fan of her. Or more like everyone who has been depressed once loves her. It's one of my fav songs of her. Her songs are mostly ballads with dark lyrics. She often screams dark things like "I am a god's child" in English and then go on with "fallen into this rotten world" in Japanese. And this song is one of them.

Chitose Hajime "死んだ女の子 －A Dead Girl－"

　I saw this performance on TV a few years ago. I've always though she sings in a very special way but this song has been a special song, a few songs with actual messages. This song was written by a Turkish poet and she performed this song with Ryuichi Sakamoto in front of the peace dome as a wish for peace. The lyrics is about a girl who died in the atomic bombing in 1945, Hiroshima. I remember hearing a story when I went to Hiroshima on a school trip,from an old lady who's actually a victim of this bombing. It's surrealistic and I can hardly believe something like that happened...a girl disappeared in a moment with a wind. Back to the performance, she conveyed the message very well, I think. This was amazing.

A lazy cat at Shimokitazawa

Shimokitazawa is my favorite area in Tokyo and I've been there a few times. But it was only once I met that funny lazy cat. He was sitting on his back on the keeper's lap all afternoon on that Sunday. It was almost like Ghibli film "The return of the cat" as the area was like that too. Maybe it's the best way to spend a holiday~ but it's the other way around. When one is used to doing stuff all the time, it's hard not to do anything. I wonder how the mentality of cats function...

KFC Buffe restaurant

My classmate found a very unusual place in the north Osaka. KFC buffe, all-you-can eat KFC chickens. It's not like everyday we go to eat there,of course not! so we decided to go. Sure enough there was a normal KFC restaurant with just one special menu. KFC buffe. All-you-can-eat for 1hour and 1,200yen. Mmm it was disgusting...but sometimes it's better to give up to unhealthy food too, I guess. I'll never wanna go there to eat again!

Mizrock "In the sky"

Probably nobody knows her in Japan. But it was like 5years ago when I went to TSUTAYA, I found her CD with the comment on it "Japanese singer made it in Sweden". I don't think she made it since nobody in Sweden knows her either. Too bad she never made it in either of the countries but J-people might associate her songs with Sweden somehow though her songs mostly sound very Jpop.

Aya Kamiki "もう君だけを離したりはしない－I won't let you go anymore－”

I think her music is kinda Japanese version of Avril Lavigne. She was playing covers of her songs too( original versions were much much better though). I only lke this song...it's catchy and I don't know, a good song for singing in Karaoke. I like her style more than music. If I was a girlm I would definitely love to look like her haha~~~

Olivia Lufkin "A Little Pain"

Olivia Lufkin. I remember seeing her on TVCM like when I was 12. She was in a very tacky girl's group at that time. I knew she was offering a song for the new NANA movie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nana_(manga)#Film). But I didn't know she completely changed her style. Now she's cool. Although this song reminds me of Kelly Clarkson(Trine Rein cover)'s Just missed the train. Expecting her to keep up with it now.

Oude Kaas

My fav restaurant in Osaka. Oude Kaas(http://restaurant.gr.jp/oudekaas/). It's the only dutch cuisine in the whole Japan. At lunchtime it's full of business people, but it's quite reasonable price around 800yen and it serves daily lunch. The best one I've got was defintely meatball,don't remember the name of the menu because it was written in Dutch. But anyways...I've gotta try out the dinner dishes before I'm moving out of here.

The creepiest deposit box

The creepiest deposit box I've ever seen!

You insert coins from its mouth and the box eats up all the coins. It seems that this box got quite popular over a few years in Japan...but I can't imagine having this one on the shelf looking at me in the evening. So creepy.
But maybe if u wanna save as much coins as possible, maybe it's good because you don't wanna touch it to take money out.

It's available at every LOFT store in Japan. It was like 1,000yen as far as I remember...mmmm should I or not.

Tsukiko Amano "月－Moon－"

　The girl must have a huge crush on the moon since her own name means "the child of the moon" too(If it's her real name though). Usually she's more like altermative rock-ballad kinda music with extra eyeshadow around her eyes with a very exotiv costume. But this song was very gripping too.

Aoi Teshima ”テルーの唄－The song of Teru－"

　A simple performance with just vocal and guitar behind. It's a song from the studio Ghibli movie "Tales from Earthsea"(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_from_Earthsea_(film)). Actually I haven't watched this one yet, I've just heard it wasn't that amazing/ But anyways. I really like this song/ It's simple and she's good. It reminds me of Enya's song from The Lord of the ring kinda.

Shiina Ringo "ギブス-Plaster cast"

It's one of my favorite songs of Shiina Ringo. I guess she's one of those Jp female singer & songwriter who put a stress on "sex" in her music. It's working quite well. I remember seeing her crazy fans in my school days. In a way she was representing the agony of teenage girls in Japan(at least when I went to school here). I like singin this song at Karaoke myself~ party-crashing song though.

RUI "月のしずく－A drip of the moon－”

　I guess everybody who's inte J-culture recognizes her. Like 10years ago, she slaughtered so many high-school students in the film "Battle Royale". I like her more as an actress but this song was a killer. She sang this song for a movie called "黄泉がえり－Revival－" and made a hit. Her other songs were kinda...boring though.

ACO "虹－Rainbow－"

　This is my very first subscription. I'm plannin to upload some of my fav music from yotube mostly JPOP. And if I feel like it, I would probably write some private stuff too. I was checking out youtube as usual and found this video. It's a live by ACO. A Japanese singer& songwriter from Aichi,born in 1977. I used to listen to some of her music. Her style resembles Bjork a bit. But I wouldn't say she was her rip-off. Anyways.