Japan = SMAP

This is the only equation I know when the word Japan is mentioned.  I will not think of Japan without thinking of SMAP and most especially Kimura Takuya, my impossible dream.

So when SMAP announced their live tour this year, I did not hesitate to call my friend Vic and screamed "they have a concert!!!".  The year has been a hectic one and who cares if I will be doing a lot of twisting and turning to get myself over to Japan again.  As they say in Japan "Gambatte!".

So on Sept. 3, with just a limited amount of yen to my name (I just came back from China a week before), I flew to Tokyo.  The final destination is Osaka where Vic was waiting at our hotel.  Like I always said, Japan is the land of my soul and as soon as I got off the plane, it felt not like home but more like a familiar playground.  The first of my many train rides this trip was taking the Keisei line which will take me to central Tokyo in only 36 minutes!  I was met by Mayo, who I've known for 5 years and is my surrogate at the SMAP Fan Club.  She has warmly adopted me for the night at their Meguro ward home. 

As you see it's a fangirl's home.  Mayo loves Jerry the most. :D

On the morning of Sept 4, I went on my next train ride at the symbol of Japan's technology -> the Shinkansen or Bullet train!  It was my first time to ride the famous Nozomi-san.  As I sat on the train for the 2-hour ride, my excitement was so much that I thought I would break out in song  "you can take a little holiday in the sun, take it easy have some fun" hahaha!

I arrived at Osaka after a 2 1/2 hour ride.  As soon as I dumped my bags at Swissotel Nankai (http://www.swissotel.com/EN/Destinations/Japan/Swissotel%20Nankai/Hotel%20Home/Hotel%20Description), Vic and I immediately ran back out in the scorching sun and headed to our ultimate destination, the Osaka Kyocera Dome. We were awed as we approached the dome and realized its our 3rd dome concert (aside from Fukuoka Yahoo dome and Tokyo dome).  We excitedly went straight to the concert goods area and temporarily lost ourselves in the lines. 

The coveted concert goods stalls

 

The dome seats about 70,000 people

After a rather strict checking of our ticket source, we were escorted to the nose-bleed section equivalent to 7-storeys from the ground.  It was a comfortable section though as the seats were the special box seats during baseball games.  While waiting for everyone to get in, SMAP movie previews were being shown and their CMs.  Ahhhh!!!  Space Battleship Yamato!  Takuya's upcoming movie in December.  My early morning travel  caught up with me and I fell asleep.  I thought I was waking up to my alarm but realized the sound was a ticking clock on the screen.

The stage and arena.

When the dome was almost filled, a bunch of globe heads came out and mingled with the audience.  Some shook hands, did body bumps, hi-fives and hugs!  I've already read that SMAP was among these globe heads so it was so much more exciting for Vic and I to speculate who the members are.  And of course sour-graped that we were not the lucky ones that had this rare interaction.  This year, one of the nice touches to the concert was the CG effect on audience putting globe heads and faces of SMAP while we wait for the concert to start.  It kept us busy and laughing.

Who could that be?

Then an awesome video of SMAP as astronauts came out signalling the start of "We are SMAP Live 2010".  The opening song was This is Love, their newest single.  Followed by old favorites Shake, Gambarimashou, Dear Woman remixed in a Japanese guitar style.    I missed this!  An awesome production that is truly a manifestation of Japan's technology and attention to details.

The sea of blue and green lights left side of the dome.


 And the right...awesome!

I couldn't remember everything but another favorite is an arrangement of their old song Celery with an african tribal beat..oooh ganbatte iru yo yareru dake...  Tsuyoshi's solo followed then back to group number with Bang Bang Vacance flooding the arena with balloons.  And giving their Chinese fans more excitement with their upcoming Shanghai concerts, SMAP sang their biggest hit Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana in a chinese beat with matching costumes! 

The MC talk was funny too as the guys talked about many male fans this year.  Each member tried to call out the male audience who are their fans.  Next was Nakai's solo.  Vic and I were happy to see him back to his hip humping self doing his tribute Michael Jackson number.  We missed the energetic leader!  Goro's solo was cute because he had a lot of fan interaction with his virtual kisses on the big screen.  By the time Sotto Kyutto was being sung, I was again going back to lalaland. zzzzzz....

I was jerked awake by the beats of Dynamite that segued to Five Respect.  We missed that too!  We love the video playback of their old concert video clips.  Takuya at 18 was as charming as his now almost 38 year old self.  Then Shingo had his solo.  Vic and I had fits of laughter because we did not realize that the solo was in english!! hahaha!

The interlude for costume change were greetings of we are smap by Rain (yes the Korean star!), Lin Chiling (yes, Jerry Yan's ex!), Takeuchi Yuko and many more celebrities.  When they came out again, they were wearing what will be one of my favorite outfits they had in a concert - green trench coats.  They sang Lion Heart and OMG!  the mics stands were glowing orange! :D

When they sang Orenji on the second stage near us, I cried once again.  this song will always remind me that I made it again, that I was part of their music and I saw them live.  A nice new song called Love and Peace segued to Takuya's solo Kimi no ma made which was touching at the beginning and then became extremely sexy.  It's the white loose wifebeater I think.  That's the culprit!  And the toned upper arm muscles! LOL.

My body was hanging on the railings totally forgetting we were 7-storeys up!

There were many more special moments of the concert.  It was almost 4 hours long! There are Korean artists that I love but I don't know if they can do something like this and do it for almost 20 years!  While the superb technology of the finale was winding down, the 2 tops moment of Nakai and Takuya during Aoi Inazuma still lingered in my mind.  And as the final bows were being made, Takuya's silent "thank you" gave Vic and I the resolve to come back for the next ones until the finale of their singing lives.

Mata ne!

Otsukaresama deshita SMAP no minna-san!  It was a great show.  It was all worth it.

Note:
Photos were taken by my Blackberry 8900 declared useless for its original purpose while in Japan but was very, very handy up there in the nosebleed section where no one was watching to throw me out of the dome for taking photos.  The rest of the photos will be posted in my facebook page. :D

Mr. Shower Bug

I was taking a shower the other day when suddenly "thunk!", something fell on the floor. It was my shower bug!

I did not realize that the thing has been there since I moved to the birdcage. It was one of the earlier gifts of my boss from the US.

The poor thing's antennae broke and now it is back at work blaring sounds from the radio and telling time with a taped up antennae.

Another realization is that it is probably my most taken for granted, unappreciated purple possession. To think that if the bug could see and talk, it would tell everyone how I look naked! LOL! It would also tell everyone what I sing in the shower..oh well you all probably know I must sing japanese or chinese songs half of the words I don't understand. And of course, he will tell everyone that I sometimes strike up a conversation with the guy on the poster just opposite the shower stall (Kimura Takuya of SMAP!).

So to you my dear shower bug - sorry! gomenasai! dui bu qui! I will strive to keep you in good condition and make sure you have batteries and nicely stuck on the glass wall. Please continue to keep me company in one of the most mundane but necessary task in the world. :)

36 years old and gorgeous as ever...

You are the sunshine of my life

That's why I'll always be around

You are the apple of my eyes

Forever you'll stay in my heart

Happy Birthday Takuya!!!

so unoriginal..so cheesy..so trite..

so true.

So many men...so little time

17 days after I got back from Japan, I have to admit that my soul is still back there. And while browsing through the tons of photos I have, I was amused at how many men sightings are in my photo folders.

Not only was I busy spotting Kimura Takuya or watching concerts of SMAP and F4, I was also diligent in spotting many other Japanese actors/idols who I have some sort of liking to. Gomenasai Takuya. Gomenasai Zaizai. Gomenasai Vanness. Gomenasai Jerry. Gomenasai Ken. Please forgive my wandering eyes.

For the rest of the men sighted by mopworld, please head on out to this site: http://gigidm.multiply.com/photos/album/47/So_many_men_so_little_time..._

Kimura Takuya..on my mind

For the past 4 years, Kimura Takuya has been tattooed in my mind. So it's no wonder that when I was back in Japan, all I was pre-occupied with when walking all over Tokyo.

This one I spotted Sept. 30th while walking in the Shinjuku area. It was raining but I did not care, Vic just had to take my pic in the rain!

This next pic was taken in between buildings! We were walking through Harajuku St. last Oct 1 when I spotted this big billboard. I had to click the camera just at the right time because it was a busy street and cars zipped back and forth. Success!!
And on our walk back, I was happy that we were taking that road. So with quick fingers, travel sister Vic had to take this shot. LOL!
We spotted this Fujitsu shop across the street in the Ginza walk. Again, it took all effort to take a clean shot!

And then we spotted this "mojakura" billboard towards the subway exit to Roponggi Hills. I loved this shot of me taken by none other than Vic, my travel sister.

And would I have insisted to my host family that I would like to see the Sankaku-hashi bridge if not for Takuya's 2004 drama Pride? Of course not! But no self-respecting member of Takuya's harem will miss being on this bridge if they find themselves in Yokohama.

And who would have thought of going to the Parliament building and have their photo taken in the middle of the street if not for the memorable scene in Takuya's latest drama CHANGE?

And I couldn't go home without seeing Odaiba and Fuji TV. It was a no brainer choice between Fuji TV and Tokyo Tower. Hahahaha!! Fuji TV is the home studio of Takuya and his group SMAP and their long-running variety show SMAPXSMAP.

For 2 years, I have envied Ochie for her pic in this mini-set of SMAPXSMAP's Bistro. So when I sat down and had my pic taken by Rachel, I felt such satisfaction that when we left Fuji TV, I said to myself "I am ready to come home".

There are more photos of billboard sightings which just goes to show what sort of "superstar" Kimura Takuya is in Japan - huge! For the rest of the photos, please click the link below.
http://gigidm.multiply.com/photos/album/46/Kimura_Takuya..Tattoed_on_my_Mind

SMAP Concert..Yume Janai (It's Not a Dream)

I was not so happy to arrive in Tokyo yesterday (Sept. 29). Aside from the rains, the traffic from the airport to our hotel killed me. We wanted to try and get tickets to the Sept. 29 concert of SMAP but after checking-in at our hotel at around 5:30pm, tired and have not eaten since 9am, all we can do was drop our bags at the hotel and find something to eat in the Ikebukuro area.

After successfully finding a McDonald's (hahaha!), we decided to just get to HMV to get our copy of SMAP's latest cd Super Modern Artistic Performance. Once back in the hotel, I surfed local tv and much to my delight, there was a replay of an old Pussma (Kusanagi Tsuyoshi's show) episode with Kimura Takuya guesting. I set about preparing from the next day and promptly fell asleep.

Tuesday was another rainy and gloomy day. Plus temperatures suddenly dropped to 16 degrees (61 degrees) which for Filipinos like me is already collllddd! Vic, my SMAP buddy and I are so excited to get to Tokyo Dome but we had to content ourselves going to Shinjuku unti it was time to get to the Dome.

We knew we had good tickets but we did not realize just how good!!! The saying that good things come to those who wait is true in this instance. C-17 is an arena seat right in front of the right hanamichi (stage). 10 meters away from any of the SMAP member who would come to that part of the stage. 5 rows from the railing. What can a fangirl do but scream and jump when we were ushered to our seat! I mean sugoii! Wow!

The show started at exactly 6pm and lasted for a wonderful 4 hours!!! Talk about value for money, even if we had to fly to Japan to watch it. It was really great value. I have only been to Sample Bang in person but have watch all of SMAP's concert on dvd and I must say that they have exceeded themselves in terms of concept for this show.

I liked their horizontal walk on harness during the opening number. I loved the vampire concept which they've taken to the sequence break clips. The songs were spaced out well to give the boys the time to breath and allow them to dance beautifully. And most of all, I loved the arrangements of old songs..like the jazzy Tomadachie, Say What You Will. I closed my eyes amidst 55,000 people in the Dome and just enjoyed the music. Also the lullaby rendition of Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana in the sequence clip..

Now the main reason that I was there is this member called Kimura Takuya. With a stage so big, my eyes were literally glued to Takuya. Since we are in front of the right stage, were always excited to see him sexily sashay (there's no other word for it, believe me!) down the catwalk to our area. We saw every bit of facial expression, stared him down from head to toe. I especially remember the time he just popped out in front of us during Keep On. He was just gorgeous. Of course, I couldn't stop screaming when Takuya did his solo Style..he was wearing a lilac T-shirt with his green pants! Again, a purple person can only take so much! The description during the individual intro was soooo apt - sexy, wild and hotstuff!! He is the only Japanese who looks gorgeous in an American Indian outfit with a feather on his hair. I just don't know how he does it.

But then I also get to enjoy the other members. Especially since they insist on coming to our side of the stage. One member I enjoyed in this concert is Tsuyoshi Kusanagi who is actually my least favorite. I love his Sou Desu number. It has a catchy tune and dance moves that were so easy to follow. Plus other SMAP members were backing up. All the time in this song Takuya was in our side (sorry can't help but remember again..hehe) asking everyone to do the dance with him.

Aside from songs from the new album, I was happy to sing old songs like Sekai Hitotsu Dake no Hana, Yozora no Mukuo, Sonomama, Aoi Inazuma and many others. When I heard them sing Orenji, I couldn't help the tears from flowing. It is one of my favorite songs. I was just so overwhelmingly happy. I can only tell my Japanese friend Minori in halting words..ureshii..san nen..mattemashita. I waited 3 years to see them again and the difficulties and challenges that I had to overcome flashed before me.

I was back to singing along and dancing when another favorite was sung - Original Smile. I thought the show was finished after Arigato but then there was a second encore. This time, Takuya rode the crane on top of us. Suddenly he dropped his drinking bottle!!! My heart stopped beating for a second..could it be? Unfortunately it dropped directly behind us.

It took us 30 mins to get out of the Dome and into the train. And in the rain! I did not care about getting wet but I just had to take off my cardigan and put it over my bag of concert goods. As I take pictures of my loot, all I can say is that IT IS NOT A DREAM!! I came, I bought and I watched.

And it won't hurt to dream again...

How to spend money without going to the mall and shopping online...

1. Have friends who travel a lot

Japan - May and Rachel went to Tokyo weekend of March 8 to attend Ken Chu's Get Real Concert. Perfect for me who wanted to get SMAP's latest single Sonomama (http://www.smap-sonomama.com/) which was released March 5th.

Taiwan - Girlie and Zainee went to Taipei the same weekend of March 8 to attend Vic "Zaizai" Chou's Fan Meeting at Taipei Formosa Hotel. Perfect for me who wanted to get F4's cd with the mini-concert dvd at Danshui last January 19th and the official soundtrack of the drama Wish To See You Again (http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/did-3591/code-c/section-index/pid-1010666986/).

Hongkong - Ophie went to Hongkong the same weekend of March 8 on a personal vacation. But Sino center is very near her hotel. Perfect for me who wanted to get Vic Chou's movie dvd Linger (http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/code-c/section-index/pid-1010096930/) which was released March 8th. I had to get it from Hongkong because their version has English subtitles.

2. Have friends who sell/giveaway their collection

Hongkong - MJ has to move back to London and she has the complete set of Mars manga (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_(manga). With plenty of SMAP X SMAP tv show cds thrown in for free, it was perfect for her to just Fedex everything to me in Manila.

3. Have colleagues who travel overseas for a much needed break

Singapore - Scarlette, one of our IT personnel went in early March. Perfect for me who needed to get my Anan magazines (http://anan.magazine.co.jp/) with Takuya Kimura on the cover from my Singaporean friend Joyce.

Malaysia - Leo, who works with me is in Malaysia this weekend. Perfect for me who wanted to get the Taiwan drama dvds of Sweet Relationship (http://us.yesasia.com/en//PrdDept.aspx/code-c/section-vidoes/pid-1005156159), Devil Beside You ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil_Beside_You)and Why, Why Love (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Why_Love). Why Malaysia? Because the dramas when released locally are sure to have English subtitles. You won't find subbed original dvd dramas in Taiwan and rare/more expensive in Hongkong.

And here I am sitting at home astounded by the realization that this month alone, I was working my usual long hours and just had enough energy to drive to and from work and yet I spent about USD 500 from 5 countries. Amazing!

Snuggled within the comforts of my doramas...

Last week was another one of those weeks when I would go home past midnight from work. And as I have done the past 5 years, I turned to my solace for major stress...drama watching.

After buying these purple cd cases to house my tons and tons of cds and dvds, I found dramas that I have not seen at all.

I picked one japanese (Itazura na Kiss) and one taiwanese drama (Devil Beside You) to watch and that kept me glued the whole week. I would watch a couple of episodes during the work week (lunch break and as soon as I get home) and come the weekend, an uninterrupted marathon time!!

Stress gone..back to my purple but toxic world...looking forward to the long Easter Weekend where I can settle into another marathon. Movies await! Linger from Hongkong (yes MICHI, I also went dvd shopping..hahahaha!) and Hero from Japan. Yokatta!

Local Celebrity Sightings @ Dogeaters

Reverting back to my normal fangirl mode, inside Carlos P. Romulo theater last Saturday were a bunch of local celebrities in the audience. Sighted were good-looking actors TJ Trinidad and Rafael Rosel. The Eigenmans were in almost full force from Rosemarie Gil, Eddie Mesa, Mark Gil and Ryan Eigenmann.

I laugh reallly loud but that evening, Ms. Leah Salonga was laughing louder than me! She was across the aisle from us sitting with the play's director Bobby Garcia.

During the break, we also spotted Boy Abunda who was sitting at the last row in the orchestra section. Bembol Roco was also in attendance as well as Vangie Labalan, a well reputed voice talent and theater actress as well. Denise Laurel was with the Eigenmanns.

One thing I realized is that though there was this desire to ask for photos, the atmosphere was very intimate that NO ONE was taking photos with the celebrities! And I wasn't that desperate. Now if those were Takuya Kimura or any of the F4 boys....the story will be very, very different.

The only photo that I have the desire to have is with batchmate and friend Jon Santos who by the way performed so well as "Perlita", the gay owner of Studio 54 in the play. After all, I am his # 1 Fan...hahaha!

Note to self: I should get myself more of that purple knitted blouse on this coming Hongkong trip. I found that in a mall somewhere in Jordan, Kowloon side.

I Celebrate Someone's Birthday and he's not a member of my family...

Every year, for the past 4 years, my girlfriends and I celebrate the birthday of someone who is not a member of my family but who figures prominently in my daily life...

He is called Captain by his minions of wenches all in love with the him - his voice, his acting ability, his dancing skills, his cooking, his laughter and his sexy body.

His harem of wenches do not care that he is an unreachable star...someone who is difficult to see, feel and touch. I myself has only seen him in the flesh once, in my mecca of fandom - Japan.

To compensate for this lack, I collect whatever he has be it his album with his group SMAP or his movie or drama or photobooks. I am again looking forward to seeing him next year, where you might ask, I really don't know. But see him I will!!

Many people would think that this is a crazy past time and a waste of energy and money. But rather than gamble, being a fan of Kimura Takuya has given me not only happiness but more friends in many parts of the world.

Happy Birthday Takuya!

BUDS, HE'S A GUY!

And he is not gay! Hahahahaha!!!

A long-haired pony-tailed guy mistook another long-haired sometimes in pony-tail guy for A GIRL!! And when I told my highschool batchmate that he is a guy, I could not forget the expression on Buddy's face when he said "so is he gay?".

Kuya Badong, you've forced me to go into a monologue about Takuya Kimura, artist par excellence. Since you claim to read my blog regularly (thank you mwah!), I would like to tell you a bit more about him. And this is from memory..so be impressed! :-)

Kimura Takuya (japanese way of saying names is last name first then given name) was born Nov. 13, 1972 in Tokyo, Japan. He entered showbusiness not because he wanted to but because an aunt submitted his name to an agency called Johnny's which he was accepted as one of their "artist in training" boys.

He eventually was assigned to join a group which they called SMAP which stands for Sports, Music Assemble People. I know, our English teacher would cringe at the grammar but that is what the acronym really stands for. SMAP debuted in 1991. In Japan, a group has debuted once they have a legitimate single or album released. After the single "Can't Stop Loving", there was no turning back for Takuya and SMAP.

The rest as they say is history - 18 albums, 37 singles, a variety show called SmapXSmap running for 12 years, a radio show called What's Up Smap hosted solo by Takuya running for 11 years, hit movies and concert tours yearly in a span of 15 years!

Takuya is one of the most visible artists in the Japan. He has many product endorsements that you would see his face literally plastered all over Tokyo from the buildings, drink vendo machine, to the train station. He is a fashion icon that when he grows his hair, may Japanese guys would too. And when he cuts it short, they would too.

Many Takuya fans would rather not speak about this but Takuya is married with two little girls named Kokomi and Mitsuki. He married his boyhood idol Shizuka Kudo who was once a very popular member of an all-girl singing group Onyako Club.

Though many are wishing that he be single again, I would rather be his mistress forever. Hahaha!

That's about it Kuya Buddy. I hope you are a bit enlightened. And entertained. I hope you can take pictures of him because he is really a very pretty guy.

The rest of his story is here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takuya_Kimura

Gomenasai Takuya...I'm a Technosaurus!

I wanted to make a video project for Takuya's 35th birthday. But I am a technosaurus when it comes to ripping video clips from dvds.

My definition of a technosaurus is someone who has dinosaur age skills in multi-media applications such as ripping, cutting and splitting and editing video. Are you one of us? :-D Raise your hands people!

I am so upset that I cannot give due homage to my unreachable star. Again, for those who are not from this planet, this man IS JAPAN'S MEGASUPERSTAR. And he is my Man of La Mancha. The one I crazily love. I may be a fan of F4 but Takuya is my heart for the past 3 years. My impossible dream!

I did see him in Japan in 2005 but he was up on stage and I was only one of the 80,000 people in the dome. I want a moment with the guy but he does not go out of Japan much. He does not "do" autograph signings. He does not hold fan meetings. In short, it is very, very, hard to see him.

I am in awe of Takuya's multitude of talent - acting, singing, dancing, playing the guitar, natural athlete, cooking, etc. He has a lot of imperfections - average height, uneven teeth but sexy, sexy as hell. Oops!

Since I cannot make a video of him yet, I'll just show you people this video of him singing with his group SMAP one of their hit songs Lion Heart.