TGI...T?

[aide]

Tomorrow is a holiday, Showa Day, so that means it's ~Wine Night~ for me!  I picked up a bottle of a Japanese wine to give it a try.  I was wavering between this Reisling from Iwate and this stuff called "Koshu wine".  I decided to get the most bang for my buck: the Koshu was 750ml for 780yen vs 500ml for 999yen.  I'll try the other on some special occasion.  I'm going to make spaghetti carbonara tonight and have a nice night in. :)  I'm looking forward to it. 

Nothing is on TV and I don't have a huge backlog of dramas to watch (though I am tempted to watch Quiz Show episode 2 raw since I am impatient) so I might try writing something.  I feel some ideas stirring; I spent my free afternoons at work yesterday and today researching child speech development and baby "milestones". 

Tomorrow will be a laundry and cleaning day since vintage_belle is coming to stay on Saturday.  Any idea when, Elle? 

I got an email from Sachiyo yesterday.  I haven't seen her since... Nikki left.  O_O  That was December.  We made a nail & dinner date after Golden Week.  I'm going to treat myself and see what this nail business is all about.

I want to suggest a feature for the lunchtime broadcast: Foreign Japanese Pop Artists.  I don't know about anyone else, but it really interests me to learn about people who aren't Japanese/weren't born here and are making it.  I have so many artists I want to recommend that might not be so well-known (free promo! since these are the kids going to be shelling out money to see concerts and stuff after I'm gone) but they only have enough time to play 4 songs, at most.  Inoue Joe is at the top of the list, m-flo featuring Monkey Majik -- two birds with one stone (though maybe I should get the original since I only have the remix), Utada (Apple & Cinnamon from the new album, though she doesn't need any promo).  There's also Ito Yuna, Def Tech, DBSK, BoA, Alan?  I don't have that many songs from those artists.  Maybe Ito Yuna's "Mahaloha" that feature's Micro from Def Tech.  Micro's actually Japanese but he's a returnee. 

It's partly for my own selfish reasons of wanting to hear music I want to hear, but I think it would be kind of inspiring to learn about these people who came to Japan and are working hard in a foreign country.  It is possible to become fluent in another language (and Japanese people seem to think their language is so hard).  And maybe one day, you can do it too!  I should also gather up some songs of Japanese artists who have made it outside of Japan, singing in English, for another day.  But those are much rarer; I can't think of any off the top of my head.

Comments

[happenstanc3.livejournal.com]

Younha, Se7en, Tenjochiki... off the top of my head. Also, Sunday of CJSH/Tenjochiki/The Grace/YOU KNOW WHICH GROUP, though she only got to release two singles before they shipped her back to Korea and shoved her in a group. But her Japanese is pretty good and she lived over there for like, 4 years or something.

[iaoiua.livejournal.com]

Younha, definitely. There's so many other Korean artists who also released singles in Japan (though with varying success), but the other popular ones that I can think of are K (one of his songs was used as the theme for 1 Litre of Tears), and possibly mink? There's also Crystal Kay, who I am only so-so about, and Jero? melody. is Hawaiian (an ex-co-worker of mine went to high school with her). Rie fu lived and studied abroad for many years.

mink is one of the few to score on the US dance charts (Koda Kumi and Utada as well). Utada and the Sukiyaki guy (haha, can't remember his name) are among the few (if there are any more) who have placed on the non-dance charts, I think.

[vintage-belle.livejournal.com]

I was thinking to leave as early as possible, which will probably mean I'll wind up getting into Chiba like, three hours later. I need to check the trains.

[maiaide.livejournal.com]

Right on. Early start is good. We can do errands and what not right away. Did you get your gaijin card sorted out?

PS. Kashiwa is my station.