「サクラ」ショートームービー

This video gave a strong impression and also on life.
I love how Ayaka brings out so much in so little.
It goes straight to the heart!!

Reboot

The second song of their upcoming release.
I like this one the most, I posted the other song yesterday.
The music video reminds me of the movie Alice Through the looking glass.

Anyway.. I love to have boys back!
I look forward to see them perform this one live!

Begin ～Again Version～

The boys are back, it feels like it has been so long since we heard from them.
Now they are here to stay and we can expect more from them without having to wait for a longer time anymore!

This is their new Japanese single that is to release prior Christmas.
Very DBSK styled song, no?
What do you think, I LOVE ^^

Love Japanese stuff

I love to follow Kim Dao.
Today I saw her video and wanted to share. So many of the items she shared I love or I want to try. And it's true. In Japan there are so many wonderful things that can only be found in Japan or Asia.
Sometimes I feel so sad it's so far away for me. But whenever I go to Japan I always love to go to drugstores and buy these items! Must buys and great souvenirs.


For you who haven't been to Japan yet, watch and write down on what you need to pick up!




Kao Megurhythm Steam Eye Mask
I love this one, I have all fragrance, but I prefer lavender.
Such an awesome invention. A great item to use to relax


Kanebo Evita Beauty Whip Soap
I have heard so much of this and I will try to pick it up this upcoming travel to Japan.
There are so many other ones out there, but it's so cute!!! also a perfect gift for any girl friends!


Daiso Silicone Moisturizing Mask
I picked this one up last year, it's awesome!
In Japan it cost 100 yen, 1 USD, this is so convenient! LOVE LOVE LOVE


Heat Packs
These are big also in Korea. I have also seen them in Sweden but in Sweden they cost 10 times as much! I love these and always buy and bring home. I especially love the ones you can put on your feet!


Dr. Scholl Japan Medi Qtto Sleep Wearing Slimming Socks
Not tried but sounds nice. Still not sure if I'd use.
Will have to check the price when in Japan.


Kyusokubijin Cool Refresh Sheet
I have tried similar ones, but I want to try this brand, I have heard so many people rave about this one!


Hesokyu Lady Warmer
Sounds like something I need will see if I can find it.
I'm in pain every month!


MeguRhythm Steam Thermo Patch
I have used hot packs so far, but these sounds better. I will try to pick some up.
Especially good to have at work. It will help me get through the day ^^


Azuki no Chikara shoulder Pillow
Looks really nice. but only works 3 times!?


Shiseido the Collagen Drink
I have never been a fan of these drinks. But I have had so many friends rave about this. I have also been given one as a sample in Japan. One won't change anything, it was ok.
But not something I'd buy in bulk.

One more time

JYPs girl group Twice came out with this song a few weeks ago.
Very JYP and very Twiceish? No? haha

What do you think?

BlackPink in Japanese

Guess I was wrong, they did not start from the beginning, they release them all at once!!
Very surprising ^^
Which one do you like the best of the Japanese versions??



As if it's your last


Stay


Playing with Fire


Whistle

コトノハ

Ayaka is back, one of the happiest thing of the year so far.. no?
I love the new song :)
I cannot wait until the full release!

ENJOY!

A LIFE〜愛しき人〜

My new addiction is this one, I hope for A LOT of romance between Kimutaku and Yuko-chan!
I mean it has been 13 years since Pride, I hope they bring a lot for us!
The drama is totally different from Pride but it's a drama so a lot to look forward to!! I'm so excited.
So far so good!!

Title: A LIFE
Tagline: 愛しき人 / Itoshiki Hito
Format: Renzoku
Genre: Medical, romance
Episodes: TBD
Broadcast network: TBS
Broadcast period: 2017-Jan-15 to 2017-Mar-??
Air time: Sunday 21:00
Theme song: Still Alive by B'z

Plot
When Surgeon Okita Kazuaki was a rookie doctor, he was kicked out of the hospital due to his friend's Danjo Masao plan. He left for the U.S., leaving behind his girlfriend Mifuyu. With his hard work, he became an excellent surgeon. 10 years later, he comes back to Japan by request of Mifuyu's father, who is a hospital director. Mifuyu is now married to Danjo Masao.

Cast
Kimura Takuya as Okita Kazuaki
Takeuchi Yuko as Danjo Mifuyu
Matsuyama Kenichi as Igawa Sota
Kimura Fumino as Shibata Yuki
Nanao as Sakakibara Minori
Emoto Akira as Danjo Toranosuke
Tanaka Min as Okita Isshin
Kobayashi Takashi as Sanada Takayuki
Oikawa Mitsuhiro as Hamura Keigo
Asano Tadanobu as Danjo Masao
Takenoya Saki as Danjo Rina

info @ dramawiki

Dear Bride

I have to say, not only is it a really great song. It's the perfect gift of all.
Kana-chan wrote this for her friend who's getting married!
WOW!!! What a friend. The words and all, you can feel it's a good friend!

Here's Nishino Kana with Dear Bride.
Enjoy!

Hero

Namie's latest single, it has been quite some time since I listed to her..
Looking forward to see more! :)

THIS IS ME Ayaka 10th anniversary BEST-

Ten years has already passed!! WOW!
To me, ayaka has one of the best voices in the world! And her music is so powerful, I love the lyrics, they are not just songs, there is a lot of heart in them!
I got my hands on the cd, but not the dvd, it's tempting but not sure, as it's quite expensive.
Anyway, I was a bit disappointed, I wanted more new songs, but that's life right..haha
I love the new song called This is me, I love the music, lyrics and the way she sings it, AWESOME song, I cannot wait for her to sing it live.
As for the song Ambition, although it has a nice lyric, I don't get the WOW. But you cannot always love them all. I also love the new versions of I Believe and Mikazuki! I like how they arranged them.
Well done ayaka and I'm looking forward to hear more from you!

★★★★

DISC 1
1 [Sun盤] I believe
2 [Sun盤] Real voice
3 [Sun盤] CLAP & LOVE
4 [Sun盤] 夢を味方に
5 [Sun盤] みんな空の下
6 [Sun盤] Hello
7 [Sun盤] やさしい蒼
8 [Sun盤] ちいさな足跡
9 [Sun盤] beautiful
10 [Sun盤] ありがとうの輪
11 [Sun盤] number one
12 [Sun盤] Have fun!!
13 [Sun盤] ずっとたいせつなキモチ
14 [Sun盤] にじいろ
15 [Sun盤] THIS IS ME (新曲)

DISC 2
1 [Moon盤] 三日月
2 [Moon盤] melody
3 [Moon盤] ブルーデイズ
4 [Moon盤] Jewelry day
5 [Moon盤] Why
6 [Moon盤] 手をつなごう
7 [Moon盤] おかえり
8 [Moon盤] 恋焦がれて見た夢
9 [Moon盤] The beginning
10 [Moon盤] 空よお願い
11 [Moon盤] はじまりのとき
12 [Moon盤] ツヨク想う
13 [Moon盤] 幻想曲
14 [Moon盤] A Song For You
15 [Moon盤] Ambition (新曲)

DISC 3
1 [Wind盤] WINDING ROAD (絢香×コブクロ)
2 [Wind盤] あなたと (絢香×コブクロ)
3 [Wind盤] アカイソラ (iTunes Session)
4 [Wind盤] THIS IS THE TIME (iTunes Session)
5 [Wind盤] Through the ages (English ver./iTunes Session)
6 [Wind盤] I believe 2016 ver.
7 [Wind盤] 三日月 2016 ver.


DISC 4
1 [DVD] 三日月 2016 ver. (MUSIC VIDEO)
2 [DVD] みんな空の下 (MTV Unplugged ayaka-)
3 [DVD] はじまりのとき (絢香 LIVE TOUR 2012"The beginning"～はじまりのとき～)
4 [DVD] ツヨク想う (にじいろ Tour 3-STAR RAW二夜限りのSuper Premium Live)
5 [DVD] 三日月 (絢香 レインボーロード TOUR 2015-2016 "一夜限りの Memorial Stage" 秘密の裏メニュー発動!!～道は続くよ～)
6 [DVD] beautiful (絢香 レインボーロード TOUR 2015-2016 "一夜限りの Memorial Stage" 秘密の裏メニュー発動!!～道は続くよ～)
7 [DVD] にじいろ (絢香 レインボーロード TOUR 2015-2016 "一夜限りの Memorial Stage" 秘密の裏メニュー発動!!～道は続くよ～)
8 [DVD] I believe (絢香 レインボーロード TOUR 2015-2016 "一夜限りの Memorial Stage" 秘密の裏メニュー発動!!～道は続くよ～)

もしも運命の人がいるのなら

I haven't seen much of Kana lately, but I came across this a few weeks ago.
I have totally missed this song.
I think the lyrics are cute! And I like the video, so here it is!

ENJOY!

ビリギャル

I saw the trailer in Japan last year and found it interesting. I finally got the time to see it.
I enjoyed it very much, especially as it's built on a real story.
It really shows how important teachers are! They are the ones who can make students reach higher!
The movie is not complicated therefore it was great to watch when being tired after work.
I also like the song right before the end, it took me some time before I realized it was in English..haha!

★★★

Title: ビリギャル (Biri Gyaru)
English Title: Flying Colors
Directed by: Nobuhiro Doi
Produced by: Jun Nasuda, Junichi Shindō
Distributed by: Toho
Release dates: May 1, 2015
Running time: 117 minutes
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese



Plot
Sayaka Kudo is a gyaru who wears miniskirts and dyes her hair blonde. Although she is a 2nd year senior high school student, she is on par academically with 4th grade elementary school students. She frequently transfers between schools because she is unable to make friends, and was once suspended for being caught with cigarettes. Eventually she attends a private all-girls high school where she plays and enjoys her extra-scholarly activities to the nth degree while skipping study altogether.

To prepare her for her university entrance examination, her mother decides to send her to Seiho Cram School. However, when the school director, Yoshitaka Tsubota, hears about Sayaka's academic problem, he makes it his personal goal to help her enter the university of her choice, Keio University, a prestigious university that is considered one of the most difficult to enter in Japan and to get back at her father.

After her father, whose main goal is to get her brother Ryuta into pro baseball, labels her an "air-head" and says she and her mother are being scammed by the cram school only for money, Sayaka becomes determined to study hard to prove her father wrong. Over the course of the summer holidays of her second year through to the exams at the end of her third year in senior high school, Sayaka studies extremely hard and goes without sleep to the extent that she nods off in her high school classes. She even dyes her hair back to black and cuts it to show her resolve. Her results progressively improve on practice tests and her academic deviation value increases tremendously from 30 to 70 in this short span of time.

Cast
Kasumi Arimura as Sayaka Kudō
Atsushi Itō as Yoshitaka Tsubota
Shūhei Nomura as Reiji Mori
Yūhei Ōuchida as Ryūta Kudō
Kokoro Okuda as Mayumi Kudō
Morio Agata as Makoto Minegishi
Ken Yasuda as Takashi Nishimura
Airi Matsui as Mika Honda
Tetsushi Tanaka as Sayaka's Father
Yō Yoshida as Sayaka's Mother

info @ wikipeida

Believe in love

I saw the movie "Sayonara Kabukicho", and I thought that it was a kinda so-so movie to be honest.
I wasn't to pleased with the acting or story.
But I loved this song, the ending title!!

This is meg feat Sweep.

Enjoy!!

SMAP is disbanding?!

Pic @ livedoor news

I woke up to media outlets reports that SMAP is disbanding.

According to news, the group's 58-year-old female manager who is often described as their 'foster parent' has resigned from the position as director from J Dream, Inc., a sub company of Johnny's & Associates, inc.. And she will also be leaving Johnny & Associates, Inc. during next month. It is also reported that Nakai Masahiro, Inagaki Goro,Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, and Katori Shingo have showed their intentions of leaving the agency with her, while Kimura Takuya decided to stay with the company. Not sure if it means they are going to go to the same company she goes to...?!

Pic @ Daily Sports Online

Due to this Johnny's released a statement today Jan 13. In the statement it said as there were reports regarding some SMAP members leaving and their manager's resignation from a directors position. It is true that we are having consultation and negotiations about the matter, however as of right now, they cannot provide a detailed answer.

I wonder how this will end....!?

Christmas pressies from Japan

We received these the other day, late Christmas pressies from Japan.

A teapot, holders for chopsticks and delicious cookies ^^

So thankful and is looking forward to go to Japan in May!!

Japanese is the cutest no?

Take a look at this.. the English vs Korean vs Japanese pronunciation of words.
It's hilarious!

Japanese is so cute..hahahah

大使閣下の料理人

I finally got it!! I'm so excited, I have been excited ever since it was publish it'd be airing. However due to work and hectic lifestyle I haven't been able to look for it. However now I got it!!
I cannot wait to see it, if I know Sho-kun well, he struggled to learn how to cook. But then again we also know his real life skills ^^
The drama story is slightly different from the novel, but still I think it will be fun to watch!! ^^

Title: 大使閣下の料理人 / Taishi Kakka no Ryourinin / The Ambassador's Chef
Broadcast Network: Fuji TV
Episodes: 1
Release Date: January 3, 2015
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

Plot
In 2013, Ko Osawa (Sho Sakurai) works as sous-chef at a first-class hotel. He cooks French cuisine. His job at the hotel requires him to cook for hundreds of customers, but Ko Osawa prefers to cook for a single customer. One day, he happens to see a pamphlet inquiring about a chef available to work at a diplomat office. Ko ends up taking the job and quits his job at the hotel.
2 years later, Ko now works as the chef at the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam. Ko then takes part in a cook-off against the chef at the French Embassy.

Cast
Sho Sakurai as Ko Osawa
Ayame Gouriki as Rei Ti Ran
Koji Ookura as Seiichi Furuta
Shigeaki Kato as Satoru Eguchi
Naoto Takenaka as Shinzo Murakami
Ryoko Hirosue as Hitomi Osawa
Toshiyuki Nishida as Kazuya Kuraki

info @ asianwiki

上流階級〜富久丸百貨店外商部〜

I saw this SP the other day, I have to say, Japan and Korea or just Asia in general can sure make different kinds of dramas. Although I felt like it was a modern Selfridges it still had it's own charm. And it was very Japanese ^^
I saw it mainly because of the main actors, Takeuchi Yuko and Saito Takumi, it was a fun combination. I liked Yuko-san in short hair ^^ But well.. the drama is typical Japanese and not as interesting as I thought, it was ok to watch but nothing special.

★★

Title: 上流階級〜富久丸百貨店外商部〜 / Jouryuu Kaikyuu ~ Fukumaru Hyakkaten Gaishoubu
Air Date: 16 January 2015, From 9.00 pm
Broadcast network: Fuji Tv

Synopsis:
At the venerable Fukumaru Department Store in Kobe, Samejima Shizuo (Takeuchi Yuko), who worked her way up from a part-timer, has been through a lot and built a career at the western confectionery department. She became a full-fledged employee following the success of a renewal plan of the store, which she handled besides western confectionery. However, she is assigned to the all-male external sales department as the only female in a sudden personnel transfer and also because it is the intention of the managing director, Benikura Eiichi (Katsura Bunshi). In truth, various members are being assembled so that the store can link up with the customers of the well-connected, charismatic Hatori Shiro (Kusakari Masao), in preparation for his retirement. Shizuo’s husband, Kanno Hisaomi (Tanaka Tetsushi), who works for the same department store group and currently lives in Tokyo, understands her role. Shizuo has been successful in her work all this while. Although she is disconcerted and out of her element in the world of external sales, she goes to customer places with the aim of completing deals. An external sales staff takes care of customers every need – from jewellery, cosmetics, wedding favours to home improvements. It is a completely different world from the customers Shizuo has played host to so far. Furthermore, these “upper class” people who appear snobbish on the surface, have families, setbacks, sorrow, glamour and dreams too. Shizuo pushes ahead with the network of contacts that she had cultivated at the western confectionery department and store development section as well as her own self-motivation. There are two persons who give her a hard time at every turn. Ochi Takashi (Takenaka Naoto), her superior and the section head of the department, and Masuya Shuhei (Saito Takumi), her slightly “flawed” junior and rival. Masuya, who comes from a wealthy Nara family, joined the department store after graduating from a famous private university. He is, in a sense, an elite. Even after his transfer to the external sales department, he fully uses his family connections and meets his quota without effort. Shizuo ends up finding out his secret on the way back from a friend’s wedding ceremony. She struggles with her quota and demanding customer requests every day. There are all sorts of customers like the graceful, gentle wife of a distinguished man from an old samurai family, Kurahashi Kazuko (Asano Yuko); the nagging wife of a hospital director, Tsuru Akiko (Takahata Atsuko); a trouble making customer, Shimada Goro (Watanabe Ikkei); and a Thai businessman. In the midst of this, Shizuo secures Mitani Juri (Matsuyuki Yasuko), who has moved from Tokyo, as a new customer. However, she causes some trouble for Juri. While Shizuo is in despair, she hears news of the sudden death of her Thai businessman customer. He has left word of an outrageous wish for his funeral arrangements...


Cast:
Takeuchi Yuko as Samejima Shizuo
Saito Takumi as Masuya Shuhei
Takenaka Naoto as Ochi Takashi
Tanaka Tetsushi as Kanno Hisaomi
Katsura Bunshi  as  Benikura Eiichi
Asano Yuko as Kurahashi Kazuko
Watanabe Ikkei as Shimada Goro
Takahata Atsuko as Tsuru Akiko
Matsuyuki Yasuko as Mitani Juri
Kusakari Masao as Hatori Shiro

ディア・シスター

There's a new drama season now, and one of them I will try to follow is this one... Dear Sister starring Ishihara Satomi. I'm kinda keen on the story so I hope it will be nice, it started last Thursday so I hope I can catch up!
I wonder what the secrets could be? (^^;;)

Title: ディア・シスター (Dear Sister)
Episodes: TBD
Broadcast network: Fuji TV
Broadcast period: 2014-Oct-16 start
Air time: Thursday 22:00
Theme song: Happiness by Che'Nelle


Story
27-year-old Fukazawa Misaki and 29-year-old Hazuki are sisters who are polar opposites in both lifestyle and personality. Although they would hurt each other's feelings, they would also make up for each other’s deficiencies. The beautiful Misaki is the typical younger sister who is good at putting on the little girl act. She did not fare well academically but knows how to swim with the tide. After graduating from high school, she left home and went missing. But one day, she suddenly moves into Hazuki's apartment and behaves with wild abandon. However, Misaki has a secret which she keeps to herself... Hazuki works at a ward office and has set her sights on an early marriage to her boyfriend who works in the same office. She is the well-organised, fastidious chairperson type, but is a wee bit socially awkward. Hazuki feels that Misaki snatched all their mother's love in childhood. What will happen now that Misaki has moved in with her? Hazuki actually has a secret which she cannot tell Misaki too. As these two sisters clash while living under the same roof, their values start to change little by little...


Cast
Ishihara Satomi as Fukazawa Misaki
Matsushita Nao as Fukazawa Hazuki
Iwata Takanori as Sakurabo Nagato
Hirayama Hiroyuki as Hagiwara Yohei
Mori Kanna as Sato Kazuko
Tanabe Seiichi as Sakurabo Soichiro
Horiuchi Keiko as Uesugi Kaori
Katahira Nagisa as Fukazawa Nanae