New Year's Eve. After finishing the EXHALATION shoot the night before, I spent the entire night transferring the footage into a computer, and then doing backup on two different external hard disks.
When everything was done. It was 5. Maiko the Producer, me and Kurihara the Production Manager (he was also the web designer for the KINGYO website) hung out at Denny's before they were able to return the rented van at 7am. I finally slept at 8:30am.
Woke up 4 hours later.
Maiko's mom had invited me over to their place to celebrate New Year with them, so at 5pm in the evening, I returned to the place that was my shooting location for the past few days (EXHALATION was shot in Maiko's hometown).
We reached at around 7pm. Just in time for the KOHAKU UTA GASSEN (RED WHITE SONG BATTLE) to start on NHK.
When I first got into J-pop back in the late 90s, I actually used to watch the entire show too. I remember spending New Year's Eve 1998 in Tokyo, and watching my once-much beloved SPEED on TV for the first time, then I did that again in 1999 because no one in the family bothered to go out to welcome the new millennium so I was stranded at home.
Yah, I'm still bitter.
Anyway, I didn't seem to follow the Kohaku that much anymore, I think my parents stopped subscribing to NHK, and of course, since I listened to J-pop less these days because I've been busy (I didn't even watch TV much in 2009, I forgot I even had one in my room), I found myself a little out of touch with the current happenings at the J-music scene.
So, gone were the days when I recognized almost every single performer (well, not the Enka ones) in Kohaku. Even so, it was still great to watch it.
Meanwhile, Maiko's mom had prepared the sukiyaki.
I didn't know that it's so delicious when eat with raw egg.
It was a great meal!
(Click here if you can't see embedded video)
(Click here if you can't see embedded video)
After the meal I found myself feeling increasingly sleepy as the TV show went on. And I think I dozed off not long after the Michael Jackson tribute. It was a pity, since I really wanted to catch Ayaka, Nakashima Mika and Perfume's performances, but then, the lack of sleep in the past few weeks due to the filming had finally caught up with me, I guess.
I woke up briefly when Maiko and her younger sister Kanako were singing along with Arashi's performance. But I might have dreamt that.
When I woke up again. They had just announced that the White team (male team) had won again. It was few minutes before midnight. Only Kanako was awake.
But then we all woke up for the countdown.
And Maiko's mom came in with soba (it's Japanese tradition to eat soba for New Year)
After that I went to sleep. It was 1:30am.
New Year's Day. First day of 2010. I woke up at 8:30am. I don't remember myself having been able to sleep that much in the past month. It was refreshing.
Kanako, unfortunately, had a fever, so she was bedridden.
We started a day with a traditional Japanese New Year's meal. Each dish symbolizing something.
After the meal, Maiko took me to the nearest temple for the Hatsumode (first shrine/ temple visit for the New Year).
It's a Kannon (Guan Yin) temple.
(Click here if you can't see embedded video)
I was surprised that there wasn't a single person at the temple. A huge contrast to the time when I was in Nara exactly a year ago, where thousands and thousands were flocking at the temples and shrines. Here in the town, everything was peaceful and quiet.
I rang the bell.
When we were on the way home, we saw a Shishimai team. I'm ignorant, so I never knew that the Japanese had lion dance too.
Click here if you can't see embedded video)
(Click here if you can't see embedded video)
After that the shishimai team gave me a gift.
After that we heard more sounds of flute and drums in the distance and followed their direction.
It was another shishimai team.
(Click here if you can't see embedded video)
They stopped by in front of Maiko's house to perform.
Maiko's parents then drove me to catch the train back to Tokyo.
But before that we went to a Mount Fuji viewing spot.
I was able to see it from the distance.
I went back to Shinjuku, joined my Hong Kong friend Jason and his friend for some Korean dinner.
... And then bumped into Hong Kong actor Roger Kwok. Someone was taking a photo with him, so I hurriedly approach him and asked a lady next to him (I thought she was a bystander) to help me take a photo with him.
When she lowered the camera, I noticed that she was actress Cindy Au Sin Yee, Roger Kwok's wife.
Darn, would have taken a photo with her too.
But we never really had time to talk because everyone (Roger Kwok and his wife, my friend Jason and his friend) were seemingly in a hurry.
As fanboyish as it may have seemed, it's not everyday you bump into a Hong Kong actor at the streets, especially on New Year's Day.
When everything was done. It was 5. Maiko the Producer, me and Kurihara the Production Manager (he was also the web designer for the KINGYO website) hung out at Denny's before they were able to return the rented van at 7am. I finally slept at 8:30am.
Woke up 4 hours later.
Maiko's mom had invited me over to their place to celebrate New Year with them, so at 5pm in the evening, I returned to the place that was my shooting location for the past few days (EXHALATION was shot in Maiko's hometown).
We reached at around 7pm. Just in time for the KOHAKU UTA GASSEN (RED WHITE SONG BATTLE) to start on NHK.
When I first got into J-pop back in the late 90s, I actually used to watch the entire show too. I remember spending New Year's Eve 1998 in Tokyo, and watching my once-much beloved SPEED on TV for the first time, then I did that again in 1999 because no one in the family bothered to go out to welcome the new millennium so I was stranded at home.
Yah, I'm still bitter.
Anyway, I didn't seem to follow the Kohaku that much anymore, I think my parents stopped subscribing to NHK, and of course, since I listened to J-pop less these days because I've been busy (I didn't even watch TV much in 2009, I forgot I even had one in my room), I found myself a little out of touch with the current happenings at the J-music scene.
So, gone were the days when I recognized almost every single performer (well, not the Enka ones) in Kohaku. Even so, it was still great to watch it.
Meanwhile, Maiko's mom had prepared the sukiyaki.
I didn't know that it's so delicious when eat with raw egg.
It was a great meal!
(Click here if you can't see embedded video)
(Click here if you can't see embedded video)
After the meal I found myself feeling increasingly sleepy as the TV show went on. And I think I dozed off not long after the Michael Jackson tribute. It was a pity, since I really wanted to catch Ayaka, Nakashima Mika and Perfume's performances, but then, the lack of sleep in the past few weeks due to the filming had finally caught up with me, I guess.
I woke up briefly when Maiko and her younger sister Kanako were singing along with Arashi's performance. But I might have dreamt that.
When I woke up again. They had just announced that the White team (male team) had won again. It was few minutes before midnight. Only Kanako was awake.
But then we all woke up for the countdown.
And Maiko's mom came in with soba (it's Japanese tradition to eat soba for New Year)
After that I went to sleep. It was 1:30am.
New Year's Day. First day of 2010. I woke up at 8:30am. I don't remember myself having been able to sleep that much in the past month. It was refreshing.
Kanako, unfortunately, had a fever, so she was bedridden.
We started a day with a traditional Japanese New Year's meal. Each dish symbolizing something.
After the meal, Maiko took me to the nearest temple for the Hatsumode (first shrine/ temple visit for the New Year).
It's a Kannon (Guan Yin) temple.
(Click here if you can't see embedded video)
I was surprised that there wasn't a single person at the temple. A huge contrast to the time when I was in Nara exactly a year ago, where thousands and thousands were flocking at the temples and shrines. Here in the town, everything was peaceful and quiet.
I rang the bell.
When we were on the way home, we saw a Shishimai team. I'm ignorant, so I never knew that the Japanese had lion dance too.
Click here if you can't see embedded video)
(Click here if you can't see embedded video)
After that the shishimai team gave me a gift.
After that we heard more sounds of flute and drums in the distance and followed their direction.
It was another shishimai team.
(Click here if you can't see embedded video)
They stopped by in front of Maiko's house to perform.
Maiko's parents then drove me to catch the train back to Tokyo.
But before that we went to a Mount Fuji viewing spot.
I was able to see it from the distance.
I went back to Shinjuku, joined my Hong Kong friend Jason and his friend for some Korean dinner.
... And then bumped into Hong Kong actor Roger Kwok. Someone was taking a photo with him, so I hurriedly approach him and asked a lady next to him (I thought she was a bystander) to help me take a photo with him.
When she lowered the camera, I noticed that she was actress Cindy Au Sin Yee, Roger Kwok's wife.
Darn, would have taken a photo with her too.
But we never really had time to talk because everyone (Roger Kwok and his wife, my friend Jason and his friend) were seemingly in a hurry.
As fanboyish as it may have seemed, it's not everyday you bump into a Hong Kong actor at the streets, especially on New Year's Day.
