As was reported a couple of weeks ago, the 500th episode of Maaya's radio show Vitamin-M will be broadcast live tonight November 18th at 25:30 (1.30am Japan local time...) so all you lucky people in different timezones will be able to tune into the show through its internet stream at a more reasonable hour.
To listen to the show live simply go to the official Ustream channel and press play.
Showing posts with label radio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label radio. Show all posts
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Photobook gets no.1 on Oricon book ranking and 'Okaerinasai' ranks no.7 on the daily chart
Maaya's newest single came out on Wednesday and ranked in at no.7 on the Oricon daily singles chart, just as 'Buddy' did the week before. It's interesting that despite two different tie-ups the rankings didn't reflect the more popular anime. Maybe the weekly ranking on Wednesday will show a bigger difference.
I guess for now all we can say is that the hardcore Maaya fans (myself included) must have all pre-ordered both singles and got them to no.7 on the first day!!
The second piece of ranking news is that Maaya's photobook of the You Can't Catch Me 2011 Tour got no.1 on the Oricon book chart last week! Apparently it sold 5,000 copies in its first week. I hope that people who didn't know who Maaya was saw the book in the shops at no.1 and picked it up for a browse. It'd be nice if Maaya could be more widely known. This is her second no.1 this year after all (after the album got no.1 at the start of 2011...I know books and CD's aren't quite the same thing but still!)
Moving on, one of this blog's faithful commenters pointed me in the direction of this news over at Anime News Network about a new book/recital that Maaya is involved in from the people who brought you the Full Moon Recital Hall project and the Type-Moon series. It's in a similar vein to the previous works and I had seen it mentioned on Japanese Maaya fan sites but wasn't sure exactly what it was so it is nice to see it explained in so much detail in English!!
Aaannd finally! I know, right? But I've been sick = lack of updates!
On the 18th of November Maaya's radio show Vitamin-M will be broadcasting LIVE at 12:30 at night, Japanese time (that's 24:30!) on the radio and through U-Stream to celebrate it's 500th show! See the official announcement over at her info page. This is rather exciting! I wonder if she'll sing any of her songs live...anyway, so please send in your emails to Maaya at Vitamin-M with how her radio show has connected with you etc. Anyway, as it is on U-stream all you Maaya fans around the world can also tune in and enjoy the show for free! Just remember to factor in your time zone ^^
Phew! Hope you're all well, I can't believe it's November the day after tomorrow.
I guess for now all we can say is that the hardcore Maaya fans (myself included) must have all pre-ordered both singles and got them to no.7 on the first day!!
Moving on, one of this blog's faithful commenters pointed me in the direction of this news over at Anime News Network about a new book/recital that Maaya is involved in from the people who brought you the Full Moon Recital Hall project and the Type-Moon series. It's in a similar vein to the previous works and I had seen it mentioned on Japanese Maaya fan sites but wasn't sure exactly what it was so it is nice to see it explained in so much detail in English!!
Aaannd finally! I know, right? But I've been sick = lack of updates!
On the 18th of November Maaya's radio show Vitamin-M will be broadcasting LIVE at 12:30 at night, Japanese time (that's 24:30!) on the radio and through U-Stream to celebrate it's 500th show! See the official announcement over at her info page. This is rather exciting! I wonder if she'll sing any of her songs live...anyway, so please send in your emails to Maaya at Vitamin-M with how her radio show has connected with you etc. Anyway, as it is on U-stream all you Maaya fans around the world can also tune in and enjoy the show for free! Just remember to factor in your time zone ^^
Phew! Hope you're all well, I can't believe it's November the day after tomorrow.
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
'from everywhere' podcast now online
Hello all! Maaya's new radio show 'from everywhere' started this week and you can listen to the podcast on the official website here.
The show is going to be concentrating on trips and stories from people's travels so if you have any places you would like to reccomend to Maaya or stories about places you have visited then start sending those mails into the show ^^
The show is going to be concentrating on trips and stories from people's travels so if you have any places you would like to reccomend to Maaya or stories about places you have visited then start sending those mails into the show ^^
Friday, 30 September 2011
Friday is here again! Phew, it has been a long week. Let's round-up everything that's been released in the past 24 hours.
Firstly, Maaya has a new regular radio show: 'from everywhere' to be broadcast on JFN radio stations around Japan from October. The official page of this new website is here, and you will be able to listen via podcast each week as well - hurray! A really cute picture of Maaya as well. There's going to be a little diary part of the website as well, it looks like. A nice surprise! You can email in to the show as well.
Next, Maaya's official homepage has updated her profile with a new Buddy themed photo, you can see that here.
Finally, the official mini promo websites for Buddy, okaerinasai and (well, not yet) driving in the silence have been set up. Mostly the content is what we already know but the photos are beautiful. So go take a look if you have time ^^
Firstly, Maaya has a new regular radio show: 'from everywhere' to be broadcast on JFN radio stations around Japan from October. The official page of this new website is here, and you will be able to listen via podcast each week as well - hurray! A really cute picture of Maaya as well. There's going to be a little diary part of the website as well, it looks like. A nice surprise! You can email in to the show as well.
Next, Maaya's official homepage has updated her profile with a new Buddy themed photo, you can see that here.
Finally, the official mini promo websites for Buddy, okaerinasai and (well, not yet) driving in the silence have been set up. Mostly the content is what we already know but the photos are beautiful. So go take a look if you have time ^^
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Vitamin-M 5/8/2911 - Ireland and 'Okaerinasai' chat
“I went to Ireland the other day to film [a short movie]. I’ve been abroad to shoot things in the past but this was my first trip to Ireland so there it was really fresh in all kinds of ways. I have a feeling that a really good piece of work is going to come out of it.”
I decided to tune into Vitamin-M this week as it was mentioned on Victor Music’s twitter that she’d be talking about the upcoming song ‘Okaerinasai’, but she spoke about her trip to Ireland quite a lot too. Then she got to the part about the new song right at the end.
She changed over in London – ahhh, so close. So the above is just a quick comment she made about the short movie that they went to shoot over the past month in Galway.
Apparently her dad sent her really passionate emails while she was away in Ireland talking about the country and how he’d been there before…except that he was talking about Iceland the whole time: “Wrong, Dad!”
In Galway it seems they had a tough schedule, fitting all the filming into just three days. They also had to fit into the location shooting rules in Ireland, keeping to the hours they were allowed to film but also trying to capture the best lighting etc. They were filming until 10 at night after leaving the hotel at 7am.
It seems she had a great time in Ireland (of course, food features in her chat!)
As we know, ‘Okaerinasai’ will be the new anime Tamayura ~hitotose~ opening song from October. Matsutoya Yumi is the composer, who also goes under the name Yumi Arai, and Maaya herself wrote the lyrics (“Argh, what pressure!”) Maaya says that as Matsutoya is someone she really likes and respects, she was very nervous right from their first meeting but she was very, very happy that Matsutoya undertook it.
Nice! I’m looking forward to next Friday!
I decided to tune into Vitamin-M this week as it was mentioned on Victor Music’s twitter that she’d be talking about the upcoming song ‘Okaerinasai’, but she spoke about her trip to Ireland quite a lot too. Then she got to the part about the new song right at the end.
She changed over in London – ahhh, so close. So the above is just a quick comment she made about the short movie that they went to shoot over the past month in Galway.
Apparently her dad sent her really passionate emails while she was away in Ireland talking about the country and how he’d been there before…except that he was talking about Iceland the whole time: “Wrong, Dad!”
In Galway it seems they had a tough schedule, fitting all the filming into just three days. They also had to fit into the location shooting rules in Ireland, keeping to the hours they were allowed to film but also trying to capture the best lighting etc. They were filming until 10 at night after leaving the hotel at 7am.
It seems she had a great time in Ireland (of course, food features in her chat!)
As we know, ‘Okaerinasai’ will be the new anime Tamayura ~hitotose~ opening song from October. Matsutoya Yumi is the composer, who also goes under the name Yumi Arai, and Maaya herself wrote the lyrics (“Argh, what pressure!”) Maaya says that as Matsutoya is someone she really likes and respects, she was very nervous right from their first meeting but she was very, very happy that Matsutoya undertook it.
Nice! I’m looking forward to next Friday!
Saturday, 28 November 2009
Vitamin-M Radio Show now airing Online!
In celebration of Maaya's long running Vitamin-M radio show passing it's 400th episode mark Bay-FM has made Maaya's show available to listen to online:
http://www.bayfm.co.jp/ip/index.html
Enjoy!
http://www.bayfm.co.jp/ip/index.html
Enjoy!
Monday, 19 January 2009
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 21.04.2007
Wow, this is probably the most active this blog has been since forever! Here's another full Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta translation - this time it's the third show from way back in 2007. So we've had the first three broadcasts in full translated now. If you want to go back and read the first one then please look back in the archived entries. The last story Maaya told about her school teacher got a little tricky so I may have lost a few vital points but the jist is there!
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 21.04.2007
Good evening this is Maaya Sakamoto, for the next fifteen minutes please get together with me, Maaya Sakamoto, for Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta. Today is the third broadcast of this show, is everyone already attached to it? We’ve been receiving a lot of mails as well so I’m really happy, if you send in a mail about your thoughts anytime from now it’d be great.
Well, the 22nd of April is Earth Day, every year this word is often said on the radio and everywhere. It’s a day where in order to protect the environment all over the world everyone should take action. What sort of things are all of you doing? It’s a problem that we can no longer ignore. There are a lot of people who think ‘let’s do something about it’ but this has been a pressing question for a while and there are people who think ‘well, there’s only one of me so whatever I do is meaningless’ but even a small action is important. One by one losing the unnecessary things and thinking about it seriously.
I actually have a fan club, the name of it is ‘Idling Stop’, and it’s a club that has collected a lot of different people from all over the country. It has a kind of theme of “If each member takes the time to do something kind for the Earth…” and that’s why it has the name Idling Stop. For example, recycling used food containers or something. Also, the fan club goods are things like shopping bags you can use for shopping, mugs and stuff. If everyone makes a small effort like that to take care over one thing I think it would really help the Earth’s environment. Everyone, definitely take part in Earth Day, the 22nd of April from today!
Well, this program, Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta, takes a theme of a certain word and collects together messages that the listeners send in about it. April’s theme is ‘Thank you’ and we’ve received a lot of mails so I’d like to introduce more and more.
Let’s get started, first up is radio name Macchan-san.
Hello it’s nice to meet you, Maaya-san. I know the word ‘thank you’ very well thanks to using it at work - a restaurant. Waiting on people and then the short moment when I hear ‘thank you’ from a customer. However, instead of feeling glad when a customer says that to me, completely oppositely I get really embarrassed. I still haven’t gotten used to it. By the way, I’m from the Kansai part of Japan and there we use ‘ookini’ instead of ‘arigato’ for thank you. Where I work really suits me as the boss of the restaurant uses ‘ookini, arigato!’ at the same time. When the customer goes home saying ‘Thank you, it was really delicious!’, the moment when these words are exchanged I feel great. More than ‘thank you’, ‘it was really delicious’ is the phrase which has no equal. In a shop where the food isn’t good it’s almost never said. Restaurant work is pretty hard on the body but a ‘Thank you, it was really delicious’ from a customer takes all the tiredness away.
That was Macchan’s wonderful message, thank you very much! Oh, that was it, I just said thank you. This month’s theme is ‘thank you’ and there’s definitely this kind of thank you included, isn’t there? By the way, I really like eating and recently I like cooking as well but really, going with friends in your free time to your favourite restaurant, being introduced to restaurants by your friends, and eating out is what I tend to do.
When you eat something really delicious it’s quite moving, isn’t it. That there is a line of work which gives this kind of happiness to someone directly is a little vexing. I sing, act and write things and related to that I can send people away thinking ‘oh, that was a good song’, ‘that was a great show’ but making delicious things that directly go into someone’s mouth and fill their stomachs, directly helping them to live – I think this kind of work is amazing. I both look up to and am jealous of people working in restaurants and the food industry.
When you eat at a place where you can see the chefs and you can say directly to them ‘it was delicious’ I really want to say it. I always say ‘It was truly delicious’ before going home, the people behind the counter are also waiting to hear the words – I’m sure they’re thinking ‘gotta work hard!’. A mutual understanding so both sides feel good. I think it’s a wonderful moment. Please work hard to continue making great food Macchan!
Moving on, I’d like to introduce one more message relating to ‘thank you’. Radio name Second Stage-san from Saitama Prefecture.
Good evening Maaya-chan! Turning on the radio I was caught by your beautiful voice and listened right to the end of the show, I’m going to listen every week from now on. My thank you is for my teacher at school. Right now I’m enjoying life as a high school student but at one time in middle school I really hated school and I played truant a lot. At that time my homeroom teacher came to my home every day and tried to convince me to go to school. However, I still didn’t go to school. My teacher even brought the work from the classes I missed to my home saying ‘just so you can come back at any time’. Luckily I wasn’t behind in my studies and in the end I came back to school. I’m really grateful to my teacher, thank you so much!
…and that’s it. That’s really beautiful. If you can say that directly to your teacher I think they will be delighted. I really think that being a teacher is a difficult job. When I recently met one person at a reunion type event who is my age, an old classmate, and they said that they were a middle school teacher - because they were my age (27) even though they were a great person, I personally thought they were too young and to be actually teaching someone something would be absolutely impossible for them. The same generation as me, teaching children? I was really surprised. And the teachers who taught us were also taught by amazing adults…but if I think about it now, if a teacher is still quite young they still teach us even though there are lots of things they don’t understand themselves.
I also have a lot of teachers that I remember but particularly the homeroom teacher I had in my 5th and 6th grades at school who became our homeroom teacher straight after graduating university. They were really young and it was their first job but they were really warm-blooded and taught P.E. It was really fun and became good friends with all the students, never seemed to be bothered by them and was just really fun.
Back then I was really clumsy and I never did my homework on time or anything with essays etc. For Home-economics homework one time we had to make a wallet and I wasn’t even close to finishing it, I didn’t hand it in and I didn’t tell anyone that I hadn’t even finished half of it. I showed my homeroom teacher going “What should I do, I’ve only done this much” and my teacher took it from me going “Well, it can’t be helped” and worked until late at night to finish it for me, even though he was a male teacher he sewed all of it. I was just stood next to him going ‘wow’. And then because it was late at night and he was worried he took me back to my house and even now when I do a stage show he always comes to see me. He’s now a veteran teacher but I really think he’s a great teacher. Well, even though there are a lot of teachers I remember well that was one meeting I really think of! When you meet a good teacher it really is something you receive many words that you can remember your whole life. All the teachers in Japan are people who are remembered in the hearts of the children they have taught – kind words, good memories.
Well, with this, I’d like to continue receiving everyone’s messages and introducing them on this month’s theme of ‘thank you’. Now you’ve entered your new lives and are probably calming down now, in the many meetings and partings in the recent days if there’s a moment when you said ‘thank you’ then please let me know! I’m waiting!
And with that, the third Maaya Sakamoto: Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta has been broadcasted. It’s almost time to say goodbye for this week. I’d like to introduce your messages of ‘thank you’ and we’re receiving more and more so I’ll be back to do the same again next week.
Also, any opinions or thoughts and normal messages about this show outside of ‘thank you’ are also very welcome! The address for letters is [address], the email address for the show is maaya@tbs.co.jp Maaya is spelt M A A Y A. I’m looking forward to when we meet again next week, see you next week – bye bye!
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 21.04.2007
Good evening this is Maaya Sakamoto, for the next fifteen minutes please get together with me, Maaya Sakamoto, for Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta. Today is the third broadcast of this show, is everyone already attached to it? We’ve been receiving a lot of mails as well so I’m really happy, if you send in a mail about your thoughts anytime from now it’d be great.
Well, the 22nd of April is Earth Day, every year this word is often said on the radio and everywhere. It’s a day where in order to protect the environment all over the world everyone should take action. What sort of things are all of you doing? It’s a problem that we can no longer ignore. There are a lot of people who think ‘let’s do something about it’ but this has been a pressing question for a while and there are people who think ‘well, there’s only one of me so whatever I do is meaningless’ but even a small action is important. One by one losing the unnecessary things and thinking about it seriously.
I actually have a fan club, the name of it is ‘Idling Stop’, and it’s a club that has collected a lot of different people from all over the country. It has a kind of theme of “If each member takes the time to do something kind for the Earth…” and that’s why it has the name Idling Stop. For example, recycling used food containers or something. Also, the fan club goods are things like shopping bags you can use for shopping, mugs and stuff. If everyone makes a small effort like that to take care over one thing I think it would really help the Earth’s environment. Everyone, definitely take part in Earth Day, the 22nd of April from today!
Well, this program, Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta, takes a theme of a certain word and collects together messages that the listeners send in about it. April’s theme is ‘Thank you’ and we’ve received a lot of mails so I’d like to introduce more and more.
Let’s get started, first up is radio name Macchan-san.
Hello it’s nice to meet you, Maaya-san. I know the word ‘thank you’ very well thanks to using it at work - a restaurant. Waiting on people and then the short moment when I hear ‘thank you’ from a customer. However, instead of feeling glad when a customer says that to me, completely oppositely I get really embarrassed. I still haven’t gotten used to it. By the way, I’m from the Kansai part of Japan and there we use ‘ookini’ instead of ‘arigato’ for thank you. Where I work really suits me as the boss of the restaurant uses ‘ookini, arigato!’ at the same time. When the customer goes home saying ‘Thank you, it was really delicious!’, the moment when these words are exchanged I feel great. More than ‘thank you’, ‘it was really delicious’ is the phrase which has no equal. In a shop where the food isn’t good it’s almost never said. Restaurant work is pretty hard on the body but a ‘Thank you, it was really delicious’ from a customer takes all the tiredness away.
That was Macchan’s wonderful message, thank you very much! Oh, that was it, I just said thank you. This month’s theme is ‘thank you’ and there’s definitely this kind of thank you included, isn’t there? By the way, I really like eating and recently I like cooking as well but really, going with friends in your free time to your favourite restaurant, being introduced to restaurants by your friends, and eating out is what I tend to do.
When you eat something really delicious it’s quite moving, isn’t it. That there is a line of work which gives this kind of happiness to someone directly is a little vexing. I sing, act and write things and related to that I can send people away thinking ‘oh, that was a good song’, ‘that was a great show’ but making delicious things that directly go into someone’s mouth and fill their stomachs, directly helping them to live – I think this kind of work is amazing. I both look up to and am jealous of people working in restaurants and the food industry.
When you eat at a place where you can see the chefs and you can say directly to them ‘it was delicious’ I really want to say it. I always say ‘It was truly delicious’ before going home, the people behind the counter are also waiting to hear the words – I’m sure they’re thinking ‘gotta work hard!’. A mutual understanding so both sides feel good. I think it’s a wonderful moment. Please work hard to continue making great food Macchan!
Moving on, I’d like to introduce one more message relating to ‘thank you’. Radio name Second Stage-san from Saitama Prefecture.
Good evening Maaya-chan! Turning on the radio I was caught by your beautiful voice and listened right to the end of the show, I’m going to listen every week from now on. My thank you is for my teacher at school. Right now I’m enjoying life as a high school student but at one time in middle school I really hated school and I played truant a lot. At that time my homeroom teacher came to my home every day and tried to convince me to go to school. However, I still didn’t go to school. My teacher even brought the work from the classes I missed to my home saying ‘just so you can come back at any time’. Luckily I wasn’t behind in my studies and in the end I came back to school. I’m really grateful to my teacher, thank you so much!
…and that’s it. That’s really beautiful. If you can say that directly to your teacher I think they will be delighted. I really think that being a teacher is a difficult job. When I recently met one person at a reunion type event who is my age, an old classmate, and they said that they were a middle school teacher - because they were my age (27) even though they were a great person, I personally thought they were too young and to be actually teaching someone something would be absolutely impossible for them. The same generation as me, teaching children? I was really surprised. And the teachers who taught us were also taught by amazing adults…but if I think about it now, if a teacher is still quite young they still teach us even though there are lots of things they don’t understand themselves.
I also have a lot of teachers that I remember but particularly the homeroom teacher I had in my 5th and 6th grades at school who became our homeroom teacher straight after graduating university. They were really young and it was their first job but they were really warm-blooded and taught P.E. It was really fun and became good friends with all the students, never seemed to be bothered by them and was just really fun.
Back then I was really clumsy and I never did my homework on time or anything with essays etc. For Home-economics homework one time we had to make a wallet and I wasn’t even close to finishing it, I didn’t hand it in and I didn’t tell anyone that I hadn’t even finished half of it. I showed my homeroom teacher going “What should I do, I’ve only done this much” and my teacher took it from me going “Well, it can’t be helped” and worked until late at night to finish it for me, even though he was a male teacher he sewed all of it. I was just stood next to him going ‘wow’. And then because it was late at night and he was worried he took me back to my house and even now when I do a stage show he always comes to see me. He’s now a veteran teacher but I really think he’s a great teacher. Well, even though there are a lot of teachers I remember well that was one meeting I really think of! When you meet a good teacher it really is something you receive many words that you can remember your whole life. All the teachers in Japan are people who are remembered in the hearts of the children they have taught – kind words, good memories.
Well, with this, I’d like to continue receiving everyone’s messages and introducing them on this month’s theme of ‘thank you’. Now you’ve entered your new lives and are probably calming down now, in the many meetings and partings in the recent days if there’s a moment when you said ‘thank you’ then please let me know! I’m waiting!
And with that, the third Maaya Sakamoto: Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta has been broadcasted. It’s almost time to say goodbye for this week. I’d like to introduce your messages of ‘thank you’ and we’re receiving more and more so I’ll be back to do the same again next week.
Also, any opinions or thoughts and normal messages about this show outside of ‘thank you’ are also very welcome! The address for letters is [address], the email address for the show is maaya@tbs.co.jp Maaya is spelt M A A Y A. I’m looking forward to when we meet again next week, see you next week – bye bye!
Saturday, 17 January 2009
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 14.04.2007
A golden oldie here. This is the FULL broadcast of the second ever 'Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta' from back in April 2007. It was a ten minute show so it wasn't incredibly long to translate. I guess it took me about two hours....or is that a long time? ^^;; embarrassing! Anyway, there's some nice little bits in it so enjoy!
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 14.04.2007
Waa, it’s the second program! Please look out for me because I’m still a novice at this. Weeelll, I’ve calmed down a little bit now (laugh) from today and onwards I entrust it all to you.
By the way, today the 14th of April is called ‘Orange Day’ – did you know? I had no idea. And why is it called Orange Day? Well, February 14th is Valentine’s Day – confessing love. March 14th is White Day – returning that love. And Orange Day April 14th is the day when a couple confirms their love. Apparently. It seems you have to give a present of something that is orange….Really? How far has this custom become popular? Kind of ‘Er, well what do we do on May 14th?!’ (laugh) I really want to know now…Well, anyway, there are many different occasions in the world.
Did everyone listening do something today to show their feelings? It’s been a week since I’ve met all of you listening in front of the radio, people who are starting a new life from April, people who’ve entered a new environment, I’m sure there’s a lot of you. Spring is the season of ‘Encounters’. Well, there are also seasons of ‘Goodbye’ as well. Many different kinds of meetings and goodbyes, April: a month of comings and goings.
This program began in April and I met all of you, an ‘encounter’. Through doing this program some people first found me, Maaya Sakamoto. Like tree climbing, learning about me, my music, my writings – I’d feel really happy if this happened.
‘Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta’ – on this program we decide a theme of a word and about this theme we’ll introduce various episodes and stories on this topic. That’s what this program is about. And this month’s theme is ‘Thank you’ and we’re collecting lots of different mails from you. Straight away we were receiving mails and I’d like to introduce a few. What sort of ‘Thank you’s are they I wonder?
First up is this one, radio name from Abby Michijie-san in Tokyo.
Maaya – congratulations on the start of your new program! Your new album 30 Minutes Night Flight is the best! Right now I’m listening to it in heavy rotation every day. Setting that aside, because you’re collecting things about ‘Thank you’ I’ll tell you about one of my ‘thank you’s. After passing various exams somehow, from this April I’ll be a university student. Studying for the exams didn’t go very well and it came about that I’ll enter my second best choice, a state university. Right now I’m still in the process of soaking up the university atmosphere and I’m worrying about which university society to join. I really want to make a lot of new friends and make the most of campus life. However, I can’t stop thinking about the fact it’s a state university. The fees are a little bit expensive and when my first choice private university couldn’t be done I was really worried. When my exam results came out and I was troubled by dad came into my room and said “Don’t worry about school fees! You worked really hard for your results! So go and study without worrying!”. I decided to enrol but at the time I was really embarrassed so all I could say was “Oh ok”. As I felt I couldn’t say anything directly to my father I didn’t say it but I was really happy and just want to say ‘THANK YOU’. With that I think I can work hard at University life. Even though I can’t say it directly, but please say it on the radio for me.
What a good son, that’s really great. Abby Michijie-san’s father…but definitely thanking your parents is the probably the most difficult thing to say. But I think when something gets past a certain level you can say it to them. Compared to a long time ago I think I can say it more easily. However, from the parent’s perspective as well I think it’s hard for them to say as well. I think so at least.
Really, like this mail says, a dad who says “Don’t worry about it, just go!” – you certainly would want to make your university life meaningful. Being relieved at your father’s words and wanting to do well.
Right! I’d like to introduce one more mail!
Gunma Prefecture! Radio name Purachina-san.
I’ve waited for Maaya’s new radio program!! I’m praying that your program will go on for a long time yet. Well, you asked for mails concerning ‘thank you’. At the moment I’m working at a certain Tokyo company as an office lady. At the start of April three people went on strike and then yesterday a company personnel reshuffle was announced. My senior who has looked after me since I joined the company has been transferred to the countryside. Even though there’s two years difference between us it’s always felt like we are friends but thanks to this prosecution against my senior co-worker I’ve had to learn that work has a lot of difficulties involved in it. That person was a truly good senior to me and I think that meant I was able to do my work well up until now. When I spoke to my senior about this they said “If you think like that then try to make sure that you can do the same with your new junior employees”. I was really happy. M-sempai, for everything up until now – thank you very much! Please introduce this on the radio.
And that’s it. M-sempai! Well, I’m sure there are quite a lot of M-listeners listening to this show but it may be you. Well, transfers and such, things you can’t fight against at certain times happen. There’s nothing you can do but at the place where you’re going there will also be wonderful relationships with people to be had.
I don’t really have anyone who I was raised to have a sempai-kouhai (junior-senior) relationship with. That’s quite rare, but the closest I have to it I think is from when I worked on the musical Les Miserables, it’s been 5 years now but in my first year and passed the audition by a whisker, I was only 22 years old. I’m 27 years old now. In the company there were 70, 80 people and I was rather on the younger side so nearly everyone was my sempai. In within that, and I was taught a lot of different things and it was the first time I’d personally appeared in such a large production. I really thought I’d succumb to the pressure of it all and in rehearsals and stuff I’d be crying etc. (laugh) there was a lot to take in. At those times there was always the other actors from the show who comforted me and supported me.
It’s a battle, a stage show is raw and as soon as one is finished there’s another. The audience would be different and in the show there was a double, triple cast – every time it would change. Every time was new. At that time it was whether I could release the power inside of me, whether I could communicate something to the audience, could I act without losing to the pressure right until the end, I was always thinking about these things. I thought ‘that’s what an artist does’. My sempai’s sincerity really taught me that.
This year’s Les Miserables will have a new cast, more than half will be new. There will be many goodbyes; it’s like the atmosphere of a school at the moment and the balance of the cast has suddenly spun around. And now I’m being treated like an older sister by the cast who are younger than me, there’s a lot of them. This time I will be the one to teach the younger cast members something. If there’s something to be worried about is there anything I can do, can I encourage them, if there’s anything at all to be done I will have to do it! I’ve assume that position, I thought ‘I’m getting old’. Anyway, the stage show will begin from September this year and we’re in the middle of rehearsals.
This program will continue on like this using the theme ‘thank you’ during April. Today I introduced two but please everyone participate in the show! Please send in your messages. What sort of thank you happened to you recently? Perhaps at some point in your life you wanted to say it but couldn’t, or you want to say thank you to someone now, a wonderful memory of thank you. Everything is fine so please send something! Well, the second Maaya Sakamoto ‘Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta’ is over. In a flash! It’s now time to say goodbye. Well, your mails are the life of this program so please take part and send them in.
The place to send letters is [address] and the email address of the show is maaya@tbs.co.jp Maaya is M A A Y A. It’s now time to part for today and until next time – bye bye!!
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 14.04.2007
Waa, it’s the second program! Please look out for me because I’m still a novice at this. Weeelll, I’ve calmed down a little bit now (laugh) from today and onwards I entrust it all to you.
By the way, today the 14th of April is called ‘Orange Day’ – did you know? I had no idea. And why is it called Orange Day? Well, February 14th is Valentine’s Day – confessing love. March 14th is White Day – returning that love. And Orange Day April 14th is the day when a couple confirms their love. Apparently. It seems you have to give a present of something that is orange….Really? How far has this custom become popular? Kind of ‘Er, well what do we do on May 14th?!’ (laugh) I really want to know now…Well, anyway, there are many different occasions in the world.
Did everyone listening do something today to show their feelings? It’s been a week since I’ve met all of you listening in front of the radio, people who are starting a new life from April, people who’ve entered a new environment, I’m sure there’s a lot of you. Spring is the season of ‘Encounters’. Well, there are also seasons of ‘Goodbye’ as well. Many different kinds of meetings and goodbyes, April: a month of comings and goings.
This program began in April and I met all of you, an ‘encounter’. Through doing this program some people first found me, Maaya Sakamoto. Like tree climbing, learning about me, my music, my writings – I’d feel really happy if this happened.
‘Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta’ – on this program we decide a theme of a word and about this theme we’ll introduce various episodes and stories on this topic. That’s what this program is about. And this month’s theme is ‘Thank you’ and we’re collecting lots of different mails from you. Straight away we were receiving mails and I’d like to introduce a few. What sort of ‘Thank you’s are they I wonder?
First up is this one, radio name from Abby Michijie-san in Tokyo.
Maaya – congratulations on the start of your new program! Your new album 30 Minutes Night Flight is the best! Right now I’m listening to it in heavy rotation every day. Setting that aside, because you’re collecting things about ‘Thank you’ I’ll tell you about one of my ‘thank you’s. After passing various exams somehow, from this April I’ll be a university student. Studying for the exams didn’t go very well and it came about that I’ll enter my second best choice, a state university. Right now I’m still in the process of soaking up the university atmosphere and I’m worrying about which university society to join. I really want to make a lot of new friends and make the most of campus life. However, I can’t stop thinking about the fact it’s a state university. The fees are a little bit expensive and when my first choice private university couldn’t be done I was really worried. When my exam results came out and I was troubled by dad came into my room and said “Don’t worry about school fees! You worked really hard for your results! So go and study without worrying!”. I decided to enrol but at the time I was really embarrassed so all I could say was “Oh ok”. As I felt I couldn’t say anything directly to my father I didn’t say it but I was really happy and just want to say ‘THANK YOU’. With that I think I can work hard at University life. Even though I can’t say it directly, but please say it on the radio for me.
What a good son, that’s really great. Abby Michijie-san’s father…but definitely thanking your parents is the probably the most difficult thing to say. But I think when something gets past a certain level you can say it to them. Compared to a long time ago I think I can say it more easily. However, from the parent’s perspective as well I think it’s hard for them to say as well. I think so at least.
Really, like this mail says, a dad who says “Don’t worry about it, just go!” – you certainly would want to make your university life meaningful. Being relieved at your father’s words and wanting to do well.
Right! I’d like to introduce one more mail!
Gunma Prefecture! Radio name Purachina-san.
I’ve waited for Maaya’s new radio program!! I’m praying that your program will go on for a long time yet. Well, you asked for mails concerning ‘thank you’. At the moment I’m working at a certain Tokyo company as an office lady. At the start of April three people went on strike and then yesterday a company personnel reshuffle was announced. My senior who has looked after me since I joined the company has been transferred to the countryside. Even though there’s two years difference between us it’s always felt like we are friends but thanks to this prosecution against my senior co-worker I’ve had to learn that work has a lot of difficulties involved in it. That person was a truly good senior to me and I think that meant I was able to do my work well up until now. When I spoke to my senior about this they said “If you think like that then try to make sure that you can do the same with your new junior employees”. I was really happy. M-sempai, for everything up until now – thank you very much! Please introduce this on the radio.
And that’s it. M-sempai! Well, I’m sure there are quite a lot of M-listeners listening to this show but it may be you. Well, transfers and such, things you can’t fight against at certain times happen. There’s nothing you can do but at the place where you’re going there will also be wonderful relationships with people to be had.
I don’t really have anyone who I was raised to have a sempai-kouhai (junior-senior) relationship with. That’s quite rare, but the closest I have to it I think is from when I worked on the musical Les Miserables, it’s been 5 years now but in my first year and passed the audition by a whisker, I was only 22 years old. I’m 27 years old now. In the company there were 70, 80 people and I was rather on the younger side so nearly everyone was my sempai. In within that, and I was taught a lot of different things and it was the first time I’d personally appeared in such a large production. I really thought I’d succumb to the pressure of it all and in rehearsals and stuff I’d be crying etc. (laugh) there was a lot to take in. At those times there was always the other actors from the show who comforted me and supported me.
It’s a battle, a stage show is raw and as soon as one is finished there’s another. The audience would be different and in the show there was a double, triple cast – every time it would change. Every time was new. At that time it was whether I could release the power inside of me, whether I could communicate something to the audience, could I act without losing to the pressure right until the end, I was always thinking about these things. I thought ‘that’s what an artist does’. My sempai’s sincerity really taught me that.
This year’s Les Miserables will have a new cast, more than half will be new. There will be many goodbyes; it’s like the atmosphere of a school at the moment and the balance of the cast has suddenly spun around. And now I’m being treated like an older sister by the cast who are younger than me, there’s a lot of them. This time I will be the one to teach the younger cast members something. If there’s something to be worried about is there anything I can do, can I encourage them, if there’s anything at all to be done I will have to do it! I’ve assume that position, I thought ‘I’m getting old’. Anyway, the stage show will begin from September this year and we’re in the middle of rehearsals.
This program will continue on like this using the theme ‘thank you’ during April. Today I introduced two but please everyone participate in the show! Please send in your messages. What sort of thank you happened to you recently? Perhaps at some point in your life you wanted to say it but couldn’t, or you want to say thank you to someone now, a wonderful memory of thank you. Everything is fine so please send something! Well, the second Maaya Sakamoto ‘Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta’ is over. In a flash! It’s now time to say goodbye. Well, your mails are the life of this program so please take part and send them in.
The place to send letters is [address] and the email address of the show is maaya@tbs.co.jp Maaya is M A A Y A. It’s now time to part for today and until next time – bye bye!!
Friday, 16 January 2009
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 11.01.2009 (intro)
A very short introduction from this week's Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta. A couple of days before the release of Maaya's new album 'Kazeyomi' afterall, she just mentions it a little. Short, sweet. Enjoy!
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 11.01.2009 (intro)
Good Evening this is Maaya Sakamoto, for the next 15 minutes please get together with me for Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta!
Well, this week I guess there will be lots of people becoming adults and going to Coming of Age Ceremonies – congratulations everyone! When you become an adult please listen to Maaya Sakamoto. The first CD you buy as an adult, ok? If you listen to it and remember it for your whole life I’ll be really happy. People often ask, ‘what was the first cd or record you brought?’ so please, if you are able to think ‘oh the first CD I brought as an adult was Maaya’s ‘Kazyomi’’ I’ll be really happy!
Well, it really is close at hand now, the release day of my new album ‘Kazeyomi’! I’m really excited. It was completed around the end of last year, and since about a month ago I’ve been listening to the finished product on repeat. I’m really glad that FINALLY I can get you all to hear it. Finally you will be able to listen to it, what will you think about it, it’d be nice if you liked it…I’m a feeling a little nervous. Well, this time the first press edition comes with a DVD, if you manage to get one I think you’ll like it.
Well, time to go into the main part of the program…
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 11.01.2009 (intro)
Good Evening this is Maaya Sakamoto, for the next 15 minutes please get together with me for Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta!
Well, this week I guess there will be lots of people becoming adults and going to Coming of Age Ceremonies – congratulations everyone! When you become an adult please listen to Maaya Sakamoto. The first CD you buy as an adult, ok? If you listen to it and remember it for your whole life I’ll be really happy. People often ask, ‘what was the first cd or record you brought?’ so please, if you are able to think ‘oh the first CD I brought as an adult was Maaya’s ‘Kazyomi’’ I’ll be really happy!
Well, it really is close at hand now, the release day of my new album ‘Kazeyomi’! I’m really excited. It was completed around the end of last year, and since about a month ago I’ve been listening to the finished product on repeat. I’m really glad that FINALLY I can get you all to hear it. Finally you will be able to listen to it, what will you think about it, it’d be nice if you liked it…I’m a feeling a little nervous. Well, this time the first press edition comes with a DVD, if you manage to get one I think you’ll like it.
Well, time to go into the main part of the program…
Saturday, 10 January 2009
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 04.01.2009 (intro)
Happy New Year 2009 with the intro from the first broadcast of Maaya's 'Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta' from January 4th 2009. Maaya chats about what she does at New Year and her New Years Resolution for 2009.
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 04.01.2009 (intro)
Happy New Year! This is Maaya Sakamoto, for the next 15 minutes please get together with me, Maaya Sakamoto for ‘Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta’! Ah, it’s the New Year – it’s now 2009.
How did you all spend New Years? We’re still only three days in but are you relaxing and eating delicious food? Doing that sort of thing while watching TV is the kind of New Year I want to have. For me, when you talk about things you enjoy at New Year, even now it’s the O-zou my mother makes. It’s really delicious! I think that O-zou tends to be different in every household, but the taste of your mother’s cooking is always there in different things, like miso soup, meat and potato stew and stuff. For me, if it’s O-zou then I think I like my mother’s cooking best. Like, there’s nothing particularly special about it but even when it’s not New Years, during the year I want to eat it. And so, I’m home with my mother and father on New Years Day making New Years Resolutions and eating O-zou.
Well, Resolutions. Did you all make them as well? I want to make a resolution I can keep for one year but really we’re getting our priorities wrong a little (laugh) if it’s not a resolution at a level you can keep it’s pretty tough, isn’t it? As for me, this year although a large resolution is important, this year I want to treasure the small things. I think having a heart that can look at and be moved by the little things is amazing; the little things you do everyday, the little words, the small sights, everyday things like that. I think that’s a great way to be. I have the type of personality which is impatient and really rush around so a really big resolution is all I can see. I think that’s fine this year. The process and the scenery in the middle of a break of in journey – this year I want to be able to enjoy things like that, a year to hold onto the spare scenery around and while laughing put lots of these into the space in my heart. That’s what I think.
What kind of year will it become? But I think it seems like it will be a good year and it would be nice if this Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta could pass out the year safely as well. Letters from all you are the life of this program so this year as well, please look out for us!
Well! The first key word of this year has been decided as a theme of “Cheering someone on!”. This month is “Cheering someone on”. There are lots of people taking exams this month and all the people taking exams in the centres are concentrating hard but outside of these places there are people working hard who would like to be cheered on with messages. Sort of, if I’m cheered on then let’s all work hard together! Either for you or for someone else is fine.
Somehow, the first show of this month has already started and my new album ‘kazeyomi’ will be out on the 14th! Messages cheering on this album are also fine! I’m waiting for your messages under the key word ‘Cheering someone on’.
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 04.01.2009 (intro)
Happy New Year! This is Maaya Sakamoto, for the next 15 minutes please get together with me, Maaya Sakamoto for ‘Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta’! Ah, it’s the New Year – it’s now 2009.
How did you all spend New Years? We’re still only three days in but are you relaxing and eating delicious food? Doing that sort of thing while watching TV is the kind of New Year I want to have. For me, when you talk about things you enjoy at New Year, even now it’s the O-zou my mother makes. It’s really delicious! I think that O-zou tends to be different in every household, but the taste of your mother’s cooking is always there in different things, like miso soup, meat and potato stew and stuff. For me, if it’s O-zou then I think I like my mother’s cooking best. Like, there’s nothing particularly special about it but even when it’s not New Years, during the year I want to eat it. And so, I’m home with my mother and father on New Years Day making New Years Resolutions and eating O-zou.
Well, Resolutions. Did you all make them as well? I want to make a resolution I can keep for one year but really we’re getting our priorities wrong a little (laugh) if it’s not a resolution at a level you can keep it’s pretty tough, isn’t it? As for me, this year although a large resolution is important, this year I want to treasure the small things. I think having a heart that can look at and be moved by the little things is amazing; the little things you do everyday, the little words, the small sights, everyday things like that. I think that’s a great way to be. I have the type of personality which is impatient and really rush around so a really big resolution is all I can see. I think that’s fine this year. The process and the scenery in the middle of a break of in journey – this year I want to be able to enjoy things like that, a year to hold onto the spare scenery around and while laughing put lots of these into the space in my heart. That’s what I think.
What kind of year will it become? But I think it seems like it will be a good year and it would be nice if this Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta could pass out the year safely as well. Letters from all you are the life of this program so this year as well, please look out for us!
Well! The first key word of this year has been decided as a theme of “Cheering someone on!”. This month is “Cheering someone on”. There are lots of people taking exams this month and all the people taking exams in the centres are concentrating hard but outside of these places there are people working hard who would like to be cheered on with messages. Sort of, if I’m cheered on then let’s all work hard together! Either for you or for someone else is fine.
Somehow, the first show of this month has already started and my new album ‘kazeyomi’ will be out on the 14th! Messages cheering on this album are also fine! I’m waiting for your messages under the key word ‘Cheering someone on’.
Thursday, 1 January 2009
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 28.12.2008 (intro)
Here's another opener to Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta (broadcast on TBS radio in Japan) and this time it's the final show of 2008. HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS!! It's now 2009 and I can't believe it. I'm going to be graduating university this year...crazy, eh? Woah...anyhoo, enjoy!
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 28.12.2008
Good evening, this is Maaya Sakamoto! For the next 15 minutes please get together with me for ‘Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta’. It’s fast but it’s already the last on air of 2008, for this year everyone, truly, thank you very much. We’ve received lots of letters and not just from inside Japan but also lots of mails from overseas to Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta. Thanks to you all we’ve arrived at the final show of this year safely.
This is a really short program and we’ve really received a lot of letters and I really wanted to introduce them every one, they are really warm messages, I’m really thankful everyone. Passing this energy onto next year I’m waiting for all your mails and people who couldn’t get the courage up to do it this year, challenge your selves next year, ok? I’ll be really happy!
How are you all spending New Years? Christmas already ended, and after that work and all the troops of workers I’m sure that there are lot of people who have already finished work. People who are saying: “I didn’t write New Year cards yet!” , people who aren’t even at the point to begin write them yet, it’s because of this sort of thing they say this time of year is hard work. There are lots of people who are busy with different things but I hope you will all be well with a feeling of ending the year well and spreading a good feeling for next year too.
This year my Christmas I had my own famous Sakamoto family feature, on Christmas Eve we celebrated my father’s birthday. The morning and afternoon it’s work the same as usual but for my dad I especially made time in my schedule in order to do something, I asked what do you want to eat? My mother said “I want to eat Peking Duck” – it’s not your birthday mum! But…at the time it was like “OK…where would be good?” because we would have to make reservations and make preparations etc. But we made it a present from the two of us, as it doesn’t happen very often, and we went to eat delicious Chinese food. And that was our Christmas Eve. How did everyone else spend there Christmas eve?
The atmosphere of this year has been as such that there hasn’t really been a feeling of being able to overthrow it. With all the economic problems that are talked about and all the other things I don’t really understand but somehow this year it doesn’t feel like the year is ending at all and it’s like ‘oh it ended’. Now all that’s left is to clean the house and to look back on all that’s happened this year for the next few days.
Well! Today is the final broadcast of the year and I want to introduce your mails…
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 28.12.2008
Good evening, this is Maaya Sakamoto! For the next 15 minutes please get together with me for ‘Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta’. It’s fast but it’s already the last on air of 2008, for this year everyone, truly, thank you very much. We’ve received lots of letters and not just from inside Japan but also lots of mails from overseas to Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta. Thanks to you all we’ve arrived at the final show of this year safely.
This is a really short program and we’ve really received a lot of letters and I really wanted to introduce them every one, they are really warm messages, I’m really thankful everyone. Passing this energy onto next year I’m waiting for all your mails and people who couldn’t get the courage up to do it this year, challenge your selves next year, ok? I’ll be really happy!
How are you all spending New Years? Christmas already ended, and after that work and all the troops of workers I’m sure that there are lot of people who have already finished work. People who are saying: “I didn’t write New Year cards yet!” , people who aren’t even at the point to begin write them yet, it’s because of this sort of thing they say this time of year is hard work. There are lots of people who are busy with different things but I hope you will all be well with a feeling of ending the year well and spreading a good feeling for next year too.
This year my Christmas I had my own famous Sakamoto family feature, on Christmas Eve we celebrated my father’s birthday. The morning and afternoon it’s work the same as usual but for my dad I especially made time in my schedule in order to do something, I asked what do you want to eat? My mother said “I want to eat Peking Duck” – it’s not your birthday mum! But…at the time it was like “OK…where would be good?” because we would have to make reservations and make preparations etc. But we made it a present from the two of us, as it doesn’t happen very often, and we went to eat delicious Chinese food. And that was our Christmas Eve. How did everyone else spend there Christmas eve?
The atmosphere of this year has been as such that there hasn’t really been a feeling of being able to overthrow it. With all the economic problems that are talked about and all the other things I don’t really understand but somehow this year it doesn’t feel like the year is ending at all and it’s like ‘oh it ended’. Now all that’s left is to clean the house and to look back on all that’s happened this year for the next few days.
Well! Today is the final broadcast of the year and I want to introduce your mails…
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 14.12.2008 (intro)
A recent radio opening this time, Maaya's new album 'Kazeyomi' (Wind Reading) will be released in 15 days time on January 14th 2009 and Maaya talks a bit about where they shot the jacket on the beginning of this show. So here it is:
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 14.12.2008 (intro)
Good evening, this is Maaya Sakamoto and for the next 15 minutes please get together with me for ‘Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta’!
Well, the date has already changed and it’s become the 14th of December and now it’s become exactly one month until the release of my new album ‘kazeyomi’! I say it’s next month but it’s actually next year! Exactly a month away on January 14th my new album ‘kazeyomi’ will be put on sale. One more month, eh? I really want to be able to let you listen to it, I’m really impatient to do so, like ‘come on, come on!’ but until the day it’s put on sale no one but I will be able to hear it and I must enjoy it by myself in luxury to the full.
By the way, the jacket photo of this album ‘kazeyomi’ is also up on my homepage and I’m sure there are people who have already looked at it. If you look at it then there may be people who go “oh, it’s that place!” and if you ask where the jacket photo was taken then it’s Moerenuma Park in Hokkaido! However, even though it’s called a ‘park’ it’s not actually a nature park it’s a really modern park designed by Isamu Noguchi-san. It’s certainly something that’s so vast that it couldn’t be anywhere but Hokkaido, it’s very extensive. It’s really wide and it’s also, what do you call it, a perfect example of systematic order and neatness to look at but it’s also something that uses nature in such a way that there’s lots of greenery…you know, you can get bicycles and rent-a-bicycles as well, it really feels good and if you had this kind of wonderful park in your own neighbourhood you’d want to go everyday – I think it’s that kind of place.
Also, it was free! Anyone can go in. if you go to Hokkaido and also the people in Hokkaido listening to the podcast, if you’ve never been then definitely please go on my recommendation and also go to where I shot the jacket photo and take a photo doing the same pose!! If you go then I think you’ll immediately be able to go “it’s here!” and recognise it. Just try looking up Moerenuma Park, ok?
Well! Now let’s go into this programs main contents!...
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 14.12.2008 (intro)
Good evening, this is Maaya Sakamoto and for the next 15 minutes please get together with me for ‘Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta’!
Well, the date has already changed and it’s become the 14th of December and now it’s become exactly one month until the release of my new album ‘kazeyomi’! I say it’s next month but it’s actually next year! Exactly a month away on January 14th my new album ‘kazeyomi’ will be put on sale. One more month, eh? I really want to be able to let you listen to it, I’m really impatient to do so, like ‘come on, come on!’ but until the day it’s put on sale no one but I will be able to hear it and I must enjoy it by myself in luxury to the full.
By the way, the jacket photo of this album ‘kazeyomi’ is also up on my homepage and I’m sure there are people who have already looked at it. If you look at it then there may be people who go “oh, it’s that place!” and if you ask where the jacket photo was taken then it’s Moerenuma Park in Hokkaido! However, even though it’s called a ‘park’ it’s not actually a nature park it’s a really modern park designed by Isamu Noguchi-san. It’s certainly something that’s so vast that it couldn’t be anywhere but Hokkaido, it’s very extensive. It’s really wide and it’s also, what do you call it, a perfect example of systematic order and neatness to look at but it’s also something that uses nature in such a way that there’s lots of greenery…you know, you can get bicycles and rent-a-bicycles as well, it really feels good and if you had this kind of wonderful park in your own neighbourhood you’d want to go everyday – I think it’s that kind of place.
Also, it was free! Anyone can go in. if you go to Hokkaido and also the people in Hokkaido listening to the podcast, if you’ve never been then definitely please go on my recommendation and also go to where I shot the jacket photo and take a photo doing the same pose!! If you go then I think you’ll immediately be able to go “it’s here!” and recognise it. Just try looking up Moerenuma Park, ok?
Well! Now let’s go into this programs main contents!...
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 16.08.2008 (intro)
Note: Kochijyan seems to be a Korean spice. The beans she was talking about her staff loving with beer is super hard to hear (she says it really fast) so I've had to leave out what it is exactly. Sorry!!
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16th August 2008
Good evening, this is Maaya Sakamoto! For the next 15 minutes please get together with ‘Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta’. Well, it’s already the middle of summer vacation. Everyone, are you making summer memories? Recently I haven’t really been having a lot of fun…I’m not really doing anything that’s summer-like. Fortunately I’m not really all tired out at all. I’m “doing my best”. How are you all doing recently?
A little while ago I talked about having my ‘debut’ with soumen noodles this year but strictly speaking I haven’t really eaten “Mentsuyu Soumen” at all yet. Not at all. I’m limited to “Soumen Champloo” right now…but it’s delicious, lots of different ingredients put all together and making it by putting in the vegetables as you want! Also, I think, recently we have no choice but to eat spicy things because it’s summer. The staff of this program came to the show after buying lots of this type of spicy bean and were talking about how it’s really fun to drink with beer. That also seems really tasty.
I really think summer is about beer! Even though I think that…recently I haven’t drunk at all. But you know, even if I go out it’s usually work and going out so I can’t usually make my own lunch so at the moment I’ve been eating a lot of Korean food, curry and things. By the way, something good I made recently, well I eat more than my fair share of Kochijyan and I pretty much put it in everything…Raddish and squid, prawns etc. anything is ok, well, squid and…what else, leek! Mixed with Kochijyan and soy sauce is really delicious! If you eat it with beer then it’s the best. Well, I didn’t have beer with it because I haven’t drunk lately, for the most part the days with no alcohol recently are increasing.
If possible I would really like you to tell me your delicious spicy recipes. Reading recipe books is also a lot of fun but I think that learning a recipe of someone else is the most enjoyable. Like, that if you ask for that person’s original recipes I think it’s pretty fun.
The hot days are going to continue for a while yet everyone, please eat a lot of good food and enjoy them.
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16th August 2008
Good evening, this is Maaya Sakamoto! For the next 15 minutes please get together with ‘Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta’. Well, it’s already the middle of summer vacation. Everyone, are you making summer memories? Recently I haven’t really been having a lot of fun…I’m not really doing anything that’s summer-like. Fortunately I’m not really all tired out at all. I’m “doing my best”. How are you all doing recently?
A little while ago I talked about having my ‘debut’ with soumen noodles this year but strictly speaking I haven’t really eaten “Mentsuyu Soumen” at all yet. Not at all. I’m limited to “Soumen Champloo” right now…but it’s delicious, lots of different ingredients put all together and making it by putting in the vegetables as you want! Also, I think, recently we have no choice but to eat spicy things because it’s summer. The staff of this program came to the show after buying lots of this type of spicy bean and were talking about how it’s really fun to drink with beer. That also seems really tasty.
I really think summer is about beer! Even though I think that…recently I haven’t drunk at all. But you know, even if I go out it’s usually work and going out so I can’t usually make my own lunch so at the moment I’ve been eating a lot of Korean food, curry and things. By the way, something good I made recently, well I eat more than my fair share of Kochijyan and I pretty much put it in everything…Raddish and squid, prawns etc. anything is ok, well, squid and…what else, leek! Mixed with Kochijyan and soy sauce is really delicious! If you eat it with beer then it’s the best. Well, I didn’t have beer with it because I haven’t drunk lately, for the most part the days with no alcohol recently are increasing.
If possible I would really like you to tell me your delicious spicy recipes. Reading recipe books is also a lot of fun but I think that learning a recipe of someone else is the most enjoyable. Like, that if you ask for that person’s original recipes I think it’s pretty fun.
The hot days are going to continue for a while yet everyone, please eat a lot of good food and enjoy them.
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 20.07.2008 (intro)
20th July 2008
Good evening, this is Maaya Sakamoto! For the next 15 minutes please get together with me, Maaya Sakamoto, for Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta (Maps, Letters and Love Songs). It’s now completely summer, right? It feels like summer vacation, right? Are you enjoying it? My director has cut his hair, kind of like “it’s the tide of summer!”, the frames of his glasses are now a little whiter and stuff – he lied “Oh they look like they are Maaya’s!”. Right now you can feel “today it’s summer!”. I’ve been changing the colour of my nails for no reason in particular, trying red and stuff. ‘A woman who doesn’t suit summer’ is how I thought I should feel this summer so I’m trying hard.
I’m going to talk about something completely unrelated now. At any rate, nothing to do with ‘Summer Episodes’, now let’s put aside summer.
I have an official mobile phone fan club. I’m pretty sure that recently generally everyone has a mobile phone and on this mobile phone website you can get information and stuff about me. It hasn’t been a year since it was set up yet, it started about October last year but soon it will be one year. Renewing the corners recently and such it’s take a lot of establishment. If you have time then please even if it’s once please take a look at it everyone. I have a separate official fan club as well and this new mobile phone fan club has the same title “Sakamoto Maaya IDS”.
You know, the truth is, I am also a member! Every month I pay 310yen, if I don’t pay…I can’t see it, my own page and the blog etc.! (laugh) So I pay normally.
Only the other day a new corner started, we decided to set up an irregular “Lucky Mail”. I picture that I draw will be sent randomly and then will select someone “You’ve been selected!!”. It will be something that you have to wait for and if you’re lucky type of present. The other day when we did the first Lucky Mail we thought maybe the amount of people we would send it to would be higher than usual because we were sending the first one ever. And then, I received one!! I felt like, “Everyone I’m so sorry! I’m also a member like everyone else, forgive me!”. It was unexpected that I got one but even so, as we’re talking about it…my manager got one too!!! I’m so sorry everyone!! But….my manager is paying 310 yen as well!! (laugh) Therefore we have the same terms and conditions as everyone else. And then the staff of this program said they didn’t get one. Really, I couldn’t get to sleep at all over this. Well, please look forward to the real first time! Well, if you receive something you feel kind of happy with no complaints that you got something unconditionally, right? Did any of you listeners get picked for something recently?
As for me, I speaking honestly it’s not just limited to this kind of thing, but I’m a person who if I think I might be selected for something then I am selected, relatively. In this place I don’t really think of destiny but usually it happens like that.
Well! Anyway on that note there are lots of little parts on my official mobile website that you can see and I think they will probably increase more and more. There’s lots of various little short, blog entries by me and also detailed information on my upcoming appearances that you can get. If you feel like it then please look at it.
Now! Let’s get to the program!
Good evening, this is Maaya Sakamoto! For the next 15 minutes please get together with me, Maaya Sakamoto, for Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta (Maps, Letters and Love Songs). It’s now completely summer, right? It feels like summer vacation, right? Are you enjoying it? My director has cut his hair, kind of like “it’s the tide of summer!”, the frames of his glasses are now a little whiter and stuff – he lied “Oh they look like they are Maaya’s!”. Right now you can feel “today it’s summer!”. I’ve been changing the colour of my nails for no reason in particular, trying red and stuff. ‘A woman who doesn’t suit summer’ is how I thought I should feel this summer so I’m trying hard.
I’m going to talk about something completely unrelated now. At any rate, nothing to do with ‘Summer Episodes’, now let’s put aside summer.
I have an official mobile phone fan club. I’m pretty sure that recently generally everyone has a mobile phone and on this mobile phone website you can get information and stuff about me. It hasn’t been a year since it was set up yet, it started about October last year but soon it will be one year. Renewing the corners recently and such it’s take a lot of establishment. If you have time then please even if it’s once please take a look at it everyone. I have a separate official fan club as well and this new mobile phone fan club has the same title “Sakamoto Maaya IDS”.
You know, the truth is, I am also a member! Every month I pay 310yen, if I don’t pay…I can’t see it, my own page and the blog etc.! (laugh) So I pay normally.
Only the other day a new corner started, we decided to set up an irregular “Lucky Mail”. I picture that I draw will be sent randomly and then will select someone “You’ve been selected!!”. It will be something that you have to wait for and if you’re lucky type of present. The other day when we did the first Lucky Mail we thought maybe the amount of people we would send it to would be higher than usual because we were sending the first one ever. And then, I received one!! I felt like, “Everyone I’m so sorry! I’m also a member like everyone else, forgive me!”. It was unexpected that I got one but even so, as we’re talking about it…my manager got one too!!! I’m so sorry everyone!! But….my manager is paying 310 yen as well!! (laugh) Therefore we have the same terms and conditions as everyone else. And then the staff of this program said they didn’t get one. Really, I couldn’t get to sleep at all over this. Well, please look forward to the real first time! Well, if you receive something you feel kind of happy with no complaints that you got something unconditionally, right? Did any of you listeners get picked for something recently?
As for me, I speaking honestly it’s not just limited to this kind of thing, but I’m a person who if I think I might be selected for something then I am selected, relatively. In this place I don’t really think of destiny but usually it happens like that.
Well! Anyway on that note there are lots of little parts on my official mobile website that you can see and I think they will probably increase more and more. There’s lots of various little short, blog entries by me and also detailed information on my upcoming appearances that you can get. If you feel like it then please look at it.
Now! Let’s get to the program!
Friday, 11 April 2008
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 03.02.2008 (Part 2)
Sorry for the HUGGGEEE delay, and this one isn't even finished!! But here's the enxt snippet from the radio show I started to post a while ago. I do have an excuse though (I was in Japan) As usual italic is Maaya, non-italics is summary. Sorry again for the shortness ^^;;
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Next, I’m introducing another mail to do with confessions! From Sakura-shi 29 year old male, radio name Yellow Beans.
She gets an email from Yellow Beans who confesses he loves nails. Especially one’s that have been cut 0_0 (Maaya says EEEEE???? As she reads this). After he’s cut the nails he touches them for a long time (Maaya is increasingly making weird noises and giggling at this mail). He explains that it may be close to a fetish. Apparently he hasn’t got anyone he can tell about this to (he can’t tell his friends or girlfriend). He asks if Maaya has any habits or interests that she can’t easily talk about.
Ah, thank you for your many worries…No I don’t have anything like that!!! I don’t get the thing about nails. But everybody has a lot of those kind of things, don’t they. Hmm…as for me…habits, huh?....Well, I guess if it’s particularly weird habits…I don’t think I have any…what do you think? But…well…no I don’t have any!! Sorry!! (laugh) I don’t have any but really if you don’t think you have any it’s because you don’t realise you do but probably you actually have a really weird habit. You can’t pick it up yourself consciously, right?
Ah, but talking about habits, times when you wake up wanting to laugh and then hear your own laughing voice, waking up when your stomach growls, the strange things that happen when you wake up. Recently I was writing lyrics in my dream, I wrote a really amazing line on a piece of paper as a memo and I was thinking ‘the memo’s gone somewhere’ and woke up in the middle of a real nightmare thinking ‘I don’t have the memo!!!’. Waking up is pretty violent for me, but that’s a little different from a personal habit, isn’t it.
* * *
To be continued.
* * * *
Next, I’m introducing another mail to do with confessions! From Sakura-shi 29 year old male, radio name Yellow Beans.
She gets an email from Yellow Beans who confesses he loves nails. Especially one’s that have been cut 0_0 (Maaya says EEEEE???? As she reads this). After he’s cut the nails he touches them for a long time (Maaya is increasingly making weird noises and giggling at this mail). He explains that it may be close to a fetish. Apparently he hasn’t got anyone he can tell about this to (he can’t tell his friends or girlfriend). He asks if Maaya has any habits or interests that she can’t easily talk about.
Ah, thank you for your many worries…No I don’t have anything like that!!! I don’t get the thing about nails. But everybody has a lot of those kind of things, don’t they. Hmm…as for me…habits, huh?....Well, I guess if it’s particularly weird habits…I don’t think I have any…what do you think? But…well…no I don’t have any!! Sorry!! (laugh) I don’t have any but really if you don’t think you have any it’s because you don’t realise you do but probably you actually have a really weird habit. You can’t pick it up yourself consciously, right?
Ah, but talking about habits, times when you wake up wanting to laugh and then hear your own laughing voice, waking up when your stomach growls, the strange things that happen when you wake up. Recently I was writing lyrics in my dream, I wrote a really amazing line on a piece of paper as a memo and I was thinking ‘the memo’s gone somewhere’ and woke up in the middle of a real nightmare thinking ‘I don’t have the memo!!!’. Waking up is pretty violent for me, but that’s a little different from a personal habit, isn’t it.
* * *
To be continued.
Sunday, 17 February 2008
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 03.02.2008 (Part 1)
Hey guys, this episode is about 20 minutes long which is pretty hardcore for me - the longest I've ever done. And what I've translated so far is only 6 minutes of it!! And it's already quite long. So I'm just going to post up what I've got so far and then get the rest up afterwards. It cuts itself up quite well when she does three mails because it means she naturally gives a pause to divide the translation. This one is quite cute so enjoy!!
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 3rd February 2008
Good evening, this is Maaya Sakamoto. For the next 15 minutes please get together with me and ‘Chizu to tegami to koi no uta’! We’ve entered February! Talking of February, it’s actually my parents wedding anniversary. *laugh* Though it’s an anniversary no one else knows, it’s true.
If you’re wondering why I’m talking about this, my parents are relatively good friends and together and often go out together and such and for this years wedding anniversary they’ve gone to Korea’s Cheju Island! Cheerful mails have been coming and stuff, I think it’s great they’re so good together. Children get up so they’re left with a lot of free time so from now more and more they’re going to do what they want. I’m glad for them but my dad always used to drive the family car around but the children are all grown up so my dad’s driving a sports car all over the place and is really active! I look at my parents recently and I’ve been thinking that really when I get old I want to be like this, a husband and wife enjoying their days. I’m kind of jealous and sort of feeling like I’m aiming for that.
My dream for the future is, with my future husband, eating the delicious foods of the world, setting out into the world order to eat everything! When I ate (name of Korean food) in Korea I was really impressed, really! And like that, when I was in Texas and ate Tex-mex I was also really impressed by it!! Therefore, Yam-cha in China, curry in India, better than that all the food in the world! When I get older, right? Together with my husband I want to do an eating tour!! That’s my dream.
With that reasoning, Mom, Dad, congratulations for your February wedding anniversary from the public airwaves. There, I said congratulations suddenly. On that note, it’s February! Because the month changed the key word theme of this show has also changed. Maaya Sakamoto ‘chizu to tegami to koi no uta’ is asking for your mails about the word which is the theme and this month’s theme is ‘Confessions’. Of course it’s Valentine’s day this month, love confession stories are of course OK. Also, repenting confessions, that kind of talk is OK too. I’d like more and more of your mails.
I’d like to introduce the first mail. This was received from 22 year old man living in (place) radio name Black Board.
The man talks about a memory from when he was in school. In his 2nd year of high school the girl he liked was in the same class the year before but hadn’t even spoken to her. So in the end he decided to ask her to the park and he confessed, apparently his club friends had discussed this secretly with him. He was refused. After he’d calmed down for about a week after this, he received a confession from another girl he’d been in a class with in his first year. Apparently she used the same technique (call out, confess in park) but because he’d never really spoken to her, he turned her down. This was the first time he’d thought “Oh…so being confessed to be someone you don’t really know, it’s a problem….”. He asks Maaya if she’s ever suddenly confessed or been confessed to suddenly.
Hmm, what is the best timing for the moment of confession? I don’t know either. When you’re a student isn’t the time of a confession really obvious? *funny voice* “Tomorrow I’m going to confess!!” or “I’m going to confess at Christmas”, it’s the same as saying ‘I’m going to receive a graduation button’, don’t you think? Well, while you’re a student whenever there’s a big event, it’s an enjoyable decisive factor, it’s the time when you want to say ‘I like you’ I think. It seems like until the moment is there, you don’t really know the best time to say ‘I like you’, I get that kind of feeling. “I haven’t prepared but I want to say it now!” – I think that’s the best timing. Until then you tend to think oppositely that you can’t do it at all and you can’t tell them.
But among my friends, there’s someone really liked a person and kept on confessing and being rejected, until a confession came from the other person and they got married! There are couples like that.
Also, on the train everyday riding the same area – that also happens a lot, people you don’t know and you’ve never spoken to each other but there’s a kind of awareness of the other person. Those days continue for a long time. Then one day you’re late for the usual train you take and although it’s not the other person’s usual route as you’re late now – you’re both on the same train!! And then you start talking like “Oh so you’re late too, we’re on the same train again…” and then they get married. There are couples like that too. What could you call this?? It’s a little different to a confession I guess. This kind of thing I think I mentioned before but everything changes, these changes are not your own timing, it’s completely out of your hands. When this kind of event happens it can be called a moment with mysterious powers. So even when you want to confess ‘let’s do it, let’s do it, let’s do it’, waiting for the timing to come naturally it what adults do, right? Well, when you’re a student it’s best not to worry about that so please just go for it!
To be continued...
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 3rd February 2008
Good evening, this is Maaya Sakamoto. For the next 15 minutes please get together with me and ‘Chizu to tegami to koi no uta’! We’ve entered February! Talking of February, it’s actually my parents wedding anniversary. *laugh* Though it’s an anniversary no one else knows, it’s true.
If you’re wondering why I’m talking about this, my parents are relatively good friends and together and often go out together and such and for this years wedding anniversary they’ve gone to Korea’s Cheju Island! Cheerful mails have been coming and stuff, I think it’s great they’re so good together. Children get up so they’re left with a lot of free time so from now more and more they’re going to do what they want. I’m glad for them but my dad always used to drive the family car around but the children are all grown up so my dad’s driving a sports car all over the place and is really active! I look at my parents recently and I’ve been thinking that really when I get old I want to be like this, a husband and wife enjoying their days. I’m kind of jealous and sort of feeling like I’m aiming for that.
My dream for the future is, with my future husband, eating the delicious foods of the world, setting out into the world order to eat everything! When I ate (name of Korean food) in Korea I was really impressed, really! And like that, when I was in Texas and ate Tex-mex I was also really impressed by it!! Therefore, Yam-cha in China, curry in India, better than that all the food in the world! When I get older, right? Together with my husband I want to do an eating tour!! That’s my dream.
With that reasoning, Mom, Dad, congratulations for your February wedding anniversary from the public airwaves. There, I said congratulations suddenly. On that note, it’s February! Because the month changed the key word theme of this show has also changed. Maaya Sakamoto ‘chizu to tegami to koi no uta’ is asking for your mails about the word which is the theme and this month’s theme is ‘Confessions’. Of course it’s Valentine’s day this month, love confession stories are of course OK. Also, repenting confessions, that kind of talk is OK too. I’d like more and more of your mails.
I’d like to introduce the first mail. This was received from 22 year old man living in (place) radio name Black Board.
The man talks about a memory from when he was in school. In his 2nd year of high school the girl he liked was in the same class the year before but hadn’t even spoken to her. So in the end he decided to ask her to the park and he confessed, apparently his club friends had discussed this secretly with him. He was refused. After he’d calmed down for about a week after this, he received a confession from another girl he’d been in a class with in his first year. Apparently she used the same technique (call out, confess in park) but because he’d never really spoken to her, he turned her down. This was the first time he’d thought “Oh…so being confessed to be someone you don’t really know, it’s a problem….”. He asks Maaya if she’s ever suddenly confessed or been confessed to suddenly.
Hmm, what is the best timing for the moment of confession? I don’t know either. When you’re a student isn’t the time of a confession really obvious? *funny voice* “Tomorrow I’m going to confess!!” or “I’m going to confess at Christmas”, it’s the same as saying ‘I’m going to receive a graduation button’, don’t you think? Well, while you’re a student whenever there’s a big event, it’s an enjoyable decisive factor, it’s the time when you want to say ‘I like you’ I think. It seems like until the moment is there, you don’t really know the best time to say ‘I like you’, I get that kind of feeling. “I haven’t prepared but I want to say it now!” – I think that’s the best timing. Until then you tend to think oppositely that you can’t do it at all and you can’t tell them.
But among my friends, there’s someone really liked a person and kept on confessing and being rejected, until a confession came from the other person and they got married! There are couples like that.
Also, on the train everyday riding the same area – that also happens a lot, people you don’t know and you’ve never spoken to each other but there’s a kind of awareness of the other person. Those days continue for a long time. Then one day you’re late for the usual train you take and although it’s not the other person’s usual route as you’re late now – you’re both on the same train!! And then you start talking like “Oh so you’re late too, we’re on the same train again…” and then they get married. There are couples like that too. What could you call this?? It’s a little different to a confession I guess. This kind of thing I think I mentioned before but everything changes, these changes are not your own timing, it’s completely out of your hands. When this kind of event happens it can be called a moment with mysterious powers. So even when you want to confess ‘let’s do it, let’s do it, let’s do it’, waiting for the timing to come naturally it what adults do, right? Well, when you’re a student it’s best not to worry about that so please just go for it!
To be continued...
Monday, 14 January 2008
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 13.05.2007
Hey everyone, I managed to get another radio episode under my belt today in between studying for my Japanese exam tomorrow. As before the italics are Maaya's speech and then I've summarised some parts I had trouble translating exactly into a transcript. The jist of it, I guess you could say. Hopefully it's not too far out. Anyway, Enjoy!
Good evening this is Maaya Sakamoto! For the next 15 minutes please join me for ‘Chizu to Tegami to koi no uta’! Another week has ended, hasn’t it? Everyone were you working? Did you go to school?
As for me, well, the musical Les Miserables premier is in about a month so increasingly it’s coming closer. I’m doing a lot of training, and this year as well I’m playing the role of Eponine. Even though this is the fifth year running I’ve played this role, while I put on an accent I’m really trying my hardest. There’s a practice everyday and of course because I have other work to do every day apart from that, I’m pretty much powerfully working every day at the moment.
Within that, there are a few little breaks from practice and when I have time there so many other things to be stopped by.
Maaya tells a story about going to change her drivers licence. She was worried that she wouldn’t be able to make it but she got there just in time. She has just a normal licence but this was her first time to renew it so she was really kind of happy but a little nervous, wondering what kind of thing they were going to do. She didn’t really know what would happen so like that she went to the examination centre.
She talks about what she had to do an exam and how it was kind of boring to wait about two hours of her waiting around before it and being nervous. She describes the test itself about how there is a test of strength where everyone was, in a very business like manner, in a line going one after the other with each having a number. When she finally got there the person she met was sort of staring at her and then asked questions normally until right at the end when he said “I have your cd!!” at the end. That was unexpected. Without thinking, right in the exam room she said ‘EEEHHHH????’ and the people behind were like ‘what’s going on?’. Maaya ponders this man’s work and how he was just going over normal matters had lots of people to see but how he wanted to say ‘I have your cd’ to her. She was really surprised.
Anyway, I managed to get my licence all done normally. “Ah that’s good, that’s good” I thought to myself. Well, after all that is the recent Maaya Sakamoto (laugh).
Well! This program ‘Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta’ is to introduce your mails about a theme to do with a certain word and this month I’m introducing mails to do with the keyword theme ‘promises’. This week again we had a lot of mails so now I’d like to introduce them.
Maaya introduces a mail from a man in Tokyo who promised his wife to stop smoking. His wife was against it to the point of divorce! So he stopped and although it was hard it is now his 5th month anniversary and he can think ‘it was bad but promises are good things’.
I see. This seems like it was hard, doesn’t it? I don’t smoke, so although I don’t understand if I had to give up coffee I think it would be really gruelling...it’s hard, isn’t it? As I said earlier I’m in the middle of rehearsals for a musical, and in the point of view of a singer or someone who uses their voice for their work tobacco is definitely not good for your throat so a lot of people decide to quit. But, in my production there is one person who last year smoked a lot, but in order to do difficult songs, this year he said “I’m going to give up” and after that his voice was completely different his oral ability stretched. However, because his lips were lonely he began to eat a lot of sweet things and…got fat (giggle). He even said “I got fat!”. Also, he found that his sense of smell and taste became more intense, his food was delicious and he said how he was often going out to eat.
Of course, giving up smoking seems hard but, you know, I understand your wife’s feelings. I think that she must of course be thinking about her husband’s health and so said ‘Quit!’, but if I was the wife I think ‘I’m breathing in your smoke so stop it’ is kinda strong. But for both of them, I think that this is best for their bodies. If you continue feeling in this spirit and continue your promise of not smoking, it’s good, huh?
Continuing on, I have one more mail to do with promises to introduce! Moomin Mama-san from Chiba prefecture.
Maaya reads out a letter from a mother who promised her son who just went into elementary school to do help him lose his pickiness about food. It seems he hates a lot of food such as peppers and eggs etc. This boy especially hates vegetables! The mother though if she bought them then he would eat a lot and finally come to like them. They’ve promised each other that if he eats them then she will reward him with a toy that he likes! However! The mother has decided to think of something else to reward him with instead.
This is bad!! The promise is being broken from the mother. You said “I will buy you a toy”, didn’t you? You did give this phrase yourself, didn’t you Moomin Mama-san. But a child will probably remember that you did that, if you don’t keep your promise it might be kind of hard. When I was a child, I remember people saying ‘next time I’ll buy you such and such if you get this in your next test’ and replying ‘ok!!’ and such even though I was thinking ‘Not possible!’ (laugh) I had those kind of parents, securing more and more promises.
Well, if he becomes able to eat things then I guess it’s a good thing (laugh) Please do your best to get him the toy!
Now, this program would still like to receive your mail and postcards about promises! There is no problem about the contents of them. Promises you have kept, promises you haven’t, people have lots of different memories so I’m waiting for lots of messages! On that note, the 6th episode of ‘Chizu to tegami to koi no uta’ has now been broadcast and our time has come to an end. It’s already been a month since this show started, we have a long program name but did you begin to get familiar with it everyone? ‘Chizu to tegami to koi no uta’! I’m waiting for letters about promises but also it’s not limited to that theme, opinions about the show and you impressions and normal letters addressed to me, questions and stuff, anything is ok! Things that you would like the show to do are also waited for.
[Contact details read out]
You can also send mails from TBS’s homepage. I’m looking forward to meeting you all next week, for today it’s time to part. See you next week, bye bye!!
This episode was less than 10 minutes and it still took quite a while to do. But I guess I'll get faster soon. Maaya's voice is easy on the ears so let's hope!! See you guys soon!
Good evening this is Maaya Sakamoto! For the next 15 minutes please join me for ‘Chizu to Tegami to koi no uta’! Another week has ended, hasn’t it? Everyone were you working? Did you go to school?
As for me, well, the musical Les Miserables premier is in about a month so increasingly it’s coming closer. I’m doing a lot of training, and this year as well I’m playing the role of Eponine. Even though this is the fifth year running I’ve played this role, while I put on an accent I’m really trying my hardest. There’s a practice everyday and of course because I have other work to do every day apart from that, I’m pretty much powerfully working every day at the moment.
Within that, there are a few little breaks from practice and when I have time there so many other things to be stopped by.
Maaya tells a story about going to change her drivers licence. She was worried that she wouldn’t be able to make it but she got there just in time. She has just a normal licence but this was her first time to renew it so she was really kind of happy but a little nervous, wondering what kind of thing they were going to do. She didn’t really know what would happen so like that she went to the examination centre.
She talks about what she had to do an exam and how it was kind of boring to wait about two hours of her waiting around before it and being nervous. She describes the test itself about how there is a test of strength where everyone was, in a very business like manner, in a line going one after the other with each having a number. When she finally got there the person she met was sort of staring at her and then asked questions normally until right at the end when he said “I have your cd!!” at the end. That was unexpected. Without thinking, right in the exam room she said ‘EEEHHHH????’ and the people behind were like ‘what’s going on?’. Maaya ponders this man’s work and how he was just going over normal matters had lots of people to see but how he wanted to say ‘I have your cd’ to her. She was really surprised.
Anyway, I managed to get my licence all done normally. “Ah that’s good, that’s good” I thought to myself. Well, after all that is the recent Maaya Sakamoto (laugh).
Well! This program ‘Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta’ is to introduce your mails about a theme to do with a certain word and this month I’m introducing mails to do with the keyword theme ‘promises’. This week again we had a lot of mails so now I’d like to introduce them.
Maaya introduces a mail from a man in Tokyo who promised his wife to stop smoking. His wife was against it to the point of divorce! So he stopped and although it was hard it is now his 5th month anniversary and he can think ‘it was bad but promises are good things’.
I see. This seems like it was hard, doesn’t it? I don’t smoke, so although I don’t understand if I had to give up coffee I think it would be really gruelling...it’s hard, isn’t it? As I said earlier I’m in the middle of rehearsals for a musical, and in the point of view of a singer or someone who uses their voice for their work tobacco is definitely not good for your throat so a lot of people decide to quit. But, in my production there is one person who last year smoked a lot, but in order to do difficult songs, this year he said “I’m going to give up” and after that his voice was completely different his oral ability stretched. However, because his lips were lonely he began to eat a lot of sweet things and…got fat (giggle). He even said “I got fat!”. Also, he found that his sense of smell and taste became more intense, his food was delicious and he said how he was often going out to eat.
Of course, giving up smoking seems hard but, you know, I understand your wife’s feelings. I think that she must of course be thinking about her husband’s health and so said ‘Quit!’, but if I was the wife I think ‘I’m breathing in your smoke so stop it’ is kinda strong. But for both of them, I think that this is best for their bodies. If you continue feeling in this spirit and continue your promise of not smoking, it’s good, huh?
Continuing on, I have one more mail to do with promises to introduce! Moomin Mama-san from Chiba prefecture.
Maaya reads out a letter from a mother who promised her son who just went into elementary school to do help him lose his pickiness about food. It seems he hates a lot of food such as peppers and eggs etc. This boy especially hates vegetables! The mother though if she bought them then he would eat a lot and finally come to like them. They’ve promised each other that if he eats them then she will reward him with a toy that he likes! However! The mother has decided to think of something else to reward him with instead.
This is bad!! The promise is being broken from the mother. You said “I will buy you a toy”, didn’t you? You did give this phrase yourself, didn’t you Moomin Mama-san. But a child will probably remember that you did that, if you don’t keep your promise it might be kind of hard. When I was a child, I remember people saying ‘next time I’ll buy you such and such if you get this in your next test’ and replying ‘ok!!’ and such even though I was thinking ‘Not possible!’ (laugh) I had those kind of parents, securing more and more promises.
Well, if he becomes able to eat things then I guess it’s a good thing (laugh) Please do your best to get him the toy!
Now, this program would still like to receive your mail and postcards about promises! There is no problem about the contents of them. Promises you have kept, promises you haven’t, people have lots of different memories so I’m waiting for lots of messages! On that note, the 6th episode of ‘Chizu to tegami to koi no uta’ has now been broadcast and our time has come to an end. It’s already been a month since this show started, we have a long program name but did you begin to get familiar with it everyone? ‘Chizu to tegami to koi no uta’! I’m waiting for letters about promises but also it’s not limited to that theme, opinions about the show and you impressions and normal letters addressed to me, questions and stuff, anything is ok! Things that you would like the show to do are also waited for.
[Contact details read out]
You can also send mails from TBS’s homepage. I’m looking forward to meeting you all next week, for today it’s time to part. See you next week, bye bye!!
This episode was less than 10 minutes and it still took quite a while to do. But I guess I'll get faster soon. Maaya's voice is easy on the ears so let's hope!! See you guys soon!
Sunday, 13 January 2008
Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 04.04.2007
Translation note: I started to do a summary but it ended up much easier to write in first person as I could hear it in second half of the show. I'm going to dodge in an out of summary and first person. Italics mark Maaya's speech! If you have any corrections or additions to make please don't hesitate to contribute. I'm a first timer (^_~) I'll clear up my technique from this entry *hopefully*. Anyway, as
Good evening, this is Maaya Sakamoto!! Starting from today this is my radio show: Sakamoto Maaya: Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta! For the next 15 minutes please spend some time with me. This is my first radio show with TBS and I'm really nervous, and today is the first time so I thought I'd introduce myself.
My real name is Maaya Sakamoto and I actually debuted as a singer, but for the last ten years I've been a singer, and an actress, do stage shows and as do work as a seiyuu (anime, dubbing western films). Well, you could say a 'voice' for dubbing.
Maaya gives an example of playing Padme in the new Star Wars films because she thinks it the work that the Japanese listeners will know best. It’s a really famous film so maybe everyone watched it with subtitles but people with the dvd can listen to the Japanese dub. She'll be really happy if you listen to it once to hear her voice.
As for Stage works she talks about being in Les Miserables again from June. She's been playing Eponine for about five years and the show will be in Tokyo till September then will go on to be played at Fukuoka.
Maaya then discusses her music career and finds the fact she has 13 singles and 9 albums surprising, she’d never counted but it was written down in front of her and she thought to herself ‘oh that’s right…' and thought that 'wow, I did that unexpectedly!!'. The newest of which is 30 Minutes Night Flight but she catches herself and says 'oh well this is probably boring if I keep talking about this information!'.
The programs title is a bit long but please remember it everyone! Why it was chosen? Well actually this month my lyrics book of the same title is being released. Tt's the first time I’ve produced a lyrics book but actually in my ten years as a singer I’ve sung a lot of songs. Close to 100 songs!
She says she's written a lot of songs but:
Something separated from the melody, just the world of the words in the song – because I wanted to make a piece of work that could be left behind I wanted to make a lyrics book. That wish was granted and it will be put on sale on the 18th.
Maaya comments that there will be about 84 songs that are in it that she feels come completely from herself.
For myself, these songs are the ones that when I hear the music, I can think that being a singer is very important. When I hear the music, I’m the type that thinks the number one thing is the lyrics and when I write them myself too, honestly it takes a long time as I want to write them carefully. Always as I write them, even separated from the music, I form the lyrics carefully and because the words are always there at the forefront of my mind as I write them I think it will be enjoyable even if you just read them as a poem. So to people who have heard the name Sakamoto Maaya before now as a singer, once more please look at the lyrics and I will be happy!
On the topic of words, I always take them as an important thing. In this program I will take a word as a theme and try to communicate it by, for example, receiving your mails. The words will be ones we always use and hear a lot and I want to once more think carefully about them and introduce lots of different people’s stories. I thought that would be good. So your mails are the life of this show, from today please send lots more.
Firstly, as for what kind of word would be good I’ve been thinking about “thank you”. An extremely singular word. I think first I’d like to talk about that as a theme
"Thankyou". Recently when did you say that? What do you think? As for me, basically I try say it as much as possible. It’s difficult. Well, as you might expect, when one is grateful really from the bottom of one’s heart, ‘thank you’ is sort of….I think it is glossed over and said too easily. Somehow…I don’t think there is a word that can communicate gratitude more, but it’s said too easily. I think to the point where ‘thank you’ falls short. But after all, the number one simplest phrase is ‘thank you’, isn’t it?
Overseas when I was travelling the first word I learn is that country’s word for ‘thank you’ and also ‘its delicious!’. Even with just this, we can communicate. And the most important word (thank you) is also very simple. But, there are even times when it won’t come out easily - So I would like to send out your episodes about ‘thank you’ on this show
For myself, I have a lot but right now the first one I can remember since I was born is the theme contained in the foundation of this programs title. A theme of a ‘Journey’. An event I can remember to do with journey as a theme is the first journey I took by myself.
In the first grade of elementary school, I lived in Tokyo and one time I went by myself to my mother’s home prefecture Saga in Kyushu. Well, my parents took me to the airport, and sent me through and at Saga by grandparents came to get me. My journey alone was only the airplane, but for me as an elementary school student it was a huge journey! I was really nervous and it was really sad even though it was only an hour or so. I felt like I was really all alone, if something went wrong then who would it be ok to ask to save me?
Because I was nervous the flight attendant brought me juice and I tried to drink it but I spilt it all over my hands! It went all over the top of the seat too as well as my clothes. Because I didn’t know who to ask for help, I was just completely lost. There was a man in the seat next to me, some kind of office worker returning home maybe, an older man in a suit. Actually, I thought the whole time he was next to me ‘woah he’s kinda scary’ and I didn’t want to look at him. He had a scary aura. But that man quickly took out a pure white handkerchief from his pocket and said ‘use this’ and passed it to me.
This was a pure white handkerchief and I was really sorry to mop up with it and get orange juice on it. So after only mopping up a little I handed it back to him and sort of said ‘thank you’. However, I’m not sure if he heard it or not and I will still all wet. And so he said ‘Mop up!!’ (laugh) and again I was really, really sorry about it. However, I was REALLY soaked and so I mopped up that as well as my seat and table. I returned it to him like all orange but when I gave back that soaking handkerchief, I couldn’t really say thank you. I think I was embarrassed. I was a child and because I had made that kind of failure in front of him I guess. Even now I feel like crying when I think about it but I held back the words and couldn’t say it to that scary old man. I couldn’t meet his eyes or say nice words like thank you and until the plane's touchdown I felt really bad and I remember sitting there very quietly.
But like this I became an adult and even those it's years ago I remember it now and even now I’m grateful. Since then at many points at work and in my private life I’ve been to many places aboard and in japan. I became able to go many places. And in the middle of those trips when I didn’t know the way and such many people have helped me out, and when that happens I remember that old man and so I think that was my very first good ‘encounter’ with someone on a journey. I was moved that this type of kind person was travelling as well.
That I couldn’t say thank you in this particular episode has been left in my heart. Since then I’ve become to like journeys more and although the people I meet on those journeys I might not meet again now I can think ‘I want to be able to say it [thank you]'. So everyone, the stories about the thank yous you have and have not said are fine, andalso stories about the thank yous you want to say and other various messages can be sent to me, so please send them.
[contact details read out]
You can also send emails at TBS radios home page. And on that note today was the first time and since I was nervous I might have spoken quite fast but how was it? From today please tune in and I’m looking forward to seeing you again next week. Now is the time to part, bye bye!!
Maaya tunes off. And that concludes the first 'Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta' (Maps and Letters and Love Songs) from TBS Radio!! You can download the podcast on itunes if you search for Maaya's name in kanji for free!! I hope this translation wasn't too bad!! Did you enjoy it?? ^_^ see you soon!!
Good evening, this is Maaya Sakamoto!! Starting from today this is my radio show: Sakamoto Maaya: Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta! For the next 15 minutes please spend some time with me. This is my first radio show with TBS and I'm really nervous, and today is the first time so I thought I'd introduce myself.
My real name is Maaya Sakamoto and I actually debuted as a singer, but for the last ten years I've been a singer, and an actress, do stage shows and as do work as a seiyuu (anime, dubbing western films). Well, you could say a 'voice' for dubbing.
Maaya gives an example of playing Padme in the new Star Wars films because she thinks it the work that the Japanese listeners will know best. It’s a really famous film so maybe everyone watched it with subtitles but people with the dvd can listen to the Japanese dub. She'll be really happy if you listen to it once to hear her voice.
As for Stage works she talks about being in Les Miserables again from June. She's been playing Eponine for about five years and the show will be in Tokyo till September then will go on to be played at Fukuoka.
Maaya then discusses her music career and finds the fact she has 13 singles and 9 albums surprising, she’d never counted but it was written down in front of her and she thought to herself ‘oh that’s right…' and thought that 'wow, I did that unexpectedly!!'. The newest of which is 30 Minutes Night Flight but she catches herself and says 'oh well this is probably boring if I keep talking about this information!'.
The programs title is a bit long but please remember it everyone! Why it was chosen? Well actually this month my lyrics book of the same title is being released. Tt's the first time I’ve produced a lyrics book but actually in my ten years as a singer I’ve sung a lot of songs. Close to 100 songs!
She says she's written a lot of songs but:
Something separated from the melody, just the world of the words in the song – because I wanted to make a piece of work that could be left behind I wanted to make a lyrics book. That wish was granted and it will be put on sale on the 18th.
Maaya comments that there will be about 84 songs that are in it that she feels come completely from herself.
For myself, these songs are the ones that when I hear the music, I can think that being a singer is very important. When I hear the music, I’m the type that thinks the number one thing is the lyrics and when I write them myself too, honestly it takes a long time as I want to write them carefully. Always as I write them, even separated from the music, I form the lyrics carefully and because the words are always there at the forefront of my mind as I write them I think it will be enjoyable even if you just read them as a poem. So to people who have heard the name Sakamoto Maaya before now as a singer, once more please look at the lyrics and I will be happy!
On the topic of words, I always take them as an important thing. In this program I will take a word as a theme and try to communicate it by, for example, receiving your mails. The words will be ones we always use and hear a lot and I want to once more think carefully about them and introduce lots of different people’s stories. I thought that would be good. So your mails are the life of this show, from today please send lots more.
Firstly, as for what kind of word would be good I’ve been thinking about “thank you”. An extremely singular word. I think first I’d like to talk about that as a theme
"Thankyou". Recently when did you say that? What do you think? As for me, basically I try say it as much as possible. It’s difficult. Well, as you might expect, when one is grateful really from the bottom of one’s heart, ‘thank you’ is sort of….I think it is glossed over and said too easily. Somehow…I don’t think there is a word that can communicate gratitude more, but it’s said too easily. I think to the point where ‘thank you’ falls short. But after all, the number one simplest phrase is ‘thank you’, isn’t it?
Overseas when I was travelling the first word I learn is that country’s word for ‘thank you’ and also ‘its delicious!’. Even with just this, we can communicate. And the most important word (thank you) is also very simple. But, there are even times when it won’t come out easily - So I would like to send out your episodes about ‘thank you’ on this show
For myself, I have a lot but right now the first one I can remember since I was born is the theme contained in the foundation of this programs title. A theme of a ‘Journey’. An event I can remember to do with journey as a theme is the first journey I took by myself.
In the first grade of elementary school, I lived in Tokyo and one time I went by myself to my mother’s home prefecture Saga in Kyushu. Well, my parents took me to the airport, and sent me through and at Saga by grandparents came to get me. My journey alone was only the airplane, but for me as an elementary school student it was a huge journey! I was really nervous and it was really sad even though it was only an hour or so. I felt like I was really all alone, if something went wrong then who would it be ok to ask to save me?
Because I was nervous the flight attendant brought me juice and I tried to drink it but I spilt it all over my hands! It went all over the top of the seat too as well as my clothes. Because I didn’t know who to ask for help, I was just completely lost. There was a man in the seat next to me, some kind of office worker returning home maybe, an older man in a suit. Actually, I thought the whole time he was next to me ‘woah he’s kinda scary’ and I didn’t want to look at him. He had a scary aura. But that man quickly took out a pure white handkerchief from his pocket and said ‘use this’ and passed it to me.
This was a pure white handkerchief and I was really sorry to mop up with it and get orange juice on it. So after only mopping up a little I handed it back to him and sort of said ‘thank you’. However, I’m not sure if he heard it or not and I will still all wet. And so he said ‘Mop up!!’ (laugh) and again I was really, really sorry about it. However, I was REALLY soaked and so I mopped up that as well as my seat and table. I returned it to him like all orange but when I gave back that soaking handkerchief, I couldn’t really say thank you. I think I was embarrassed. I was a child and because I had made that kind of failure in front of him I guess. Even now I feel like crying when I think about it but I held back the words and couldn’t say it to that scary old man. I couldn’t meet his eyes or say nice words like thank you and until the plane's touchdown I felt really bad and I remember sitting there very quietly.
But like this I became an adult and even those it's years ago I remember it now and even now I’m grateful. Since then at many points at work and in my private life I’ve been to many places aboard and in japan. I became able to go many places. And in the middle of those trips when I didn’t know the way and such many people have helped me out, and when that happens I remember that old man and so I think that was my very first good ‘encounter’ with someone on a journey. I was moved that this type of kind person was travelling as well.
That I couldn’t say thank you in this particular episode has been left in my heart. Since then I’ve become to like journeys more and although the people I meet on those journeys I might not meet again now I can think ‘I want to be able to say it [thank you]'. So everyone, the stories about the thank yous you have and have not said are fine, andalso stories about the thank yous you want to say and other various messages can be sent to me, so please send them.
[contact details read out]
You can also send emails at TBS radios home page. And on that note today was the first time and since I was nervous I might have spoken quite fast but how was it? From today please tune in and I’m looking forward to seeing you again next week. Now is the time to part, bye bye!!
Maaya tunes off. And that concludes the first 'Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta' (Maps and Letters and Love Songs) from TBS Radio!! You can download the podcast on itunes if you search for Maaya's name in kanji for free!! I hope this translation wasn't too bad!! Did you enjoy it?? ^_^ see you soon!!
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