I love San Francisco, and I love its Japan Town. I took a random trip like I love to do when there isn't an event going. On the wota side of things, The Hello!Project section at Kinokuniya got a lot bigger since my last visit. There was nearly a copy of every single Morning Musume Album and decent selection of Ayaya, Maki, and Nacchi as well. I picked up a little gem while I was there. It was "16sai no koi nante" a duet with Yajimi Mami from C-ute and Morning Musume OG and my personal Goddess Abe Natsumi. It was only $3.00 and it's a really fun song! YUI's new single Gloria was on sale, but I skipped out on buying it.


I decided to head over to the new addition, "New People". I've been meaning to visit since the day it opened but I was either too lazy or too busy.

From the outside the place looks pretty cool the entrance almost seems like its in bold and the two front glass doors are a bit intimidating. I thought the place was going to be a lot bigger and have a lot more shops, but I was wrong. Still the place is interesting and was worth the visit. It makes a great night light for the Peace Tower in the plaza there.


During this whole trip I was starving, so finally it was time to eat. Just in time for Mifune's Lunch Special. It was down to the wire on the time remaining before they stopped serving it! Hurry!

I love this restaurant to death, its definatley my go-to spot when I want to eat in Japan Town, given I'm not broke. I decided to go with the Tori Udon and Curry Combination because I've been craving curry. The meal was worth every penny.

After that meal I just wanted to go home and sleep it off! I did some light grocery shopping at the market there. I definatley had to grab a bag of my all time favorite coffee before leaving, UCC Kona Blend! I suggest trying it, its fantastic. The random trip out of bored proved successful yet again!

You can find more photos from the day on my flickr page.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aconklin/

I finally was able to catch "Hanbun Espa" after being taunted before work. Of course if you compare the acting to any average JDrama, its pretty bad. Its what you should expect from most Dramas starting multiple Idols. As far as Erina's improvement since her last drama, she hasn't come very far. But I won't scold her just yet, it was only the first episode anyway. Takahashi Ai was also present in the first episode. Although she looked stunning in the professional attire and glasses, her acting was just as bad. I was bummed by the opening song too, besides it has to wallow in Haru no Arashi's shadow. I'd rather it be for the TV show though, than one of her actually singles; I'm thankful for that. I wouldn't doubt it if we see it on her second album though. Hopefully by the end of this drama she will have improved, but I'm not expecting any miracles any time soon. As for the overall drama; cute. I probably wouldn't be watching it if I was into Hello! Project though.

I did fix the opening to my liking, I'll post it below for your viewing pleasure.



One other thing is keeping my excitement up for Erina the past couple of weeks. Her new Photobook and DVD taking place in the beautiful Yakushima is almost here. There is new preview that was released on DohhhUp! today. Of course like I mentioned, the place is amazing. If you have ever seen anyone of the Hayao Miyazaki movies like "Spirited Away" or "Princess Mononoke" you'll recognize the landscape. I hope we'll get to see "Haru no Arashi - Yakushima Version" Like her Guam DVD had.



I've noticed a lot more people like her now. It's not that people are just finding out who she is. Erina's talent has improved and with it comes the new fans. Please give her your support!

Today a new drama will be featured on Fuji-TV titled "半分エスパー" or "Half Esper". The main character is the drama is Mano Erina, one of my top three girls that walk this earth. There is a perk to this drama as opposed to the other two she has been in. There will be guest appearances from members of Jpop super group "Morning Musume" as well as the rookie powerhouse "S/mileage".

The shows website launched just minutes ago if your interested you could check it out. The pilot episode is scheduled in about five hours from now, its hard not to be excited! The first guest is Takahashi Ai from Morning Musume. She is definatley a talented woman so the first episode should not disappoint. I'll be up early watching in on KeyHoleTV, I hope all of you decide to do the same!

Here is the official CM

GOOD MORNING!

I'm definatley not a huge fan of mornings, unless you count in my favorite Musume! The only real reason why I am up is because I have to take my brother to school every morning. I can get tedious at times but in the end it feels good to be able to help my family out.

Despite the sun being out and about its freezing in my house. I'm actually wearing two coats and a blanket to stay warm! Since I am awake and all I decided to take care of some Idol goods business. I managed to get my B.L.T x Hello!Project collaboration shirts ordered. I decided to get three: Reina, Yuuka, and Kanon; the Kanon shirt is for my friend though. I should have plenty of goodies on the way from Japan too. I'll share them with you when they arrive.

I can't really figure out what to do on my day off. I was thinking of going into San Francisco and check out New People World, but I'm too lazy. I think I'll just clean up around the house and watch some concerts or something. lol.


P.S. Erina's "Haru no Arashi" is still amazing today as it was yesterday. I love that girl.

I caught Mano Erina's 6th single preview this morning. Titled "Haru no Arashi", This single puts her on a whole new level. This is the first Erina song actually composed by Tsunku himself. He did a great job on the composition, though it sounds familiar like a KOTOKO song maybe?

Of course that's not a terrible thing, in fact its great for her career. As far as the composition goes, the first thing that really stuck to me was the really cool synth lines. It wasn't anything corny or over the top like in some songs in the Hello!Project universe. That synth really saves the song from being bland like previous singles she has released. If you didn't notice her piano line is apparent through out the whole song! In some of her previous singles it would be cut out all together, one example would be "Sekai wa Summer Party". Top the song of with improved vocals and we have ourselves a hit. Her vocals could be a little stronger, but she is still developing and she did improve, so I'll give her that.

She's sounding a lot more professional since her album release. I can't wait to see what's next. Haru no Arashi is her best single to date, a great follow up to her "FRIENDS" album.