Mt.Fuji from Shinkansen

You can see the Mt. Fuji from Shinkansen if it's clear.
Though there were clouds around the mountain,  it was beautiful!

I should've brought my digital camera!!

I took it by my cell phone camera...

N700 series

It was the 27th memorial service for my mother today.

My relatives gathered in temple which is in my hometown Nagoya.

I caught up with my mother's age this year. That's weird...

Anyway, I went to Nagoya in a Shinkansen (bullet train)

I took N700 series that is the newest series of Shinkansen!

Cool!!!

The 100th Regular Concert!

Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra is having the 100th regular concert on this Friday!

The rehearsal was started from today.

We are playing 5 pieces that our orchestra commissioned so far.

We will show TKWO's history and take a step to our future!

Noto Peninsula 2

Noto=Oyster!!

Ishikawa prefecture faces the Japan Sea, so you can eat fresh sea food♪

Mr.Nakahashi (right of the left picture) who runs a music shop "Winds Style" organized the lesson and wonderful dinner!!

Thank you soooooo much!

We grilled fresh oyster, opened the shell by ourselves and just ate with nothing.

We didn't need any sauce for them!

Noto Peninsula

I went to Noto Peninsula to teach.

The students were 15 junior high school boys & girls, and most of them had never taken any trumpet lessons. So they absorbed as if a sponge!

This picture is the view from a hotel that I stayed.

Noto people always look at such a beautiful view!

Noto suffered serious damage from a big earthquake which  happened a few years ago. However they reconstructed and got back their beautiful town.

Mr. Ichiro Saito

He is a conductor.

Our orchestra had a recording yesterday and today with him.

I've known him for a long time, because we studied in same university!

He is going to be a regular conductor of Central Aichi Symphony Orchestra which is in my hometown from this April.

Way to go!!!

I'm sure that he'll succeed:-)

Another recording session

I had another recording with another group.

I went to recording studio right after today's rehearsal.

We recorded for Japanese movie. According to the director, the story is about penguin:-)

The pieces were cute & funny!

Saxophone concertos

We are having a recording for Sax concertos.

Today was a rehearsal in a concert hall.

The soloist is Nobuya Sugawa who is our orchestra's concert master.

He was playing J. Mackey's concerto when I took this picture.

This piece doesn't have brass section in 2nd & 4th movement.

I was lucky because 2nd movement was very tricky and difficult!!

But, it's exciting, wonderful movement just for listening♪hahaha...

Auspicious sign

A tea stem is floating upright in my tea~~~!

Can you see?

There will be something good ♪

NSB

Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra had an annual recording last week.

The title is "New Sounds In Brass".

This series of CDs started from 1972. I hadn't been born yet when it started...

TKWO has recorded many wonderful pieces from Jazz, Pops and classical music arranged for wind ensemble in this series.

And we always had some guest musicians.

He (the second from the left) is a famous jazz trumpet player Shin Kazuhara.

He is a great musician. I was very happy to play with him!

Furano Ski Resort 2

I got these beautiful pictures of "Hokkaido Ski Tour" from my colleague.

Wow, These are very different from mine! hahaha.... 

Taichi Saotome

"He" is a member of his father's theatre troupe.

And he is called one of the most talented "Onnagata"(female impersonator) of a hundred years.

I went to see the play with my friend yesterday.

Taichi Saotome acted more modest, sexy, and beautiful than any women...

I should follow him!

Furano Ski Resort

I went to Furano Hokkaido to ski with my colleagues for 3 days!

The snow was good, the weather was beautiful and the hotel was wonderful...I enjoyed very much.

I wondered if I can ski well, because it's been a long time.

But I could ski better than I thought except sometimes I drove recklessly...

Some members had good single-lens reflex cameras, so I didn't take many pictures.

I'll show you after I received these pictures♪

Happy New Year!!

It's turned 2009!

How was your New Year Holiday?

I was in my grand mother's house and I was a couch potato....

I ate new year's food!

"Osechi"which is foods in a red box,"Okahira-tsuki"which is whole sea bream and "Ozoni"which is soup containing rice cakes.

These are auspicious food♪

I also went to shrine for "Hatsu Moude" with my grand mother.

There were so many people there!

May your 2009 be filled with joy and happiness.

Merry Christmas!!

Hello my friends!

How was your Christmas?

Japanese people celebrate Christmas even though Buddhists. 

That's unique, right?

But I work at Christmas every year...(-_-)

So I usually have a party with my coworkers.

Yesterday, I hung out with Rie who is a clarinet player in my orchestra and my best friend.

We ate big oysters!

These were fresh, beautiful and delicious!!! 

Young@Heart

Do you know this movie?

This is my favorite one.

It's a documentary about Young@Heart which is a chorus group consists of elderly whose average age is 80!

And they sing punk rock~~~~~!!!!

They are cool.

They are cute♪

Their life is beautiful.

I laughed a lot, I cried a lot and they inspired me.

Young@Heart Trailer

Kanazawa

The next day of Kyoto, we moved to kanazawa and had the last concert of this tour.

Kanazawa was a castle town, so many dead ends have been left in the town like a maze.

I had a little time before a rehearsal, so I walked around the old quiet town.

I felt Japan very much....

The structures were solemn.

Nice...

Kyoto

This is the Kyoto Concert Hall.

Kyoto is one of the famous tourist spots in Japan which has a lot of historical structure. 

But, unfortunately, we didn't have time to sightseeing this time (T_T)

We went to the concert hall directly and had a concert.

I want to come again someday just for sightseeing♪

Okonomiyaki (Hiroshima style)

Hiroshima is famous for Okonomiyaki.

A lot of shredded cabbage and noodle in the dough, and eat with sweet sauce.

That was great!!!!

I was happy~~~~:-)

Concert in Hiroshima

I was in Fukuyama Hiroshima last weekend.

I played in my previous orchestra as a extra player.

This is the view from my place on the stage.

Aaron Copland, George Gershwin..... That was a hard program for the trumpet players.hahaha

We are having two more concerts in Kyoto & Kanazawa from tomorrow♪