okiraku2 - '07 autumn
Spain Fits Me So Perfectly
I'd End Up Completely Useless
A underground tunnel, made with weathered bricks that bring to mind another country. Pretty neat, this kind of thing. It's like I'm not even in Tokyo. [1]
Going to Barcelona, Spain for a "SMAPxSMAP" shoot the other day was amazing, too. The streets were beautiful. The people friendly. The food delicious. Everything fantastic~. It's probably the best place I've visited yet.
The filming itself was hard, of course. I arrived in the morning, changed into Kusanaginho, and started filming right away. Kusanaginho's a character that doesn't really work in Japan, isn't he (laugh). But in Spain, somehow he hit the right switch for people and had everyone laughing. Huge popularity, even making kids' eyes shine. With that start, I felt much better. After filming all day, I went to the 90,000-person stadium that all soccer fans dream of, and got goosebumps watching a match there. Festive, and yet everyone was really passionate. As to be expected of a soccer country.
The next day, I went to Ronaldinho's house for an interview. Miraculously, it went really well. And thanks to that, the last day was free. So, not knowing the slightest bit about Gaudi, I went to see the Casa Mila, and then on to the Sagrada Familia. I messed up a bit there, though. I wanted to go up the old tower, but ended up climbing the new one in my excitement. And then left feeling satisfied with just that... The staff with me didn't even notice. According to Shingo, the carvings in the old tower are also by Gaudi, and there's a bridgeway I wanted to walk across, too. But you know, in Spain there's a saying they have, "Leave something to look forward to for the next time you come." So I'll be back again, definitely. I'd like to come with SMAP next time. We fit in well in Europe, after all!
Aside from that, I ate tons of delicious food, and went to all sorts of Spanish bars, which I'd been looking forward to. I went to about 10 different places. The bars hidden in back alleys are amazingly atmospheric. They were so stylish it was like a movie set, and I ended up taking tons a pictures. Take a sip, take a picture, take a sip, like that. Spain is just the country for me! If I was there for a week, I'd probably turn into a useless slacker (laugh).
At any rate, it was a great time. Going on trips helps you become more sensitive, you know. Looking at and touching the old buildings makes your heart more rich. A picture is worth a thousand words, after all. This made me realize all the more keenly that staying in a little area in Tokyo isn't enough. When you go out on a trip, you'll experience something new. Maybe it'll be failure, like not climbing the old tower. I brought my computer with me, and had a terrible time trying to connect to the internet. But even though we couldn't understand each other's words, the person at the front desk tried this and that, and I was able to send an email to Shingo from Barcelona. Overcoming one problem at a time like that makes people grow a little more every time.
Right now, I'm feeling quite at peace. I'm at home, looking through the 400-some pictures I took on my camera, having fun deciding which ones I want to print for the staff, which ones I want to enlarge and put in a frame, and so on. Since turning 33, I've finally expanded my world a little more.
So let's all travel! It doesn't have to be abroad. The other day, I went by myself to visit my grandpas' graves in Akita and Ehime, and had all sorts of stories to tell even from the moment I bought the tickets. Those are the sort of experiences I want to keep on cherishing.
[1] I think he's talking about the setting where the picture above was taken.