okiraku2 - '07 winter
Maybe I've Gotten Old
Going to Shrines is Relaxing
It's a bit early for hatsumode [1], but I went to visit my local shrine. Maybe it's because I'm getting old, but I seem to go visit shrines a lot. When I was filming "Yama no anata ~Tokuichi no koi~" there was a shrine famous for its huge tree in the area, and I went to visit it before we started. It puts your mind at peace, you know. And there's a sort of courtesy to it. I mean, I'm going to die eventually, right? So I figure when I look down from heaven and see a young man like me putting his hands together, I'll think, what a good kid, I should give him a reward of some kind. At the shrine, I said a prayer, bought a good-luck charm, and drew my fortune. I got excellent luck. I wonder what '08 holds in store for me...
My start to 2008 will probably involve going straight from "Kouhaku" to visiting a shrine with Shingo. And then we'll plunge right into "Drinking." We usually drink for about 20 hours straight, without even sleeping. Those first three days have no morning or night. But at some point I'll suddenly sober up and vow to myself "You can't do nothing but sit around and drink. Work hard this year! Cherish the time you have!" Though of course, I end up drinking again~. It's an endless cycle (laugh). Around the fourth day I'll get a call from my manager along the lines of "Are you still alive?" and I'll panic and come back to my senses. It's okay because it's the new year. I'm going to drink in high spirits and dance to "Dangan Fighter"~!!
Now, to talk about said new song. Spending my time listening to SMAP songs on my iPod, I may not seem like it on the outside, but I put an extraordinary effort into recording this time. In order to practice, I went to karaoke twice a week... just kidding, twice a week would mean going over a 100 times a year (laugh). I went twice a month, putting on airs around the staff when I went in, like (read in a cool tone of voice) "I'm a singer. I'm not here just to play around." But then I'd end up ordering a ton of beer, and end up in terrible shape... I've got it all wrong trying to make myself more diligent at this point, anyway. The sound in the recording studio is so sensitive, all I can hear are my mistakes, making me more and more depressed... It took me a little under an hour to finish recording. But you know, I did the very best it was possible for me to do at this level. It was still fun when I was singing, whatever I might say. It's been a while since SMAP has had a single, and I think you'll get see us look cool while dancing hard for it. It's a song that seems like it might change into something new every time we sing it.
As for me personally, aside from filming various specials for the year-end season, I've already started filming for my April drama, "Ryokiteki na kanojo" ('08, TBS). I'll be starring with Tanaka Rena. It's gonna be pretty good. I'll talk about it in more detail next time. So please wait for it!
[1] hatsumode - Going to a shrine at the beginning of the year, usually in the first three days.