Expo 2025 is due to open this coming Sunday and so we've been getting sneak previews of the exhibition via NHK in the last several days. I hear that the advance tickets aren't particularly selling like pancakes but I'm hoping that everyone involved will be able to get folks to come by. I know that my student will be heading over there in the summer; just hope the heat and humidity don't get to him.
I know that designers for the Expos and Olympics probably have to think their brains out to come up with mascots cute but bold enough to stand out, especially in the last few decades, but I have to admit that I didn't have words to react to Osaka Expo 2025's mascot, Myaku-Myaku; well, actually I did when I first saw it: AAAAAAAAAUGH! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?! But it's grown on me over the months (although I don't think I should be using those words to describe the process). Still, I can't help but feel that Myaku-Myaku looks like the anime version of Demi Moore's final form in "The Substance".
Anyways, I thought it would be a good time to have another go-touchi（ご当地）song representing Osaka and who better to represent this than by the Queen of Go-Touchi Songs herself, enka singer Kaori Mizumori（水森かおり）? Her 35th and most recent single, "Osaka Koi Shizuku" (Osaka Love Drops), from last month may sound like some Kansai aphrodisiacs in the title, but it's actually a very calming and welcoming enka song for anyone who might want to drop by the metropolis after taking a gander at Expo 2025. Lots of food, of course, and plenty of chatty folks (from personal family experience).
Tsubasa Kazu（かず翼）was responsible for the lyrics while prolific composer Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）took care of the music. "Osaka Koi Shizuku" reached No. 14 on Oricon.
This song is a lot of fun and artistic, too! Kaori Mizumori is the prefect fit for this song as she usually sings about places in Japan! Kaori Mizumori's smile always makes the music video that much warmer.
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