Miho Nakayama -- Tooi Machi no Dokoka de （遠い街のどこかで）

I can just imagine young Japanese folk 25 years or younger getting that quizzical look on their faces if they listen to this Miporin song for the first time. "Where have I HEARD this song before?" But the caveat for them to exclaim this depends on whether they've watched the Fuji-TV morning news show, "Mezamashi Terebi" (めざましテレビ.... Wake-Up TV). For years, those morning producers have been using a cute instrumental version of the song as the theme for a segment called " Kyo no Wanko" (今日のわんこ.... Puppy of the Day) which focuses on a selected young pup somewhere in Japan.

In any case, that's just an aside from this Miho Nakayama（中山美穂）Xmas song that was released back in November 1991 as a theme song for its last premium Monday-night-at-9 drama, "Aitai Toki ni Anata wa Inai"(逢いたい時にあなたはいない...You're Not Here When I Want to Meet You) starring Nakayama herself. "Tooi Machi no Dokoka de"(Somewhere in a Far-Off City) is another one of those Xmas songs that not only has the feeling of distance and travel in its title but also in its melody...apt since the drama itself deals with a couple who has to separate for a while with the boyfriend heading off to Sapporo due to work while the girlfriend stays in Tokyo.

Here are the original ending credits with the theme song and Miho creating her lovely actorly faces on screen. "Tooi Machi no Dokoka de" was written by Mika Watanabe（渡邊美佳） and composed by Hideya Nakazaki（中崎英也）. It peaked at No. 3 on Oricon and went on during the last couple of months of the year to get ranked at No. 42, and even hung on to become the No. 49 song of 1992.

It was a good year for Fuji-TV for that coveted time slot. Three of the theme songs for the four dramas, including the Miporin song, became huge hits: "Love Story wa Totsuzen ni" for "Tokyo Love Story" and "Say Yes" for "The 101st Proposal" (both already profiled) are in that august group.