Chu Kosaka -- Bon Voyage Hatoba (ボンボヤージ波止場)

Wish things today were as calm as that photo above. That is a shot of the Ito harbour in Shizuoka Prefecture at dusk. To be honest, the temps in Toronto have actually improved from the deep freeze that plagued us over the weekend but we are getting hit with a few centimetres of snow right now. We'll be a couple of more months before the weather becomes more spring-like.

About a couple of years ago, nikala provided some insights about singer-songwriter/Christian pastor Chu Kosaka（小坂忠）through his song "Shirakechimauze" (しらけちまうぜ) which is probably easier to listen to than pronounce for a lot of us. When I listened to it, I found it to be a fascinating example of what the New Musicians were providing music fans who wanted more than just enka and other Oricon Top 10 hits. It wasn't disco at all but some very sunny 70s City Pop to be enjoyed whether one was strutting down Chuo Dori in Tokyo or Madison Avenue in Manhattan back in the day (although I'm not sure whether folks still had to put on the masks in the Big Sushi to avoid inhaling the smog in that decade).

Anyways, I found another song sung by Kosaka and created by Haruomi Hosono（(細野晴臣）called "Bon Voyage Hatoba" (Bon Voyage Wharf). This was actually on the flip side of the single "Shirakechimauze" released in 1975 and was also on the album "Horo" (ほうろう) that nikala had mentioned in her article. "Bon Voyage Hatoba" makes a nice counterpoint with its overall dreamy sunrise character. I could imagine Kosaka singing this on one of the many tetrapods by the harbour as the sun broke up from the horizon; perhaps the singer was out on an all-nighter and stopped by for a "wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee" moment.

"Bon Voyage Hatoba" was also the first track on a later album "Morning" (モーニング) which came out in 1977. This version didn't undergo too much of a change but the tempo was slightly raised and was given a bit more of a City Pop arrangement. Perhaps this self-cover could be experienced from the balcony of an apartment overlooking that harbour instead. In either case, "Bon Voyage Hatoba" is one nice tune to wake up to.

I also found an article which gives a slight mention about Kosaka in his role as a pastor right here.