Junko Ohashi -- Telephone Number

The above photo is of one of the soaring skyscrapers in the Roppongi Hills area, Mori Tower. Roppongi Hills made quite an impression when it was finally opened to the public over a decade ago in 2003. It made quite the contrast with the old main strip of seediness in Roppongi. Along with the modern towers, there were stylish restaurants and cafes, a huge cineplex and a revamped TV Asahi headquarters among other facilities. Plus, once the Yuletide comes around (which would be right after midnight November 1st), Roppongi Hills becomes quite the magnet for the Xmas seekers with the illumination and all. The only thing I regret not seeing there anymore is the old WAVE CD shop

I visited the complex a number of times during my time in Tokyo. There were all the movies I caught at the cineplex (including "Revenge of the Sith" in 2005 at the VIP theatre; if I'm gonna watch a bad "Star Wars" movie, I might as well drink down my fair share of alcohol while doing so). Also, I usually met a student at the 4th floor café on Monday mornings.

Roppongi Hills added some new trim to the old neighbourhood, and after that, Tokyo Midtown, another trendy commercial complex got its debut not too far away from the main Roppongi intersection in 2007.

Well, if I'm going to talk about one of my old urban haunts, I ought to place a nice City Pop song in here. And so here is Junko Ohashi's（大橋純子）"Telephone Number" from her BEST album of July 1984, "Magical". With a firm but not too loud "AWOOOOO", Ohashi gives another lovely reason in song why the city can be so enticing. The song was originally on her August 1981 album "Tea For Tears".

Ohashi's husband, Ken Sato（佐藤健）, provided the music to walk the streets by and Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）took care of the lyrics. Tokyo can be quite magical in itself but then again with "Magical" showing the sunset skyline of Manhattan, any large city can show its good side with the right type of music.