Romi Narita -- Seaside Park

 

When it comes to seaside parks back in my area in Japan, I usually think of two: Yamashita Park in Yokohama and then Odaiba in Tokyo Bay as seen above. Basically the entirety of Odaiba, or Rainbow Town, is built upon reclaimed land and garbage so apparently if there is a major earthquake, citizens and visitors have been warned that the ground will tend to liquefy. Enjoy your stay! Mind you, there is still a lot to enjoy in the area.

Additionally, there is something to enjoy with "Seaside Park", a track from Romi Narita's（成田路実）debut album "Illusion" released in May 1991. Tokyo native Narita was selected as a campaign girl for Toray Industries in the previous year, heralding her entry into show business and has gone into singing and a bit of acting along with a hosting stint on radio's "All-Night Fuji", although the J-Wiki article also mentions that she didn't particularly make a huge splash in the geinokai.

With "Seaside Park", it's a nice and summery tune with the synths and all that, and although I think Narita's vocals aren't the strongest, the singer does a pretty creditable job. Akiko Kobayashi（小林明子）, the singer-songwriter behind the mid-1980s hit "Fall In Love" is the composer here while the late Kohei Kobayashi (小林公平...no relation), under his lyricist pen name of Ken Kumon（公文健）...at least, that's how I hope it's read, took care of the words. Kobayashi was not only the honourary principal of the Takarazuka Music School for the famous Takarazuka Revue but he was also the chairman for the private railway, the Hankyu Corporation.

Along with one single and one album under her full name, Narita then changed her professional name to the romaji Romi in 1996 after which she released five more singles and three more albums in the 1990s.