Hiroshi Itsuki -- Aete...Yokohama（逢えて･･･横浜）

 

(Sorry but the Yokohama NHK footage was taken down.)

There's been an NHK program titled "Chikyuu Taxi"（地球タクシー...Earth Taxi） that's been airing since 2015. It focuses the hour on various cities around the planet, but the angle here is that this time the point of view is coming from a number of taxi drivers working and living in that city. I remember seeing one episode based in Nepal but since COVID-19, the episodes have had to be based within Japan, and I caught the one for Yokohama last weekend.

It was actually quite well done as three cab drivers talked about their impressions of the famed port city and how Yokohama has changed over the decades. Strangely enough, it actually made me want to head over to the city again although I have visited it a number of times over my 17 years in Japan. The thing is though that I really only know Minato Mirai 21, Chinatown and the Ramen Museum; there are other sites that would be worthy of visiting, too, and if and when I do get my chance to return for another vacation there, I will definitely have to pay some time to those regions. Heck, maybe this time around, I will actually set my accommodations in Yokohama instead of Tokyo.

There was some nice jazz music off in the background as I was watching this Yokohama episode of "Chikyuu Taxi" but I couldn't really find anything of note on YouTube that I could highlight so I shifted over to Mood Kayo, since that particular genre and the second-largest metropolis in the nation have always made for a good match. Certainly, there have been plenty of examples here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", beginning with the article on "Blue Light Yokohama"（ブルーライト・ヨコハマ）and "Yokohama Tasogare"（よこはま・たそがれ）.

Ahh...speaking of "Yokohama Tasogare", it looks like kayo legend Hiroshi Itsuki's（五木ひろし）heart never quite left the city since some 106 singles following his 1971 breakthrough hit, he returned with "Aete...Yokohama" (Rendezvous...Yokohama) as his 117th single released in August 2003. With the romantic piano and guitar melody produced by Jun Suzuki（鈴木淳）paired with the trysting lyrics from Keiko Yuuki（悠木圭子）, it's nice to hear the old Mood Kayo again even in the early 2000s. Of course, Itsuki has to be there to present the song with his heart solidly on his sleeve.