When I first saw the title for this song "Jouki no Tatsu Machi" (Steamy Town), my memories brought up the city of Beppu in Oita Prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu. Back in the summer of 1991 when I was taking a tour of the area just before heading back to Toronto, I did go through Beppu but didn't really see the steam; I take it the rising white columns are more of a winter phenomenon. Unfortunately, I didn't get to partake in the onsen there, something that is nationally famous about the city.
As for "Jouki no Tatsu Machi", this was a track on singer-songwriter Saeko Suzuki's(鈴木さえ子)1983 debut album, "I wish it could be Christmas everyday", and I've already spoken about the synthpop title track. In comparison, though, "Jouki no Tatsu Machi" may have those synthesizers in play but I think it's overall more of a quirky mix of French pop and New Wave. In fact, I'd say that it is something rather reminiscent of Miharu Koshi(コシミハル)at around the same time when that singer was moving into that avant-garde New Wave field herself.
While Suzuki took care of the melody, Hirobumi Suzuki(鈴木博文)provided the lyrics. Suzuki is one of the more common names in Japan so it's probably no surprise that there is no familial relationship between Saeko and Hirobumi, but the latter is the brother of Moonriders' leader, Keiichi Suzuki(鈴木慶一), who has had a long friendship with the singer.
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