Satoko Ishimine -- Hajimete wo Sagasanakucha（はじめてを探さなくちゃ）

This 8th single by pop singer Satoko Ishimine（石嶺聡子）, "Hajimete wo Sagasanakucha" (I've Got to Find My First Times) got no higher than No. 98 on the Oricon weeklies, but it's still a very nice tune, especially since it was written and composed by 90s hit singer Kohmi Hirose（広瀬香美）. I especially love the rich piano and strings used here accompanying Ishimine's clear-as-a-bell voice.

Released in May 1997, the singer sings about regretting that the days pass by so fast since she wants to experience and cherish all sorts of first times, even if some of them may not be the happiest events. Life's way too short, she's saying...make full use of each day. The J-Wiki article on Ishimine doesn't mention it about the song, but I think that this could have made for a fine jingle for some ad about life insurance.

As an example of a first time that I've cherished, one of them would be when I started my first job after university as a JET Programme teacher back in 1989. I distinctly remember getting into Tokyo on a very steamy July afternoon on a limousine bus and seeing my fellow JET recruits going crazy with their old-style cameras and snapping away as we drove through East Shinjuku to head for the Keio Plaza Hotel. It was actually my third time in the nation but it was fun to watch the other passengers getting all excited about being in Japan's largest metropolis for their first time.

Satoko Ishimine -- Doyoubi to Pen to Udedokei（土曜日とペンと腕時計）

Satoko Ishimine（石嶺聡子）is a name that I found among the CDs of the "Good Times Diva" series, and if memory serves, she has often sung songs of her native Okinawa.

However, her debut single from November 1994, "Doyoubi to Pen to Udedokei" (Saturday and a Pen and a Wristwatch) was more in the breezy pop vein. I mentioned last night in NUTS' "Kaze wo Kanjite ~ my precious time"（風を感じて）about how some female singers introduced some of that refreshing and pleasant pop in the early 1990s. Well, I think this first single by Ishimine fits the bill perfectly.

The keyboards and strings feel so relaxing that this would be the ideal Sunday morning/afternoon J-Pop to hear over brunch or lupper. I wouldn't be surprised if this had been used as a campaign tune for some commercial (actually, it was used as the ending theme for the news program "Broadcaster"). There's also that feeling of re-birth in there, too, since Ikki Matsumoto's（松本一起）lyrics talk of a woman enjoying some more freedom in her life after a breakup. Ken Sato（佐藤健）took care of the carefree melody.

The Wikipedia article for Ishimine mentions that she has loved listening to The Beatles and The Carpenters, but her J-Wiki entry gives an even longer list: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Diana Ross, The Jackson 5, Elvis Costello, Madonna, Aimee Mann, Cheryl Crow, Vonda Shepard, Shania Twain, Bjork, Sarah McLachlan, etc. On the Japanese side of things, she is a fan of NOKKO, Chara and Tamio Okuda（奥田民生）.