Last year, they toured North America, Europe, Asia including Japan, and Australia. In every city, the venues were filled with local fans, and the crowd was thrilled.
They are already world-famous. Their music has completely crossed the ocean with Director Shinkai's trilogy.
This year they are also touring the world.
I went to South America, on the other side of the world, where I had never been before, and then to Asia, where I was visiting for the umpteenth time and who is always enthusiastic about the trip.
Both they and the staff have incredible vitality.
And once again, I feel the incredible invention of "going out into the world with Japanimation." There are probably no other Japanese bands that do such a global tour.
This time, there are only five shows in Japan. There is no Nagoya show, so we went to Yokohama.
I've seen them live over a dozen times in total, but this is probably the fourth time I've seen them perform in their hometown of Yokohama.
I saw them perform twice at the now defunct Yokohama BLITZ live house. I also saw their first arena performance at Yokohama Arena. At that time, I knew they were going to become a great band.
And last week was my first visit to Yokohama in a long time.
First, we ate spring rolls in Chinatown (a reference to the title of their old tour), then walked to Minato Mirai, passing by Yokohama Stadium, where the cheers of DeNA fans were echoing.
Pia Arena MM, located in the middle of downtown, was a great place. The sound was amazing.
The time literally flew by from the start to the end of the show. The many familiar songs resonated deeply in my heart.
The more I concentrated on the sound, the busier my mind became. I went back and forth between the past and the present. I was on such a long inner journey that a few minutes felt like years.
When I noticed, something hot was spilling out of the corner of my eye.
After it was over, something big welled up in my heart.
How can I express this feeling?
It's gradually warming. I'm happy. I'm grateful.
There's also a little bit of impatience mixed in. A sense of foreboding. And loneliness.
But something's not right. That list of words just doesn't feel right.
Being able to put aromas and tastes into words is an essential skill for a sommelier, and with practice I have become somewhat able to do it, but it seems that I am completely lacking in the ability to put into words these complex things that come from within myself.
Actually, I feel that giving a name to this emotion would somehow limit it, which is a shame.
I want to put it away in a drawer as a warm, fuzzy lump.
Thank you, I'll do my best.
I'm also looking forward to Yojiro Noda's solo album scheduled for this autumn.
Rather, I will continue to enjoy the joy of living in the same era as Noda Yojiro and RADWIMPS.
Oh yeah, I bumped into my old friend Ochiken at the venue. That was all thanks to Rad.
I started supporting Rad when I was doing a show with Ochiken back in 2004. It's been 20 years already.
We met again during our respective journeys. It's amazing, I'm sure.
