Misako Rocks!

My second book, Rock and Roll Love was picked as one of 2008 Best Teens’ Books list by NY public Library!
Yeahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was very very honored to be selected!
Rock and Roll Love is based on my first true love story, so I have very strong feeling to this book.
When I was that young, I challenged myself to so many things. I hope readers MISAKO’s feeling and try to do something new!

In some points, NY teen library website annouces this list.

During my Japan trip, I was looking at my childhood photos. And I saw a common thing about puppets during 1990’s.
Yes.. They are scary-cute.

Before I graduated my elementary school, my friends and I went to a theme park near our school. A theme park is supporsed to be very busy and fun. But I rememberd that we didn’t see many people there. When we found this puppet ride, we thought that we had to take a photo. Even 12 years old girls thought that they were scary-cute. For some reasons they stood out. Look at a panda ride! His nose looks like bleeding.

Yeah– Tokyo Disneyland 1990! Hmm.. I know they are cute. But they look weird, right? After 1995, they started changing their facial features little by little. Minny in this photo still looks like a human being, especially her legs! But I thought she was cute. I started working at Tokyo Disneyland in 1998, so at that time every character looked as same as today.

This is from Kurirn’s photo. Kurirn is left and his bother is write. He told me that they went to a mall in Wisconsin. This bunny is weird!! I know they look happy to be held by this bunny. He is too skinny to hold his head! But Kuririn and his brother are very cute there, so I don’t wanna say anything bad about this bunny anymore.

But the most scary puppet is ME! in this photo.. I’m right and I was 9 or 10 years old. I took a photo with my friend who was having a 7 years old ceremony. What’s wrong with my hair?! It looks like hiding a bird nest or something.
And my fashion! Hello—- I can’t believe myself that I went out with this clothes! I remembered that my nickname at this time was KURIBO or Beatles….
“Kuribo” is from a mushroom in Nintendo mario brothers and he is very weak. Ha!I wish my nickname was Kuppa or something!
I really didn’t know who Beatles are until somebody told me!!!!!!!
Kuririn told me that when he was in a high school, his friends called him RINGO. Cause he looked like Ringo star.
So that’s why we are together!

One of my good friends, Ba from an amazing band, “Mong Hang” opened Ba cafe. Ba is his nick name!
Since I am a vegetarian(almost vegan), it’s pretty hard to find vegetarian restaurants in Japan. But he made awesome vegetarian food for me!!!!!
So let me show you what he made for me!

Ba, Hana chan and his pretty wife Guchiko! They are so sweeeeeeeeet and cute!!

“GOYA CHAMPLOO”(I think it’s wrong spelling) The green veggie is Goya and famous Okinawa food. Goya itsself is pretty bitter, so people usually cook Goya with other veggies and meat. I heard that usually there is an egg over Goya Champloo. But I don’t eat egg. So Ba made with tofu!
Oh my God. it was so good! I had a great “Goya debut night”. I wanna cook that here too.. But which stores sell Goya?!

Mr.Wada and Ms.Ono from Shogakukan sent me a looooooooooooot of girls’ magazines! One of magazines has 1000 pages love stories. And One of the stories is made by my favorite artist, Emiko Sugi. She passed away last year… so I was very happy to read her last(or maybe not) story!
Anyway I bet I don’t need to look online comics for a while. Lucky!

Last week I was invited to the 53rd Shogakukan Manga Award party! About 200 people showed up at Imperial Hotel!
Mr.Sekiya who is the author of “Bambino!” received an award!! I met him in NYC when he and his editor searched Italian restaurants.
The stroy is about a young Japanese guy, Ban Shogo who moved to Tokyo from south of Japan to become a great Italian Chef! But of course it’s not easy. There are a lot of drama in this story. The comic has 11 volumes so far and became pretty successful!
In 2007 it became a TV drama! A famous J-pop idol Matsumoto Jun from Arashi acted Ban Shogo.
Unfortunately I haven’t seen the drama yet!!!!

Mr.Wada who took care of me during my Shogakukan visit and the party gave me a new bambino! volume! Also at the party they gave this gift certificate to everybody.
Mr.Sekiya has an amazing drawing style. His panel work is just great. Each character looks like coming out from the panel. I wish this book will be translated in English soon!
The manga market in US doesn’t have manga for adult yet.. Hope it will change soon!

In this volume11, Mr.Sekiya uses my apartment as a model for Ban’s apartment in NYC! Yeahhh!!! I can’t believe that my apartment looks so cool in this book!

Me and Kuririn are so excited!!!!!

My hometown is pretty small cute city. It’s famous for Udon and KOINOBORi(Curp Fish Flag) factory..(Japanese Royal family visited A Udon restaurant and ordered the flag too!) May 5th is officially “Kid’s day” and we hang curp fish flag from balcony or something. A big fish means Father and 2nd fish means mother. Little fishes mean kids. We wish our family and kids grow healthy at that day.
My neighbor makes handmade Koinobori flag~!! The family is pretty famous in my city.
Here is the example of Koinobori flag！
　

More than 20 years ago, Hashimoto family who is a famous Koinobori maker created JUMBO flag!!!! The size is the same size as a jumbo airplane! Can you believe it? I remembered that my family took me and my brother to Tone Riverside to see this!

This’s also famous shop in Kazo! It’s a bakery. When me and my dad went there during a lunch time, many people were waiting in a long line.

Hmm.. it’s a bad photo.. Sorry! This bakery makes an awesome Tofu Burger!!!!!! It’s kind of rafe to see vegetarian foods in my hometown. So I was very excited to eat this and of course it tastes just great!!!! I miss it!

Oh~~! Choco Corn!!!!!! I ate this every weekend when I was a kid!!!!!!! I used to suck chocolate from the bottom and ate the bread later… YIKES! Anyway I still love it!

Cute and Funny cartoon!!!!!!! This is the biggest 100 yen shop I’ve ever seen–! It has pretty much everything you need!(except raw food you know!) Before I leave Japan to US, I always go there to get something I forgot buying during my trip. Compared to American 1 dollar shops, Japanese 100 yen shops makes pretty good and strong products. It’s just 100 yen but still 100 yen, you know what I mean?!

So I got this tea set!!! EVERY THING in this photo(except my sweet Barbapapa plate) costs only 100 yen!!!! Man if I try to get this nice tea pot, yunomi and plate, I don’t know how much I need to pay.
VIVA 100 shop!!

Loooooooooooooong time no blog!!!!!!!! I have been very lazy.. Also I visited my family, friends and a Japanese publisher SHOGAKUKAN in Tokyo this time!

One of my HOSEI college friends invited me to her wedding party. She was super beautiful and her sweet husband was very nice to everybody! My friends and I did the reception for their party. More than 80 people came to their party!
Since I was out of Japan almost ten years, I totally forgot how to use nice respectable Japanese phrase! My Japanaese is pretty boyish… my friends said. Besides I don’t know any hip-latest-Japanese vocabraries..  I use 90’s words! My friends laughed at me so bad!!!! I hope I didn’t say anything rude during the party!

After this party, we went to Karaoke. Oh man… I just came to Japan right before this party, so I didn’t have that much energy… I felt as if we went back to our college days.. because Karaoke with these girls reminds me of my fun college life!

Omedeto Takotsu and Shoma!!!!!!!!!!!!