Kida Taro

This is the LAST POST TODAY. I promise!
I noticed that the third Okeihan (who has the cute looks of the first one) is paired with Japanese composer Kida Taro (who is known for his outrageous toupee) in commercials.



He has composed hundreds of jingles in Japan (and especially the Kansai area) and is an altogether cool guy. He also used to be in one of my favorite Kansai based TV shows Saigo no Bansan (The Last Supper) with Nakajima Ramo and a few other Kansai celebrities (Including a very young Hirai from American Zarigani and not Ishino).



Anyway, here is a video of him conducting the music he created, and it is all very catchy stuff - all of his commercial music starts around 3:00. Especially the "Toretore Picchipicchi Kani Ryori" for the legendary Kansai crab restaurant Kani Doraku (3:55). He has a Aaron Copland sound that makes him instantly recognizable.

Okeihan

While I'm talking trains, there was one train company (Keihan) that ran between Osaka and Kyoto. I was actually sitting and watching on the Keihan TV car when 9/11 was occurring and when US beat Mexico 2-0 during the Japan/Korea world cup.



One thing I really liked about Keihan other then the fact that they played the sound of chirping birds near train exits to aid the blind was their marketing program they began in 2000 called "Okeihan." It's basically a Kansai way of saying "Keisan" - a girl named Keiko + san + Kyoto dialect = Okeihan. They used a particularly attractive girl for their first run who I think has a very Kyotoesque beauty (Yamato nadeshiko style beauty). She was played by Reina Mizuno (水野麗奈), a real hottie.





She's pretty, right? They had a lot of good commercials for all the festivals in Kyoto as well...the new Okeihan? Who cares!





おけいはん、おいでやすｗ



Funnier than all heck.


These are the first few commercials. Man, I miss being able to read on trains again. Finally, the new okeihan with "How to Hatsumode". This is the number two okeihan and is NOT ATTRACTIVE.