Hikaru Nishida in Los Angeles Disc Acquired!

 Ahhhh, I managed to get ahold on yet another missing piece in my humble Hikaru Nishida collection when I saw Hikaru’s HIKARU NISHIDA IN LOS ANGELES laserdisc up for sale at Suruguya! As some of you know, this is a video that I’ve been wanting to get for some time now (as documented in this blogpost)- and now I’ve finally GOT IT!

Not a real Concert or Video Collection per se, this is one of those videos where it’s more a documentary-style shot video, with Hikaru’s music playing in the background. I suppose you COULD call them “Music Videos” (and in fact, one of the tracks, the opening “Oh My God Da Ne” video of Hikaru just driving around LA in a convertible, WAS included in her official PV collection), but they’re certainly not “official” versions, that’s for sure!

Still FUN to travel along with Hkaru as she shows you the sights and sounds of LA. The clips are intercut with Hikaru giving information of famous places to visit in LA, and you have to wonder how much of this information from 1991 could be relevant in this day and age! But I bet it would be a great time machine for someone who lived in LA at the time, just to see how things were back then!

Little by Little I'm slowly completing my Nishida Hikaru Collection!!

Merry Christmas!!!

A very Merry Christmas from Hikaru and friend!

Cute, Cute, Cute!

 Hikaru in her "Natural Summer Days" on the cover of yet another Weekly Playboy

More Hikaru BOMB! Goodness (With a Dash of CoCo)

Though that's CoCo's Maki Miyamae on the cover of this issue of BOMB! magazine from June of 1994, the real excitement for me came from that name right next to Maki's left shoulder, that's right, a pictorial for Hikaru-chan herself!

The article, titled "Now and Then", promoted "Kitto Ai Ga Aru" (which I wrote about here), the single that would eventually become Hikaru's signature song, and documented Hikaru growing up from a child to the dazzling idol she had become!

From a toddler in California to her schooling as ASIJ (American School in Japan) and then starting as an idol...in her short haircut style years, ugh!

Thank goodness she didn't wait long to grow out those locks to become the stunning Hikaru I know and love today!

At the end of the article, they had information not only about the Kitto Ai Ga Aru single, but the CM that featured the song, a CM, that has special significance for me as Hikaru rode her bicycle RIGHT PAST my APARTMENT in it, a fact I've mentioned way too many times here!

They also promoted Hikaru's latest drama, the AWESOME "Ue Wo Muite Aru" comedy starring her and Tachi Hiroshi, as well as very young Takahashi Katsunori and Yuriko Ishida, a drama I love and wrote about here!

WOWWW, it seems that mid 1994 Hikaru-chan was still riding high as one of Pony Canyon's most popular and prolific idols!

Ironically enough, this was the same issue that Pony Canyon princesses CoCo formally announced their break-up to the press, in which many tears were shed as they talked about their last single "You're My Treasure", their last tour, and their eventual final performance at Tokyo Bay NK Hall later that year....

They also promoted CoCo's upcoming (and at the time still unnamed) souvenir photobook timed to coincide with the Band's breakup. The Photobook would eventually be titled "Mirai wa CoCo Kara~ CoCo Memorial Photobook"  and it would be SO useful and chock full of information to us fans that we would dub it the CoCo "BIBLE"!!!

Another important slice of 90's Idol golden days captured in this issue!

A 1991 Manatsu Jouzu Concert Mention...

 

Grabbed a whole bunch of vintage BOMB! magazines, and in a 1991 issue I was smitten to see some short coverage of Hikaru's concert release "1991 Manatsu Jouzu Concert ", the concert release of hers I consider her BEST!

Wish they had more footage, maybe they had more in another issue that year since the tour went on for a few months....

Your Daily Hikaru

朝日放送「過ぎるTV」

西宮特集で出演させていただきました！

放送曜日が変わる前から好きな番組で、本当に楽しいひとときでした♡

PS: Hikaru looks so great!!!

Boon (Boom?) Magazine

 Still have NO IDEA what this magazine is supposed to be catering to (as it doesn't look like either an idol or fashion magazine) , but Hikaru  looks dazzling as ever!

Hikaru Nishida and Mako Ishino take on Ashiya City!

 Thank heavens for Hikaru Nishida’s faithfully-updated instagram blog which let me know that just last week she appeared on the NHK travelogue show “Eetoko” with fellow former-idol Mako Ishino to the town of Ashiya City in Hyogo!
From the official NHK website:
EETOKO
Enjoy culture and cuisine in your favorite city! ~ Ashiya City, Hyogo ~
Broadcast date: September 5, 2024

Ashiya is one of the most luxurious residential areas in the Kansai region. Ishino Mako, who grew up here and whose family home is here, and Nishida Hikaru, who lives in Nishinomiya within the area, rediscover its charms, from modern culture to gourmet food!
Ashiya City in Hyogo Prefecture is a residential area that developed from the Meiji period to the Showa period. Attracted by its abundant nature, merchants and cultural figures moved from Osaka and built a residential district. We will introduce the culture and gourmet food unique to Ashiya, such as a mansion designed by modern architecture master Frank Lloyd Wright, old stone public housing that houses a glass workshop, baumkuchen made with a recipe inherited from a Kobe store, minced cutlet made with plenty of Japanese black beef, and danjiri floats that have been passed down since the Edo period.

And with that statement, we're off!

We follow the ladies as they go from famous Ashiya spots to popular locale treats on this warm and sunny day!

Croquettes. Itadakimasu!

Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture

Apparently this town is somewhere near where Hikaru lives, so she takes the lead at several points, saying "You gotta try THIS place!" And of course Mako is game!

Sampling the delicacies....

Learning about the customs...

...and even taking a peek behind the scenes to see how it's made!

Then it's off to arts and crafts...

And then going to the temple and checking out that aforementioned Danjiri Float...

Was a pleasant way to spent the afternoon, and I even felt like I had been walking along with the girls all day~

Would love to see more of these!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com