Erika

TRANSLATION BLOMAGA: OH! MY! GACKT! 61

English translation of GACKT's Blomaga issue 61

RRRRRRRRRRRRRing…
RRRRRRRRRRRRRing…

…Yes, hello…

Ohhhh, you.
What’s up?

Yeah, I’m fine.
I’m about to head home to Haneda Airport.

Overseas?
No.

Kagoshima.
I had some personal business.
I made a surprise trip to a wedding.

I really have no free time at the moment,
so I was in a rush.

But it was interesting to have some fun
with my close friends in the little free time that I have.

That said,
the planes on domestic flights are really cramped.

I feel like I’m withering.

Even though you’d expect there to be more wealthy people in Japan,
why isn’t there anything better than this half-assed service…?

Even if they have to raise the price,
shouldn’t they make more business and first class seats…?

They cram too many people into these narrow planes…

Huh?
Is it okay to call?
We’re not flying yet.
It’s boarding.

Since they’ve finally prettied up the facitities at Narita Airport,
I think it would be nice if they upgraded the planes themselves.

You can finally get better service in the airport,

They have a dedicated entrance now.
But that system is only at Haneda…

It’s withering…

I want airports all around Japan to try harder.

Well,
I guess it’s tough with the economy of Japan the way it is…

They’ll have to try hard.

Huh?
Is Japan cold?
Yep.

Isn’t the temperature weird?

It’s May already.
Why is it so cold?
It seems to me like the seasons are one month behind,
is that just me?

Hm?
Kagoshima?

It was good.
I like Kagoshima.

The streets were more lively than I expected.
To be honest,
I think the liveliness in Kyushu has a better energy
than the liveliness in Tokyo.

It’s true that Tokyo has more people,
but that’s not the issue.
It’s a question of energy.

The energy that people give off.

This is something that I can’t explain well in words,
it’s something you have to feel.

Food?
Yeah, Kagoshima has delicious food.
It suits my tastes.
I ate at a friend’s restaurant.

It was delicious, and a nice place.
The people there were good too.

Though since my stay was very short,
I couldn’t do anything this time.

But I got to see some of the things I wanted to see,
so I was happy.

Yeah, that’s right.
In my free time I wanted to see some Chin Jukan pottery.
I like Satsuma glasswork,
and I love these kinds of pieces.

Huh?
What’s “Chinjukan”?

I guess I’ll have to teach you, then.

It’s “Chin Jukan”.

It’s a kind of Satsuma pottery created 400 years ago
by the Chin family, who were brought to Japan
by the troops Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent to Korea.

Have you heard of White Satsuma and Black Satsuma?

No?

For the love of…

ANYWAY, it’s a tradition!
You’ve heard of Satsume glassware before at least?

I love Satsuma glassware.
I like to drink hot sake out of them.

Well, it’s a Japanese tradition. A tradition.
That said, it’s expensive.
The prices are really expensive.

I’d rather get things like these as presents from someone
rather than buy a lot myself.

Huh?
I’m not saying you have to buy them…

It’s fine.
I’ll buy them myself…

Well, I was really happy I got to see these in Kagoshima.

That said,
the effects of volcanic ash are everywhere in Kagoshima.

I didn’t understand why the floor was so dirty at first,
but this is all volcanic ash.

Even within Japan, there are a lot of differences…

At night,
I went to dinner with my married friend and their family
and said some words to congratulate them.

They even prepared a wonderful wine for me.
I’m so happy.

They knew I liked DRC wines,
so they got me a Saint Vivant.
It was so good.

Isn’t the color beautiful?
It’s getting hard to get hold of one of these.
Nowdays,
most of the good wine goes to China.

After dinner that day,
I drove around the city a bit,
and I found an interesting sign.

What do they mean by “FUCK”…?

My plane was leaving early the next day,
so I said goodbye to my whirlwind trip to Kagoshima
and headed for the airport.

Italian Translation: Believe in
English Translation: Amaia

© GACKT ITALIA

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by Erika