Wednesday, March 11, 2009

通勤の5963 - ハロシンガポール

先月の中旬から事務室は元十九年前の場所の隣に移動し、それは -德普路 -にある。朝の通勤は公衆バスなので、家は島の東周辺からやや中央部の西の方へ距離は25キロくらいで、時間できには、約一時間半もかかります。

そして、目的地までに時間がたぷりありますから、バス内に何かやろうかと、時間がもったいないしないようにとおもう。しかし最近夜はあまり睡眠不足もあり、毎朝普段は何もやらず、バスに乗りすぐ、座ったまま二度目に席に寝てしみいます。 

しかし近頃、寝るよりももっと役に立つことを捜した、それは、通勤のゴクロサーン 。

通勤の同時に、FM 96.3 ととも、日本の曲、情報を聞きながら、都会の市内の観光もなれ。

これはその二月の最後の職業日、金曜日朝の記事とその連想のこと 

7:38am:
- Temasek Poly – East Gate バス停留所- 23番号バスに乗り、Sony Ericsson 携帯電話のラジオをつけ、

It’s after the 7:00am morning main news bulletin - a relay of the news from NHK Japan.

The station started broadcast from 6:50am on weekdays from Mon to Friday. – with a 5 minute - ラジオ体操 - rajo taisoo - which to any Japanese would be a familiar tune to start the day with It’s a morning exercise tune that has its beginning it seems in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics - 45 years ago. As such a generation and a half of Japanese has been doing their daily morning calisthenics with this tune be it in school, factory, etc – ichi, ni, san, shi….

The program was dotted with a number of Japanese hits, and this was one of the starters 

Diamond Dust – by Kimura Kyotsuke came on the air, which was a birthday request on Happy Time –

Advertisement:
皆さんのお祝いでフオリブズケーキを...

- from Four Leaves cake shop – for your celebration. .. The cake shop is sponsoring cake for listeners with birthday request.

The Morning Navigator for the day was Sakamoto Megumi. Fax you happy birthday wishes and song request to 6258-5693. Mejumi-san the FM96.3 J Plus DJ awaiting your request, or e-mail her at 5963@ gomm.com.sg…

The jingle-
‘Hello Singapore, konnichiwa Japan, hi, to the world, FM96.3, J Plus’

Along PIE – at next the Paya Lebar Exit:
- A grey Friday morning sky which was liven up by a dash of pinkish purple bougainvillea blossom along the expressway divider.

Next a very Japanese song - 懐かしいの名曲をおとこけする -

夜空- Yozora - by Itsuki Hiroshi - 五木ひろし

It’s the 45th anniversary of Ituski Hiroshi since his debut with – 横浜たそがれ - Yokohama Tasogare

Hiroshi Istuki – one of the top - 演歌 - enka - veteran in Japan . His Japanese equivalent of the – country and western – never fails to pull at the heart strings of the ojisan & obasan – the uncles and aunties.

Yozora – Night Sky - an enka hit in the early 1980/s.

A stanza or two of the lyrics -
細い風の引き笛 ( light winds and cajoling of the flute)
夜空いつも一人ぼち  (under the night sky ever alone)

7:56am:
- Getting off PIE and turning into Bendemeer Road. Passenger alighiting at - After Jalan Kolam Ayer バス停

時刻は七時五七分、交情報のお知らせです。Megumi-san came on with the traffic report. It’s relatively smooth following along the highways-

8:00am:
- ジジ通信社の提供で、ジジのニーズです。

Sponsored by JiJi News service, it’s an update of local happenings and international news.

8:03am:
– Approaching the junction of Bendemeer Road & Lavender Street and heading towards Jalan Besar.

The huge characters - 河南大厦 – Honan Building – came into view and on the opposite side of the Jalan Besar the newly completed City Light apartments.. – dwarfing the rows of Straits shop houses.

In the early 1990s the Buddhist Library, which is now in Geylang, was located at the Honan Building.

8:05 am :
–After Allenby Road – のバス停に下り、147号を待つ

It’s a convenient stop to change bus and take a – break - at the newly opened City Hub Hotel – Thangam Food Palace, especially when one drank too much water during morning breakfast.

A group of tourists from India was having their breakfast – a buffet of roti and curry.

From Jalan Besar onwards – weaning into the city proper and there are rows of delightful old shop houses. One can feast one’s eyes on this older part of the city which is still relatively intact –hardware & software- with a array of pre-war to pre-independence buildings – with a uniquely Singapore architectural style – and their traditional trade.

Pawn shops in 4 languages, photo studio from the 1970/s, electrical and hardware shops that are more than half a century old -

Indirectly opposite the bus stop, it’s the – 江西会馆 – and 1946, boldly visible.

8:12am
- get on Bus # 147 乗り換え、通勤のゴクロサンを聞きにつずけた

Another request came on:
We can make it – by Arashi

You don’t need to know Japanese to understand Japanese – for many of these pop hits have titles in English – plain simple English.

The title rendered in Japanese: ウイ キーアン メード イット

8:17am:
-The jingle -
‘Hello Singapore, konnichi wa Japan, hi, to the world, FM96.3 J Plus, FM96.3 J Plus ‘

8:19am:
- Heading towards the junction of Bencoolen Street and Brash Bash Road – and getting into the Singapore Management University city campus compound.

- Singapore Arts Museum on the left and on the right a little up - Cathedral of the Good Shepherd

Bus turning right and headed towards the junction of Stanford Road & Hill Street – with CHIJMES on the left -

Song request:
Oeba Furenzu– by Taeuchi Maria.

Ahead it’s the - Singapre Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Armenian Church, the Central Fire Station, and the building with colorful louvered windows – that houses the MITA – Ministry of Information and the Arts - was the Old Hill Street Police Station.

Next the Singapore River came into view - with the Coleman Bridge - demarking the - Little City - 小坡 - and the - Big City - 大坡– with New Bridge Road and Eu Tong Sen – Street leading into Chinatown – 牛车水.

The Chinese New Year decorations are still up despite it being a month and more after the festival.

Perhaps we really need keep the bulls around in these gloomy times to reverse the ever down trend - 牛转乾坤.

8:29am:
- Another song request:

夢のつぼみ by  リミオロメン

This song - yume no tsubomi - has gotten into the J One - pop chart, Megumi-san, pre-empted on what to expect later in the count down.

Advertisement came on:
'Canon delighting you always .'

すぎはキャーノンパワショトの提供です
Sponsored by Canon – an update on the sports & entertainment scenes in Japan -

以上、スポツの最新情報です、

'Canon delighting you always .'

すぎは芸能ニースです…

With the daily morning dose of Canon – the likes of Kodak, Hewlett-Packard, Dell - would be hard press to make a break into the Japanese expatriate market.

ご連絡をお待ちしています

8:33 am:
- After Blair Roadバス停

From the junction of Lavender Street - Jalan Besar – for the past 30 minutes – it was a journey thro the heart of Singapore – from the old to the historic.

This bus stop marks the end of the rows of Straits houses and shop houses, traveling from east to west - the most famous of which is the Baba House.

Well, not forgetting another historical landmark in this vicinity - the Singapore General Hospital. Within the hospital compound there is a cross that marks the atrocities of 1942..

8:35am:
- The jingle -
‘Hi to the world, FM96.3, J Plus, J Plus’

Coming on the air next was the Friday special - J One Hit Chart :

第6位.. 
リミオロメン - 夢のつぼみ - Yume no tsubomi  - by  Rimio romen   
This is a new entry ー ニューエントリ ー to the chart

第五位  
浜崎 はゆみ - Dreams - by Hamasaki Hayumi
Another new entry and the promotional video was filmed in Shanghai -– 上海で撮えプロモション ビデオ

第三位
まえおか - Stay - by Maeoka

第二位
。。。(did not catch it – was getting ready to alight at the next stop)

第一位
あらし - Beautiful Day - by Arashi

This hit moved one rank up from last week - 先週からOne rank up

J One ヒットチヤットはいかがでしたか?How’s the J-One count down? It was hosted by a pair of co-ed DJ/s -

And as usual with a mix of Japanese and English – and - you don’t need to understand Japanese to know Japanese –

For it is peppered with enough of English for you to follow thro and to enjoy the hits –

Talking about fusion dishes – this fusion of Japanese-English languages in the counting down has been a staple since…

Time machine:
1982 - Tokyo 横浜留学生寮 – foreign students dormitory : 先週から one rank up, ニューエントリー、etc -

8:47am:
- After Jalan Kilang Timor – Opposite Blk 28 バス停, Jalan Bukit Merahに下車, 事務室へ徒歩10くらい . 途中KTM-鉄度線とPIE高速道路に掛ける歩行者用橋渡り

Advertisement:
'CROWN LINE 日本の心をおはこびます...'
-Planning to move house? Crown Line – delivers with warmth

8:52am:
-The jingle:
‘Hello Singapore, FM96.3 J Plus , J Plus’

The day ended with a studio tour –

On that Friday morning - 27th Feb, lead by two of their Japanese teachers, a group of 36 NUS taking from the Japanese Language Center cramped into the FM96.3 studio and Megumi-san went live with them –

Well, that's it - ご苦労さん -GOKUROSAN 。

A daily journey commuting thro the heart of Singapore on # 147 while pluging on to the info-taiment channel of 5963 - FM96.3 - J Plus 。



Postscript -

1. 通勤 の 5963

5963:
Punning on– 5963 – pronounced in Japanese as - GOKUROSAN – which could be written as – ご苦労さん ― a polite phrase to show gratitude and encouragement.

The equivalent phrase in Chinese would be – 辛苦了 - xinku le – which means – you are tired, sorry to have caused you to work so hard.

通勤 - tsuうkin – meaning to commute to work
Traveling to work is really tough job nowadays – why you don’t know if you would have your job next -

Well, 確かにそうですね、通勤のご苦労さ。


2. 江西会馆  -Jiangxi Clan Association - along Jalan Besar

Well, talking about Jiangxi - 江西- a province from Northern Guangdong to the south of the Yantze River - towards the a recently discovery from conversation with a 79―year old maternal uncle while back in the home town in December vacation last year, that my maternal great-grand father was actually a native of Jiangxi – 江西 - a cloth merchant who plied his trade into the Hakka heartlands of Southern Guangdong province – .

Of Jiangxi – it is the home province of - Ouyang Xiu – 欧阳修 - (1007-1072) – one of the great Northern Song Dynasty poet & statesman. Learning his poem - A Ballard of the Drunkard Pavilion –醉翁亭记 – . It’s especially good for relieving stress when he takes you into the woods for a drinking party.

Perhaps, maternal great-grandpa’s home village could be from the same village as this great man - Ouyang Xiu’s. Oh no,, it couldn’t be, mum’s family name was Lim anyway, and not Ouyang - 欧阳.


Addendum:

To: 5963@comm.com.sg

Subject: Song request - 懐かしの名曲 放送時間:毎週月曜日~金曜日 午前7:17-7:24
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:58:03 +0000

FM96.3 J-PLUSモーニングナビゲターDJさん、坂本さん 

こんにちは、 この曲をリクエストをいただきたいです 
-結婚するって本当ですか

最近毎朝の通勤の時、FM96.3 J-PLUSを耳に向き、それは日本語の勉強としてをしながら、懐かしい日本語の名曲もたのしんでいます。始めてこの曲を聴いたのはもう30年もたちました。(もう年寄りのおじさんなんです。)

それは、1981年のこと。その年の春、初めて日本へ留学生しにいきました。 最初の半年は大阪外国語大学で半年の日本語のコースを受けました。先生は私たち学生にこの曲をおしえてくれました。とても良い歌だと思って、私の懐かしい日本語の名曲のTop-Ten チャートの中にいすも入っています。

If you could kindly please play this song on a Friday morning - after the 7:00am news between 7:15am to 8:00am. If you could have the time in your program, please play the complete song. Sometimes I find that the natsukashii uta was cut too short - and could only enjoy part of the song. Thank you very much in advance. Have a good day and happy DJ-ing.

Best regards,
コンケン






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