Famous People from Hokkaido

Saburo Kitajima

Now, I will introduce Saburo Kitajima. 

He is from Shiriuchi, located in the south of Hokkaido. And he is a very famous singer. Do you know what kind of song he sings? 

It is…   Enka!!（Enka is a Japanese traditional song.）

He joined a contest held by NHK in Hakodate. Although he could not get a high score, he thought that he could be a good singer.Then he moved to Tokyo when he was 18. At first he was singing on some streets but one day, his life was changed thanks to a person who was the president at a record company. Finally, he could debut as a singer. 

There is a place where we can learn about him. The Kitajima Saburo Memorial Museum, located in Hakodate.

By the way, do you know Ojarumaru? Maybe you watched it at 6 p.m.

This anime’s theme song is sung by Saburo.

Yo Oizumi

I will introduce Yo Oizumi.

He is a TV personality, actor and singer. Also he has a teacher's license.

He formed a drama group called Team Nacs when he was a college student.

Team Nacs has 5 members, Hitoyuki Morisaki, Ken Yasuda, Shigeyuki Totsugi, 

Yo Oizumi and Takuma Otoo.

They held their first tour in 2005.

Here is more information about Team Nacs.

They  appeared on Suiyo Dodesho (水曜どうでしょう) that started on Hokkaido TV station. Now, this TV program is a nationwide broadcast.

First, Yo Oizumi was famous in Hokkaido, but now, he is famous in the whole country.

He appeared in many dramas, movies and TV programs. Also, He hosted the Red and White Singing Contest. This program is shown every New Year’s Eve.

Miwa Yoshida

Do you know who this woman is?

She is famous as a member of Dreams Come True, a Japanese band. (It is called Dorikamu or DCT by many fans.)

Now, I will show you what sort of a person she is. 

She was born in Ikeda, a town located in the south of Hokkaido (near Obihiro).

When she was a high school student, she met Takahiro Nishikawa who would be a member of DCT.

Some years later, she met Masato Nakamura. And then, they organized Cha-cha ＆ Audrey’s Project which was a predecessor of DCT.

Dreams Come True debuted in 1988. At first, the members were Yoshida (Vocal), Nakamura (Bass), and Nishikawa (Keyboard).

But Sadly, in 2002 Nishikawa left DCT. 

So DCT is active as two members now.

Yoshida has been writing lyrics of all the DCT’s songs.

Also, the songs are very catchy, so a lot of people are fascinated by them.

In conclusion, please let me show you my favorite DCT’s song.

The name of this song is Nandodemo, which means time after time.

The phrase “If you failed 10000 times and got exhausted, something may change 1001 times.” always makes me motivated and I never give up.

Why don’t you listen to this song when you have a difficult time?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgLAWm68XVg

Noriaki Kasai

He is a Ski jumper from Hokkaido that has participated in the Olympics eight times. 

He has received three Olympic medals in his career and has a 30 year career in ski jumping. 

He is considered a legend. In the Sochi Olympics, he was 44 years old, making him the oldest in history to receive a medal there. 

He is an active athlete and is loved by the people of Hokkaido.

(Komachi, Yuna, Riyu, Kanna)