My trip to Japan and being on Japanese TV

In my previous post, I was kind of cryptic about my recent trip to Japan. This is why: I was on the Japanese TV show 世界!ニッポン行きたい人応援団, and I could not reveal any details until the episode aired. If you're not familiar with it, the show is about foreigners who have a specific interest in Japanese culture. I have been playing the shamisen for about 5 years now, and I love everything about the instrument, so I decided to submit an application later last year. I was previously passed up, so I figured that I was out of the running probably, but they contacted me about being interviewed in early April. At that time, I did not know that I would be chosen to actually go to Japan. The reaction to their invitation is definitely 100% real!

For my episode, we traveled to Shiga and mostly spent time at Marusan Hashimoto to see how the silk strings for traditional instruments (like the shamisen, koto, biwa, etc.) are made. It was an amazing process, and I plan on giving a more in-depth explanation on my shamisen blog, Tsukiko Shamisen - so please look for it in the near future!

The biggest surprise is at the end, but I do not want to spoil the episode, so please watch it (above)! I come in around 10m30s.

I hope you enjoy it!