I flew to Tokyo with Access TV for an infomercial shoot and to take part in the Independence Day event held at Asukayama Park.
As soon as I got off the plane, I noticed that Japan seemed a lot like the States. It’s very clean; the people were very nice; and the weather was soothing.
On our first day, we went to Ueno where there are several shops selling all sorts of items. We were given a food allowance (in yen) for our five-day stay.
Just as I was walking along the first strip, I had already spent half of my allowance! It felt as if there was a hole in my pocket.
There were so many things to buy. I didn’t even notice how much I had already spent.
The Independence Day event was held the second day. We went to the park for the celebration; we signed autographs for those who signed up for Access Plus cable TV.
I was surprised to discover that there were many Filipinos there, some of them now looking like Japanese. I couldn’t imagine how they were able to live in such a high-class foreign country. It must be nice.
We were worried that it might rain that day. Thank God, it didn’t.
All the artists were able to take their part on stage, including Angel Locsin, Arnel Ignacio, Roselle Nava, Jenny Miller, Ate Glow, Kitchie Nadal.
The Filipinos responded to our show pretty well; they were calm and relaxed. After the event, we went to Ropponggi where all the bars and restaurants are. We checked out Don Quijote, a cheap and well-known shopping building which is open 24 hours. It’s a building with a few floors of all kinds of things you can buy. The prices were very reasonable.We went shopping the rest of the night.
We spent the following days shooting infomercial. It was basically like a brief Buhay-Pinoy MTV. We showed the different kinds of jobs Filipinos in Japan were engaged in.
Jenny Miller was my partner for that specific shoot. She and I were made to act like entertainers, nurses, cooks/waitresses, etc.
It was quite an experience for us when we went to a convalescent home to shoot a scene where a nurse taught us how to bathe an old patient.
The convalescent home was almost like a hotel. The rooms were very clean, nice and comfortable. Jenny and I wouldn’t have minded getting confined there.
They also had a beautiful garden at the back of the building where they do gardening activities with the patients.
Some of the patients were playing the harmonica and singing songs to each other. They seemed very comfortable.
As we were leaving, we found all the patients peeling potatoes at the garden. That was very heart-warming. I found our shoot very short, educational and interesting.
Every minute of it was a learning experience for us. I can’t wait to watch that infomercial.
I couldn’t thank enough Mr. Koji Miyashita and Tita Aster Amoyo of Access TV for this great first-time experience in Japan.
We had a lot of fun. I’d love to visit Japan again soon.
(E-mail reactions at julianapalermo785@yahoo.com.)