Hinata Toshifumi “Tokyo Love Story” Interview (2026)

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Here is a delightfully in-depth interview with Hinata Toshifumi about the recent 35th Anniversary Edition re-release of his (quite fantastic) 1991 soundtrack album Tokyo Love Story. Additionally, there is a lot of interesting discussion about his early career in general. Enjoy!

Interview & text: Otani Takayuki (Japanese text: one, two, three, four)
English translation: Henkka
Hinata Toshifumi: Website, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook

Note: You can buy this album on CDJapan.

— Today, I’d like to ask you to look back on the days of Tokyo Love Story. But before you do, allow me to ask you about your most recent work from 2025. The Dark Night Rhapsodies is your first fully orchestral album. It’s a wonderful work; an exquisite combination of lush, beautiful melodies reminiscent of Italian opera of the yesteryear, along with concern—and prayer—for an increasingly troubled modern society. I’ve found myself listening to it whenever I possibly can.

Hinata Toshifumi: Ah. Thank you very much.

— But what really left an impression on me was when I interviewed you about that album and our conversation happened to turn to your TV drama soundtrack work of the ’90s, and you quietly remarked, “Those were truly difficult years for me.”

Hinata: Hahahaha. Did I really say that?

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Lamp – Kimi to Boku to no Sayonara ni (English Lyrics)

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君とぼくとのさよならに
To Our Goodbye

Soaked in the same old morning sunlight
I wake in an apartment without you

Stars of daybreak swaying in pale blue
I shall go before they fade away

Afternoon rain over the skies of Tokyo
This city I so loved and yearned for

Noticing not even the passing afternoon raindrops
The two of us always so lost in our own world
In the blink of an eye a shower of melodies
Singing songs of days never to return
Forever and ever dreaming the same dream

Sensing the smell of an unfamiliar wind
The sky overcast like my heart

Even the street we always used to walk
Enveloped in a rain so warm

Breeze-scented cityscape growing distant
Blurred by the afternoon rain

Your left hand begins to slip from mine
As if time itself were about to stop

A season much too long
Out of reach, in the depths of sleep
Always drowning, and when I look back
The wind disappears, the street disappears
As I keep on waiting for an unaddressed letter
Days, nights, even through the pale blue mornings

soraya – Kaze no Naka de (English Lyrics)

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風の中で
Within the Wind

On this untouched ground
I’ve brought the morning time and time again
I am the sun — you are an unfolding melody

The sky yearns for everlasting love
And yet why are we forever at war?
My wistfully written love letter
By the window with flower petals by its side
Even some dandelion fluff…

Making a wish within the wind
Hoping that somehow, somewhere
I might meet your eyes once more

As this untouched ground
Passes through the night time and time again
I realize this must be love, tears shimmering
You sowing seeds in my hollowed-out heart
The shivering roots of your dreams — the base an unfolding melody

You start running
But then you stop
What is it you wish for?

“I’m home.” “Welcome home.”
Words and music, always there to receive you
We are all connected

On this untouched ground
We now leave behind our footprints
The shivering roots of your eyes — turn those tears around
As you begin unfolding into the wind

Within the wind…

Imai Miki – Caribbean Blue no Yoake (English Lyrics)

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カリビアン・ブルーの夜明け
Caribbean Blue Sunrise

At the bottom of a neon ocean
The two of us meet…
Fire in my heart
Fire in my heart

A beautiful case of mistaken identity
Night that lingers on…
Flash the party light
Flash the party light

Brushed aside the palm leaves only to see
Mermaid begging for the next cheek-to-cheek
But more than her, I want it to be me
Making ripples in the cove of your heart

I’m a hurricane
Feelings crashing ashore
If they’re not going to stop
Then even risqué seduction
Suddenly becomes justified

Just a hurricane
Keep your eyes on me
For I’m coming to your side
Raise your glass — let’s make a toast
This cocktail’s called Caribbean Sunrise

Snuck away with you
Onto the rooftop…
Fire in my heart
Fire in my heart

Saying I’d just stolen them
Beer glasses & wine…
Kiss a smilin’ face
Kiss a smilin’ face

No asking about the past — that’s the rule
Once you fall in love, the heart is an island
Even if you already have someone special
I want to burn this moment into memory

I’m a hurricane
Pulling you in
This love is a storm
Even if it takes everything
Then so be it

Just a hurricane
Hang on tight
Hold on to the thrill
For only in the arms of the one you love
Will the night turn to a Caribbean Sunrise

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Henkka’s New Music Discoveries #4

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“No music, no life.” 

I always found that sentiment a bit melodramatic for my taste. Don’t you? I don’t think I would literally die if music suddenly ceased to be. I just don’t see myself having a spontaneous brain implosion only because I no longer had Barry Gibb’s falsetto in my ear, sweet as it is. Surely life would still go on. Still, it’s a fun thought exercise. What would be the point without music?

In my case, I just imagine myself confusedly looking around like John Travolta in that Pulp Fiction meme. “Uh… Okay…? Now what?”

But, happily, seeing as the stuff still exists, here’s some of my favorite music since last time.

Silk Sonic
“Smokin Out The Window”
2021 | SMOOTH SOUL

I feel a bit silly “introducing” you to a song with 250 million YouTube views. In my next post, I might as well link you to “Billie Jean” or “Happy Birthday to You.”

But just on the off-chance that you haven’t heard it, this is a pretty great album. Even saying this as someone who could never quite fully get into either Bruno Mars or Anderson .Paak, I found their collaboration here really enjoyable. It’s my favorite body of work from either of the two.

It’s just outrageously smooth stuff. Sonically silky, you might even say. If you were a funnyman.

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