The J-pop duo <a href=”/music/Yuzu”>Yuzu</a> released the music video to accompany their latest digital single, “Koen Dori,” which dropped Tuesday (May 29).
The title of the song refers to Koen Dori Avenue in Shibuya, Tokyo, the gentle slope lined with numerous shops that extends from the MODI department store all the way up to Yoyogi Park.
In 1998, 20 years ago, Yuzu’s Yuujin Kitagawa and Koji Iwasawa took their first steps toward stardom from busking in their native Isezakicho in Yokohama to performing their first solo headlining concert at Shibuya Koen Dori Gekijo, a theater that used to exist on this street.
Kitagawa’s lyrics depict the nostalgia of being reminded of the past while walking down Koen Dori, reflecting fondly on the days gone by but “waving good-bye to those good old times” in the end to move on towards the future. He mentions details such as lingering in a coffee shop with what little money he had and also being fined for riding double on a bike.
Watch the “Koen Dori” music video here:
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He also mentions “going to buy an acoustic guitar in Ochanomizu next week,” and in the video, he points to the old guitar that he actually bought when he was younger with the money he made working part time. The guitar Iwasawa is playing is also the one he was using at the time.
The visuals capture the duo traipsing along Koen Dori early in the morning, shooting selfies and singing in various places along the way, including the middle of the main pedestrian crosswalk. They also ride double on a bike in what appears to be Yoyogi Park while waving to passers-by, and the handmade look of the video gives it a warm, laid-back vibe.
There’s also a special surprise waiting at the end as the camera passes through the door of a shut-down building, segueing into actual footage of Yuzu performing “Ame To Namida” and “Shonen” at Shibuya Koen Dori Gekijo on May 30, 1998. The throwback to their beginnings is the duo’s way of keeping things real as the now-superstars enter into their 21st year in music.