Singer Kondo Masahiko and Maeda Nobuteru, vocalist of rock band "TUBE", go on a two-man trip to Thailand together, with Maeda Nobuteru, vocalist of rock band "TUBE", in "Kondo Masahiko & Maeda Nobuteru: Two Men's Adventurous Trip in Thailand - Feeling the Wind and Songs" (broadcast every other week at 10am on Sundays for a total of six episodes, with the next episode on April 20th) is currently being broadcast on SKY PerfecTV! "NTV Plus Drama, Anime and Live Music" (CS300). Kondo, who turned 60 last July and is celebrating his 45th debut anniversary, and Maeda, who will turn 60 on April 23rd and is celebrating his 40th debut anniversary, show their true selves on the two-man trip to Thailand. We asked Kondo about their friendship as men and their memories of filming. (First of a two-part series)
◇ I have been friends with “Yocchan” for nearly half a century.
Kondo made his debut in the entertainment industry in 1979 in the school drama "3-nen B-gumi Kinpachi Sensei" (TBS). Together with Tahara Toshihiko and Nomura Yoshio, who also appeared in the drama, he was called the "Tanokin Trio" and created a huge boom at the time.
45 years have passed since then. Nomura-san continues to participate in Kondo-san's concert tours as a guitarist, and their friendship has continued for nearly half a century. Maeda-san, who co-starred with Kondo on this program, is also of roughly the same generation, and they are close friends who often go golfing together.
Kondo says the secret to long-lasting friendship is "maintaining the right distance."
"It's the same with Nomura-kun and Maeda-kun, but I think it's good that they're not too close. When you watch them on video, they appear to be very close and on good terms, but they actually keep a fairly good distance between them. I think that's why they've been able to be together for over 40 years without any conflict."
◇ The ultimate men's trip, featuring snorkeling, driving and impromptu duets
On a trip to Thailand with Maeda, they try snorkeling, driving, and even singing an impromptu duet. The two male stars, both around 60 years old, are seen enjoying themselves innocently, showing their true selves.
"The camera was rolling from the moment we woke up in the morning and gathered in the hotel lobby until we had dinner. The staff was with us the whole time, so it felt like we were there and they filmed at a good distance for us. However, there are scenes where we go into the ocean and ride go-karts, and it seems like Maeda had a lot of muscle pain (laughs). I was okay though (laughs)," he said, recalling an episode from the filming.
The most memorable part of the trip was the drive.
"After getting our international driver's license, we rented a really nice rental car locally and Maeda and I got in together. It was a two-seater so no one else could ride in the car, including the photographer. We drove from the city to the suburbs. Driving in Thailand was quite an impact. If you let your guard down, cars and other cars would quickly cut in front of you. The driving style was completely different to Tokyo. When we went to the seaside, there was definitely a resort feel, and I wished it had been a beautiful woman instead of Maeda (laughs). But it did feel like the ultimate guys' trip," Kondo recalls, adding a joke.
While there, we also tried snorkeling in the ocean.
"I'm not very good at snorkeling, so I was really worried about what to do, but Maeda-kun was really enthusiastic, like 'I'll do it, senior!', so I got encouraged by him and ended up jumping in," he said, and once in the sea, he added with a satisfied look on his face, "We were able to see quite a lot of fish. It seems to be a really famous tourist destination, and we were the only Japanese there, but there were more Europeans than us. The food was delicious, and we watched a fire dance, which was on a different level from anything I'd seen before. I really enjoyed the trip," he said.
During the trip, they even performed a duet of Ozaki Yutaka's "I LOVE YOU" with Maeda accompanying them on piano.
"Maeda said he wanted to sing, and asked the staff to find a bar with a piano. The staff put in a lot of effort to find one, and I think we ended up renting out the bar for about two hours. We sang there while drinking," he said. As for the song, he said, "Maeda requested that I memorize this song ('I LOVE YOU'), and I was like, 'What, you're going to sing it?' (laughs). But it was fun, and I thought he really had a lot of passion for music."
The screen conveyed the image of both of them being their natural selves and enjoying the trip.
"This was my first time on a travel program like this, but both he and I have been in this industry for a long time, but we have never appeared on TV in a more natural way, and we appear more natural than we ever were (laughs). We were more natural than I expected, to the point where I wondered if it was okay to let ourselves out like that (laughs). The program will allow you to see the real Maeda and the real Matchi. I hope you will enjoy watching this relaxed journey with beautiful scenery as background music," he said, highlighting the show's highlights.
