Bistro SMAP

I've been watching a lot of Japanese TV to help acclimate my brain to the Japanese language and a few things I've noticed so far are that they love watching people eat and that the same TV personalities and celebrities are seen in commercials. I'd say that 80% of the what is on TV involved food in some way and that is A-OK with me. SMAP is a Japanese boy band that has been popular for decades. They're like the Japanese Menudo except they don't replace any of the members and they are still popular. They're well into their 30's now but they're EVERYWHERE. They have a variety show on TV called SMAPxSMAP and one of the segments is called BISTRO SMAP. From what I can tell, members of the band cook a meal for a celebrity guest in teams of two, then the guest chooses a winner. Most of the time, I have no idea what is going on, but it's fun to see these guys cooking. Take that J-Timberlake!

The clip above is a BISTRO SMAP segment from a few years ago with Cameron Diaz and Jude Law. It's kind of boring but I thought I'd post it because I just watched Lost in Translation and was reminded of Anna Faris' character Kelly and how Sofia Coppola based her off of Cameron Diaz. The similarities are striking.

Lastly, here is the coolest commercial I've ever seen featuring SMAP. I am particularly fond of the guy second from the right with the longish hair. His name is KimuTaku and if things don't work out with my roommate, I'm going to marry him and live in the house where this commercial was taped. Watch the entire clip to understand why.