Interview with KOTO: First Overseas Live at Taiwan's 3D LIVE REVOLUTION×LIVE PLUS (Part 1)

KOTO with A-To-J Tranlator/Correspondent, Darice Chang

We were recently lucky enough to catch up to KOTO again during her first ever overseas live which took place in Taiwan! KOTO took the stage at the 2-day event "3D LIVE REVOLUTION X LIVE PLUS" at Taiwan's Pipe Live Music and shared the stage with several idols from both Taiwan and Japan! The crowd was hyped and energetic and she won over many Taiwanese idol fans and we hope that she will eventually win over the hearts of many more fans worldwide!

KOTO is a solo recording artist with a unique style and sound that has made her a front runner in the indie idol scene. She recently released her first album "Platonic Planet" and has been very active recording and performing in Japan. You can follow her on social media for more information (links at the bottom of the article) and look forward to more news on her in the future from A-To-J Connections! You can find an earlier interview we conducted with KOTO here. You can also find a live report from an earlier show we covered in Japan here.

A-To-J: Please introduce yourself.
A-To-J: 自己紹介をお願いします。
KOTO: I’m KOTO. Right now I do solo work in Japan and I’m 17. Nice to meet you!
KOTO: 今日本でソロ活動をしている、17歳のKOTOです、よろしくお願いします。

A-To-J: This is your first overseas live. Please tell us how you feel being able to perform overseas.
A-To-J: 初めての海外ライブですが、活動の初の海外ライブを達成した心境を教えてください。
KOTO: I was very nervous because I am overseas but at the live there were many people from Japan as well cheering me on and I felt relieved! Also, the people in Taiwan were very heartwarming and I’m glad I got to enjoy the live with everyone!
KOTO: まず、海外も初めてだったので緊張していたんですけど、ライブではすごい日本から応援にきてくれたファンの方もたくさんいて、すごい安心したし、そして台湾の方もあったかくってみんなでライブを楽しめて、よかったです。

---

A-To-J: Did you become a fan of Taiwan?
A-To-J: 台湾のファンになりましたか？
KOTO: Yes, but I can’t speak much Taiwanese so when I speak a little, it’s a bit embarrassing.
KOTO: はい、でもあんまり台湾語喋れないので、喋るときに恥ずかしいです。

A-To-J: How do you feel about your first overseas live being in Taiwan?
A-To-J: 初の海外ライブが台湾ですが、それについてどう思いますか？
KOTO: I’ve always wanted to come to Taiwan so I’m happy to be here! Also it was close from Japan so I felt very relieved.
KOTO: 台湾には来て見たかったので、嬉しいし、日本から近いところだったので、ちょっと安心しました。
A-To-J: Is it your first time going overseas (in general)?
A-To-J:  海外来るのは初めてですか？
KOTO: Yes!
KOTO: そうです！
A-To-J: How was the plane ride?
A-To-J: 飛行機はどうでした？
KOTO: I’ve gone on a plane before but since this was a longer ride I fell asleep! (Laughs)
KOTO: 飛行機は一回乗ったことあったんですけど、長時間だったので、寝ちゃいました（笑）
A-To-J: Are you having fun here in Taiwan?
A-To-J: 台湾は楽しんでいますか？
KOTO: Yes, I’m having fun! The first night I went to a night market and ate at the food stands.
KOTO: はい！楽しんでます。初日に夜市にも行って、屋台で食べたりもしたので、楽しんでます。
A-To-J: When did you arrive here?
A-To-J: いつ来たんですか？
KOTO: I came a day before the live so I came yesterday, which was the 22nd (of January)
KOTO: ライブの前日、22日に来ました。
A-To-J: When will you be leaving?
A-To-J: いつ帰る予定ですか？
KOTO: I’m going home on Monday. (January 25th)
KOTO: 月曜日に帰ります。(1月25日)

A-To-J: Have you done anything fun here?
A-To-J: 楽しいことはしましたか？
KOTO: There are a couple of Taiwanese idols here that can speak Japanese so I had a fun time talking to them!
KOTO: 台湾のアイドルさんが日本語喋れる方が多くって、おしゃべりができて楽しかったです。

KOTO in Taiwan (PC: KOTO's Twitter @koccyan925)

KOTO in Taiwan (PC: KOTO's Twitter @koccyan925)

A-To-J: Do you have any interesting things that have happened here in Taiwan?
A-To-J: 台湾で起こった面白いことはありますか？
KOTO: At the convenience store, I bought one thing and they gave me another for free. That doesn’t happen much in Japan so I was surprised!
KOTO: コンビニで一個買ったらもう一個くれるとか（笑）日本ではないのでびっくりしました！

A-To-J: What did you buy there?
A-To-J: 何を買いましたか？
KOTO: I bought souvenirs to bring back to Japan. I also bought cough drops for myself.
KOTO: お土産とかも買ったんですけど、自分用にのど飴とか買いました。
A-To-J: What kind of things did you buy as souvenirs?
A-To-J: 何のお土産を買いましたか？
KOTO:  I bought things I can give out as goodies for people that come to my live in Japan.
KOTO: 日本に帰ったときのライブの特典にするやつとか。
A-To-J: Oh! That’s very interesting!
A-To-J: えっ！面白い！

A-To-J: Did you encounter any obstacles here in Taiwan?
A-To-J: 台湾に来て困難だったことはありますか？
KOTO: I’m not very good at kanji (Chinese characters)… but kanji is everywhere here. I’m not good at writing and reading so it was really hard for me!
KOTO: 漢字がすごい苦手なので、漢字がいっぱいで…読めないのと、書けないのとで、めっちゃ大変でした！
A-To-J: But at least you can use English!
A-To-J: でも英語は喋れますよね？
KOTO: I’m not very good at that either!! (Laughs)
KOTO: 英語も下手っぴなんです！！（笑）

A-To-J: What are some of the differences you’ve noticed between Taiwan and Japan?
A-To-J: 台湾と日本の大きな違いは？
KOTO: It seems very similar but it isn’t… The smells? The food and flavors are different and are spiced differently.
KOTO: なんか似てるようで…匂い？ご飯の味付けが「スパイス」な感じがします。

KOTO in Taiwan (PC: KOTO's Twitter @koccyan925)

KOTO in Taiwan (PC: KOTO's Twitter @koccyan925)

 A-To-J: Have you had Taiwanese food before? Such as “xiao long bao” (soup dumplings)
A-To-J: 台湾の食べ物は食べたことありますか？たとえば小籠包とか…
KOTO: Oh yes, I’ve had xiao long bao before!!
KOTO: あ、小籠包食べたことあります！
A-To-J: What about stinky tofu?
A-To-J: 臭豆腐とか…
KOTO: No I haven’t!!
KOTO: 臭豆腐食べてないです！！
A-To-J: Are you planning to try some?
A-To-J: 食べたいですか？
KOTO:  No!! (Laughs)
KOTO: ううん！（笑）
A-To-J: Have you had any tapioca milk tea?
A-To-J: タピオカミルクティーは飲みました？
KOTO: Yes, it was very good! Oh! Now I know what the big difference between Taiwan and Japan is.
Taiwan is very lively at night or at least that’s what I saw at the night markets and I was very surprised.
KOTO: タピオカミルクティーはおいしかったです。あ、そうだ、違いありますね。夜に人が活発なところ、夜市もそうだし、びっくりしました。
A-To-J: Please tell us what you think about the food here.
A-To-J: 食べ物の感想を教えてください。
KOTO: The soy sauce type flavoring is different from Japan, it was a bit sweeter than what I’m used to.
KOTO: しょうゆが日本と味が違って、ちょっと甘くって…
A-To-J: Probably because Chinese and Japanese soy sauce is different.
A-To-J: たぶん中国と日本の醤油はちょっと違うからですね。
KOTO: Oh, I see. I thought it was going to be salty and it was sweet so I was like “Oh!” but it was very delicious.
KOTO: 違うんだ…しょっぱいのかなと思って食べて甘かったりとか、「おう！」ってなったけど、おいしかったです。

A-To-J: How did you decide on your set list for the Taiwan live?  
A-To-J: このライブのためにセットリストはどうやって決めましたか？
KOTO: I didn’t choose in Japan and I chose the set list once I got to Taiwan. The first day I had 15 minutes so I performed songs nonstop, back to back. I chose “Pastel Passport” to be one of the first songs since it’s a journey-themed song.
KOTO: 日本では決めないでおいて、こっちに来てから決めたんですけど、初日は15分間の持ち時間だったりしたので、ノンストップでライブやったりとか。最初は「パステルパスポート」という旅っぽい曲にしたりとか。
A-To-J: What did you do to prepare for this live?
A-To-J: ライブのために準備したことはなんですか？
KOTO: For this Taiwan live, I bought a new costume and I’m wearing it right now. It’s a China dress!
KOTO: 台湾ライブのために新しい衣装を買って今着てるんですけど、チャイナ服です。
A-To-J: Don’t you have a lot of China dresses?
A-To-J: よく出しますね、チャイナドレス。
KOTO: Yes, this is my 4th or 5th one.
KOTO: これでもう4着目か5着目ぐらいです。
A-To-J: Why do you have so many?
A-To-J: どうしてチャイナドレスいっぱい着てるの？
KOTO: They’re all cute and there are different shapes and sizes. I wanted all different kinds so now I have many.
KOTO: かわいくって形がいろんな形があるので、色もそうだし、色々とほしくなっちゃっていっぱい持ってます。
A-To-J: Even in your previous YouTube video you wore a China dress! (Seen Below)
A-To-J: 前のYouTubeでの動画でもチャイナドレス着てましたよね。
KOTO: I wanted to buy one here in Taiwan but I haven’t been able to go shopping for one…
KOTO: こっちでも本場のやつを買っていきたかったんですけど、お店に辿りつけてなくって…

KOTO - Platonic Planet MV

KOTO backstage @ Taiwan's Pipe (PC: Darice Chang)

A-To-J: Do you listen to any Taiwanese songs?
A-To-J: 台湾の曲は聴いたりしますか？
KOTO: I don’t really know of any…
KOTO: あんまりわかんないです…
A-To-J: What do you usually listen to?
A-To-J: 普通にどんな音楽聴いてますか？
KOTO: There’s a Japanese artist named “Shiina Pikarin” and I listen to her songs a lot.
KOTO: 日本の「椎名ぴかりん」さんというアーティストがいるんですけど、その人の曲はよく聴いてます。

A-To-J: Do you plan to do any sightseeing or souvenir shopping after your lives?
A-To-J: ライブ後の観光やお土産を買いに行く予定は？
KOTO: Today I’ve been buying souvenirs when I have the time but I don’t have enough I want to go buy some more. I also haven’t had much time to eat Taiwanese food so I want to eat things such as xiao long bao and pepper buns (Hujiao bing). I also want to eat shaved ice, the very fluffy kind and also tapioca!
KOTO: 時間があったときにお土産とか買うようにしてて、まだ足りてないのでどっか会に行きたいのと、後、あんまりまだ台湾のご飯食べれてないので小籠包とか胡椒餅たべたいなーって思います。カキ氷も食べたくって、ふわふわのカキ氷とかタピオカとかもっと食べたいです！
A-To-J: And you already went to a night market right?
A-To-J: 夜市はもう行かれたんですよね？
KOTO: I did! But I only got to go to one… so I want to go to more!
KOTO: 行きました！でも一軒しか行ってない…ので、もっと行きたい！
A-To-J: After you finish this live in Taiwan, where would you like to perform overseas next?
A-To-J: このライブを終えた後、次はどこで海外ライブしたいですか？
KOTO: I would like to go to America next! I want to go to Russia as well because I heard there is “kawaii” culture there.
KOTO: 次行くとしたら…アメリカとか行ってみたいです。後ロシアも「カワイイ文化」があると思うので行ってみたいです。

Look forward to the second half of this interview, and more information on KOTO coming very soon from A-To-J Connections!

For More Information Please Follow KOTO On Social Media!
Twitter: twitter.com/koccyan925
Instagram: instagram.com/koccyan925
Blog: ameblo.jp/hidecyobin

Website: /kotora.tokyo
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIRroOmDntRlYly3BCj69AA

The above interview was conducted by Darice Chang with post translation by Tiffany Fujii.

---

KOTO - Omatsuri GALAXY Live MV