── You were born and raised in Shibuya right? I read an article that you use to go to the TSUTAYA [store] in Aoyama a lot. I assumed that you grew up in that part of Shibuya.
Leo: I grew up around the Omotesando / Jingumae area. However, since I was 24 years old, I worked in the Maruyamacho district for 6 years, so I know the Shinsen area as well.
── We sometimes tend to forget how the area of that Shibuya is bigger than we think our assumption. I guess for you, it doesn’t feel like you’re in the middle of the city but more like a local neighborhood, is that correct?
Leo: That’s right. When I was a kid, there weren’t a lot of tall buildings like how it is today. Many of them were actually vacant and there was a lot more housing back then. When I was in elementary school there were only 8 kids in my grade and we used to play baseball in the streets. I grew up during the time of the transformation of Shibuya.
── Even if that is the case, if you grew up in Shibuya then you naturally were able to learn the latest trends in of music, fashion, and culture.
Leo: I knew one schoolmate a few years older than me in the soccer club, whose family has run ran a fruit and vegetable shop like the one in a movie. At first, I went to his place to play videogames, but then later on when I started playing music we had a lot of sessions together. I also learned a lot of bad things from him and I’d rather not go into details (laughs). I felt that such senior-junior relationships were rooted throughout in the entire city like a village.
