My hometown, Sakai, has a lot of ancient burial mounds. I grew up there without knowing we live together with the World Heritage. I now find such mysteriousness interesting. Though I didn’t have many friends, four of my best mates and I used to hang out together. We once made a parody film of Slam Dunk, recreating a match between Shohoku and Sanno in a local park. I was the shooting director and became an actor later, while two of them now play in bands and the other two who used to write comedy scripts became comedians. We still meet up sometimes. I moved to Tokyo after graduating high school and stubbornly refused to go back to my hometown even though I visit there when I got a job in the Kansai area. Around when I turned 30, I started to take an unbiased look at my hometown, I guess. It is probably because there are many things I don’t know about it and I get more opportunities to think about it. I thought ignorance is a bad thing in my 20s, but I’m now in my 30s and consider ignorance as curiosity.
I think Osaka is the only place where ‘omoroi’ does matter. It’s more important than being cool or cute. And it’s different from standard ‘omoshiroi’. ‘Omoshiroi’ is being laughable, while ‘omoroi’ is being what excites someone’s heart. The criterion of what I want to do as work is whether it is ‘omoroi’ or not. When I thought about what I wanted to do other than acting, I found myself in dilemma because I didn’t have enough knowledge about the society and human beings to express something out of myself. And, around then, I got a job offer to do a reporter of a travel show on Kansai Television, a broadcasting company around my hometown. That means I can meet so many different people while learning about my local area during a stroll. It is so ‘omoroi’ to take myself to the next phase. I was trying to stick to be an actor before and tempered my eagerness and curiosity. But I now think that my life cannot be satisfying enough by just doing acting jobs. If you think about it a little further, you can get more opportunity to improve yourself. I’m recently focusing on acting in Tokyo and putting effort on gaining knowledge to enrich myself in Osaka. I think my career is nicely balanced now in that sense.
I brought my family to Sakai in the end of last year. We visited the place of my friend from elementary school together. I wouldn’t even think of something like that before, but I now cherish my past memories more than ever, being on the verge of 40 myself. I also brought my kids to a stationery shop I used to go during my school years. I probably become keen more on sharing my roots with them. I think it’s important to experience the differences between people or cities.
My favorite restaurant in my hometown is called Haguregumo. It is the best Yakiniku restaurant and I like the owner, too. There you’d dip your beef tongue in melted butter. I thought that was normal back then because the taste defined my sense of gastronomy. Kiyo is a Takoyaki shop located on my route to elementary, junior-high and high school. They sell a pack of Takoyaki at 100yen. Isn’t it amazing amid such an inflation? And, I have frequented the Expo’70 Commemorative Park since I was a child. Whenever I see the Tower of the Sun and the EXPO’70 Pavilion in the park, they make me rediscover how great the creative minds of human beings are. These days almost all the things can be estimated in numbers, like, around when flying cars will be put in use or when we can travel to space. But I think it was far beyond people’s imagination that Taro Okamoto, the producer of thematic exhibitions, created the Tower of the Sun as the symbol of the 1970 Japan World Exposition, Osaka. For me, the Expo’70 Commemorative Park is not just a cozy place but also where I can get rid of my fear to freely express my thoughts. It is a place that always teaches me the importance of trying.
I’ve been wearing SOUTH2 WEST8 clothes for some time. I still use the jacket I got from them for the first time. What I like about the brand is the not too outdoorsy design. Functionality and aesthetics are neatly balanced in their clothes. I really want to visit the SOUTH2 WEST8 shop in Sapporo as it is the birthplace of the brand. Speaking of Sapporo, my children told me that they want to go to Hokkaido. I asked them why and they said that they’d like to see Mr. XXX who lives in the prefecture. I think it is an ideal reason to travel to visit not some tourist spots but someone you know. I want to make such a reason in all the prefectures in Japan in coming 20 years. I feel like that probably because I’m from Osaka and I have discovered something ‘omoroi’ in my homeplace. If you have a relaxing hometown and have someone you’d like to see in every prefecture at the same time, what more could you ask for?
万博記念公園 Expo’70 Commemorative Park
「万博公園の中にあるEXPO’70パビリオンがとにかく好きで。 当時の万博グッズ収集が趣味なんですよ」 と語る大東さん。 1970年日本万国博覧会 （大阪万博） 当時の出展施設だった鉄鋼館を利用したEXPO‘70パビリオンは2023年8月に別館を増設。 当時の資料や展示品などの展示から当時の熱気が伝わってくる。 “I love the EXPO’70 Pavilion in the Expo’70 Commemorative Park. I’ve been collecting the goods of the Expo”, said Daitoh. The EXPO’70 Pavilion is the renovated Steel Pavillion of the Japan World Exposition, Osaka. The annex was newly built in 2023. The displayed collection from that period vividly conveys the enthusiasm of the time.
大阪府吹田市千里万博公園
Senribampakukoen, Suita City, Osaka Prefecture TEL 06-6877-7387（万博記念公園コールセンター Bampaku-kinen-koen Call Center）営業時間 9:30–17:00（入園は16:30まで） Opening Hours 9:30AM–5PM（Admission until 4:30PM）休園日 水曜日（4月1日〜GW、10・11月は無休） Days Closed Every Wednesday（except October and November, the period from April 1st to Golden Week holiday）入園料 大人260円 小中学生80円（自然文化園・日本庭園共通料金）Admission Fee General : ¥260, Junior high school students and under : ¥80（Including Natural and Cultural Gardens and Japanese Garden）※ 施設により別途料金が必要 Additional admission fee is required to access the following facilities. ー 太陽の塔内部見学 大人720円 小中学生310円 For the Tower of the Sun Museum General : ¥720, Junior high and elementary school students : ¥310 ー EXPO’70パビリオン 高校生以上500円 For the EXPO’70 Pavilion High school students and older : ¥500
Shunsuke Daitoh : Born in Sakai City, Osaka, in 1986. He made his acting debut in drama “Nobuta wo Produce”, and later gathered broad attention for a role in NHK morning drama “Welkame”. Recently, he is in film “The Voices at War” and “Tsumi to Aku”, drama “Ano Kuzu wo Nagutte Yaritainda” as well as stage drama “What If If Only”. Daitoh also hosts “Daitoh Shunsuke no Hakken Tekutekugaku” in “news runner” on Kansai Television. His latest movie “Kishibe Rohan ha Ugokanai Zangeshitsu” will be released nationwide on May 23rd.
