LIVE on Ce Matin

May 7th. Today I was on live air for about 8 minutes on a Yomiuri TV broadcast of a popular TV show called Ce Matin which aired from 6:20 am. A taxi came to pick me up at 5:10 am and I headed to Yomiuri TV. I couldn't sleep well the night before, not because I was nervous but because I was worried I would oversleep. I woke up before my alarm went off at 4:30 am and got up to take a shower and get ready. Yoshida-san, a Yomiuri TV director who had come to San Diego to work out details about our voyage was in the taxi and we did some catching up on our ride over to the TV station. As soon as I got to Yomiuri TV station and got to the waiting room, Kawachi-san, the director of this show and the station head, Hara-san came to greet me and I was grateful to feel my nervousness fade once I was surrounded by familiar faces. At 5:30 am, we had a quick meeting where they showed my the videos they were going to air on the show and they gave me a list of questions from viewers via Twitter that they wanted me to answer during the broadcast. From 6:00 am, during the 10 minutes they were airing from Tokyo, we had rehearsals in the studio. I was able to draw a mental map at this time and I felt a little more at ease. The actual broadcast went by very quickly. It was a great experience for me. There were over 20 staff working efficiently inside the studio. They all play key roles as they race against time to make the broadcast work and I learned how their every effort matters. Same goes for my feat to cross the Pacific. Shinbo-san and I are in the limelight but behind the scenes, there are many staff and volunteers who are who are doing everything they can to make this project succeed. I am really grateful for everyone's efforts. So you ask, what was it like to be on a live broadcast? I was nervous! But just like at the press conference, I got help from a pro, Shinbo-san, so I somehow made it through. The videos they aired were not only of those where we are training but they also aired videos of me writing on the computer and cooking yakisoba. I would be honored if even only one if not many viewers were able to see the underlying potential they all have and how immeasurable it is. I thank all the people who are involved in making this project come true and I am truly grateful to all the viewers who watched this show that aired so early in the morning.

Originally posted by Hiro in Japanese on 5/9/2013
Translated by SWIS Project