Maria Ozawa, ayaw nang umalis ng Pilipinas! Mga sikat na Japanese artists nag-perform sa matsuri!

Ahh sa bansa na pala nakatira ang former Japanese adult film star na si Maria Ozawa. At may mga negosyo na siya rito.

Pero aniya, wala na siyang planong balikan ang dati niyang ginagawa. Ang pagiging ‘porno’ star.

‘Been there, done that’ na raw siya sa ganun.

“I don’t, but sometimes I hear from fans everywhere, like all over the world saying you should go have it. I’m like, no, never mind. No,” sabi niya nang sandali naming makausap bago ginanap ang Matsuri in Manila the other night at last night sa Quirino Granstand – the biggest Japanese festival in Manila - kung saan mayroong 150 booths, live music, cosplay, pop culture, and Japanese food.

At nagpapasalamat siya na naging bahagi siya ng kauna-unahang Matsuri sa bansa na dinagsa ng maraming cosplayers. “Oh, I am just so happy and blessed that I could join this huge event. And I heard it’s like the first Matsuri-themed event here in Manila. And I can’t wait to go around the booth and see all the food that I miss from Japan. Everything, yes.”

Anyway, masasabi niya bang tapos na siya sa ganu’ng image?

“Yeah, yeah. It was very long time ago also. So, been there, done that. Now in a new era,” sabi pa niya.

Paano ang showbiz career niya? “I don’t really know, but sometimes I do guesting, and people wherever you go, they’re still nice, and like the media and everything, they’re really nice people. I really find it really... Compared with Japan, here in the Philippines, once you get famous, you’re famous for the whole time of your life. I think I like their... how do I say this, the fans; they’re very nice,” dagdag niyang kuwento.

Sa kasalukuyan ay meron siyang Japanese boyfriend na kasama niya rito sa Pilipinas.

At sa sobrang pagkagusto niya sa Pilipinas, twice a year na lang siyang umuuwi sa Japan bagama’t nami-miss daw niya ang Japan.

Tinuturing niyang isang malaking hakbang ang pagtira niya sa Pilipinas. “Yeah, I think so. Around 2015, I came here. And it was just like everything was so new. And I like the vibe, I like the people, and the physicality is very different from Japan. So I just decided to move here, and so far, so good.”

Ano ang pinakagusto niya sa Manila, Pilipinas? “The beaches, maybe. The food, I don’t mind the food too. It’s really good. Everything. I don’t mind the weather also. Because Japan is so cold. Everything, everything’s good.”

Huling napanood si Maria sa Pulang Araw kung saan gumanap siyang ina ni David Licauco.

“Well, it was my first time acting as a mother. So I really had to learn her character. And Pulang Araw, that show itself is very difficult, like very serious show. So I really had to dig in some history and teach, as I said, how Japanese family are, how the oriented family is. It was very hard, right?” pag-aalala niya sa nasabing Kapuso series na nagtapos kamakailan.

Sa ngayon ay mas madali siyang makaintindi ng Tagalog kesa magsalita ng ating wika.

“Well, I cannot speak Tagalog fluently. But if it’s mixed with TagLish, I would understand more than I can speak it.”

May plano ka bang manatili dito for good?

“Well, that was the plan before pandemic. And then during pandemic, I went back to Japan, maybe for like a year and a half, until everything dies down. And then I came back in 2021. And I hope that I could stay here again,” sabi niya.

Anyway, isa lang si Maria sa naging performer sa Matsuri in Manila na first time na nagkaroon dito.

Ito so far ang biggest Japanese festival in Manila kung saan nag-perform din sa live concert si James Reid.

Napanood din dito ang Japanese legendary singer Maki Otsuki na kilala sa kanyang iconic songs for One Piece,  Memories and Run! Run! Run!

Dumating din sa Pilipinas ang sikat na Japanese pop group, Fairy Tales, na nag-perform din sa dalawang araw na Matsuri.

Si Kenzaburo Kobayashi – COO and founder of OtaCute DAO Inc. – ang producer of Matsuri in Manila.