Confidence Man JP

This drama concerns the exploits of a gang of three confidence tricksters and the way they rob from corrupt millionaires in exciting and entertaining ways.

That’s the premise, anyway. It falls a bit short, but more about that later.

On the plus side, the performances are fine and the show bounces along with a lot of energy and humour. I liked the opening section where they pay homage to the final scene of the 1973 film The Sting, but in a Japanese setting. By the way, if you like stories about con men and you haven’t seen The Sting, definitely watch that before you watch this because Confidence Man JP might spoil the ending for you.

On the down side, the story is a bit contrived. The problem is that since this is all about tricking people, the show itself has no problem with setting up a huge convoluted situation and then going “Actually, all that was fake.” I mean, that’s okay I guess, but I’m hoping they’ve got something more imaginative for later episodes.

So far, so good. But this didn’t have me gasping at the twists and turns as, say, Liar Game.

Oh, and the JP at the end of the title is to distinguish it from its sister shows Confidence Man KR and Confidence Man CN, both currently in production. I’m curious to see how the shows differ for each market.

Keep on running, man

About this time last year, the Korean variety show Running Man was in serious trouble. Ratings were low and showed no signs of changing. Gary had left at the end of 2016, yet the cast still kept making references to there being seven members in the cast as if they were still pining for the good old days.

Then, in March 2017, it was moved from the prime time slot of 6.25pm on a Sunday to the slightly less prime time of 4.50pm. This looked, frankly, like a demotion and an admission that Running Man could no longer cope with its competitors at peak viewing hours.

But in April 2017 three new people joined the team. A new PD Jung Chul Min came on board and brought with him some new ideas for games formats and two new cast members: Jeon So Min (who cleverly mentioned her lack of work when appearing as a guest) and Yang Se Chan.

These two immediately became a breath of fresh air, with Jeon So Min’s unpredictable outburst and Yang Se Chan’s constant undermining of relationships among the male colleagues was just what the show needed. The fact that they were both devious was a bonus.

Suddenly, the balance of power in the cast had shifted and the old team had a new lease of life. Ratings, too, started to creep up until they were occasionally hitting double figures. Running Man looked like it had saved itself.

Interestingly, though, something else changed. Guests have started to repeat far more often than in the past. It looks like the new PD is determined to make sure that there are always a number of possibles for new members should someone else leave. In fact, Jo Se Ho was considered for the role of the ninth member when he chose to join Infinite Challenge.

Lee Elijah

Jo Se Ho

Lee Sang Yeob

Lee Da Hee

So the show is back on its feet and looking forward to the future instead of banging on about its past. Considering that, at the end of 2016, it had effectively been cancelled, this is quite an achievement.

Matsue for the third time

I once read a tourist book that recommended three days for a thorough exploration of Matsue, so considering that by the end of this holiday I would have been here as a tourist for about two weeks, you'd be forgiven for wondering if there was anything left for me to do.

There were a few things, mostly personal things that you don't find in tourist guides. Things I'd noticed in passing at the time and had slowly grown into obsessions since then.

Two of these things related to small forests. One was in Yasugi: I'd stopped off here in 2012 on my way to the Adachi Art Museum and taken a photo of a tree-covered hill with a red torii visible through a break in the trees.

The photo I took in 2012

The other was actually in Matsue itself. A tree-topped hill that seemed to rise and fall out of the suburbs for no reason.

View of the hill, as seen from near the Shimane Art Museum

I had noticed it the first time I came to Matsue, but never got round to exploring it. This time, I was determined to solve the mystery of both of these places.

There was also the small issue of a Lantern Festival I wanted to see, as well as revisiting old haunts.

On my way to the hill in Yasugi, called Togamiyama Nagisa Park, I walked past this crazy beautiful house build in the style of a Japanese castle. But slightly ramshackle, and not quite right. But it was so amazing to look at, I can totally believe this was intentional.

And the park itself was quite an adventure. Especially if you hate spiders.

Plenty of these

The spiders would build their webs across the path, giving any walker the choice of ducking under them or brushing them aside. And, frankly, brushing them aside wasn't really an option. These weren't dry, wispy cobwebs I was used to, but they were strong, sticky and broke with an almost audible snap. I decided to avoid them as much as possible.

Found this on the hill

Not sure what this used to be

Success! A five year old mystery solved!

The hill in Matsue can be access through the back of the temple Enjou-ji. It's pretty small, but still full of spiders and mosquitoes and I got bitten quite a lot during this walk. I think it was worth it, though.

I saw a lot of these stone lanterns with these strips of paper attached to them

Not sure what they are.

Found an old cemetery

The Lantern Festival, held around the grounds of Matsue Castle, was very pretty.

Not only that, I also enjoyed revisiting places to see if they'd changed.

They still haven't cleaned this mirror

I also went to Suito restaurant, where I'd been on my previous two trips here and I was very pleased when they recognised me. I also went to Dorobou Bar, where I went on my first time in Matsue. The bartender who'd served me was still there. In fact, she was now the manager. She didn't remember me, though people tried. I don't know who “James” was, but he must have made an impression, since two people asked me if I was him.

Grapefruit! Karaoke!

Someone brought in grapefruit and shared it round, which was nice of him. And I even sung a song on the karaoke, after a lot of drunken persuasion from a salaryman. I chose Kaze Wo Atsumete, since it's the Japanese song I know most words to. People either ignored me or were politely appreciative.

Actually, I had arranged this trip with the idea that this'd be my last journey to Matsue, but I had so much fun (and I still haven't gone to Yaegaki Shrine) that I guess I'll go at least once more.