September 30, 2026
Hello! Thursday is here! It’s October starting today!
I have 10 matches this month for the first time in a while, and I’ll be traveling from Hokkaido in the north down to Fukuoka in the south, so I’m hoping to stay injury-free and just have fun with it!
While thinking about what to talk about today, I realized I usually just talk about whatever I want. I figured it might be cool to talk about what you guys actually want to hear for a change, so I asked for topics on Instagram.
But honestly, over half of the suggestions were things I’ve already talked about, which made me go, “Come on guys, read my column!” lol. That said, there were some really interesting prompts in there too, so I picked out a few of the best ones to talk about today.
First up.
“Top 10 songs I had on heavy rotation in 2026.”
With the year past the halfway mark, Apple Music is pretty handy because it actually generates this ranking for you.
- Alright / PRAY FOR ME
- Falling in April / PRAY FOR ME
- PONPON!! / ReVERSE BOYZ
- Not over yet / PRAY FOR ME
- SOUL FORMATION / CODE AXE
- Twilight / THE FOREVER YOUNG
- GO STRAIGHT / THE FOREVER YOUNG
- Cosmonaut / PRAY FOR ME
- HELLO GOODBYE / THE FOREVER YOUNG
- Sakura no Toki / THE FOREVER YOUNG
There you have it… It’s so heavily biased that it’s actually hilarious.
I clearly listen to way too much PFM and EbaYan. Bands like Sono Sheet, ank, TRUE FIGHT, and DOGGYMAN also made the rankings. I think I might do a year-end recap version of this later!
Second topic.
“How to socialize. The mindset to stick to what you love and tips for not caring about what others think.”
Oh, man, this one! There are so many different ways to look at this, so this is strictly my personal opinion.
As a baseline, I’m someone who genuinely loves interacting with people. But because of that, I actually care way too much about reading people’s expressions, their reactions, and the overall vibe of the room.
Honestly, I wonder if there’s anyone in this world who genuinely doesn’t worry about those things at all. Being with close friends or family is incredibly fun and comforting, but all human relationships require at least some level of consideration for others. Because of that, interacting with a lot of people can leave me exhausted.
That’s why I have a day that I absolutely enforce at least once a month: a day where I literally do nothing. This is so incredibly important. It’s a day where I don’t step a single foot outside my house; all I do is eat, sleep, play video games, read manga, and watch videos. You completely shut out the outside world, carve out time just for yourself, and you don’t have to worry about a single other person. If you’re constantly exhausting yourself worrying about how you’re acting, it just gets to be too much.
Also, when you’re forced to interact with a really awful person, you just have to let it slide with a generous heart, telling yourself, “Well, people like this exist,” and simply stop expecting anything from them. Instead of demanding that the other person change, the important mindset is to step up and be the bigger person yourself.
If you try too hard to “fix” the fact that you care about what others think, you’ll just end up obsessing over that, which backfires and creates even more mental stress. So, don’t force yourself to change it. Just accepting it and telling yourself, “This is just who I am,” is equally important.
As for the mindset to stick to what you love—well, my whole life is proof of that! I’m someone who turned what I love into my career, so I literally can’t live without surrounding myself with the things I love. Have absolute confidence in the things you love! That’s all there is to it!
Third topic.
“Thoughts on Disney.”
I actually went to Disneyland the other day! Even though I really should have just rested after a long stretch of back-to-back matches, I got the itch to go out and do something, so I decided to go to Disney like two days beforehand, lol.
I went with a fellow pro-wrestling nerd friend that I’ve known since middle school~. Even now that I’ve actually become a pro wrestler, they still come to support my matches and hang out with me like this. I’m incredibly grateful. Since we’re the same age, we’re total besties. Huge thanks to them.
I finally got to eat the waffle I’ve been craving, and I actually got to ride an attraction I’ve never been on before, so it was super fun! I’m glad I’m so spontaneous.
And now, having just finished watching the broadcast of the final Shinjuku FACE show, I’m feeling pretty nostalgic and sad. It looked so fun and it was such a great show! cries
It’s a place filled with so many memories! Even though that venue will be gone, instead of saying goodbye, I’d rather say I hope we meet again somewhere, someday. Also, at the very, very end of the night after the FACE show… I lost my jacket. I wonder where it went.
There were a ton of other topics I wanted to answer, so I’ll tackle more of them next week! See ya!
This Week’s Track
Girls Band / Tsukimi
Translator’s Notes:
- Shinjuku FACE: A legendary, 500-capacity event hall in Kabukicho, Tokyo, that served as the heartbeat of the Japanese independent and joshi professional wrestling scene for nearly two decades. The venue is closing/changing, making “Last Shinjuku FACE” a significant emotional milestone for wrestlers.
- EbaYan (エバヤン): YUNA uses this shorthand slang to refer to the Japanese punk/rock band THE FOREVER YOUNG.
- Mabu (マブ): YUNA uses the slang mabu, derived from mabudachi (マブダチ), which roughly translates to “true friend,” “bestie,” or “homie.”
- Fukkaru (フッ軽): A popular Gen-Z Japanese slang term abbreviating footwork ga karui (フットワークが軽い). It literally translates to “light footwork” but is used to describe someone who is highly spontaneous, quick to act, and easy to make sudden plans with.