We have just completed the Denmark–Netherlands tour of YOAH, a circus production created, directed, and artistically led by Mochizuki.

The tour spanned approximately five weeks, traveling through multiple cities across both countries.
In each location, we repeated the same demanding cycle—load-in, rehearsal, performance, and load-out—again and again. It was an undeniably rigorous journey, but one we undertook with deep pride.

I have previously taken part in international tours, including those in the United States and Germany, but always as a guest performer. In those cases, my responsibility was limited to focusing on a single six-minute act, within well-prepared rehearsal environments.

This tour, however, was fundamentally different.

The opportunity emerged after a Dutch presenter saw YOAH at the Edinburgh performances. From that moment on, the tour became a project fully organized and produced by Silk Work and the YOAH team ourselves.
This meant that everything—from pre-production and travel logistics to on-the-road management, venue-specific technical setups, rehearsals, performances, and load-outs—fell upon our shoulders. We faced and overcame countless challenges at every stage of the journey.

I hold the deepest respect for everyone involved in this project: the local crews, the production and management teams, and all the artists and technicians working both onstage and behind the scenes.

Opportunities like this—where a Japan-based company is invited to tour internationally at this scale and successfully brings it to life—are rare. I feel an immense sense of gratitude and responsibility for having been part of it.

Each performance ran approximately 70 minutes.
Along the way, we added new elements such as tap dance and video performance, and at one point even had to source tap shoes locally in Amsterdam. It was, in every sense, a dramatic and unforgettable tour.

I was utterly exhausted—but even more so, deeply fulfilled and genuinely happy throughout those days.

Traveling by bus between cities, the landscapes we passed, and the quiet rhythms of everyday life in the Netherlands remain vivid in my memory. The natural scenery and the simple moments of daily living were just as meaningful as the performances themselves.

This tour has become one of the most important chapters of my life.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.