In the early 1980’s, Yoshio Nomura made his debut into stardom as a pop idol with his nickname, Yotchan. He then become a guitarist for the rock-n-roll band Good-bye. His talent as a guitar player led him to join the touring band for Ayumi Hamasaki since 1998.

Yoshio is known to be a “guitar enthusiast” and has a collection of more than 300 guitars at home. His recent passion has been ukulele. For his first instrumental album titled “`Ukulele for Christmas,” he played all the instruments by himself, featuring techniques to play vintage `ukulele instead of electric guitar.

He has also produced his own ukulele model. “Usulele” (Usui means ‘thin’ in Japanese) became popular with its uniquely thin design. Several `ukulele producers are now inspired by Yoshio’s creation, and have been distributing their own versions of a thin body `ukulele. In 2020, Yoshio released his second `ukulele album, “`Ukulele Slow Life.”