Arashi’s new holy land? Popular “Pine of 5″ CM attracts fans to Hokkaido
The popularity of five pines standing on a hill on the border of Biei Town and canal Kamikawa in Kamifurano has skyrocketed since they appeared in the "Pine of 5" ad campaign for Japan Airlines (JAL) starring idol group Arashi.
The landscape portrayed symbolizes the magnificent nature of Hokkaido, and it was first used in February and more recently at the end of May. In the latest commercial, all 5 members of Arashi walk towards the same direction and the story develops because the number of pines is the same as the number of members.
Around 10 groups of people appeared over the weekend on June 8th and enjoyed a photo shoot with the pines. One company employee in Sapporo, Inagaki Misaki (29) happened to also be a big fan of Arashi and she commented, "I heard about the location through an acquaintance. I'm glad I got see up close the trees that appeared in the CM". In response to its growing popularity, Kamifurano Tokachidake Tourism Association has prepared a guide tour for visitors and plans to distribute flyers during the following weeks.
According to a taxi driver in Sapporo, a group of tourists appeared and told him, "We want to go to the place where Arashi's CM was recorded" and some other drivers have also taken groups there under similar requests. The taxi fee to that area and around is 30,000¥.
Here is the CM:
Click to viewSource | Hokkaido News via jenewsdaily
the power of Arashi