[Translation] Arashi in Popolo 09/09 - Rumors About Arashi
I'm taking a short break from April 04's Wink Up Message Board to translate this article in Popolo that's really cute and fun. Enjoy!
17 Rumors about Arashi!! The members themselves answer honestly, so let's find out for sure what's the truth and what's a lie~!
"The leader was decided by rock paper scizzors!?"
That whispered rumor that seems it could be true about national idol group, Arashi. After taking a look at the pictures the members took without makeup, let's look for the truth through all the mystery.
Part 1: Member Section
We directly interview the 5 members about the rumors that run wild in the public! They testified about the truth to us.
Rumors Surrounding Aiba Masaki
Rumor 1: He really likes manga.
YES.
I used to buy seven volumes in one week and read them all.
I don't read as much as I used to though. Back then I was buying 7 different weekly young boys' and teen boys' manga magazines. If I started reading a series I couldn't stop, and there were a lot of series I liked, so the amount of time I've spent on manga is pretty long. But buying that many manga in a week was really tough, so at a good stopping point I gradually stopped and now I just buy special books of comics every once in a while. But if you like something, you like it. I don't read at home, but I read manga when I'm commuting or if I have time during breaks at work.
Rumor 2: His pet parrot is named after the main character in his mother's favorite drama.
YES.
My parrot is named "Joon sang."
My mom used to be really into the drama "Winter Sonata," so she named our parrot after Bae Yong Jun-san's character. He's named "Joon sang," but I've never seen the drama so I didn't get it. She told me that's what it was from and that's how I learned...I guess (lol). Don't a lot of people name their pets that way? There might be a pet in someone else's house with that same name.
A rumor Aiba is interested in! "Eel and pickled plum taste bad together."
Since it's summer I thought up something related to eel, but hasn't this been said for ages? But I've never heard it from someone who's actually eaten this. It doesn't seem to me like the two flavors would be bad together, I wonder why people say that.
Rumors Surrounding Matsumoto Jun
Rumor 3: He keeps his scripts from every drama he's been in.
NO.
I just store the one from the first or last episode.
There's a place in my heart for every show, but of course I don't have all of the scripts from every one. I mean, if I kept all of them, there'd be a ton. Actually, even now my room has gotten crazy with all the scripts and materials for "Smile" (*bitter smile*). So I set aside the script of the first or last episode of every drama and throw the rest away. I have them lined up on a shelf so I can take one out whenever, but I haven't gone back and looked at any. After some more time has passed, I think I'll be able to pick them up and feel nostalgic.
Rumor 4: He has a hard time waking up.
YES.
Even if I use the snooze setting, it doesn't really have any effect.
Really, I'm just not a morning person. I set the alarm on my cell phone, but usually I don't hear it when it goes off (*bitter smile*). When I ue the snooze setting and it goes off again in a minute, I still don't hear it. I don't think it just keeps ringing that whole time, I probably turn it off but I don't remember doing it. When I have to be up early to film a drama or something, I wake up through sheer determination that "I must get up no matter what" (lol).
A rumor Matsumoto is interested in! "The number of calories in beer and shochuu is about the same."
The other day I ran into Izumi Pinko in the hall at a television station building and she said this. Compared to this, wine and whisky are high in calories. I like wine though... I want to enjoy drinking with this in mind from now on.
Rumors Surrounding Ninomiya Kazunari
Rumor 5: He's actually really good at cooking.
NO.
I don't have much experience.
Maybe I don't really do any cooking. In the past, there were some segments where I had to cook, but other than that I haven't cooked much. Because my parents have the qualifications to be chefs I get asked "You must have a natural talent for cooking, right?" but....I wonder if I do? I haven't properly cooked anything, and I don't have any motivation to begin with (*bitter smile*). I don't have a strong interest in food, so I'm not interested in cooking either. As long as there's no opportunity, I probably won't cook in the future.
Rumor 6: He'll definately show his latest magic tricks to the other members.
NO.
It's mostly for personal enjoyment.
There are times when I show them the tricks, but it's not a definate. Like if I memorize a new trick, I'd want to test out the other members' reactions first? Nah, it's not like that at all. Well, when I had first started out I might have felt like that a little. Now, I don't do magic to show it to other people, it's for personal enjoyment. I mean, it's fun just learning magic, so sometimes I don't show the tricks to anyone at all.
A rumor Ninomiya is interested in! "A new game is coming out in my favorite series."
When I hear that a new game is coming out in a popular series, I always look forward to it. But while everyone is saying "It's coming, it's coming" if nothing happens, I half doubt it (lol). When it comes out, I buy it right away. My goal is to beat it in about 10 hours!
Rumors Surrounding Ohno Satoshi
Rumor 7: He likes music because of his mother's influence.
YES.
I might like dance because of my mom's influence too.
My mom is always playing music, so I was raised listening to it. My mom listened to a lot of Madonna and Michael Jackson and stuff like that. Lately she's been listening to Linkin Park or something. My mom watched a lot of Michael's live performances and I saw the "moonwalk" starting from when I was little. That might have influenced me to start dancing too. Speaking of which, I hear my mom used to go dancing at clubs (lol).
Rumor 8: He used to want to work as a host.
YES.
After learning the harsh reality of it, I gave up!
When I was about 16 years old, I used to say to my friends "I want to become a host~" Why? It's been so long, I'm wondering the same thing (lol). I think back then I was just thinking all about the image. I'd heard if you become a host you'd get rich, so I was like "Then I'll try it out!" and looked at it in a really simplified way. After that I heard about how strict the host business is and quickly gave up (*bitter smile*).
*Translator's note: A host or hostess is a person that works in a special bar or club and serves customers of the opposite sex. They serve drinks, light cigarettes, and entertain their customers. The basic goal of any host or hostess is to get the customer to fall in love with them, because then the customer will lavish them with expensive gifts, high tips, and come back again and again. Hosts/hostesses can make a lot of money, but the competition to have the most customers can be really intense, the managers can be controlling, and at some lower class bars/clubs the hosts and hostesses often get involved in drug and alcohol abuse and end up having to sleep with their clients.
A rumor Ohno is interested in! "The true form of the skyfish."
I saw a special on TV about the unconfirmed species the "skyfish." There's a theory that they're just an afterimage of bugs flying caught by cameras, but because it's difficult to varify the content of all of the images, there's another theory that claims they're a new species. Which one is the truth!?
Rumors Surrounding Sakurai Sho
Rumor 9: He hums in the bath.
NO.
....I bathe silently.
I don't sing at all. Well, if I had to answer, I hum to myself when I'm showering just before a concert. But usually I'm really quiet, I don't make any noise at all (lol). I usually soak in the bathtub for about 30 minutes, staring into space. I like bath salts, but I don't use them. We used to reuse the bathwater for the laundry, so when I put bath salts in the water despite knowing that, my mom got mad at me (*bitter smile*).
Rumor 10: He carries around an English dictionary with him.
YES.
Because if I don't look up the word myself, I won't remember it.
I don't have it today, but I plan to do it from now on, so YES. Sometime before the filming for "Yattaman" began I started learning English, and I used to carry it around a lot back then. But from "Yattaman" up until now, I've been really busy so I've taken a break from English. I'm going to start up again, so I think I'll start carrying it around. My mom has been saying "Look it up and memorize it" since I was little, because if I don't look it up and take notes, I won't remember.
A rumor Sakurai is interested in! "The existance of UFOs."
(While researching) The other day it was UFO day (6/24) right? From a personal point of view, I don't think UFOs exist as flying objects. I think there's probably other life forms other than just on Earth. Rather than having the same form as humans, they might be in the form of something like dust.
Part 2: Group Section
Next, we thoroughly researched rumors about Arashi and the members. Some new facts even come out...!?
Rumor 11: Arashi has a baseball team.
NO.
Aiba: I'm on my own team.
We don't have an Arashi baseball team, but I'm on a team with my friends. Only Nino and I from Arashi are on it, but our next game is at Yokohama Stadium! It's really rare to get to play baseball at a place like that so I really want to go, but unfortunately I have work. Arashi used to have a futsal team, but I suck at it way worse than baseball. I wonder where those uniforms went (bitter laugh).
Nino: We have a futsal team but...
We don't have a baseball team. We had a futsal team for a while.... But that team only played in one game, and I've forgotten who played which position (*bitter laugh*). I don't have any experience playing futsal so it was hard, so I prefer baseball. Aiba-san and I used to get invited to play in baseball games with our seniors in the agency, but lately we haven't had time and haven't been playing.
Rumor 12: Aiba-chan and Sho-kun go to a lot of the same stores and restaurants.
YES.
Sho: "We have the same shoes in different colors!"
Aiba: "We ran into each other at a restaurant!"
We even went shopping together.
Sho: The other day we saw each other at a restaurant, right?
Aiba: Yeah, by coincidence. We both go to that place a lot but I can't believe I ran into you.
Sho: When I first went in one of the employees said "Aiba-san came," but to suddenly go over there...So I waited until I was leaving.
Aiba: Why, you should have come over. But the food at that restaurant is really good, huh.
Sho: What did you have?
Aiba: Fried chicken. Anything you eat there is really good!
Sho: Definately. We like the same clothes stores too, don't we?
Aiba: Just the one place though.
Sho: Whenever I shop there I always ask "Which things hasn't Aiba bought yet?" (lol)
Aiba: Hahaha, who cares if we end up with the same stuff. Speaking of that, one time we did get the same pair of shoes.
Sho: Boots in two different colors, right?
Aiba: The other day we finally went shopping together.
Sho: That was the first time, wasn't it? That was a quick and easy way to keep us from having the same clothes, so we went during a break at work. I think I bought a gathered shirt...
Aiba: I think I bought a T-shirt or a hoodie or something.
We celebrated Nino's birthday at a Yakiniku restaurant.
Aiba: We have similar hobbies, don't we?
Sho: Well, the places we go certainly overlap. At every restaurant and store I go to, your name comes up. It's like "You again!" (lol)
Aiba: Ahaha. Probably half of the places I go, Sho-chan goes to also.
Sho: By the way, the yakiniku place we went before was good.
Aiba: Ah, the place we went for Nino's birthday! You were the only one that couldn't come, right?
Sho: Yeah, yeah. But I made the reservations for you.
Aiba: Since Sho-chan goes to that place more often, he made the reservation for us. Sho-chan called, but I was the one to go and I thought it would be bad to confuse them, so I went in and said "I'm Sakurai."
Sho: But that's even more confusing! Once they see you, it's obvious you're Aiba-kun (lol).
Rumor 13: Arashi could have been given a different group name.
YES.
Nino: It's an agency tradition to choose from a list of choices!?
I don't remember what other names there were, but it seems that "Arashi" was chosen in the end from a lot of other possibilities. It wasn't just Arashi, other groups were like that too right? I think that's definately the agency's policy (lol). When they decided on "Arashi," I didn't think anything about it in particular. I mean, back then I didn't think we'd last this long (lol).
Sho: At first I thought "Arashi is lame."
There were a lot of choices. Before we debuted, Nino and I went to the boss's house there was a piece of paper with lots of English names written on it on a desk. There was a big X over those, and "Arashi" was written in nice handwritting. Nino and I looked at that and got dissapointed, thinking "Arashi is lame." (lol) But now I'm attached to it, I even use it in lyrics and stuff; I think they gave us a really good name.
Rumor 14: Nino touches Ohno-kun's butt instead of a normal greeting.
YES.
Nino: "If that's what Leader says..."
Ohno: "Now it just seems natural."
Whenever I'm sitting in a chair, Nino's hand...
Ohno: This rumor is true, isn't it. When we see each other, he touches me almost every time.
Nino: Is that so?
Ohno: You don't remember?
Nino: I don't. But if Leader says so, it must be true, right? It's not like I especially think about touching you. I don't remember doing it.
Ohno: I'm sure it's become a habit for you. That's why you're not aware of it. The moment I sit down, Nino's hand is casually on the chair. It's not just my butt, sometimes he touches my nipples too...
Nino: Really? Aah, sorry about that (lol).
Ohno: The first time I thought "What the hell!?" but now it's become so natural even I've stopped thinking about it (lol).
Nino touches people a lot, doesn't he.
Ohno: Nino also doesn't just touch me, he puts his arm around the other members' shoulders a lot too, right?
Nino: That's more just me leaning against people than putting my arm around their shoulders. It's more comfortable that way (lol).
Ohno: I see. It certainly does have that feeling (lol). Speaking of which, your hand ends up on my knee a lot too, doesn't it.
Nino: Hmmm, I guess so?
Ohno: People around us often say "Arashi are good friends" or "They touch each other a lot," but if I think about it, maybe it's Nino that's creating this image.
Nino: Maybe so. But the practical question is, what does Leader think about all of this touching?
Ohno: To be honest, I don't know..... Because it's become so normal to be touched. Now I don't really know what it's like when it's not like that.
Nino: So what should we do from now on?
Ohno: Aah, I'll leave that up to you. If you want, I'll train until I've got a more attractive body that you'd would want to touch more. (lol)
Nino: If you're going to offer that much, then please do. (*bitter smile*)
Rumor 15: Arashi's leader was chosen by a game of rock paper scissors.
YES.
Ohno: I won the game, but I was still surprised!
When we appeared on the show "Shounentaimu" a long time ago, everyone in Shounentai said to us "Choose a leader" and I played a game of rock paper scissors with Sho-kun. Naturally, I thought it'd be the person who lost, so when I won and was appointed leader, I was like "Eee~!?" (*bitter smile*). After all, to this day I haven't done anything leader-ish....Even so, we've come this far so it worked out somehow (lol).
Jun: It was a two-person rock paper scissors game.
As we were told by Shounentai, we had a rock paper scissors match between the oldest, Leader, and the most reliable, Sho-kun. Leader ended up winning the match and becoming Arashi's "Leader." But "Leader" is just a nickname. I mean, in the past, he wrote "My nickname is Leader" on his record company profile (lol).
Rumor 16: When they go on trips, Arashi members will always buy souvenirs for the other members.
YES.
Sho: Aiba will always get tiger T-shirts.
Nino also gave us souvenirs from Saipan, and Jun bought them for us in Arizona. When Aiba-kun goes on-location in a foreign country, he always buys us tiger T-shirts. I have 3 or 4 of them at my house (lol). As for me, the talk about the incense I bought was bad, so I went with a safer gift of mugs. But trying to bring them back without breaking them was hard!
NO.
Jun: If there's time...
For me, it's not a definate. The one that usually buys them is Sho-kun I guess. When he went to India, he gave everyone incense. When we decided to test it out and burned it, and it had a really intense scent (lol). I brought back souvenirs from Hong Kong when I went for the filming of "Hana Yori Dango F." My stance is to by them if I have time, it's not an obligation.
Rumor 17: Arashi has an end-of-the-year party every year.
NO.
Ohno: There's no good time.
We don't really do anything like that. We have them sometimes with the staff, but we don't exactly plan them as end-of-the-year parties... At least to me it doesn't seem that way. First of all, the idea is to have end-of-the-year parties after work, right? For us, the end of the year and the beginning of the new year happen together during the Countdown Live, so there's no good time to have an end-of-the-year party.
Aiba: If we're with the staff.
I don't know about every year, but we have them. But it's not just the members, it's sponsered by the recording company, so to be really accurate it's a NO. When the end of the year comes around the topic comes up, and we get together with the staff and say stuff like "Great job on everything this year, I look forward to working with you again next year." We're always really busy and can't take much time to connect, so it's a good opportunity to talk with the staff.
----------------------------------------------
That's it! As always, comments and corrections are appreciated :) Please do not repost this translation without my permission.
17 Rumors about Arashi!! The members themselves answer honestly, so let's find out for sure what's the truth and what's a lie~!
"The leader was decided by rock paper scizzors!?"
That whispered rumor that seems it could be true about national idol group, Arashi. After taking a look at the pictures the members took without makeup, let's look for the truth through all the mystery.
Part 1: Member Section
We directly interview the 5 members about the rumors that run wild in the public! They testified about the truth to us.
Rumors Surrounding Aiba Masaki
Rumor 1: He really likes manga.
YES.
I used to buy seven volumes in one week and read them all.
I don't read as much as I used to though. Back then I was buying 7 different weekly young boys' and teen boys' manga magazines. If I started reading a series I couldn't stop, and there were a lot of series I liked, so the amount of time I've spent on manga is pretty long. But buying that many manga in a week was really tough, so at a good stopping point I gradually stopped and now I just buy special books of comics every once in a while. But if you like something, you like it. I don't read at home, but I read manga when I'm commuting or if I have time during breaks at work.
Rumor 2: His pet parrot is named after the main character in his mother's favorite drama.
YES.
My parrot is named "Joon sang."
My mom used to be really into the drama "Winter Sonata," so she named our parrot after Bae Yong Jun-san's character. He's named "Joon sang," but I've never seen the drama so I didn't get it. She told me that's what it was from and that's how I learned...I guess (lol). Don't a lot of people name their pets that way? There might be a pet in someone else's house with that same name.
A rumor Aiba is interested in! "Eel and pickled plum taste bad together."
Since it's summer I thought up something related to eel, but hasn't this been said for ages? But I've never heard it from someone who's actually eaten this. It doesn't seem to me like the two flavors would be bad together, I wonder why people say that.
Rumors Surrounding Matsumoto Jun
Rumor 3: He keeps his scripts from every drama he's been in.
NO.
I just store the one from the first or last episode.
There's a place in my heart for every show, but of course I don't have all of the scripts from every one. I mean, if I kept all of them, there'd be a ton. Actually, even now my room has gotten crazy with all the scripts and materials for "Smile" (*bitter smile*). So I set aside the script of the first or last episode of every drama and throw the rest away. I have them lined up on a shelf so I can take one out whenever, but I haven't gone back and looked at any. After some more time has passed, I think I'll be able to pick them up and feel nostalgic.
Rumor 4: He has a hard time waking up.
YES.
Even if I use the snooze setting, it doesn't really have any effect.
Really, I'm just not a morning person. I set the alarm on my cell phone, but usually I don't hear it when it goes off (*bitter smile*). When I ue the snooze setting and it goes off again in a minute, I still don't hear it. I don't think it just keeps ringing that whole time, I probably turn it off but I don't remember doing it. When I have to be up early to film a drama or something, I wake up through sheer determination that "I must get up no matter what" (lol).
A rumor Matsumoto is interested in! "The number of calories in beer and shochuu is about the same."
The other day I ran into Izumi Pinko in the hall at a television station building and she said this. Compared to this, wine and whisky are high in calories. I like wine though... I want to enjoy drinking with this in mind from now on.
Rumors Surrounding Ninomiya Kazunari
Rumor 5: He's actually really good at cooking.
NO.
I don't have much experience.
Maybe I don't really do any cooking. In the past, there were some segments where I had to cook, but other than that I haven't cooked much. Because my parents have the qualifications to be chefs I get asked "You must have a natural talent for cooking, right?" but....I wonder if I do? I haven't properly cooked anything, and I don't have any motivation to begin with (*bitter smile*). I don't have a strong interest in food, so I'm not interested in cooking either. As long as there's no opportunity, I probably won't cook in the future.
Rumor 6: He'll definately show his latest magic tricks to the other members.
NO.
It's mostly for personal enjoyment.
There are times when I show them the tricks, but it's not a definate. Like if I memorize a new trick, I'd want to test out the other members' reactions first? Nah, it's not like that at all. Well, when I had first started out I might have felt like that a little. Now, I don't do magic to show it to other people, it's for personal enjoyment. I mean, it's fun just learning magic, so sometimes I don't show the tricks to anyone at all.
A rumor Ninomiya is interested in! "A new game is coming out in my favorite series."
When I hear that a new game is coming out in a popular series, I always look forward to it. But while everyone is saying "It's coming, it's coming" if nothing happens, I half doubt it (lol). When it comes out, I buy it right away. My goal is to beat it in about 10 hours!
Rumors Surrounding Ohno Satoshi
Rumor 7: He likes music because of his mother's influence.
YES.
I might like dance because of my mom's influence too.
My mom is always playing music, so I was raised listening to it. My mom listened to a lot of Madonna and Michael Jackson and stuff like that. Lately she's been listening to Linkin Park or something. My mom watched a lot of Michael's live performances and I saw the "moonwalk" starting from when I was little. That might have influenced me to start dancing too. Speaking of which, I hear my mom used to go dancing at clubs (lol).
Rumor 8: He used to want to work as a host.
YES.
After learning the harsh reality of it, I gave up!
When I was about 16 years old, I used to say to my friends "I want to become a host~" Why? It's been so long, I'm wondering the same thing (lol). I think back then I was just thinking all about the image. I'd heard if you become a host you'd get rich, so I was like "Then I'll try it out!" and looked at it in a really simplified way. After that I heard about how strict the host business is and quickly gave up (*bitter smile*).
*Translator's note: A host or hostess is a person that works in a special bar or club and serves customers of the opposite sex. They serve drinks, light cigarettes, and entertain their customers. The basic goal of any host or hostess is to get the customer to fall in love with them, because then the customer will lavish them with expensive gifts, high tips, and come back again and again. Hosts/hostesses can make a lot of money, but the competition to have the most customers can be really intense, the managers can be controlling, and at some lower class bars/clubs the hosts and hostesses often get involved in drug and alcohol abuse and end up having to sleep with their clients.
A rumor Ohno is interested in! "The true form of the skyfish."
I saw a special on TV about the unconfirmed species the "skyfish." There's a theory that they're just an afterimage of bugs flying caught by cameras, but because it's difficult to varify the content of all of the images, there's another theory that claims they're a new species. Which one is the truth!?
Rumors Surrounding Sakurai Sho
Rumor 9: He hums in the bath.
NO.
....I bathe silently.
I don't sing at all. Well, if I had to answer, I hum to myself when I'm showering just before a concert. But usually I'm really quiet, I don't make any noise at all (lol). I usually soak in the bathtub for about 30 minutes, staring into space. I like bath salts, but I don't use them. We used to reuse the bathwater for the laundry, so when I put bath salts in the water despite knowing that, my mom got mad at me (*bitter smile*).
Rumor 10: He carries around an English dictionary with him.
YES.
Because if I don't look up the word myself, I won't remember it.
I don't have it today, but I plan to do it from now on, so YES. Sometime before the filming for "Yattaman" began I started learning English, and I used to carry it around a lot back then. But from "Yattaman" up until now, I've been really busy so I've taken a break from English. I'm going to start up again, so I think I'll start carrying it around. My mom has been saying "Look it up and memorize it" since I was little, because if I don't look it up and take notes, I won't remember.
A rumor Sakurai is interested in! "The existance of UFOs."
(While researching) The other day it was UFO day (6/24) right? From a personal point of view, I don't think UFOs exist as flying objects. I think there's probably other life forms other than just on Earth. Rather than having the same form as humans, they might be in the form of something like dust.
Part 2: Group Section
Next, we thoroughly researched rumors about Arashi and the members. Some new facts even come out...!?
Rumor 11: Arashi has a baseball team.
NO.
Aiba: I'm on my own team.
We don't have an Arashi baseball team, but I'm on a team with my friends. Only Nino and I from Arashi are on it, but our next game is at Yokohama Stadium! It's really rare to get to play baseball at a place like that so I really want to go, but unfortunately I have work. Arashi used to have a futsal team, but I suck at it way worse than baseball. I wonder where those uniforms went (bitter laugh).
Nino: We have a futsal team but...
We don't have a baseball team. We had a futsal team for a while.... But that team only played in one game, and I've forgotten who played which position (*bitter laugh*). I don't have any experience playing futsal so it was hard, so I prefer baseball. Aiba-san and I used to get invited to play in baseball games with our seniors in the agency, but lately we haven't had time and haven't been playing.
Rumor 12: Aiba-chan and Sho-kun go to a lot of the same stores and restaurants.
YES.
Sho: "We have the same shoes in different colors!"
Aiba: "We ran into each other at a restaurant!"
We even went shopping together.
Sho: The other day we saw each other at a restaurant, right?
Aiba: Yeah, by coincidence. We both go to that place a lot but I can't believe I ran into you.
Sho: When I first went in one of the employees said "Aiba-san came," but to suddenly go over there...So I waited until I was leaving.
Aiba: Why, you should have come over. But the food at that restaurant is really good, huh.
Sho: What did you have?
Aiba: Fried chicken. Anything you eat there is really good!
Sho: Definately. We like the same clothes stores too, don't we?
Aiba: Just the one place though.
Sho: Whenever I shop there I always ask "Which things hasn't Aiba bought yet?" (lol)
Aiba: Hahaha, who cares if we end up with the same stuff. Speaking of that, one time we did get the same pair of shoes.
Sho: Boots in two different colors, right?
Aiba: The other day we finally went shopping together.
Sho: That was the first time, wasn't it? That was a quick and easy way to keep us from having the same clothes, so we went during a break at work. I think I bought a gathered shirt...
Aiba: I think I bought a T-shirt or a hoodie or something.
We celebrated Nino's birthday at a Yakiniku restaurant.
Aiba: We have similar hobbies, don't we?
Sho: Well, the places we go certainly overlap. At every restaurant and store I go to, your name comes up. It's like "You again!" (lol)
Aiba: Ahaha. Probably half of the places I go, Sho-chan goes to also.
Sho: By the way, the yakiniku place we went before was good.
Aiba: Ah, the place we went for Nino's birthday! You were the only one that couldn't come, right?
Sho: Yeah, yeah. But I made the reservations for you.
Aiba: Since Sho-chan goes to that place more often, he made the reservation for us. Sho-chan called, but I was the one to go and I thought it would be bad to confuse them, so I went in and said "I'm Sakurai."
Sho: But that's even more confusing! Once they see you, it's obvious you're Aiba-kun (lol).
Rumor 13: Arashi could have been given a different group name.
YES.
Nino: It's an agency tradition to choose from a list of choices!?
I don't remember what other names there were, but it seems that "Arashi" was chosen in the end from a lot of other possibilities. It wasn't just Arashi, other groups were like that too right? I think that's definately the agency's policy (lol). When they decided on "Arashi," I didn't think anything about it in particular. I mean, back then I didn't think we'd last this long (lol).
Sho: At first I thought "Arashi is lame."
There were a lot of choices. Before we debuted, Nino and I went to the boss's house there was a piece of paper with lots of English names written on it on a desk. There was a big X over those, and "Arashi" was written in nice handwritting. Nino and I looked at that and got dissapointed, thinking "Arashi is lame." (lol) But now I'm attached to it, I even use it in lyrics and stuff; I think they gave us a really good name.
Rumor 14: Nino touches Ohno-kun's butt instead of a normal greeting.
YES.
Nino: "If that's what Leader says..."
Ohno: "Now it just seems natural."
Whenever I'm sitting in a chair, Nino's hand...
Ohno: This rumor is true, isn't it. When we see each other, he touches me almost every time.
Nino: Is that so?
Ohno: You don't remember?
Nino: I don't. But if Leader says so, it must be true, right? It's not like I especially think about touching you. I don't remember doing it.
Ohno: I'm sure it's become a habit for you. That's why you're not aware of it. The moment I sit down, Nino's hand is casually on the chair. It's not just my butt, sometimes he touches my nipples too...
Nino: Really? Aah, sorry about that (lol).
Ohno: The first time I thought "What the hell!?" but now it's become so natural even I've stopped thinking about it (lol).
Nino touches people a lot, doesn't he.
Ohno: Nino also doesn't just touch me, he puts his arm around the other members' shoulders a lot too, right?
Nino: That's more just me leaning against people than putting my arm around their shoulders. It's more comfortable that way (lol).
Ohno: I see. It certainly does have that feeling (lol). Speaking of which, your hand ends up on my knee a lot too, doesn't it.
Nino: Hmmm, I guess so?
Ohno: People around us often say "Arashi are good friends" or "They touch each other a lot," but if I think about it, maybe it's Nino that's creating this image.
Nino: Maybe so. But the practical question is, what does Leader think about all of this touching?
Ohno: To be honest, I don't know..... Because it's become so normal to be touched. Now I don't really know what it's like when it's not like that.
Nino: So what should we do from now on?
Ohno: Aah, I'll leave that up to you. If you want, I'll train until I've got a more attractive body that you'd would want to touch more. (lol)
Nino: If you're going to offer that much, then please do. (*bitter smile*)
Rumor 15: Arashi's leader was chosen by a game of rock paper scissors.
YES.
Ohno: I won the game, but I was still surprised!
When we appeared on the show "Shounentaimu" a long time ago, everyone in Shounentai said to us "Choose a leader" and I played a game of rock paper scissors with Sho-kun. Naturally, I thought it'd be the person who lost, so when I won and was appointed leader, I was like "Eee~!?" (*bitter smile*). After all, to this day I haven't done anything leader-ish....Even so, we've come this far so it worked out somehow (lol).
Jun: It was a two-person rock paper scissors game.
As we were told by Shounentai, we had a rock paper scissors match between the oldest, Leader, and the most reliable, Sho-kun. Leader ended up winning the match and becoming Arashi's "Leader." But "Leader" is just a nickname. I mean, in the past, he wrote "My nickname is Leader" on his record company profile (lol).
Rumor 16: When they go on trips, Arashi members will always buy souvenirs for the other members.
YES.
Sho: Aiba will always get tiger T-shirts.
Nino also gave us souvenirs from Saipan, and Jun bought them for us in Arizona. When Aiba-kun goes on-location in a foreign country, he always buys us tiger T-shirts. I have 3 or 4 of them at my house (lol). As for me, the talk about the incense I bought was bad, so I went with a safer gift of mugs. But trying to bring them back without breaking them was hard!
NO.
Jun: If there's time...
For me, it's not a definate. The one that usually buys them is Sho-kun I guess. When he went to India, he gave everyone incense. When we decided to test it out and burned it, and it had a really intense scent (lol). I brought back souvenirs from Hong Kong when I went for the filming of "Hana Yori Dango F." My stance is to by them if I have time, it's not an obligation.
Rumor 17: Arashi has an end-of-the-year party every year.
NO.
Ohno: There's no good time.
We don't really do anything like that. We have them sometimes with the staff, but we don't exactly plan them as end-of-the-year parties... At least to me it doesn't seem that way. First of all, the idea is to have end-of-the-year parties after work, right? For us, the end of the year and the beginning of the new year happen together during the Countdown Live, so there's no good time to have an end-of-the-year party.
Aiba: If we're with the staff.
I don't know about every year, but we have them. But it's not just the members, it's sponsered by the recording company, so to be really accurate it's a NO. When the end of the year comes around the topic comes up, and we get together with the staff and say stuff like "Great job on everything this year, I look forward to working with you again next year." We're always really busy and can't take much time to connect, so it's a good opportunity to talk with the staff.
----------------------------------------------
That's it! As always, comments and corrections are appreciated :) Please do not repost this translation without my permission.