More 2010/06 Arashi Segment
This particular article features individual questions about the things they do every day, and then a cross-talk where they talk about what they do and don't know about each other.
Arashi: ~a day in our life~
Q. In the morning, from the time you wake to the time you leave, what must you absolutely do?
Ohno: 30 push ups. 30 sit ups. For what? I guess… if I've done them, I feel like I've worked hard.
Sakurai: I suppose brushing my teeth and having a glass of water?
Aiba: First off, wake up… and then sleep again. (smiling) My snooze is set to five minute intervals, so I keep going back to sleep. Today it took about twenty minutes for me to wake fully.
Ninomiya: Maybe turn on the lights. In order to wake up. They say it's best for humans to sense light. Don't I open the curtains? Nope, I don't. It's a pain to close them. (smiling)
Matsumoto: Wake up, change clothes, get my stuff, put on my shoes, leave the house.
Q. What must you have with you in your bag?
Ohno: I put my wallet and my cell in my pocket. There's no point in taking an empty bag, so I'm empty-handed.
Sakurai: A memo pad, music player, my wallet, cell, pen case…. My pen case is for work, so if I don't have it it's a definite inconvenience.
Aiba: I keep my scripts and my music samples in my bag when I need them. Otherwise I usually don't use a bag. I keep chapstick and my wallet and my cell in my pockets, and when it's the right season I take my eyedrops for hay fever too.
Ninomiya: Nothing in particular. There are days I don't take a bag, and times I leave without my phone or my wallet. There's nothing that makes me think I'd be in trouble if I didn't have it.
Matsumoto: My phone, wallet, key, and music player. Sometimes I take a book instead of my music player, though.
Q: What do you do upon reaching work?
Ohno: Go to the bathroom. It's amazing how often you can go, even if you don't think you have to. (smiling)
Sakurai: I guess drink some coffee. Usually, I take it black. Sometimes I put in milk. Then maybe I put on some music. I have CDs of mash-ups from DJs that won awards during certain years, and recently I've been listening to the '08 and '09 versions.
Aiba: I'll be hungry, so I go looking for rice. Then I eat. I guess for Japanese people, it really is about rice.
Ninomiya: I change into my work outfit.
Matsumoto: I think it'd be different depending on the day and what work I'm doing. Today when I got to the green room I had a meeting right off the bat, and so the first thing I did was talk to staff.
Q. What do you do during work breaks?
Ohno: Look at magazines, zone out, and check fishing information on my cell.
Sakurai: Recently, I haven't got any. (smiling) But if you factor in the travel time between places… I watch TV. I used to listen to music, but now it's TV. Usually I'll watch informational shows, or television reports.
Aiba: I'll space out and think about my schedule, and look at the other members.
Ninomiya: When I have three to four hours, I'll sleep. In general, I can sleep anywhere. It's deep sleep, without dreams.
Matsumoto: Recently I've been listening to music a lot. I've been listening to hip-hop. For a while I stopped listening, but I've come back to it.
Q. You get home from work. What do you think to yourself then? (lit. What does your heart say?)
Ohno: It's over. (Otsukare-san)
Sakurai: "What should I do now?" I start thinking about the next day's work and calculate backwards to figure out when I need to sleep, and then decide what I want to do until then.
Aiba: Welcome home ♥
Ninomiya: Right now since I'm busy with movie filming, if I get home in time to fall asleep during midnight shopping programs, I think, "It's early, I'm lucky♪" If it's the early morning news, "Ah, it's this time already?" If it's the informational morning talk shows, "I worked hard. Good job, me." When I turn on the TV, these thoughts just spill out. (smiling)
Matsumoto: It's silent. (smiling)
Q. What do you do right when you get home?
Ohno: Turn on some music and space out. What music do I turn on? I don't really know, but as long as it's a relaxing song. (smiling)
Sakurai: Right now I've been turning on my humidifier. Then I wash my hands and gargle!
Aiba: First, turn on the TV, drink a beer, and space out. When I have some time, I get in bed and watch a DVD… And then fall asleep like that.
Ninomiya: Wash the bath, and then start up the hot water.
Matsumoto: Change my clothes, wash my hands, sit in the living room and think "What should I do now?" The important thing is sitting. I don't just jump into the bath or do anything right off. I go to the fridge for a drink or something sometimes, but… anyway, I sit down.
Q. What part of your home are you particularly taken with?
Ohno: The sofa. My body fits in it very nicely.
Sakurai: I feel the most relaxed when I climb into my futon. So I guess my bed. It's not that I'm particularly taken with bedding, but I change the sheets for the summer and winter. In winter they're like a jersey, and in summer they're silky and smooth.
Aiba: I watch TV in the living room on the sofa and move around a lot. Aside from that it would be the dining table. I don't really like to clean up after cooking, so there's not usually dinner on the table, but for some reason it calms me, so I end up sitting there. (smiling)
Ninomiya: Maybe the music room. It's a 6-jou sized room with a guitar, bass, keyboard, and drum set. The room's not soundproof, it's just totally normal room. (smiling) The drums and such are electric, so they're pretty noisy. I can do what I want there, so I enjoy the time I spend in that room.
Matsumoto: The sofa, or no, maybe the bed. The sofa is great because it's a sofa, but if I vote for that then my bed will become irrelevant. (smiling)
Q. Over the course of a day, what's one certain time you must make for yourself?
Ohno: I chose a time to start and a time to finish, and I do some serious zoning out. My mind will be completely blank. There are times when I remember things from when I went fishing, but if I think about that I end up wanting to go really badly. So it's better for me to just be blank.
Sakurai: I definitely make time every day to watch the news programs that I've recorded. Though when I don't have much time, I watch on fast-forward.
Aiba: The time just before sleeping. In bed I'll think, "This is what happened today," looking back over the day. I don't just go straight to sleep.
Ninomiya: There's not really anything. Right now, I don't really need a time like that. To think that way means you come to want to do things, I think.
Matsumoto: A time when I'm active for myself. That might be listening to music, or reading a book, or really anything. But it's important for me to have a time when I get to choose what it is I'm going to do.
Q. You suddenly get time off from work. What do you do?
Ohno: I go fishing.
Sakurai: I want to go shopping, but… since it's something I haven't had in a while, I'd probably take advantage and treat it like a holiday. Ah, let's go to an onsen! I'd go to an onsen! Not just for the day, but I'd stay the night! If I ate breakfast and left right after, I'd certainly make it back in time for work the next morning. Atami only takes an hour's work of travel. If I could stop by an outlet on the way, it'd be perfect. (smiling)
Aiba: The other day I bought a book that compiled a lot of delicious looking restaurants, so I'd go to one of the ones that looked interesting (smiling)
Ninomiya: I'd waste time, probably.
Matsumoto: There are times I go to see a movie, or times I go see stage plays. There are probably times I invite my friends out drinking, too… I'm not generally the type to make plans, so I go with however I'm feeling that day. Because of that, there are days where I end up doing nothing at all (smiling) That's the greatest luxury.
Q. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear "A normal day"?
Ohno: Wake up -> Work -> Sleep
Sakurai: Not the "night" but "daytime", when the sun shines. "A normal day" would be "A day that repeats itself", I get that image, but the time that comes to mind is that of an elementary schooler. At that time, from morning till night, everyone's time is divided up the same way, isn't it? Right now my time is always divided up in different ways.
Aiba: Something that I don't want to take for granted, I think.
Ninomiya: Work.
Matsumoto: Points and lines. A normal day is something that's formed by days and days building upon each other.
CROSS TALK
-- It's no secret that 2009 was a special year for Arashi. They began their anniversary event with a five dome tour that's come to a close, and now, in spring 2010, Arashi are living life just like always. But saying that, their fever hasn't slowed in the slightest, it's just picking up steam. They took ten crowns at the Golden Disc Awards, a first ever, and they're starting a new regular show during golden time. Of course there are dramas and movies, varieties… and their solo activities are known. Their average day is very difficult.
Matsumoto: Recently, instead of seeing fellow members at work, it seems as though I've been seeing them more often on television.
Sakurai: But you know, it's because of that that we get all excitable in the greenroom. Like, "You're doing this job right now right? How is it?" It seems we're having conversations like that a lot.
-- Ninomiya-kun's movie and Ohno-kun's drama were a much talked about topic during today's shoot. All five were lively before the cameras.
Aiba: There are days when we get excited like this in the greenroom, and days we're totally not. (smiling) There are days when we don't really talk, just let each other do things on our own. (As he says this, he puts in eye drops).
Ninomiya: Hey you, it's mid-interview! And just how many different eye drops have you been using today? You've used too much!
Aiba: It's rough, hay fever is rough!
Matsumoto: This is how we are. (smiling)
Aiba: But you know, even when we're doing things on our own, doesn't everyone sit in the exact same spot?
Matsumoto: Ah, that's true. It's not like it's on purpose, but the places we sit are set depending on where we're working.
Aiba: If we sit somewhere different, it feels strange.
Ohno: I wonder why that is?
-- There's an understanding of what's natural between them, and they agree on where they all should sit. The green room is just like a family dining table!
Sakurai: If you put it that way, saying we're like a family, we probably are. We hang out with each other on our time off, right?
Aiba: And when we have a bit of free time at work, we go shopping together, or go to eat together. I just went shopping with Sho-kun the other day. In Roppongi Hills.
Sakurai: So fashionable. (smiling) But isn't it pretty rare to get in contact with each other to go out to eat on days off?
Aiba: I hang out with Nino on days off. We play baseball. We used to go to game centers when we were younger, too.
Ninomiya: We did huh. We once went all the way from the first floor to the top, and mastered them all. Back then Aiba started the arm wrestling game. Aiba-kun and the game machine were evenly matched, so they'd have their arms linked and his stance would just never change. The match would hang, and I'd think "Boring!" and wander off. And then when I glanced over at Aiba-kun… the machine itself had moved. He'd put too much power into it.
Aiba: We laughed about that huh.
-- They know each other so well, they say they can imagine what the others might be doing even when off of work.
Sakurai: It used to be that only Leader's off days were a mystery, but since he's discovered fishing as a hobby…
Aiba: On his days off, I imagine he's usually out on the Chiba sea. (smiling)
Ohno: Well, that's pretty much right.
-- For these guys who are on such good terms, there's one thing about each other that none of them have seen. That would be each member working on their solo work.
Matsumoto: A while ago, Nino was doing drama shooting in the studio next to where I was doing mine. I could have gone to visit… But for some reason it was scary, so I couldn't look in.
Sakurai: Like the Favor of the Crane?*
Matsumoto: Yeah, like "You must not open these doors!"
Sakurai: I get that. Arashi has a certain feeling to it when we're being as Arashi. I don't know that I really want to see a member outside of that. Like if Leader said "Let's go crazy today!" I think I'd be shocked.
Ohno: Because I wouldn't. (smiling)
Ninomiya: Like if Leader said "XX-cha~n, let's go out to eat today~" while putting his arm around someone all familiarly.
Ohno: Because I wouldn't. (smiling)
-- Is it true that the members are different on their solo sets than when they're all together?
Sakurai: Like when Matsujun is doing promotional things for a drama and getting hyper with his cast members…
Matsumoto: On other sets, I've heard that Nino takes the lead and invites everyone out to dinner…
Aiba: Hearing that I'm a little surprised, because that's unexpected…
Ohno: I really think that Sho-kun's NEWS ZERO is amazing. I appeared once, but… I think that's not for me. You can't goof off, and the information changes unexpectedly… To be able to cope with adapting that quickly is really amazing.
Ninomiya: And it sounds like Aiba-kun is really professional during other jobs.
Matsumoto: Eh? Is he really?
Aiba: Well, as to that, the fact that everyone else isn't there means I have to make up the slack. (smiling) But more importantly, is the normal me so careless?!
Sakurai: Not at all. (smiling)
Ninomiya: But you know, among us wouldn't the only one to be exactly the same be Leader? This guy was born under the star where people will do anything for him. Fishing would be a good example of that. He doesn't have a boat, but but he has a captain friend that takes the boat out for him.
Aiba: And he doesn't have a license. So someone has to be dropping him off and picking him up in Chiba.
Matsumoto: Put that way, Leader is a natural talent, isn't he. (smiling) [The entertainment world meaning of 'talent'.]
Ninomiya: Without a doubt, he's the kind where someone thinks "I want to do something for him," so when he goes on television to promote things it's likely…
Matsumoto: He won't work hard in the way that I will. (smiling)
Ninomiya: No matter where he goes, he'll say some little something to himself at the end and people will laugh. He's that kind of guy. (smiling)
Ohno: You know, I really am more or less doing my best…
-- And then there's one more side to the others that they haven't seen. That would be the time when they're honestly alone in their own homes.
Matsumoto: Speaking of which, recently I haven't been over to anyone's place.
Ninomiya: I want to go to Leader's house.
Aiba: I know what you mean. I want to go, I want to go!
Ohno: It's.. really bare.
Ninomiya: When we talk about this, you always say "It's bare," don't you? So I really want to see just how empty it is.
Ohno: No, really… There's nothing there that would interest you.
Ninomiya: I can't imagine what kind of room you live in, or what the layout is like.
Aiba: You watch a really tiny television don't you?
Ohno: That's right. I watch a television intended for use in the bath, but it's in a place that's not the bath. So depending on the reception there's picture, or no picture… It's a bit problematic.
Ninomiya: Because of that, there was a time someone from the office gave Leader an allowance and told him to buy a television with it… But this guy, he just went out and bought a refrigerator with it.
Aiba: That's embezzlement, embezzlement (smiling)
Matsumoto: Leader really is a "natural talent" after all. (smiling)
-- Their days are difficult, but during their short time off Aiba-kun and Matsumoto-kun say they went on a trip overseas. When they go on trips, it's a promise that they bring home souvenirs for the other members.
Matsumoto: I went to New York, and Aiba to Phuket.
Sakurai: Matsujun's gift was matching t-shirts.
Ninomiya: With Matsujun the chance of t-shirts is high. The chance of hats is high with Sho-chan.
Aiba: And Leader is tea mugs. (smiling)
Sakurai: Like the one that had "Atami" written on it in huge letters. (smiling)
Matsumoto: And the one with the rough edge, so that when you drank it your lips hurt. (smiling)
Ninomiya: So, this time Aiba-kun's gift…. was sandals woven from hemp. (smiling)
Sakurai: He gave them to us saying "This is all they sold!"
Ninomiya: To say that's all they had… it's not a nation of sandals!
Aiba: I'm sorry. I lied. But, everyone wears them, right?
Matsumoto: We probably don't, right? (smiling)
Ninomiya: Of course, my parents' house…
Aiba: You sent them there, to your parents' house. (smiling)
-- They spend time apart, but when they come together, the usual type of comfortable conversation begins. That's Arashi's "average day". And so how would you like that "average day" to change after your 11th year? When asked, they say "We want to keep being the same."
Aiba: I think it's hardest to go on being just the same. I want to be just as we are, with the relationship we have, and the atmosphere we have.
Ohno: Just like we didn't know how we'd be now 11 years ago, we have no idea how we'll be after our 11th year. For the time being… it's good if we're healthy.
Aiba: That's right. (smiling) Let's all go for a check-up again this year, okay? ♥
* The Favor of the Crane (Tsuru no Ongaeshi) is a Japanese fairy tale about a crane that takes the form of a woman in order to marry a man who showed her great kindness. She weaves beautiful cloth from her feathers while hiding behind a door, but the husband is not allowed to look for any reason. He breaks his promise one day and peeks beyond the doors, only to discover her in crane form, weaving. When he discovers this, she flies away, and never comes back.
Arashi: ~a day in our life~
Q. In the morning, from the time you wake to the time you leave, what must you absolutely do?
Ohno: 30 push ups. 30 sit ups. For what? I guess… if I've done them, I feel like I've worked hard.
Sakurai: I suppose brushing my teeth and having a glass of water?
Aiba: First off, wake up… and then sleep again. (smiling) My snooze is set to five minute intervals, so I keep going back to sleep. Today it took about twenty minutes for me to wake fully.
Ninomiya: Maybe turn on the lights. In order to wake up. They say it's best for humans to sense light. Don't I open the curtains? Nope, I don't. It's a pain to close them. (smiling)
Matsumoto: Wake up, change clothes, get my stuff, put on my shoes, leave the house.
Q. What must you have with you in your bag?
Ohno: I put my wallet and my cell in my pocket. There's no point in taking an empty bag, so I'm empty-handed.
Sakurai: A memo pad, music player, my wallet, cell, pen case…. My pen case is for work, so if I don't have it it's a definite inconvenience.
Aiba: I keep my scripts and my music samples in my bag when I need them. Otherwise I usually don't use a bag. I keep chapstick and my wallet and my cell in my pockets, and when it's the right season I take my eyedrops for hay fever too.
Ninomiya: Nothing in particular. There are days I don't take a bag, and times I leave without my phone or my wallet. There's nothing that makes me think I'd be in trouble if I didn't have it.
Matsumoto: My phone, wallet, key, and music player. Sometimes I take a book instead of my music player, though.
Q: What do you do upon reaching work?
Ohno: Go to the bathroom. It's amazing how often you can go, even if you don't think you have to. (smiling)
Sakurai: I guess drink some coffee. Usually, I take it black. Sometimes I put in milk. Then maybe I put on some music. I have CDs of mash-ups from DJs that won awards during certain years, and recently I've been listening to the '08 and '09 versions.
Aiba: I'll be hungry, so I go looking for rice. Then I eat. I guess for Japanese people, it really is about rice.
Ninomiya: I change into my work outfit.
Matsumoto: I think it'd be different depending on the day and what work I'm doing. Today when I got to the green room I had a meeting right off the bat, and so the first thing I did was talk to staff.
Q. What do you do during work breaks?
Ohno: Look at magazines, zone out, and check fishing information on my cell.
Sakurai: Recently, I haven't got any. (smiling) But if you factor in the travel time between places… I watch TV. I used to listen to music, but now it's TV. Usually I'll watch informational shows, or television reports.
Aiba: I'll space out and think about my schedule, and look at the other members.
Ninomiya: When I have three to four hours, I'll sleep. In general, I can sleep anywhere. It's deep sleep, without dreams.
Matsumoto: Recently I've been listening to music a lot. I've been listening to hip-hop. For a while I stopped listening, but I've come back to it.
Q. You get home from work. What do you think to yourself then? (lit. What does your heart say?)
Ohno: It's over. (Otsukare-san)
Sakurai: "What should I do now?" I start thinking about the next day's work and calculate backwards to figure out when I need to sleep, and then decide what I want to do until then.
Aiba: Welcome home ♥
Ninomiya: Right now since I'm busy with movie filming, if I get home in time to fall asleep during midnight shopping programs, I think, "It's early, I'm lucky♪" If it's the early morning news, "Ah, it's this time already?" If it's the informational morning talk shows, "I worked hard. Good job, me." When I turn on the TV, these thoughts just spill out. (smiling)
Matsumoto: It's silent. (smiling)
Q. What do you do right when you get home?
Ohno: Turn on some music and space out. What music do I turn on? I don't really know, but as long as it's a relaxing song. (smiling)
Sakurai: Right now I've been turning on my humidifier. Then I wash my hands and gargle!
Aiba: First, turn on the TV, drink a beer, and space out. When I have some time, I get in bed and watch a DVD… And then fall asleep like that.
Ninomiya: Wash the bath, and then start up the hot water.
Matsumoto: Change my clothes, wash my hands, sit in the living room and think "What should I do now?" The important thing is sitting. I don't just jump into the bath or do anything right off. I go to the fridge for a drink or something sometimes, but… anyway, I sit down.
Q. What part of your home are you particularly taken with?
Ohno: The sofa. My body fits in it very nicely.
Sakurai: I feel the most relaxed when I climb into my futon. So I guess my bed. It's not that I'm particularly taken with bedding, but I change the sheets for the summer and winter. In winter they're like a jersey, and in summer they're silky and smooth.
Aiba: I watch TV in the living room on the sofa and move around a lot. Aside from that it would be the dining table. I don't really like to clean up after cooking, so there's not usually dinner on the table, but for some reason it calms me, so I end up sitting there. (smiling)
Ninomiya: Maybe the music room. It's a 6-jou sized room with a guitar, bass, keyboard, and drum set. The room's not soundproof, it's just totally normal room. (smiling) The drums and such are electric, so they're pretty noisy. I can do what I want there, so I enjoy the time I spend in that room.
Matsumoto: The sofa, or no, maybe the bed. The sofa is great because it's a sofa, but if I vote for that then my bed will become irrelevant. (smiling)
Q. Over the course of a day, what's one certain time you must make for yourself?
Ohno: I chose a time to start and a time to finish, and I do some serious zoning out. My mind will be completely blank. There are times when I remember things from when I went fishing, but if I think about that I end up wanting to go really badly. So it's better for me to just be blank.
Sakurai: I definitely make time every day to watch the news programs that I've recorded. Though when I don't have much time, I watch on fast-forward.
Aiba: The time just before sleeping. In bed I'll think, "This is what happened today," looking back over the day. I don't just go straight to sleep.
Ninomiya: There's not really anything. Right now, I don't really need a time like that. To think that way means you come to want to do things, I think.
Matsumoto: A time when I'm active for myself. That might be listening to music, or reading a book, or really anything. But it's important for me to have a time when I get to choose what it is I'm going to do.
Q. You suddenly get time off from work. What do you do?
Ohno: I go fishing.
Sakurai: I want to go shopping, but… since it's something I haven't had in a while, I'd probably take advantage and treat it like a holiday. Ah, let's go to an onsen! I'd go to an onsen! Not just for the day, but I'd stay the night! If I ate breakfast and left right after, I'd certainly make it back in time for work the next morning. Atami only takes an hour's work of travel. If I could stop by an outlet on the way, it'd be perfect. (smiling)
Aiba: The other day I bought a book that compiled a lot of delicious looking restaurants, so I'd go to one of the ones that looked interesting (smiling)
Ninomiya: I'd waste time, probably.
Matsumoto: There are times I go to see a movie, or times I go see stage plays. There are probably times I invite my friends out drinking, too… I'm not generally the type to make plans, so I go with however I'm feeling that day. Because of that, there are days where I end up doing nothing at all (smiling) That's the greatest luxury.
Q. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear "A normal day"?
Ohno: Wake up -> Work -> Sleep
Sakurai: Not the "night" but "daytime", when the sun shines. "A normal day" would be "A day that repeats itself", I get that image, but the time that comes to mind is that of an elementary schooler. At that time, from morning till night, everyone's time is divided up the same way, isn't it? Right now my time is always divided up in different ways.
Aiba: Something that I don't want to take for granted, I think.
Ninomiya: Work.
Matsumoto: Points and lines. A normal day is something that's formed by days and days building upon each other.
CROSS TALK
-- It's no secret that 2009 was a special year for Arashi. They began their anniversary event with a five dome tour that's come to a close, and now, in spring 2010, Arashi are living life just like always. But saying that, their fever hasn't slowed in the slightest, it's just picking up steam. They took ten crowns at the Golden Disc Awards, a first ever, and they're starting a new regular show during golden time. Of course there are dramas and movies, varieties… and their solo activities are known. Their average day is very difficult.
Matsumoto: Recently, instead of seeing fellow members at work, it seems as though I've been seeing them more often on television.
Sakurai: But you know, it's because of that that we get all excitable in the greenroom. Like, "You're doing this job right now right? How is it?" It seems we're having conversations like that a lot.
-- Ninomiya-kun's movie and Ohno-kun's drama were a much talked about topic during today's shoot. All five were lively before the cameras.
Aiba: There are days when we get excited like this in the greenroom, and days we're totally not. (smiling) There are days when we don't really talk, just let each other do things on our own. (As he says this, he puts in eye drops).
Ninomiya: Hey you, it's mid-interview! And just how many different eye drops have you been using today? You've used too much!
Aiba: It's rough, hay fever is rough!
Matsumoto: This is how we are. (smiling)
Aiba: But you know, even when we're doing things on our own, doesn't everyone sit in the exact same spot?
Matsumoto: Ah, that's true. It's not like it's on purpose, but the places we sit are set depending on where we're working.
Aiba: If we sit somewhere different, it feels strange.
Ohno: I wonder why that is?
-- There's an understanding of what's natural between them, and they agree on where they all should sit. The green room is just like a family dining table!
Sakurai: If you put it that way, saying we're like a family, we probably are. We hang out with each other on our time off, right?
Aiba: And when we have a bit of free time at work, we go shopping together, or go to eat together. I just went shopping with Sho-kun the other day. In Roppongi Hills.
Sakurai: So fashionable. (smiling) But isn't it pretty rare to get in contact with each other to go out to eat on days off?
Aiba: I hang out with Nino on days off. We play baseball. We used to go to game centers when we were younger, too.
Ninomiya: We did huh. We once went all the way from the first floor to the top, and mastered them all. Back then Aiba started the arm wrestling game. Aiba-kun and the game machine were evenly matched, so they'd have their arms linked and his stance would just never change. The match would hang, and I'd think "Boring!" and wander off. And then when I glanced over at Aiba-kun… the machine itself had moved. He'd put too much power into it.
Aiba: We laughed about that huh.
-- They know each other so well, they say they can imagine what the others might be doing even when off of work.
Sakurai: It used to be that only Leader's off days were a mystery, but since he's discovered fishing as a hobby…
Aiba: On his days off, I imagine he's usually out on the Chiba sea. (smiling)
Ohno: Well, that's pretty much right.
-- For these guys who are on such good terms, there's one thing about each other that none of them have seen. That would be each member working on their solo work.
Matsumoto: A while ago, Nino was doing drama shooting in the studio next to where I was doing mine. I could have gone to visit… But for some reason it was scary, so I couldn't look in.
Sakurai: Like the Favor of the Crane?*
Matsumoto: Yeah, like "You must not open these doors!"
Sakurai: I get that. Arashi has a certain feeling to it when we're being as Arashi. I don't know that I really want to see a member outside of that. Like if Leader said "Let's go crazy today!" I think I'd be shocked.
Ohno: Because I wouldn't. (smiling)
Ninomiya: Like if Leader said "XX-cha~n, let's go out to eat today~" while putting his arm around someone all familiarly.
Ohno: Because I wouldn't. (smiling)
-- Is it true that the members are different on their solo sets than when they're all together?
Sakurai: Like when Matsujun is doing promotional things for a drama and getting hyper with his cast members…
Matsumoto: On other sets, I've heard that Nino takes the lead and invites everyone out to dinner…
Aiba: Hearing that I'm a little surprised, because that's unexpected…
Ohno: I really think that Sho-kun's NEWS ZERO is amazing. I appeared once, but… I think that's not for me. You can't goof off, and the information changes unexpectedly… To be able to cope with adapting that quickly is really amazing.
Ninomiya: And it sounds like Aiba-kun is really professional during other jobs.
Matsumoto: Eh? Is he really?
Aiba: Well, as to that, the fact that everyone else isn't there means I have to make up the slack. (smiling) But more importantly, is the normal me so careless?!
Sakurai: Not at all. (smiling)
Ninomiya: But you know, among us wouldn't the only one to be exactly the same be Leader? This guy was born under the star where people will do anything for him. Fishing would be a good example of that. He doesn't have a boat, but but he has a captain friend that takes the boat out for him.
Aiba: And he doesn't have a license. So someone has to be dropping him off and picking him up in Chiba.
Matsumoto: Put that way, Leader is a natural talent, isn't he. (smiling) [The entertainment world meaning of 'talent'.]
Ninomiya: Without a doubt, he's the kind where someone thinks "I want to do something for him," so when he goes on television to promote things it's likely…
Matsumoto: He won't work hard in the way that I will. (smiling)
Ninomiya: No matter where he goes, he'll say some little something to himself at the end and people will laugh. He's that kind of guy. (smiling)
Ohno: You know, I really am more or less doing my best…
-- And then there's one more side to the others that they haven't seen. That would be the time when they're honestly alone in their own homes.
Matsumoto: Speaking of which, recently I haven't been over to anyone's place.
Ninomiya: I want to go to Leader's house.
Aiba: I know what you mean. I want to go, I want to go!
Ohno: It's.. really bare.
Ninomiya: When we talk about this, you always say "It's bare," don't you? So I really want to see just how empty it is.
Ohno: No, really… There's nothing there that would interest you.
Ninomiya: I can't imagine what kind of room you live in, or what the layout is like.
Aiba: You watch a really tiny television don't you?
Ohno: That's right. I watch a television intended for use in the bath, but it's in a place that's not the bath. So depending on the reception there's picture, or no picture… It's a bit problematic.
Ninomiya: Because of that, there was a time someone from the office gave Leader an allowance and told him to buy a television with it… But this guy, he just went out and bought a refrigerator with it.
Aiba: That's embezzlement, embezzlement (smiling)
Matsumoto: Leader really is a "natural talent" after all. (smiling)
-- Their days are difficult, but during their short time off Aiba-kun and Matsumoto-kun say they went on a trip overseas. When they go on trips, it's a promise that they bring home souvenirs for the other members.
Matsumoto: I went to New York, and Aiba to Phuket.
Sakurai: Matsujun's gift was matching t-shirts.
Ninomiya: With Matsujun the chance of t-shirts is high. The chance of hats is high with Sho-chan.
Aiba: And Leader is tea mugs. (smiling)
Sakurai: Like the one that had "Atami" written on it in huge letters. (smiling)
Matsumoto: And the one with the rough edge, so that when you drank it your lips hurt. (smiling)
Ninomiya: So, this time Aiba-kun's gift…. was sandals woven from hemp. (smiling)
Sakurai: He gave them to us saying "This is all they sold!"
Ninomiya: To say that's all they had… it's not a nation of sandals!
Aiba: I'm sorry. I lied. But, everyone wears them, right?
Matsumoto: We probably don't, right? (smiling)
Ninomiya: Of course, my parents' house…
Aiba: You sent them there, to your parents' house. (smiling)
-- They spend time apart, but when they come together, the usual type of comfortable conversation begins. That's Arashi's "average day". And so how would you like that "average day" to change after your 11th year? When asked, they say "We want to keep being the same."
Aiba: I think it's hardest to go on being just the same. I want to be just as we are, with the relationship we have, and the atmosphere we have.
Ohno: Just like we didn't know how we'd be now 11 years ago, we have no idea how we'll be after our 11th year. For the time being… it's good if we're healthy.
Aiba: That's right. (smiling) Let's all go for a check-up again this year, okay? ♥
* The Favor of the Crane (Tsuru no Ongaeshi) is a Japanese fairy tale about a crane that takes the form of a woman in order to marry a man who showed her great kindness. She weaves beautiful cloth from her feathers while hiding behind a door, but the husband is not allowed to look for any reason. He breaks his promise one day and peeks beyond the doors, only to discover her in crane form, weaving. When he discovers this, she flies away, and never comes back.