“Arashi School” will open in Tokyo Dome
Arashi will turn from singers to teachers Mr Ohno, Mr Sakurai, Mr Aiba, Mr Ninomiya, and Mr Matsumoto in their charity event at Tokyo Dome in June, it was revealed at a press conference in Tokyo on May 18, reports Sports Hochi and Sponichi Annex.
It has been reported June 24 to 26 was originally meant to mark the start of Arashi’s 2011 concert tour with shows at Tokyo Dome. However, the Tohoku earthquake changed things, and because of the electricity restrictions in Japan, the concerts have been changed into fan events.
“It would’ve been disappointing to cancel the shows, and although we can’t perform, hopefully we can have fun in a different way,” Matsumoto said.
Tokyo Dome will be transformed into a school with each Arashi member becoming a teacher, interacting with fans and learning with them. Detailed plans for the event are still being drawn up, but entrance tickets will cost 4000 yen.
“Whether it be an object or a song, I want to make something with everyone,” Sakurai said.
“I hope we can learn together about what Japan can do from now and what’s important,” Matsumoto said.
“I can’t teach anything difficult so I want to make it fun,” Aiba said.
“Maybe I’ll be the principal,” Ohno said.
The event will be about 90 minutes, and filled with activities thought up by the five Arashi members. It has been reported there will not be any formal song performances. 45,000 fans will pack the stands of Tokyo Dome, and there will be no arena seats on the ground level.
“I don’t want it to be people looking down on us, we want to learn with you,” Ninomiya said.
A portion of the event’s profits will be donated to victims of the Tohoku earthquake.
The event will be supervised by TV writer Kundo Koyama, who is best known for writing the script to Academy Award-winning film “おくりびと (Okuribito, Departures)”. Koyama worked with Arashi last year by writing the lyrics to their song “ふるさと (Furusato)”.
A nationwide Arashi tour had also been announced, going on from July 24 to January 2012, totaling 11 concerts in five cities. The group will also hold concerts at the National Stadium in Tokyo for the fourth straight year.
“We’re planning to make stage sets like you’ve never seen before,” Matsumoto said.
To top things off, a complete record of the school text book “ニッポンの嵐 (Nippon no Arashi)” will go on sale as a pocket book on June 30 in Japan. All of the profits will be donated to Tohoku earthquake relief aids.
“The earthquake happened after my journey there (Aomori) so this does mean something to me,” Ohno said.
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EXTRA
Arashi’s 10th album “Beautiful World” will be released on July 6. The group had been working on the record since February, but again, the Tohoku earthquake lead to a few changes.
“We thought up this album title after talking about what’s going to happen following the earthquake,” Matsumoto said.
Details about how many songs will be on the album have not been revealed, but Matsumoto had said many of the songs had a techno vibe to them, which will give fans a taste of a new Arashi.
Source: Sports Hochi, Sponichi Annex.
Credit: Momoedgewood