Arashi Blast in Miyagi Concert Report for Sept. 22nd, Tuesday
This is the last day of being able to say I'm in my 20's. Tomorrow I'll be 30!
Yesterday, the awesome owner of the house we are staying in took boblemon, jun_yumemakura, and I to Matsushima. We went to one of the "Seven Beaches" and his paragliding instructor was there, so they offered to take us up. I've had a cold and didn't feel good enough to, but the other two did go up. They got an beginner's crash course in what to do and went up.
After we went to see some of the smaller islands from a good observation point, we drove by the ocean side. On the way there and back, we stopped at almost every 7-11 we could, but none had anything other than the pink stickers.
For dinner, we went to a restaurant in the same hotel Arashi is staying, which we only know because the house owner heard from his superior about it. He has been really nice, taking us around and paying for everything.
Today, boblemon went over to the stadium on the first shuttle bus to get 7-11 snacks and more concert goods. We went over later and met up with her.
Our seats were on the south side tonight. Near the top of the first floor.
The concert started on time with "Wild At Heart". Nino popped out of the stage closest to us.
"Pikanchi" finished and although they'd gathered at the center stage and the crown had lowered, the stage didn't go up and they didn't take the sheet off of the "Arashi 3D flying" stage.
We never did figure out what happened, if it was a malfunction or something was wrong with the flying stage. A fan report said that Aiba-chan looked confused for a moment, but after a very quick order from Jun and eye contact, the members worked out who would go where and ran full out to the end of the stages. They were very professional in dealing with the problem and we'll just have to hope that it gets worked out for tomorrow.
So they performed "Happiness" spread out on the stages.
N: It's not enough! (Tanne so, kora!!)
At "hashiri dase", they dashed to the far end of the stages. Sho ran out to us. Jun was the only one who stayed in the center.
Ohno came out to us next in "Troublemaker". He waved a ton at us.
J: Okay! Jump!
The staff lowered the crown and started messing with it in "Love Rainbow".
A: Let's have fun until the end!
Aiba came over on one of the carts, passing by and waving.
After "Aozora", they did their greetings. I feel like the first night they were all sort of nervous about getting the impressions right and as they go on, they've started getting more enthusiastic and silly.
A: Miyagi! It's been a while! It's been a while! We wanted to meet you! Are you ready to have fun? Are you ready to be happy?! Okay, okay, okay. We'll show you we can make all 50,000 of you happy.
Sho's was mostly the same, but he couldn't shut out the rapper side of himself and threw in, "Mada mada mada mada tanne zo! (It's not nearly enough!)
N: Ne, ne, ne! Are you excited?! Are you excited?! That (Sho's greeting) is mine you know. But I'll be an adult about it. So... Let's have fun! Let's go wandering around! (Bura bura shiyou ze) You're all awesome!
He was laughing at himself and the awkward way it turned out, hurrying off the stage.
J: Hi! (X3) Can you do it?! (X2) Can you do the usual? It's an Arashi Miyagi Festival-
Us: Dei!
Jun glanced over at Ohno before squinting his face a little and holding up a peace sign. He said "Yoroshiku" in the same voice he has been doing the other nights, but after seeing Jun's impression of Ohno, Ohno himself was laughing so hard he was clutching his stomach.
Ohno's greeting was the same, except that his gestures with his hands and his facial expressions were very animated. Obviously affected by Jun's goofing off, he made a ridiculous face at the end with his chin jutted out.
I noticed tonight that during the Arashi logo video, when Sho said "It's been a while", his logo bows to us and the others followed. Aiba also used Osaka dialect when his logo turns to the bocchan soap. (Nandeyanen!)
Aiba's solo was cute as ever. He earned loud cheers from his chair stunt.
In Nino's solo, he was looking up and out the whole time and didn't seem to struggle remembering the lyrics. He only needed to perform it live twice for us to finally get it down.
Going into "Oh Yeah", Nino got us to yell louder then played the opening strands of it before taking off the guitar and changing his jacket. Aiba came up the stairs at the stage by us. I feel like we got a lot of Aiba-chan tonight.
After "Zero G", they showed the video for the high school choirs (both new schools tonight). One was a school where their annual choir competition had gotten canceled by the destruction of the earthquake and tsunami, so now their club members were training hard to make up for what their senpai didn't get to do.
Jun introduced the choirs who were standing on the stage.
S: Those are some nice cheers, right, Aiba-san?
A: I'm touched by them.
S: Already?
N: You haven't even heard them sing yet.
J: Don't be nervous. Even if it's in front of this many people.
A: Don't pressure them!
The students sang "Kansha Kangeki" without any problems, of course.
S: They were really nice, weren't they, Aiba-san. You were touched before the performance, but how about now?
A: I'm VERY touched. I think their feelings really reached us.
S: It would be difficult to take the time to interview each and every one of the students, so we did this project in the form of a song. How was it, Ohno-san?
O: It was really powerful. Especially, the boys' voices.
N: I was a little touched. Ah! I mean RATHER touched. There were more boys today. The low voices really echoed.
They talked about the Tohoku and Miyagi local people that had helped them make the video.
S: With this many people helping, you'd think that someone's schedule wouldn't have matched up.
Jun got the last part of the first half started with some shouts and Sho said in a silly voice "Love So Sweet".
During the first duet, Jun sung staring at Ohno. On the other side of the arena, Nino, Aiba, and Sho were in a cart that stopped in front of us. Aiba and Sho started doing the airplane, at first stepping around Nino who wasn't paying attention. Nino joined them right after. Nino rolled his shoulder in preparation for the trio to throw their arms out to the beat, but he must have done it too enthusiastically because he stopped before the end and looked at Aiba, laughing that he'd hurt his arm from doing it.
They didn't stop there either. For "Kitto Daijoubu", Nino screwed up Sho's concentration by acting like a rapper while he was supposed to be singing his rap part in front of Sho and making him laugh instead. Still having a good time, Nino jumped around a lot for the song and completely exhausted himself from all the jumping.
Ohno and Jun went by in "Bittersweet" and Ohno was waving a lot again. The best part of that song was when Jun put his hands on his hips as he watched Ohno sing, then he reached out his hand to stroke Ohno's head. The crowd screamed their approval. Then they did the leaning back move to finish their duet. The two of them were slow to get off the cart and had to jog to get to their spots at center stage in time. Today, Jun's final pose was a hand on his hip.
MC
S: Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! We're Arashi! This is the 3rd day out of 4. What do you think, Nino?
N: I don't want it to end.
Us: Yay!
N: I don't want it to end. It's been so much fun.
S: For example, like what?
N: It's been like a dream.
S: Like what kind of dream?
A bewildered Nino laughed at Sho's question and tried to think of some way to answer that. "... Like a dream." He laughed again.
A: It's a miracle that we've gone 3 days with no rain.
S: So even though it was supposed to sunny, who here thought "But those guys are Arashi" and brought their rain ponchos anyway?
Many people clapped.
A: The sky looks so nice.
N: It's so clear. Not a cloud in the sky. That or it's just one huge cloud.
We laughed at his joke.
O: Do you think it will last until tomorrow?
S: I don't know, it's never happened before.
A: It even rained in Hawaii!
O: Wow! That was amazing, just now.
They were confused by his sudden exclamation. It took them a minute to work out that the screens had been showing a shot of the moon before it had switched to a different angle.
O: Look! See? See?
S: Is this the moon now? The image can look THIS clear?
The screens had a very nice live shot of the moon, which was good for us because our section had a roof hanging over us and we couldn't see it ourselves.
A: It kind of looks like a failed pancake.
We laughed at his commment.
O: So the moon looks like this up close?
S: It's so detailed!
N: It looks so bumpy.
S: Uh, okay, we should stop talking about the moon.
O: When the sun was out, it was really hot, but now it feels pretty cool.... If it rained, then it would probably get REALLY cold.
J: That's so negative!
S: How has the concert been for you?
J: Interesting. With the high schoolers coming out. Oh, and this.
He showed his outfit to the camera. They got a good shot of his leg and the design on it.
S: Can you see it? You know where that's from, don't you?
J: We took the drawings by Ohno-san and turned them into outfits.
O: Iyaaa~~.
J: Thank you.
S: You might not be able to tell at first glance. What did you think about them? Seeing the members wear them?
O: I didn't expect it to get used for something like this so it's kind of embarrassing.
J: No, Leader has really good sense for designs, so it turned out nice. Thank you.
The camera focused on Nino and when he noticed he was being filming, he stood still and smiled.
S: It's like you're a model.
N: Right? I was trying for 80% model.
Sho changed the subject by asking, "There's a story I want to tell. Can I talk about it?"
Aiba made us laugh with his skeptical, "Is it something that you can talk about here?"
S: When you say it like that, you make me worried. I want to talk about what I did yesterday. After the concerts on the weekend, I went back to Tokyo for News Zero and came back this morning. I was in for a real shock! There are people here that rode on the bus tours, right? Well, on Sunday night, I went back by car. And I wanted to use the restroom, so I stopped by a service area. When I left the bathroom, a bus had come in and I heard, "Today's concert was so much fun!"
He showed us his panicked face as he narrated his story, freezing and looking for a place to hide.
S: It was a real "oshinobi" trip! (His corner on Shiyagare) I didn't know which I should hide. (The bath example Aiba gave before about getting recognized in a public bath and having to choose to hide his face or his crotch.)
N: (jokingly) You were caught naked?
S: No!
A: There were guys that came to the concert too.
S: Since I was going back to Tokyo, of course that meant that I'd be meeting the fans forever at all the service stations. It reminded me of "Biohazard".
J: You say it like there were zombies.
S: I meant that it was like I was being chased! What did you do yesterday?
J: Working. On location.
S: Take a break!
A: That's what I wanted to.
"Ah! I'll tell Johnny-san!" Like a child catching someone admiting something terrible, Nino yelled out, "Johnny-san! Johnny-san! I hope my voice reaches Tokyo. Johnny-san!"
S: Urusai! (Too noisy!)
Nino smiled and said shortly, "Good. It made it to Tokyo."
S: Where did you guys go?
N: I went to Yamagata.
J: Ishinomaki.
O: I went to Ishinomaki too.
A: Fukushima.
S: What did you do?
J&A: We... can't really tell you that.
J: We went all over the place. (To us) You'll have the chance to see it later.
N: (To Sho) You'll see what we were up to while you were working.
Not sure how to respond to that, Sho paused and said uninterestedly, ".... Ho~~~. Was it fun?"
N: It turns out there were a lot of people from Yamagata that participated in the concert.
S: Eh? Why do you know that?
N: I interviews some of them yesterday.
S: Are any of those people here?
The crowd was pretty much silent.
O: Someone told me that their daughter was coming too. A dad.
S: So if you guys all went on location, then you had dinner together later?
N: Nope.
S: Eh? Why? Shouldn't you have been together?
A: We came back at different times.
S: What did you eat?
A: I went with my manager and the stylist to a grilled meat restaurant. We didn't get found out at all.
N: Why didn't you call and ask me to come?
A: I did!! You were eating curry instead.
N: I'm a fan of Coco's.
S: You left your room?!
N: I stopped by on the way back. I ate it in my room.
S: Ohno-san?
O: I ordered with room service and ate a caesar salad. I was hungry, so I wanted to eat a lot.
S: That's like a goat! So you guys weren't always together. Matsumoto-kun, you were at a meeting, weren't you? And the others? Did they help at the meeting?
OAN: ....
J: Yesterday, when I finished the meeting with the staff, I got back to the hotel after midnight and when I was walking down the hallway, I saw this old lady carrying an ice pale and thought terrifiedly, "Who is THAT?!" It was Ninomiya.
We roared with laughter as Nino smirked while listening.
J: He was wearing these terrible pajamas. I was so scared...
N: I'd gone searching for some ice.
J: I kept thinking, "I don't know anybody like that!"
S: What did you have to eat at your room?
J: Meat.
They all looked to Ohno who was surprised by the sudden attention.
O: You didn't eat salad?
Everyone burst out laughing. Jun told us that the meeting had been for the next dome tour!
N&S: He's always so busy.
J: You guys are members too!
Sho and Nino left to get changed.
J: You guys took it easy?
A: I asked Leader to come too, but he said "Ikana~i" (I won't go).
O: Did I say it like that?
A: It was the manager.
J: Did you really only eat a salad? That would only take 30 minutes.
O: I did some push-ups.
Jun laughed and asked, "You were that bored?"
Ohno listed out slowly, "I got back around 8, ordered room service, took a bath, and zoned out."
A: After I got back to the hotel, I went to Ohno's room to drink.
O: He made me promise.
A: To have dinner with me in Ginza once we got back.
J: You're always saying that.
O: This time for sure.
J: It's always for work.
A: If we go drinking, it won't be for work.
O: I'll match your schedule.
Remembering something, Aiba said, "I brought snacks with me when we drank."
J: Those cookies of yours?
A: No, some other snacks. But you know, Oh-chan ate them all!
Snickering Ohno admited, "I guess the salad wasn't enough."
S: Hai, hai, hai, hai!
Jun and the others looked around, trying to find Sho. He didn't come out right away, but he did soon after.
S: I knew when I heard you talking about eating snacks because salad wasn't enough, this conversation was on its last leg.
He hurried them off stage to go change. Ohno ran away smiling widely.
Sho explained how the dance would work and looked to the left for his helper.
S: No assistant?
Nino hadn't come out yet.
N:.... Ah! Hi!
He rushed out and introduced himself. They started going over the dance steps, but Nino and Sho had a good idea tonight. They had Nino turn around so that it was easier to tell which arm to use. Nino did the steps, but took the first opportunity to look over his shoulder and make the crowd scream.
Us: Cute!
S: Cute?.... Ah, thank you.
Sho counted out the steps and made Nino "stretch" on 4. Aiba rejoined them and the other two also came out. Right as Sho was finishing counting the last set and Nino finished the moves, Jun peeked his head in so that the camera that had been filming Nino suddenly had Jun in the background too.
Us: Kyaaa!
S: That was a great collaboration.
J: Are you ready for the 2nd half?! Are you ready? Are you ready to be happy? Ah... That's not me today.
We started the festival dance for "Hadashi no Mirai" and were entertained by "Carnival Night". Ohno came out to us for "Guts" and went up in the stand. Then, Nino switched places with him for "Fight Song". Like always, Ohno thanked us politely for raising our hands for the song.
Now here's where Jun's solo came, and even though the group flying device didn't work, the belt that Jun wore for that was just fine. His solo went as usual. One of our group suggested that maybe all the jumping they did to scare Sho broke the other one, or perhaps Sho sabotaged it to avoid flying for a night. We'll see tomorrow.
Next was Sho's solo. I tried writing down some more of the lyrics. He came out by us at the end of the song.
During Ohno's solo, when he sings "tsuki akari", they showed the image of the moon on the screens. Also, when he dances, the screens show a faint blue shadow following his movements one step behind his the whole song. It's a very pretty effect.
My favorite section would be his solo connecting to the dance remix. Not only their moves, but the video also rewinds, water drops falling or flowers blooming, shown in reverse.
Jun visited us for "Pikanchi Double" and Aiba for "Meikyuu". Aiba was nearby when he tried to pull us in towards him, though the camera's were shooting Sho instead.
Aiba hopped on the mini cart that speeds them across the stage too soon in "Sakura Sake" and he reached the center well before the other members. By a nearby camera, Jun squatted down and grabbed the camera to shake it for "mae, mae".
They didn't have the 3D flying stage, so Ohno came out to our stage in "Arashi". It was cute how he was running and waving with both arms at the same time.
Speeches
S: Was our 2nd Arashi Blast fun for you? For the last have of our 20's, it seemed like a dream that when we went to a town, we could bring some energy back into it. We want to thank you for inviting us to come here. Without the fans here, it would just be a rehearsal with the 5 of us. Thank you for traveling all the way to Miyagi stadium for us. When you take a look around here, please remember that Arashi has this many fans. You're never alone. We never ever want to repeat those sad memories from years ago. We want to take our fans to the future with us. Thank you.
O: It was 8 years ago that we came to Miyagi for a concert. Between now and then, a lot has changed. But what hasn't is that meeting you during concerts and interacting, that is very important. Coming together more and making you smile, that's the kind of concert we like. This atmosphere is a treasure to Arashi. Please stay with us forever.
A: Was it fun? Today was a really happy concert. You can see even me smiling like this. Those smiles just make it funner. Like Sho-chan said, Arashi has this many people following them, and I thought, "Oh, that's so true". We don't know where we're going. But it's not so important where you are going, but who you are going with. Don't worry and take your time. Each step of the way, we'll be there. So please keep following us.
N: It was very fun today. There's never been such a fun diet method. It's kind of luxurious, isn't it. But I'll get hungry. And then I'll eat. And then my stomach with come out again. That's life. We just repeat it over and over. We shout out, have fun, dance. We make really good memories here. We wanted to do this for Miyagi, yet it took 8 years to get here. Whether that is fast or slow, we leave that for you to decide. We wouldn't have been able to come without the help from the people in Miyagi prefecture. We'll try our hardest to make fun memories for you, so when that time comes, please come together to make some noise.
J: Thank you. It was fun. We reached our 16th birthday on the 15th. A lot of things happened in those 16 years, but we have made it that far. We still intend to keep going for a long time. We'll do it! Also, we feel that we made you wait for those 8 years that it took us to come. Since the disaster, we've really been wanting to come, but it took a while. The concert tonight felt like it had a very warm and happy atmosphere. We're very grateful to each and every person that come all the way out here. Thank you so much. Being here together with you and communicating is important. Lastly, we wanted to show you our feelings that we are all connected under the same sky and that we are happy to have been able to do a concert together with you here. We hope you'll continue to follow us.
He told us that he had a favor to ask and that he wanted to show us that the moon and stars were very beautiful. "Can you please turn off your penlights? And yes, I DO know that the chemical lights can't be turned off.
A: So you did know.
J: I didn't think they would have that much effect. That's why I chose them instead of penlights. Please enjoy. "Hatenai Sora."
Most fans did their best to hide the lights from the sticks and bracelets anyway.
J: Thank you.
The encore began with the video and Arashi performed "Ai wo Sakebe" in their flowery suits.
O: Can you keep going?! Can you keep going a little more?! Alright, put your hands up!
"Energy Song" was rather funny. They ran to both sides of the stage. But Nino was going too slowly for Jun, so he pushed him up the slope from behind. Going the other way, Jun started jogging and passed Ohno first, then started racing to beat all of them to the opposite side. He looked back and smiled widely. They were supposed to jump off the stairs at the last note, but Ohno almost forgot to make it there in time and Aiba ended up on his knees after he jumped.
J: This is the last song.
Us: Eeeeh?
Jun almost pretended like he hadn't heard us at all and repeated in the exact same tone, "This is the last song." Sho commented that it was the "Waratte iitomo" style and Jun replied that he had to consider us being able to get back on time.
We left once they'd shown the fireworks in "Yume ni Kakeru". We got back at a decent time again today, but we'll probably stay until the very end tomorrow. It may take a while to get that report all the way up.
Pics:
Zunda mochi restaurant
Matsushima area
jun_yumemakura paragliding
Matsushima
<3
Yesterday, the awesome owner of the house we are staying in took boblemon, jun_yumemakura, and I to Matsushima. We went to one of the "Seven Beaches" and his paragliding instructor was there, so they offered to take us up. I've had a cold and didn't feel good enough to, but the other two did go up. They got an beginner's crash course in what to do and went up.
After we went to see some of the smaller islands from a good observation point, we drove by the ocean side. On the way there and back, we stopped at almost every 7-11 we could, but none had anything other than the pink stickers.
For dinner, we went to a restaurant in the same hotel Arashi is staying, which we only know because the house owner heard from his superior about it. He has been really nice, taking us around and paying for everything.
Today, boblemon went over to the stadium on the first shuttle bus to get 7-11 snacks and more concert goods. We went over later and met up with her.
Our seats were on the south side tonight. Near the top of the first floor.
The concert started on time with "Wild At Heart". Nino popped out of the stage closest to us.
"Pikanchi" finished and although they'd gathered at the center stage and the crown had lowered, the stage didn't go up and they didn't take the sheet off of the "Arashi 3D flying" stage.
We never did figure out what happened, if it was a malfunction or something was wrong with the flying stage. A fan report said that Aiba-chan looked confused for a moment, but after a very quick order from Jun and eye contact, the members worked out who would go where and ran full out to the end of the stages. They were very professional in dealing with the problem and we'll just have to hope that it gets worked out for tomorrow.
So they performed "Happiness" spread out on the stages.
N: It's not enough! (Tanne so, kora!!)
At "hashiri dase", they dashed to the far end of the stages. Sho ran out to us. Jun was the only one who stayed in the center.
Ohno came out to us next in "Troublemaker". He waved a ton at us.
J: Okay! Jump!
The staff lowered the crown and started messing with it in "Love Rainbow".
A: Let's have fun until the end!
Aiba came over on one of the carts, passing by and waving.
After "Aozora", they did their greetings. I feel like the first night they were all sort of nervous about getting the impressions right and as they go on, they've started getting more enthusiastic and silly.
A: Miyagi! It's been a while! It's been a while! We wanted to meet you! Are you ready to have fun? Are you ready to be happy?! Okay, okay, okay. We'll show you we can make all 50,000 of you happy.
Sho's was mostly the same, but he couldn't shut out the rapper side of himself and threw in, "Mada mada mada mada tanne zo! (It's not nearly enough!)
N: Ne, ne, ne! Are you excited?! Are you excited?! That (Sho's greeting) is mine you know. But I'll be an adult about it. So... Let's have fun! Let's go wandering around! (Bura bura shiyou ze) You're all awesome!
He was laughing at himself and the awkward way it turned out, hurrying off the stage.
J: Hi! (X3) Can you do it?! (X2) Can you do the usual? It's an Arashi Miyagi Festival-
Us: Dei!
Jun glanced over at Ohno before squinting his face a little and holding up a peace sign. He said "Yoroshiku" in the same voice he has been doing the other nights, but after seeing Jun's impression of Ohno, Ohno himself was laughing so hard he was clutching his stomach.
Ohno's greeting was the same, except that his gestures with his hands and his facial expressions were very animated. Obviously affected by Jun's goofing off, he made a ridiculous face at the end with his chin jutted out.
I noticed tonight that during the Arashi logo video, when Sho said "It's been a while", his logo bows to us and the others followed. Aiba also used Osaka dialect when his logo turns to the bocchan soap. (Nandeyanen!)
Aiba's solo was cute as ever. He earned loud cheers from his chair stunt.
In Nino's solo, he was looking up and out the whole time and didn't seem to struggle remembering the lyrics. He only needed to perform it live twice for us to finally get it down.
Going into "Oh Yeah", Nino got us to yell louder then played the opening strands of it before taking off the guitar and changing his jacket. Aiba came up the stairs at the stage by us. I feel like we got a lot of Aiba-chan tonight.
After "Zero G", they showed the video for the high school choirs (both new schools tonight). One was a school where their annual choir competition had gotten canceled by the destruction of the earthquake and tsunami, so now their club members were training hard to make up for what their senpai didn't get to do.
Jun introduced the choirs who were standing on the stage.
S: Those are some nice cheers, right, Aiba-san?
A: I'm touched by them.
S: Already?
N: You haven't even heard them sing yet.
J: Don't be nervous. Even if it's in front of this many people.
A: Don't pressure them!
The students sang "Kansha Kangeki" without any problems, of course.
S: They were really nice, weren't they, Aiba-san. You were touched before the performance, but how about now?
A: I'm VERY touched. I think their feelings really reached us.
S: It would be difficult to take the time to interview each and every one of the students, so we did this project in the form of a song. How was it, Ohno-san?
O: It was really powerful. Especially, the boys' voices.
N: I was a little touched. Ah! I mean RATHER touched. There were more boys today. The low voices really echoed.
They talked about the Tohoku and Miyagi local people that had helped them make the video.
S: With this many people helping, you'd think that someone's schedule wouldn't have matched up.
Jun got the last part of the first half started with some shouts and Sho said in a silly voice "Love So Sweet".
During the first duet, Jun sung staring at Ohno. On the other side of the arena, Nino, Aiba, and Sho were in a cart that stopped in front of us. Aiba and Sho started doing the airplane, at first stepping around Nino who wasn't paying attention. Nino joined them right after. Nino rolled his shoulder in preparation for the trio to throw their arms out to the beat, but he must have done it too enthusiastically because he stopped before the end and looked at Aiba, laughing that he'd hurt his arm from doing it.
They didn't stop there either. For "Kitto Daijoubu", Nino screwed up Sho's concentration by acting like a rapper while he was supposed to be singing his rap part in front of Sho and making him laugh instead. Still having a good time, Nino jumped around a lot for the song and completely exhausted himself from all the jumping.
Ohno and Jun went by in "Bittersweet" and Ohno was waving a lot again. The best part of that song was when Jun put his hands on his hips as he watched Ohno sing, then he reached out his hand to stroke Ohno's head. The crowd screamed their approval. Then they did the leaning back move to finish their duet. The two of them were slow to get off the cart and had to jog to get to their spots at center stage in time. Today, Jun's final pose was a hand on his hip.
MC
S: Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! We're Arashi! This is the 3rd day out of 4. What do you think, Nino?
N: I don't want it to end.
Us: Yay!
N: I don't want it to end. It's been so much fun.
S: For example, like what?
N: It's been like a dream.
S: Like what kind of dream?
A bewildered Nino laughed at Sho's question and tried to think of some way to answer that. "... Like a dream." He laughed again.
A: It's a miracle that we've gone 3 days with no rain.
S: So even though it was supposed to sunny, who here thought "But those guys are Arashi" and brought their rain ponchos anyway?
Many people clapped.
A: The sky looks so nice.
N: It's so clear. Not a cloud in the sky. That or it's just one huge cloud.
We laughed at his joke.
O: Do you think it will last until tomorrow?
S: I don't know, it's never happened before.
A: It even rained in Hawaii!
O: Wow! That was amazing, just now.
They were confused by his sudden exclamation. It took them a minute to work out that the screens had been showing a shot of the moon before it had switched to a different angle.
O: Look! See? See?
S: Is this the moon now? The image can look THIS clear?
The screens had a very nice live shot of the moon, which was good for us because our section had a roof hanging over us and we couldn't see it ourselves.
A: It kind of looks like a failed pancake.
We laughed at his commment.
O: So the moon looks like this up close?
S: It's so detailed!
N: It looks so bumpy.
S: Uh, okay, we should stop talking about the moon.
O: When the sun was out, it was really hot, but now it feels pretty cool.... If it rained, then it would probably get REALLY cold.
J: That's so negative!
S: How has the concert been for you?
J: Interesting. With the high schoolers coming out. Oh, and this.
He showed his outfit to the camera. They got a good shot of his leg and the design on it.
S: Can you see it? You know where that's from, don't you?
J: We took the drawings by Ohno-san and turned them into outfits.
O: Iyaaa~~.
J: Thank you.
S: You might not be able to tell at first glance. What did you think about them? Seeing the members wear them?
O: I didn't expect it to get used for something like this so it's kind of embarrassing.
J: No, Leader has really good sense for designs, so it turned out nice. Thank you.
The camera focused on Nino and when he noticed he was being filming, he stood still and smiled.
S: It's like you're a model.
N: Right? I was trying for 80% model.
Sho changed the subject by asking, "There's a story I want to tell. Can I talk about it?"
Aiba made us laugh with his skeptical, "Is it something that you can talk about here?"
S: When you say it like that, you make me worried. I want to talk about what I did yesterday. After the concerts on the weekend, I went back to Tokyo for News Zero and came back this morning. I was in for a real shock! There are people here that rode on the bus tours, right? Well, on Sunday night, I went back by car. And I wanted to use the restroom, so I stopped by a service area. When I left the bathroom, a bus had come in and I heard, "Today's concert was so much fun!"
He showed us his panicked face as he narrated his story, freezing and looking for a place to hide.
S: It was a real "oshinobi" trip! (His corner on Shiyagare) I didn't know which I should hide. (The bath example Aiba gave before about getting recognized in a public bath and having to choose to hide his face or his crotch.)
N: (jokingly) You were caught naked?
S: No!
A: There were guys that came to the concert too.
S: Since I was going back to Tokyo, of course that meant that I'd be meeting the fans forever at all the service stations. It reminded me of "Biohazard".
J: You say it like there were zombies.
S: I meant that it was like I was being chased! What did you do yesterday?
J: Working. On location.
S: Take a break!
A: That's what I wanted to.
"Ah! I'll tell Johnny-san!" Like a child catching someone admiting something terrible, Nino yelled out, "Johnny-san! Johnny-san! I hope my voice reaches Tokyo. Johnny-san!"
S: Urusai! (Too noisy!)
Nino smiled and said shortly, "Good. It made it to Tokyo."
S: Where did you guys go?
N: I went to Yamagata.
J: Ishinomaki.
O: I went to Ishinomaki too.
A: Fukushima.
S: What did you do?
J&A: We... can't really tell you that.
J: We went all over the place. (To us) You'll have the chance to see it later.
N: (To Sho) You'll see what we were up to while you were working.
Not sure how to respond to that, Sho paused and said uninterestedly, ".... Ho~~~. Was it fun?"
N: It turns out there were a lot of people from Yamagata that participated in the concert.
S: Eh? Why do you know that?
N: I interviews some of them yesterday.
S: Are any of those people here?
The crowd was pretty much silent.
O: Someone told me that their daughter was coming too. A dad.
S: So if you guys all went on location, then you had dinner together later?
N: Nope.
S: Eh? Why? Shouldn't you have been together?
A: We came back at different times.
S: What did you eat?
A: I went with my manager and the stylist to a grilled meat restaurant. We didn't get found out at all.
N: Why didn't you call and ask me to come?
A: I did!! You were eating curry instead.
N: I'm a fan of Coco's.
S: You left your room?!
N: I stopped by on the way back. I ate it in my room.
S: Ohno-san?
O: I ordered with room service and ate a caesar salad. I was hungry, so I wanted to eat a lot.
S: That's like a goat! So you guys weren't always together. Matsumoto-kun, you were at a meeting, weren't you? And the others? Did they help at the meeting?
OAN: ....
J: Yesterday, when I finished the meeting with the staff, I got back to the hotel after midnight and when I was walking down the hallway, I saw this old lady carrying an ice pale and thought terrifiedly, "Who is THAT?!" It was Ninomiya.
We roared with laughter as Nino smirked while listening.
J: He was wearing these terrible pajamas. I was so scared...
N: I'd gone searching for some ice.
J: I kept thinking, "I don't know anybody like that!"
S: What did you have to eat at your room?
J: Meat.
They all looked to Ohno who was surprised by the sudden attention.
O: You didn't eat salad?
Everyone burst out laughing. Jun told us that the meeting had been for the next dome tour!
N&S: He's always so busy.
J: You guys are members too!
Sho and Nino left to get changed.
J: You guys took it easy?
A: I asked Leader to come too, but he said "Ikana~i" (I won't go).
O: Did I say it like that?
A: It was the manager.
J: Did you really only eat a salad? That would only take 30 minutes.
O: I did some push-ups.
Jun laughed and asked, "You were that bored?"
Ohno listed out slowly, "I got back around 8, ordered room service, took a bath, and zoned out."
A: After I got back to the hotel, I went to Ohno's room to drink.
O: He made me promise.
A: To have dinner with me in Ginza once we got back.
J: You're always saying that.
O: This time for sure.
J: It's always for work.
A: If we go drinking, it won't be for work.
O: I'll match your schedule.
Remembering something, Aiba said, "I brought snacks with me when we drank."
J: Those cookies of yours?
A: No, some other snacks. But you know, Oh-chan ate them all!
Snickering Ohno admited, "I guess the salad wasn't enough."
S: Hai, hai, hai, hai!
Jun and the others looked around, trying to find Sho. He didn't come out right away, but he did soon after.
S: I knew when I heard you talking about eating snacks because salad wasn't enough, this conversation was on its last leg.
He hurried them off stage to go change. Ohno ran away smiling widely.
Sho explained how the dance would work and looked to the left for his helper.
S: No assistant?
Nino hadn't come out yet.
N:.... Ah! Hi!
He rushed out and introduced himself. They started going over the dance steps, but Nino and Sho had a good idea tonight. They had Nino turn around so that it was easier to tell which arm to use. Nino did the steps, but took the first opportunity to look over his shoulder and make the crowd scream.
Us: Cute!
S: Cute?.... Ah, thank you.
Sho counted out the steps and made Nino "stretch" on 4. Aiba rejoined them and the other two also came out. Right as Sho was finishing counting the last set and Nino finished the moves, Jun peeked his head in so that the camera that had been filming Nino suddenly had Jun in the background too.
Us: Kyaaa!
S: That was a great collaboration.
J: Are you ready for the 2nd half?! Are you ready? Are you ready to be happy? Ah... That's not me today.
We started the festival dance for "Hadashi no Mirai" and were entertained by "Carnival Night". Ohno came out to us for "Guts" and went up in the stand. Then, Nino switched places with him for "Fight Song". Like always, Ohno thanked us politely for raising our hands for the song.
Now here's where Jun's solo came, and even though the group flying device didn't work, the belt that Jun wore for that was just fine. His solo went as usual. One of our group suggested that maybe all the jumping they did to scare Sho broke the other one, or perhaps Sho sabotaged it to avoid flying for a night. We'll see tomorrow.
Next was Sho's solo. I tried writing down some more of the lyrics. He came out by us at the end of the song.
During Ohno's solo, when he sings "tsuki akari", they showed the image of the moon on the screens. Also, when he dances, the screens show a faint blue shadow following his movements one step behind his the whole song. It's a very pretty effect.
My favorite section would be his solo connecting to the dance remix. Not only their moves, but the video also rewinds, water drops falling or flowers blooming, shown in reverse.
Jun visited us for "Pikanchi Double" and Aiba for "Meikyuu". Aiba was nearby when he tried to pull us in towards him, though the camera's were shooting Sho instead.
Aiba hopped on the mini cart that speeds them across the stage too soon in "Sakura Sake" and he reached the center well before the other members. By a nearby camera, Jun squatted down and grabbed the camera to shake it for "mae, mae".
They didn't have the 3D flying stage, so Ohno came out to our stage in "Arashi". It was cute how he was running and waving with both arms at the same time.
Speeches
S: Was our 2nd Arashi Blast fun for you? For the last have of our 20's, it seemed like a dream that when we went to a town, we could bring some energy back into it. We want to thank you for inviting us to come here. Without the fans here, it would just be a rehearsal with the 5 of us. Thank you for traveling all the way to Miyagi stadium for us. When you take a look around here, please remember that Arashi has this many fans. You're never alone. We never ever want to repeat those sad memories from years ago. We want to take our fans to the future with us. Thank you.
O: It was 8 years ago that we came to Miyagi for a concert. Between now and then, a lot has changed. But what hasn't is that meeting you during concerts and interacting, that is very important. Coming together more and making you smile, that's the kind of concert we like. This atmosphere is a treasure to Arashi. Please stay with us forever.
A: Was it fun? Today was a really happy concert. You can see even me smiling like this. Those smiles just make it funner. Like Sho-chan said, Arashi has this many people following them, and I thought, "Oh, that's so true". We don't know where we're going. But it's not so important where you are going, but who you are going with. Don't worry and take your time. Each step of the way, we'll be there. So please keep following us.
N: It was very fun today. There's never been such a fun diet method. It's kind of luxurious, isn't it. But I'll get hungry. And then I'll eat. And then my stomach with come out again. That's life. We just repeat it over and over. We shout out, have fun, dance. We make really good memories here. We wanted to do this for Miyagi, yet it took 8 years to get here. Whether that is fast or slow, we leave that for you to decide. We wouldn't have been able to come without the help from the people in Miyagi prefecture. We'll try our hardest to make fun memories for you, so when that time comes, please come together to make some noise.
J: Thank you. It was fun. We reached our 16th birthday on the 15th. A lot of things happened in those 16 years, but we have made it that far. We still intend to keep going for a long time. We'll do it! Also, we feel that we made you wait for those 8 years that it took us to come. Since the disaster, we've really been wanting to come, but it took a while. The concert tonight felt like it had a very warm and happy atmosphere. We're very grateful to each and every person that come all the way out here. Thank you so much. Being here together with you and communicating is important. Lastly, we wanted to show you our feelings that we are all connected under the same sky and that we are happy to have been able to do a concert together with you here. We hope you'll continue to follow us.
He told us that he had a favor to ask and that he wanted to show us that the moon and stars were very beautiful. "Can you please turn off your penlights? And yes, I DO know that the chemical lights can't be turned off.
A: So you did know.
J: I didn't think they would have that much effect. That's why I chose them instead of penlights. Please enjoy. "Hatenai Sora."
Most fans did their best to hide the lights from the sticks and bracelets anyway.
J: Thank you.
The encore began with the video and Arashi performed "Ai wo Sakebe" in their flowery suits.
O: Can you keep going?! Can you keep going a little more?! Alright, put your hands up!
"Energy Song" was rather funny. They ran to both sides of the stage. But Nino was going too slowly for Jun, so he pushed him up the slope from behind. Going the other way, Jun started jogging and passed Ohno first, then started racing to beat all of them to the opposite side. He looked back and smiled widely. They were supposed to jump off the stairs at the last note, but Ohno almost forgot to make it there in time and Aiba ended up on his knees after he jumped.
J: This is the last song.
Us: Eeeeh?
Jun almost pretended like he hadn't heard us at all and repeated in the exact same tone, "This is the last song." Sho commented that it was the "Waratte iitomo" style and Jun replied that he had to consider us being able to get back on time.
We left once they'd shown the fireworks in "Yume ni Kakeru". We got back at a decent time again today, but we'll probably stay until the very end tomorrow. It may take a while to get that report all the way up.
Pics:
Zunda mochi restaurant
Matsushima area
jun_yumemakura paragliding
Matsushima
<3