I love Book Off!

Madoka was nice enough to take me to Book Off today - a big store that sells used books, CD's and DVD's at reduced prices.

I didn't manage to find any H!P CD's, but I found half a ton of singles for 105 yen, equaling about 8 NOK! Two of them limited editions: Morning Musume's "Ai Araba It's All Right!", that came with a mini photobook pamphlet. The other was "Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari", complete with a set of photocards! :D Happy! I brought a total of 12 CD's (singles, mostly) to the counter. The lady behind it smiled politely and said "please wait a minute..." while she started beeping in CD after CD of H!P... Haha! XP

Limited first press releases. I'm so happy~ *^^*

The other singles I found included "Suki Sugite Baka Mitai" by H!P's DEF. DIVA, "Sakura Mankai", one of my all-time H!P favourite singles by Morning Musume Sakuragumi, "Lucky Cha Cha Cha!" by Mini Moni and a heap of older Morning Musume singles.

...and I bought Gackt's CD "Moon" and Otsuka Ai's newest release "Love Letter". And the other day I bought two CD's: "7.5 Fuyu Fuyu Morning Musume Mini!" and High King's "C/C Cinderella Complex". (It's really too bad this group will only be releasing one single. I like their sound.) My H!P collection is growing, and I'm terribly pleased. Especially since I'm such a good girl and even bought it at reduced prices. Mom, pet my head! ^^

...Being in Japan is great. XD


Location: Japan!
Mood: content~ (I had dinner, haha!)
Listening to: Morning Musume - various singles... :P

It's H!P !

OMG, OMG, OMG! Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏー☆

I just found an idol shop! And there were Morning Musume,Mini Moni, W, Otsuka Ai and Hamasaki Ayumi pictures and goods galore! I bought lots of pictures of Mini Moni and W, things you'll have a hard time finding now that the groups have disbanded. My inner H!P fangirl is squealing with joy.

Nevermind that I cane up to the counter twice with large piles of folders pointing out different pictures I wanted. The guy there had to write down like a gazillion different numbers, haha! 。o@(^-^)@o。

H!P is doing what?!

I just took a look at Hello! Online today, to see if there were any news... and I must say I'm kind of shocked. Suddenly, out of the blue.. H!P announces a mass graduation! What?!

"It was announced on the Hello Project website today (October 19th) that as of March 31st, 2009, all of the members of Elder Club will be leaving Hello! Project."
- Hello! Online

Well, I guess I can't say it's totally unexpected. These girls have been on stage since they were teenagers. Some joined H!P when they were still just 12 years old. I think many of them are still stuck with the same image now, maybe because fans remember them a certain way and expect them to behave according to that. It's only natural that these idols would move on after a while. But still, to have so many members graduating (or being fired?) at the same time, and with no previous warning... that took me by surprise.

I'm disappointed too. I'd been eagerly awaiting Tsuji Nozomi's comeback to H!P ever since it was announced that she was pregnant and engaged to actor Taio Sugiura back in May in 2007. She went on maternity leave sometime later, saying she'd return to the entertainment industry when things calmed down after child birth. Apparently, she's planning a comeback in the fall this year. (OK, so apparently she's appeared on stage on stage on "YUKO NAKAZAWA BIRTHDAY LIVE 2008" with a cake for Nakazawa Yuko on 19 June 2008... but I'd hardly call that a comeback! XD) There's still time, but I had hoped she'd stay a part of H!P for a while longer. Still, it'll be interesting to see what she'll chose to do now.

Kago Ai is working hard on her solo career, and has announced that she'll be releasing around four mini-albums consisting of self-written songs. And they'll be released while I'm in Japan! I'm buying those... finally we get to hear Aibon sing again! :D

Other people I'll miss are Yaguchi Mari (Morning Musume, Mini Moni) and Yoshizawa Hitomi (Morning Musume). Elder Club consists mostly of graduated members from Morning Musume - it goes without saying that I'll miss them being a part og H!P. Although some of them (Yaguchi included) apparently will remain part of Up-Front Agency. I could do with more information - it's all pretty confusing.

Yoshizama Hitomi and Ishikawa Rika have just started a new unit too, "Hangry & Angry". (Apparently they're collaborating with a Harajuku fashion store with the same name.) Their debut mini-album will be entitled "Kill Me Kiss Me", the same as their debut single. It is scheduled for release in November 19th. Depending on how I like it, I might buy a copy. Hmmm...

My next post will be more exchange-related and less about H!P. :P I still haven't posted any posts or pictures from my trip to the park with Francesco. And that deserves to be mentioned!

Next time, promise.

Location: Japan

Rotary Orientation Camp

The orientation camp was...fantastic!
Francesco and I took the train early to Kagoshima station, where we spent some time shopping. (I bought Tanaka Reina's (member of Morning Musume) photobook "Reina" and W's DVD "Miss Love Tantei".) We also went to take purikura. (Did you know boys are not allowed in alone? On a sign in front there's a sign with a lone blue male crossed over. Male w/pink female is OK, as is lone pink female. Haha!) Then we met up with Mr. Kamikawa and Jessa, the exchange student from Texas, USA, now living in the neighbouring prefecture Miyazaki. I can say we hit it off right from the start - she's the kind of person I find it easy to like. Outgoing and fun, while having a serious side. We discovered we were very much alike, but at the same time quite different - which I think is a great starting point for a friendship. Needless to say, we had a great three days together! I'll try to sum them up short here.

The first thing that happened was that Mr. Kamikawa drove us to an enormous building that I at first thought was our hotel. Kamikawa casualy explained that "No, you're staying someplace nicer. This is where we're eating lunch". My eyes popped! The view from the window was amazing - even though it was cloudy and raining, we could see out over all of Kagoshima City.

After eating we went to Kamikawa English School, where we read the "Rules of the road" paper out loud together. We started laughing when we all read a number differently. Mr. Kamikawa asked us to "please be serious about this, because I put a lot of effort into writing this, and I wrote this to help you". This made us feel bad, and we awkwardly explained that it was our mistake when reading the number, not the rules, that we found funny. He said he understood that, but it still felt kind of weird.

Next we were driven to the hotel we'd be staying at - the Sun Royal Hotel where we had lunch with Mr. Kamikawa's Rotary Club the first time. It. was. fancy! They had an onsen (hot spring) on the 13th floor, with an entrance on the 12th... and really nice rooms! The ones we stayed in were not really big, but clean and cozy. (I've always liked hotels rooms...) We unpacked and went for a quick shopping round at the mall close to the hotel. I bought a Hello Kitty skin for my pink Nintendo DS lite at a 100 yen shop. And of course we took the obligatory purikura:

Ichigo gaijin!

We also took a set that we gave to Mr. Kamikawa and his wife:

The text says "Mr. and Mrs. Kamikawa, thank you!"

Once we were done shopping, we went back to the hotel and hung out in Jessa's room before we headed to the onsen. It was lovely! Jessa and I spent ages talking and relaxing (it even had a steam bath!). From the large windows by the onsen we looked out over the city lights of Kagoshima City sparkling in the darkness. It was so beautiful! And it was really quiet and peaceful at the onsen too. I want to go back just thinking about it. *sigh* We finished soaking, got dressed in our yukatas and went back to Jessa's room where we crashed for the night. It was really late before we went to sleep.

The second day we (naturally) overslept, and scuffed down our breakfast in about 5 minutes before dashing to the waiting taxi that took us to Kamikawa English Shcool. We read the rules again for a representative from Ijuin Rotary, and he held a speech in Japanese (later translated by Kamikawa) about his hosting experience 20 years ago. It was very interesting, and to my surprise I understood most of what he said!

Later that day we had a radio interview too - a nice lady interviewed us a bit before we headed in to the studio to do the recording. It turned out to be a lot of fun, although I messed up on my age when asked, haha!

Radio lady: "How old are you?"

Helene: "I'm sevent... I've turned eighteen!" XD

It was all in Japanese, but she and her male co-worker (he's gone to Josei, haha!) were really conciderate and spoke clearly, explaining when it was needed. I understood almost everything that was being said, though, and felt pretty cool. v(^_^) It was a new experience for me, and it felt a bit celebrity-ish, actually. It was really fun! I recognized the artists and songs they played too! Utada Hikaru, "First Love", Ootsuka Ai, "Sakuranbo" and... I got to pick and introduce the last song: "I WISH" by Morning Musume!
I've always liked this song, and it was also sung on Nono and Aibon's graduation form Morning Musume. It's one of my Momusu all-time favourites. <3

The rest of the day was spent having dinner (tonkatsu, yum!) and shopping a bit again. I bought some "diamond" cross-shaped earrings that I've been searching for a while. They're reminiscent of those worn by Tanaka Reina and Nozomi Tsuji in some photos. ...yes, I know, H!P again... *cough* Once back in the hotel, Jessa and I went to the onsen again before going to sleep in my room.

Me outside an official Sanrio shop. (The guys responsible for Hello Kitty.) I actually managed not to buy the entire shop - I bought most of Kuromi, actually, which you can't find in Norway. And, OK... I admit it: a thing to make Hello Kitty-shaped rice! XD

The third day we got up and packed before eating breakfast... which lasted 15 minutes. We were late again, haha! Then we were picked up by Kamikawa, who took us to a newspaper interview. (Tight schedule, check! Interviews, check! Celebrity... oh, whatever... check!) I didn't understand this guy, though. He almost mumbeled in fast keigo, and I had to get translations from Kamikawa. Oh well.

Next we dragged Mr. Kamikawa to take purikura with us. We went in to the pinkest, most sparkling purikura machine we could find! (And I can totally see all the Rotary members going in there with their suits and ties, haha!) Decorating those was a lot of fun - I put a maid hairband on him, and the other two put him in a wig. We made Mr. Kamikawa decorate one too. Oh, the seriousness! XD It was wonderful!

After finishing the purikura, we met up with Jessa's councelor and had dinner (we chose Italian sphagetti, making a big point out of showing it to Francesco, haha!). Once we'd finished eating it was sadly time to say goodbye to Jessa. At first we bowed to each other. This was followed by a scilence during which we were both standing there, looking at each other before I blurted out "Oh, screw this!!" and we gave each other a big hug. The gaijinness provails!

Kamikawa brought Francesco and me back to Kagoshima station, where we (okay, I) bought some CD's: Utada Hikaru, Morning Musume (all singles complete) and Onitsuka Chihiro. This was followed by more purikura. At last we decided to take the train home, both of us exhausted. I, for one, did not feel like going back to school and bake cakes the next day. XD But I survived that too, of course!

Jessa and me being exhausted in the hotel's corridor.

Jessa and me looking terrible in a nice hotel - it was raining, and we couldn't resist the fun of running through the rain with closed umbrellas. *ahehm*

Location: Japan!
Mood: Tired
Listening to: the sound of the TV
Reading: "Twilight" (the first book in the "Twilight" series). Can't... put... it... down! Vampires~ <3!

Hello! Kago Ai

Okay, so I was going to write this, like, totally cool post about how I got to see the opening of the new opera house yesterday. I was going to tell you all how I got to see the opening ceremony before even the king did, because my dad's made of awesome. But I, like, failed.
/Ini Miney

Soo... I thought I'd share with you all the news I found on the internet that made me so fangirlishly happy! Kago Ai is planning a comeback! You hear me!? Aibon is back! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! ><

Kago Ai (加護 亜依),

Profile:
Name: Kago Ai (Kago being her family name)
Nickname: Aibon
Age: 20 (1988-02-07)
Birth place: Nara-ken, Japan
Blood type: AB
Height: 155 cm
Hello! Project groups:
Morning Musume (2000 - 2004)
W (2004 - 2006)
Subgroups:
Tanpopo (2000 - 2002)
MiniMoni (2000 - 2004)
Morning Musume Sakura Gumi (2003 - 2004)
Shuffle Units:
2000: Kiiro 5 (Second Generation)
2001: 3nin Matsuri
2002: Happy 7
2003: SLAT5
2004: H.P. All Stars


Ai Kago is a former member of the Japanese all-girl pop group Morning Musume, part of the Hello! Project. She auditioned for Morning Musume at the age of twelve, and was accepted along with Tsuji Nozomi as 4th generation members in 2000. After graduating from Morning Musume in 2004, Kago and Tsuji went on to form a group of their own, called W.

After the gossip magazine Friday published pictures of Kago smoking while underage, she was suspended from Hello! Project for a year, and went back to her hometown of Nara to live with her family. In January 2007 she returned to Tokyo and began working as a receptionist in the Up-Front Agency's office while the details of her comeback were decided.

24 March 2007, Weekly Gandai (also a gossip magazine) published photos showing Kago holding hands and visiting a hot springs resort with Ishimoto Yasuyuki, a man many years her senior and the owner of the popular SOMA café. There were also pictures showing her smoking in his car. Two days later Up-Front Agency confirmed the story and terminated Kago's contract, thus disbanding W. (Nozomi Tsuji became a member of a new group called Gyaruru, but 2 weeks after she joined it announced that she was pregnant and engaged. She's now on maternal leave.)

But Aibon is back, and it's all sunshine, roses and fluffy pink clouds! Although she's not coming back to Hello! Project, I'm glad to hear from her again. Hisashiburi, Aibon!


It's time for me to stop fangirling now. I need to work on my history assignment. ><

PS: If you want more information about Aibon, go here. It's my source for most things J-pop/J-rock. =P