barbosa2007 | MORE June 2010

The members of Arashi show us a typical day in the TV studio.

A Day in Our Lives

If you were to ask us what our typical day is like, it would look like this. As we reveal their natural selves with our Q & A, we snap pictures of the 5 members on a particular day!

Scans: credited to jesychan

What must you do just after you wake till before you leave the house?

Ohno: I do 30 push-ups and 30 sit-ups. For what purpose, you ask? Somehow… if I did it, it makes me feel that I’ve put effort into something.

Sho: I brush my teeth and drink some water, I guess.

Aiba: In any case, I wake up… and go back to sleep again. (laughs) My snooze alarm is set to every 5 minutes and I repeat the snoozing cycle continuously. Today it took me about 20 minutes before I completely woke up.

Nino: I switch on the lights, I guess. I was told that humans are the best when it comes to sensing “light”. [You’re asking] why I don’t draw the curtains open instead? I don’t. That’s because it’s bothersome to draw them shut afterwards. (laughs)

Jun: Wake up. Change into my working clothes. Bring my things. Wear my shoes. Leave the house.

What is a must-have item in your bag?

Ohno: I always place my wallet and mobile phone in my pocket. It’s meaningless to carry an empty bag, so I normally don’t [carry one].

Sho: My notebook, music player, wallet, mobile phone and pencil box. The pencil case is for work-related matters, so if it’s not there it becomes inconvenient.

Aiba: I only carry a bag around when I need it to contain my script or recording material. Otherwise I’m basically empty-handed. In my pocket lies my lip balm, wallet and mobile phone. And also eye drops for hay fever for the current season.

Nino: Nothing in particular. There are days when I don’t bring my bag, and also days where I leave the house without bringing my wallet or mobile phone. There isn’t a particular thing which I feel insecure when I don’t have it on me.

Jun: Mobile phone, wallet, keys and music player. There are days where I carry a book in the place of a music player.

What is the first thing that you do when you reach the workplace?

Ohno: I go to the toilet… Even when I think to myself, “There isn’t any…” it surprisingly comes out. (laughs)

Sho: Drink a cup of coffee, I guess. I’m basically a black coffee person. And I add some milk once in a while. And I also play some music. I listen to a compilation CD which contains the Grammy winning songs of the year. Recently, I’ve been listening to 2008 and 2009 version.

Aiba: I’m hungry, so I hunt for some rice. And then eat some. For a Japanese it has to be rice.

Nino: I change out of my home clothes.

Jun: It differs, depending on the type of work and the workplace. When I entered my greenroom today, I immediately entered into a meeting so the first thing I did was to exchange words with the staff.

What do you do in the free time that you have during your work?

Ohno: I read magazines, stare into space, and check for fishing catches on my mobile phone.

Sho: I don’t have any free time… (laughs) If you can count the time which I travel on the car as free time, then I would be watching TV. Previously I used to listen to music, but now I watch TV. It’s mostly the news or informative programs.

[Translator’s note: I’m assuming that Sho isn’t driving.]

Aiba: I think of the work arrangements as I stare into space, and then gaze at the members.

Nino: If there are 3 – 4 hours of waiting time, I will be sleeping. Basically, I can fall asleep anywhere. It’s a deep, dreamless sleep.

Jun: Recently, I’ve been listening to a lot of music. And amidst the [music that I listen to], hip hop takes up a lot of it. There was a time when I didn’t listen to much of it, but recently I’ve gone back to it again.

You reach home after work. What is the one word/phrase that comes to your mind?

Ohno: “Thanks for all the hard work.”

Sho: “I wonder what I should do…” I calculate the time that I should go to bed based on the work that I have the next day, and then decide what I should do in the remaining time that I have before I need to sleep.

[Translator’s note: I need to be more organised and hardworking like Sho-chan.]

Aiba:”I’m home. <3”

Nino: I’m in the midst of a hectic filming schedule, so if I manage to reach home in time to catch a late night infomercial program, I think to myself, “I’m early today! Lucky me~” And if I catch the early morning news, then I say, “Aah, it’s this time already.” And if I switch on the TV and see the morning news, then I go, “I really worked at it. Thanks to myself, for all the hard work!” The thoughts can’t help but overflow from my heart when I switch on the TV. (laughs)

Jun: Silence.

What’s the thing you must do when you get home?

Ohno: I play some music and stare into space. What kind of music do I play? I’m not really sure myself, somehow. In any case, it’s a relaxing piece of music.

Sho: If you’re talking about the present season I switch on the humidifier. Then of course there’s the toilet!

Aiba: Firstly, I switch on the TV, drink some beer and stare into empty space. And when I have the time I watch a DVD in bed… and then fall asleep as I am.

Nino: I wash the bath and then fill it up with hot water.

Jun: I change out of my clothes, wash my hands, and then sit in the living room thinking, “What should I do?” In any case, I take a seat. I don’t suddenly go take a bath or do anything. I do go and take a drink from the fridge, but in any case, I just sit down first.

What’s your favourite spot in the house?

Ohno: The sofa. My body fits into it pretty well.

Sho: Whenever I enter my futon it calms me down the most. So I guess it’s my bed. I don’t have any preferences when it comes to my bed, but I change my sheets between summer and winter. In winter [my sheets] are a jersey-like material, but in summer I put on a silk-like sheet which is really smooth.

Aiba: I laze around in the living room sofa as I’m watching TV. And then there’s the dining room table. I find it a bother to clean up after I cook for myself, so it’s rare to see food being placed on the table. Somehow it has a calming effect, though, so I tend to sit there. (laughs)

Nino: My music room, I guess. It’s a room about the size of 6 tatami mats, and has a guitar, base guitar, keyboard and drum set. The room isn’t sound proof, it’s a completely normal room. (laughs) The drums are electronic, so normally they just give off a light pattering sound. I can do as I wish in there, so I like it when I spend time in that room.

Jun: Sofa, nah, I guess it’s my bed. The sofa is great for a sofa, but if I said the sofa then I would cease to need the bed. (laughs)

In a single day, what’s the one thing which you definitely make time for?

Ohno: I decide what time I should start and finish, and then determinedly stare into space. My mind is completely empty at that point. There are times when I remember my fishing experiences, but if I do that, I would end up itching to go fishing. So it’s definitely better to leave the mind blank.

Sho: I definitely watch the news programs which I have recorded everyday. Although I tend to end up fast forwarding through them if I don’t have the time.

Aiba: The time before I go to sleep. When I’m in bed, I reflect back on the day and think to myself, “Oh, this happened today.” I don’t go to sleep straightaway.

Nino: Nothing in particular. I don’t need something like that right now, I guess. I think why I feel like that is because I’m already doing the things that I want.

Jun: It is a time where I can be active for myself. It can be anything from listening to music or reading a book. I really treasure the times when I can consciously determine, “I’m going to use this time that I have to do this.”

Suddenly, your work for the day was cancelled and you have an off day. What do you do?

Ohno: I would go fishing, yes?

Sho: I would love to go shopping, but… Since it’s a long awaited off day I would try to do stuff that makes it seem more like a day off. Ah, I’ll go to the hot springs! To the hot springs I’ll go! And I won’t come back on the day itself, but stay overnight! If I set off immediately after eating breakfast, I should be able to make it in time for work the next day. If it were Atami, I could make it there in about an hour too. And if I could stop by an outlet mall on the way it would be perfect! (laughs)

Aiba: Just the other day, I bought a book which listed lots of places which had really great food, so I would head to the shops which I took an interest in, I guess. (laughs)

Nino: I would probably while away the time…

Jun: If I went to watch a movie, then I’ll dive in and just catch a stage play as well. I would probably invite some friends out for a drink as well… I’m not the type to plan ahead so my mood on that day will determine what I do. There are days where I did nothing at all. (laughs) That would probably be the most lavish way to spend an off day, isn’t it?

What’s the image that first comes to your head when we mention the term, “everyday”?

Ohno: Wake up à work à .sleep.

Sho: I have an image of the sunlit day instead of the night. “Everyday” denotes an image of “something which is repeated daily”, but the thing which comes to my mind is the days where I was a elementary or middle school student. Everyone had the same schedule during those days, right? Right now, every day has a different schedule.

Aiba: Something which I do not want to assume will always be there.

Nino: Work.

Jun: A point and a line. It is because I feel that “everyday” [life] is something which is built up one day at a time.