The Hello! Project could be here right now

Sometimes natural curiosity leads to wild imaginations. You start to wonder whether or not your favorite artist was aware of all the fanfare they receive overseas. You wonder if they can read or understand enough English to be able to browse your favorite forum. You sometimes wonder if they even know your community exists. A fans natural propensity to imagine that their favorite artist browses the same websites they do, let alone the same forum or message board, is always in the back of their mind. Today, there is the possibility that one website has gained the attention of at least a small community of singers. The website in question is the one you’re reading now, and the small community happens to be the Hello! Project.

The story goes a little something like this. During my stay in Japan over the summer of 2005 I managed to acquire some time off in about the second week of July. I decided to hop on the metro and take a trip down to Shibuya for a little walk and to check out some items over at the Hello! Project shop. I browsed through the typical array of photos, Rakuten Eagles memorabilia, mouse pads, and other exclusive items you can only get at shop only to grow a little bored of it. My overall appreciation of these goods has taken a sharp decline, maybe because the Hello! Project is a highly oiled merchandising machine and I don’t appreciate it, or maybe it’s because 90% of the store is just photographs.

I decide to leave the store empty handed, which quite possibly could have been the biggest mistake I’ve made in a while. I can’t blame myself for having lack of foresight, but I do blame myself for having the bad luck of not really wanting to make any purchases. I then decided to take a stroll to Harajuku in the pleasant humid, hot, and blazing sunlit summertime of Japan, nothing compares to sweating like a pig in a foreign country! I pass by Yoyogi Stadium, the site of the first Hello! Project concert I’ve ever attended, it really brought back some memories.

My visit to Harajuku was uneventful, and the visit to the Avex Artist School turns into a dull moment as I find out they happened to be closed that day. You may have read my article about My short-lived life as an Avex Artist , I was hoping I could have a repeat of the situation and maybe have a tour of the facility after they agree that I am star material then run before they get any of my money. I decide not to dwell on it, and decide to use my infinite amount of free-time that day to take a great stroll, BACK to Shibuya.

Still intrigued by the sites in Harajuku where most of the kids have interesting clothing, from gothic Lolita to punk rock look, I keep an eye out for interesting shirts. I seriously love catching “Engrish” shirts, a shirt featuring structurally incorrect phrases or misspelled, and in some cases entirely unique, words. Usually I just have enough time to be able to give them a once over before they are out of view, but one shirt happened to catch my eye, and the girl was walking slow enough and in a direct path that I was not only able to read it, but also get out my camera and snap a picture of her.

“I LOVE BEEF. I HAVE TASTE OUT OF CONTROL. TOO HIGHER”

Natural curiosity (there it goes again) makes me wonder what type of girl would wear this shirt. Slightly suggestive, but retaining an innocent quality. I took note of her hair early, it was very cool, I wish I had hair like her. I decided not to fawn over a girls hair and quickened my pace so I could turn back and steal a glance at her. I expected her to be a pretty girl, I just didn’t expect to ever be confronted with this situation.

I live in New York City, star-gazing is a part of life that particularly bores the heck out of me. Mike Myers held the door for me once, I saw Robin Williams walking down the street, and in my neighborhood of Tribeca it’s not surprising to see shows like CSI or LAW & ORDER filming in my neighborhood. Hell, my neighborhood even hosts the annual Tribeca Film Festival, underwritten by Robert Deniro himself. Catching stars barely registers as a skipped beat to me, and yet here I was, heart racing and eyes glazed.

I practically blew my own eyeballs out with the pressure that was building inside my bloodstream. I’m standing right near Masae Otani, what should I do? Who was she walking with? I saw only a flash of the tea colored shoulder length hair of her compatriot, and it runs through my mind. Who in the Hello! Project has tea colored shoulder length hair? Instantly my heart stops, could it be Maki Goto? No way, the girls can’t possibly want to hang out with each other during their free time. Don’t they get enough of each other from the months of concerts? It’s probably just a personal friend, I turn around again.

I was floored, thankfully not literally, at my luck. What are the chances? I didn’t come to Tokyo expecting to just run into idols on the street, I’m a New Yorker, I wasn’t even looking for them. I just liked her shirt, and I was curious. Whoever said curiosity killed that cat was probably just jealous of people who had curiosity. Curiosity doesn’t kill anyone, dangerous minorities do. It took some courage, but I realized this might be my only chance to ever talk to anyone from the Hello! Project, so I approached them.

I manage to allow words to stumble out of my mouth like a drunk out of a bar at 2am, “Hi..” They stop and examine me, do I pose a threat? I continue talking, realizing I didn’t think about what I should say; “Do you girls mind if I take a picture of you? I’m a really big fan.. and.. uhh.” I couldn’t really finish my sentence, I already told them I was a fan, and was I really supposed to continue by explaining I wanted a picture because I was a fan? It seemed repetitive.

Ayaka looked at me, and despite what you’re thinking I’m not going to turn this into some sordid fanfic, and said “No…?” Ignoring her, and quick on my feet to make sure I could make this a winning moment, I explained further. “I’m from New York, normally I don’t walk up like this, but it’s just that my friends would never believe me, and theres this girl I know who’s a big fan of you and she’d never believe me and.. uhh..” Ending all of my sentences with “and.. uhh..” isn’t a proud moment for me, I continually made the mistake of explaining why I wanted the picture before explaining that was why I wanted the picture. She was shocked to have a fan from New York (it is a possibility I also mentioned America in the same breath as if she didn’t know where New York was located), and I think it was lost on her (because of her fluency in both languages) that I was speaking English to her and not Japanese. She finally gave in “Sure” apparently in an effort to say as little as possible to the crazed fan from America.

I was like “WHOA” I was so happy, in my glee I had shortly considered asking to take a picture with them instead of just purely of them. I wasn’t sure if their patience would run out before I made my decision and just decided to take a picture of them. Masae began to back away, as to not interfere with the picture, and Ayaka finally opened up a little and asked me “Would you like her in the picture too?” I was so happy she said it and I didn’t have to try to hint that I wanted Masae in the picture as well, and said “Sure, yes, please thanks!” I snapped their picture and we were done. I fumbled in my pocket and offered her my business card, with www.nozomionline.com clearly emblazoned at the top of the card. I thanked them profusely before slinking away into the background, too nervous and shy to do anything else but fall behind them. They continued walking as if nothing had happened, but I had realized what I had just done.

I had undeniable proof that I met members of the Hello! Project and that they were aware of Nozomi Online. There is a large chance that Ayaka would never visit the website, in fact there’s an overwhelming possibility the card will never be brought out of her bag or purse. There is, however, no matter how small, that chance that she does visit. There is that chance, that she reads the articles. There is the possibility, although minute, that she or anyone else from the Hello! Project could be reading Nozomi Forums right now. Maybe they are reading the birthday threads, or maybe they are checking out the Berryz Koubou single reviews. Maybe they signed up for a lurking account, maybe they didn’t. But in case anyone is reading this now, thank you so much for allowing me to take the photo of you girls, it means a lot for a fan. Thank you.