Maimi’s bicycle pilgrimage, Part 4

Here are the previous recaps for Maimi’s bicycle pilgrimage on “HaroPuro! TIME”:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

For the fourth week in a row, Maimi’s bicycle trip to Shizuoka’s Kunouzan Toshogu shrine to pray for the success of ℃-ute’s recently released single, “Kimi wa Jitensha Watashi wa Densha de Kitaku” (You Ride Your Bicycle While I Catch the Train Home), was aired on “HaroPuro! TIME” (4/12). Maimi’s trip was the main focus of this episode, and it started off with Maimi getting sidelined when the chain slipped off her bike while she tried shifting gears. After a short while, Maimi managed to fix the chain herself, and asked everyone to remember that she’s a girl who can do anything if she tries. In high spirits because of her accomplishment, Maimi sang “Kimi wa Jitensha” to herself as she resumed her trip.

Further ahead, Maimi came across a road she wasn’t able to cross on her bike, so she had to pick it up and carry it up some steps and across a bridge. Upon reaching the other side and getting back on her bike, Maimi once again sung “Kimi wa Jitensha” as she rode alongside a train.

Now biking at night, Maimi said that it made her uneasy before breaking into a solo rendition of ℃-ute’s song “Midnight Temptation”. As she was stopped and waiting for the light, Maimi realized that the ocean was in front of her, though she couldn’t see it because it was pitch black. Though she was unable to see it, she said that it still made her excited.

Tweleve hours after starting her trip, Maimi stopped at a convenience store to ask for directions to an inn. She arrived just in time to get a room, and after getting ready for bed, Maimi said she was surprised at herself for travelling over 80km in one day. Maimi then ended the first day of her trip by bidding good night to everyone watching.

With the first day in the books, the announcer recapped the trip so far. In the first day Maimi travelled for about 12 hours and logged around 80km. From Enoshima, around 140km remained between Maimi and her ultimate goal of Shizuoka.

Maimi was rejoined on the morning of day two as she sat down for breakfast at the inn. After finishing and showing off her completely empty plates for everyone, Maimi set Atami (around 60km from Enoshima) as her goal for the day. Before heading out, Maimi gave the innkeeper a signed copy of ℃-ute’s album “Utsukushikutte Gomen Ne”.

As Maimi set off for Atami, she saw the Enoshima Sea Candle lighthouse and remembered the time she went there with Nakajima Saki and Okai Chisato for a previous episode of “HaroPuro! TIME” (which aired 11/24/2011). Further along, Maimi’s saw the number 134 line, and started singing her duet with Suzuki Airi, “Image Color”, to herself.

After around 2 hours and 30 minutes, Maimi arrived in Odawara and stopped to eat before heading off to a bicycle racing track. She asked if she could try running up the steep side of the track, and was given the go-ahead. Maimi then rode a few laps around the bottom of track while expressing her amazement at how fast the cyclists at the top of the track were going.

Forging ahead up some hills, Maimi arrived at her destination of Atami and the segment ended with Maimi spotting some mysterious steam rising in the distance.

This episode of “HaroPuro! TIME” also featured a second “Yajima TIME” segment, which briefly showed the filming of the “Yajima Maimi Short Movie “Totsuzen” Dance Ver.” variation of the “Kimi wa Jitensha” music video, which can now be seen on YouTube here. The episode ended with another preview of the following week’s bicycle trip segment, which showed a seemingly defeated Maimi stopped at the side of the road.

Maimi’s bicycle pilgrimage, Part 3

Here are the previous recaps for Maimi’s bicycle pilgrimage on “HaroPuro! TIME”:

Part 1 Part 2

Maimi was back for the third week in a row on this past week’s episode of “HaroPuro! TIME”, continuing on her bicycle trip to Shizuoka’s Kunouzan Toshogu shrine to pray for the success of ℃-ute’s upcoming single, “Kimi wa Jitensha Watashi wa Densha de Kitaku” (You Ride Your Bicycle While I Catch the Train Home). The announcer recapped Maimi’s trip so far, noting her “super slow” pace of 3km/h (about 1.9mph) and the fact that she was heading north instead of south.

The show rejoined Maimi as she arrived at Kouenji station, where she said she needed to turn. Maimi stopped and asked some strangers for directions to Hikawa shrine, who then kindly escorted her there. Once at the shrine, Maimi revealed that she went off the planned course to go to Hikawa shrine since the god of weather was there, and she wanted to pray for clear skies for her trip.

Once back on course, Maimi was waiting at a traffic light when an old man approached her and complimented her on her bicycle. He asked Maimi how much the bike cost, to which she responded 300,000 yen (about 3,677 USD). That surprised the old man, who then asked her if she bought it herself. Maimi said that it was bought for a filming, which led to old man to ask her if she was a model. Maimi denied being a model however, and the two chatted for a little while longer before heading off when the light turned green.

Five hours and 20km after starting her trip, Maimi became hungry. She chose a restaurant called “Rice Cafe”, and ordered the “demi mayonnaise omelette rice”. While eating, Maimi discussed her planned goal of reaching Enoshima by the end of the day, but after doing the math she finally realized how slow she had been going. With a full stomach and a faster pace, Maimi restarted her journey and eventually crossed over Maruko bridge, arriving in Kanagawa prefecture. Shortly after crossing the bridge however, the chain suddenly fell off Maimi’s bicycle, which brought her journey to a screeching halt and left us with a cliffhanger for next week’s episode.

Fellow ℃-ute member Okai Chisato also appeared on this week’s “HaroPuro! TIME” with her own segment, where her and Hagiwara Mai introduced the game “Kimi wa Jitensha Watashi wa Mama Chari!” (You Ride Your Bicycle While I Ride My Granny Bike!). For the game, each member would pedal as fast as they could for 30 seconds on a stationary “granny bike”, and the member who pedals the fastest would receive sweets and their own segment on “HaroPuro! TIME”.

Mai was the first to go and set the pace with 46.6km/h (about 29mph). None of the other girls were able to match the pace, but then the ringer Maimi came in and won it all with a pace of 51.8km/h (about 32mph). A salty Mai complained that Maimi robbed her of a chance at having “Hagi TIME” and that Maimi can have her own segment whenever she wants since she’s popular, but Maimi said that she’s the kind of girl who can only do things at full-power. Finally, Maimi received macaroons as the sweets reward.

Maimi’s bicycle pilgrimage, Part 2

The recap for the first week of Maimi’s bicycle trip segment can be read here.

For the second week a row, “HaroPuro! TIME” followed Maimi on her bicycle trip from Tokyo to Shizuoka to pray for the success of ℃-ute’s upcoming single, “Kimi wa Jitensha Watashi wa Densha de Kitaku” (You Ride Your Bicycle While I Catch the Train Home). The week’s segment began with Maimi setting off on her journey in front of Tokyo Tower. Since it was her first bicycle trip, she was anxious about things like whether or not she’ll be able to follow her route properly and where it’s okay for her to ride her bicycle.

After stopping to wait for a green light, Maimi reminded herself to be on the lookout for cars as she stopped to let one turn in front of her. A short while later, Maimi arrived in Roppongi, approximately 1km (0.6 miles) from where she started. She stopped to consult her map on where she needs to turn, but she had trouble understanding it. Maimi stopped again a little further ahead and wondered if she was lost, before moving her bicycle somewhere out of the way to check her map again.

Maimi decided to head straight ahead for the time being, and then arrived in Shinjuku ward. As Maimi stopped to check her map again at the intersection, the announcer said Maimi is losing time because of her hesitation. She then finally arrived in Shinjuku city, where she commented that there’s a lot of people and she’s embarassed because of the outfit she’s wearing.

The segment wrapped up with the announcer noting that Maimi arrived in Shinjuku after 2 hours, at a pace of 3km per hour. A preview for the 3rd week of segments followed, showing that Maimi will encounter some trouble with her bicycle on the trip.

In addition, Maimi also made an appearance during fellow ℃-ute member Nacky’s (Nakajima Saki) segment this week, where Nacky chronicled the filming of the music video for “Kimi wa Jitensha Watashi wa Densha de Kitaku”. When Nacky asked Maimi about the filming, Maimi explained that they’re recording the fast lip scene version, where they lip-sync to a fast version of the song which will then be slowed down.

Maimi’s bicycle pilgrimage, Part 1

This week’s episode of “HaroPuro! TIME” was the first of four in which Maimi’s trip by bicycle to Shizuoka from Tokyo is chronicled. Her segment started with her deciding to make a 2 night/3 day trip by bicycle somewhere for the purpose of promoting ℃-ute upcoming single, “Kimi wa Jitensha Watashi wa Densha de Kitaku” (You return home by bicycle, I return home by train). For advice on her trip, Maimi consulted with a bicycle-lover from her talent agency, frequent Hello! Project MC and Sharan Q drummer Makoto. Makoto recommended that Maimi travel using a road bike, and that she head somewhere south like Shizuoka.

With those things in mind, Maimi searched by map and computer for where exactly to go, albeit with some struggle. Maimi was eventually able to figure the computer out, and commented that people have probably never seen her use a computer, but surprisingly she’s able to do it, to which the on-screen captions responded “Really!?”. At last, Maimi decided to head to the Kunouzan Toshogu shrine in Shizuoka to pray for the success of the new single.

For the next step of preparation, Maimi headed to the bicycle shop Nicole EuroCycle Aoyama and met with the store manager. Once there, Maimi was shown road bikes that are popular with girls and almost instantly decided on the De Rosa bicycle, which she thought was cute. Upon sitting on the bike, Maimi commented on how high up the seat was. She was then lead through the features of the bike by the store manager, before heading over to clothing section. In the clothing section, the store manager told Maimi that the most important piece of clothing when riding a bike is the pants. After going over several notable points about the pants, the store manager added that cyclists don’t wear underwear while wearing the pants, much to Maimi’s shock.

Having gotten all the necessary gear for her trip, Maimi practiced riding her road bike around before suiting up and starting her bicycle adventure to Shizuoka’s Kunouzan Toshogu shrine, which will continue in next week’s episode of “HaroPuro! TIME”.

Maimi’s appearance on “Hagiwara Mai desu ga…”

Video streaming by Ustream

This past Thursday’s (1/5) episode of ℃-ute member Hagiwara Mai’s USTREAM show “Hagiwara Mai desu ga… Nani ka??” which features a cameo by Maimi has been archived on the show’s USTREAM channel.

At around the 30:35 mark in the second part (embedded above), Mai reads a letter from a Maimi fan who says he’s conflicted about who to cheer for since Mai’s cuteness has increased lately, and asks Mai to stop being cute. Unfortunately for the fan, it’s then revealed that Maimi is actually in the studio, and Maimi joins Mai for the program. Mai offers Maimi the dish that she made earlier in the program, which Maimi gladly accepts. Maimi then asks her if the show is live, but Mai tells her it’s not and scolds Maimi for not knowing the details of the other members’ projects. Mai asks Maimi what she thinks of the fan becoming Mai’s fan instead, and Maimi says it’s “no good”. But as Maimi praises Mai’s cooking, Mai takes it as an endorsement for liking Mai instead, which Maimi continues to protest and says it’s not good to be unfaithful.

The first part of the episode can be seen here.

“Wata@ame” 10/3 recap, Part 3

Here are the previous recaps for Maimi and Chinami’s appearance on “Wata@ame”:

Part 1 Part 2

After having successfully clearing their mission and winning the signed posters for the viewers, the hosts Matsuo and Katou introduced the next corner: “Find the 〇〇 Pico”. They all opened the laptops in front of them, as Michelle explained that today’s event is “Find the Pico Props Champ!” The rules are that they have 10 minutes to get as many “Pico Props” as possible in the Ameba Studio rooms. Whoever gets the most Pico Props wins, and the bottom 2 have to perform a punishment game.

For those who are unfamiliar, Ameba Pico is a service where you can create an avatar (in this case, a “Pico”, but called “Pigg” in the Japanese version) and then spend time with other users in various rooms. If you see a person whose Pico you like, you can click on them to give them “Pico Props” (“Good Pigg” in the Japanese version).

The punishment for the players who get 3rd and 4th place was decided by last week’s hosts, the comedy duo “Rocchi”, and was that they had to continually say “It’s hard as a rock!” like a handsome guy. With everything in place, all of the players appealed to the viewers to give them “Pico Props”, and the game began.

Ten minutes later, Michelle notified all the players that time was up and told them all to return to their in-game rooms. They then announced their scores one-by-one: Matsuo got 136 Pico Props, Katou got 189, Chinami got 170, and Maimi got 158. As a result, Matsuo and Maimi had to do the aforementioned punishment at the end of the program.

Matsuo then announced that the show would soon be ending, and asked the girls for their impressions. Chinami said that she knew a lot about Ameba Pico since her little sister plays it, and that it was fun and she wants to do it again. Katou told her that people from all over the world were participating, not just from Japan, which surprised Chinami.

Maimi said that she doesn’t usually use a computer, but it was fun, and that she hopes a lot of people learned about Berryz Koubou and ℃-ute from watching the quiz. Matsuo then asked Maimi how many people she thought were watching, before telling both of them that the count was over 22,000.

After a conversation about what they thought of the hosts, Matsuo invited the girls to promote their upcoming releases, with Chinami introducing Berikyuu’s 11/9 release “Amazuppai Haru ni Sakurasaku” and Maimi introducing Hello! Project Mobekimasu’s 11/16 single “Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku” and describing the meaning of the title. Matsuo pointed out that Chinami didn’t talk much when doing her promotion, and she said it was because she’s bad at it and is an idiot, which Maimi protested.

Out of the blue, Katou suddenly asked the girls if they’re prohibited from having relationships, which the two confirmed. He added that it’s strict, but Chinami said that they like singing and dancing more, and it’s fun to perform for the fans. With that talk aside, the girls then introduced the premiere of the music video for “Amazuppai Haru ni Sakurasaku”.

After the video had finished, the group set about completing the final corner, in which they had to come up with a command for next week’s hosts, the comedy duo “Haraichi”, who Chinami knew but Maimi didnt. Once that was settled, Matsuo and Maimi took their spots in front of the camera to complete their punishment for coming in last in the Ameba Pico game. As Katou and Chinami egged them on, the two repeatedly said “It’s hard as a rock!” and slapped their biceps like handsome guys to end the show.

“Wata@ame” 10/3 recap, Part 2

The first part of the recap of Maimi and Chinami’s appearance on “Wata@ame” can be found here.

Continuing with the quiz corner, Chinami introduced the 2nd question: “How many members are in Berryz Koubou?” Both Matsuo and Katou both correctly guessed 7, bringing the score to 2-0. Before Maimi could present the next question, however, her mic fell off and she had to have it reattached by a staff member.

After that was taken care of, Maimi presented the 3rd question: “Goukon (Japanese for a drinking party comprised of members of the opposite sex) is short for goudou konpa, but what is idol goukon short for?” Matsuo said that it certainly couldn’t be a mixer where they drink with boys, before finally guessing “goudou concert”, which was the correct answer.

The next question, presented by Chinami, was “What idol project do ℃-ute, Berryz Koubou, Morning Musume, etc. belong to?” However, Chinami couldn’t read some of the kanji in the question and had to consult with Maimi, which caused her to be teased by the hosts. Matsuo began to talk about how he was familiar with it because one of his comedy seniors, and accidentally let the answer, “Hello! Project”, slip out.

The score was then 4-0, and the hosts only needed one more correct answer to clear their mission. Maimi revealed the next question to be “How many dogs does Yajima Maimi have?” After much stalling, Katou guessed 5 dogs, since it’s the same as the number of ℃-ute members. The correct answer, however, was 3.

On to the 6th question, “What does Maimi usually throw during concerts?” Katou said he knew because he goes to all the concerts, and he guessed shuriken (ninja stars), but then changed his answer to balloons along with Matsuo. Chinami revealed the correct answer to be “sweat”, but Katou had trouble believing that Maimi hasn’t thrown shuriken even once.

Still needing only one more correct answer to win, Maimi gave the hosts the next question: “What is the tallest member in Berryz Koubou’s height?” Matsuo and Katou asked for several hints, including how short is the shortest member (150cm, 4’11”), where does Chinami’s height rank (3rd), and how tall is Chinami (164cm, 5’4″). Katou ended up guessing 175cm, which was only 1cm off from the correct answer, 176cm (5’10”).

Chinami presented the 8th question, “How old was the youngest member of ℃-ute at the time of her audition?”, but was again teased by the hosts for her poor kanji reading skill. They both then incorrectly guessed 10-years-old, bringing the score to 4-4 and leaving Matsuo and Katou only 2 more chances to clear their mission.

After stumbling on the pronunciation of the song name a bit, Maimi gave the hosts the 9th question: “In the Berryz Koubou song “Special Generation”, there’s the lyric “〇〇 sugidatte”. What word goes in place of 〇〇?” Katou initially tried to pass, but then Chinami kindly offered the hint that it was the name of a train station. Both hosts guessed Ikebukuro, which was the correct answer, finally clearing the mission and winning the 3 sets of signed posters for the viewers.

“Wata@ame” 10/3 recap, Part 1

This past Tuesday (10/3) Maimi appeared with Berryz Koubou’s Tokunaga Chinami on the USTREAM show “wata@ame”. The hosts of the show, the comedy duo Zabunguru’s Matsuo Yousuke (sitting on the left, wearing glasses) and Katou Ayumu (right), and the assistant MC Michelle introduced themselves and the show’s corners before they brought in Maimi and Chinami.

Matsuo started by asking the girls if they were familiar with Zabunguru, to which the girls responded by mimicing their one-shot gag, saying “It’s hard as a rock!” and slapping their biceps. They were then asked their age, and when the girls both responded that they are 19-years-old, Matsuo asked them if they were close friends in their private life.

Chinami said that her and Maimi are super close friends, so Katou asked them what they do together. Maimi said that they go to the aquarium, and because Chinami loves sea lions, she made her go see the sea lion show twice. Because Maimi said “made her”, Katsuo laughed and asked if it was okay to say that because they were close friends, to which Chinami acknowledged that they really are close friends.

Katou said that him and Matsuo are similarly close friends too, and they went to the aquarium too and saw the manatee. He added that they also take baths together, but Chinami said that her and Maimi don’t do that. The two members of Zabunguru assured them that someday they’ll reach the point in their friendship where they take baths together, though.

After the opening talk was finished, Matsuo introduced the first corner: “Pestering the guest!? Give us a present!” For this corner, if the hosts complete their mission, they will win a present from the guests to give to the audience. Maimi and Chinami then revealed that they brought 3 sets of signed posters for Berryz latest single “Aa, Yoru ga Akeru” and ℃-ute’s latest single “Sekai Ichi HAPPY na Onna no Ko”.

Katou thought that it was a pain in the ass that they had answer questions to get the gift, so Matsuo hit him on the head for complaining, and then again when he wouldn’t stop crying. After Katou calmed down, Michelle explained that today’s mission was that Zabunguru had to pass the idol quiz, and needed to get 5 questions right in order to do that.

Katou was surprised that it was only 5 questions instead of all of them, and declared that it’d be an easy victory, but Chinami said that the questions were considerably difficult. Katou’s confidence didn’t waver, as he claimed to have all of “Berry Koubou” and ℃-ute’s CDs. Matsuo doubted him and asked how many CDs there are, and Katou responded that he has over 100. Chinami and Maimi protested that they don’t have that many CDs, but Katou said he bought multiple copies.

Moving on to the quiz, Maimi introduced the first question: “How many members are in ℃-ute?” Matsuo guessed 5 and Katou guessed 9, because of ℃-ute’s name (9 is often pronounced “kyuu” in Japanese), but they eventually agreed on 5, which Maimi revealed as the correct answer. Katou said that the question was too easy, but Maimi brought up that he originally said “9”, to which he feigned ignorance.

Maimi’s summer wish and “Cooler Hoop”

All the members of Hello! Project gathered this summer for the annual Hello! Project summer tour, titled “~Nippon no Mirai wa WOW WOW/YEAH YEAH Live~”, and as per usual the goods list featured several DVD magazines. The second of the two DVDs (volume 26) asked all the members what they hope to do this summer, and then come up with an invention they’d like to see in Japan’s future.

Maimi revealed that her desire this summer is to begin gardening. She’s always thought it’d look cute with flowers blooming around her house, but she considers herself the type to leave projects unfinished. This year, though, she hopes to kill two birds with one stone by overcoming that shortcoming and making her home prettier, and since her mom likes plants, she’d like to try doing it together with her. Maimi added at the end that she’d like to try raising sunflowers and lavender.

Maimi then introduced her idea for an invention for Japan’s future: the “cooler hoop”. A play on the name “hula hoop”, which it shares the appearance with, Maimi also spelled the name using the kanji for “wind” (whose Chinese reading is “fuu”). Since the summer is so hot, people sweat just from walking. Maimi explained that at those times, the person could pass the cooler hoop over their body and instantly be refreshed. She originally had herself in mind when she invented it, but she recommended it to anyone who sweats a lot, including fellow Hello! Project member Kumai Yurina. Afterwards, Maimi gave a short demonstration on how to use the cooler hoop.

Maimi’s yakiniku date

This week’s “Haropuro TIME” (originally airing on 6/23) kicked off with Maimi arriving in Iidabashi with the camera for some all-you-can-eat yakiniku. Maimi mentioned that she ate yakiniku the last time she was on “Haropuro TIME” (the episode with “Ran”‘s rehearsal), and that she was going to this time as well. She wasn’t going by herself, however, as she invited Chisato and Mai who were waiting for her on a bridge.

The two girls claimed Maimi was late, and after Maimi gave them a proper introduction, she asked them about their fashion theme for the day. While Chisato explained it had a “rough” feeling and Maimi showed off her outfit for eating, the captions at the bottom of the screen kept asking Maimi to film all the members in the same shot.

As they headed to the restaraunt, all three of the girls mentioned that they hadn’t eaten lunch that day. Chisato said that she can’t eat much because she easily gains weight, but Maimi told her not to worry about that today. Mai and Chisato complained about how Maimi is able to eat as much as she wants and stays thin. The two then teased Maimi for her lack of skill in holding the camera, compared to how Nacky was able to do it in an earlier episode.

The girls arrived at the restaraunt “Itabashi Meat” and were led to their private room, where they then chose their meal course for the afternoon. After stocking up at the self-service salad bar, the girls returned to their room and pulled their hair back so it wouldn’t get in the way of eating. The waiter then brought in their meat selection, and Maimi commented that they’ll be able to eat a lot since they ordered the 2 hour course.

As Mai began to grill the meat, Maimi pointed out that Mai is always the one to do that, and Mai responded that she enjoys it. While enjoying the grilled meat, the conversation turned to what all of the girls were like when they auditioned. Mai was real small, Chisato was boyish with blonde hair (which Mai admired), Nacky was really shy, and Airi seemed like a princess. Maimi said that she was so nervous during the auditions that she doesn’t remember it, which then led to a clip of Maimi’s audition in 2002 where she sang Matsuura Aya’s “Momoiro Kataomoi”.

The three continued to order and cook more meat, and engaged in light conversation, such as what they wanted to do afterwards. At the 90 minute mark, the waiter returned to the room and asked them what they wanted for their last order, and the girls took the opportunity to order some dessert. As they had their dessert, they began to talk about S/mileage and it’s new member auditions, with Chisato saying that she can symphathize with their concern. Their waiter then comes in and lets them know their 2 hours have passed, and the girls head out while expressing concern that their faces will become pudgy to end their segment on this week’s “Haropuro TIME”.

Maimi’s practice appetite

Maimi returned to Hello! Project’s new weekly television series “HaroPuro! TIME” this past week, this time taking the camera with her to the practice for her currently-running play “Ran -2011 New version!!-“. After arriving at the training room, Maimi changed into her practice outfit, explaining that it’s easy to move around in during the sword battle rehearsals. Then, as the practice starts, Maimi hands the camera over to her manager.

Maimi is then shown going over her lines in her head before she goes through her first scene in front of the rest of the cast. In the scene shown, Maimi has to perform four roles by herself: a brat with a natural perm, a brat with a high voice, a heavy-set brat, and finally the role of Ran. While drinking some water during a break, she explained that as she uses a voice that she normally doesn’t use, it affects her throat. Maimi added that she thinks she needs to study how her co-stars use their voice, and then the clip jumps ahead to her intently watching her co-stars’ practice.

For the next part of Maimi’s segment, Maimi stepped outside for her lunch break and commented on how good the wind felt. She went to a nearby shop for lunch, where she started her meal by grilling some tongue and beef ribs. When asked by her manager how her first experience eating tongue is, Maimi said she wasn’t bothered by it at all. Maimi and her manager then talked about what the other girls were doing, with her manager revealing that they were currently in Odaiba (also filming for a HaroPuro! TIME segment which aired on the same episode). That caused Maimi to relate that she loves riding on roller coasters, but she hasn’t ridden on one in awhile. However, when the manager told her that they’d also be going to a haunted house, Maimi wasn’t as interested. After the meal, Maimi said that she was full and revealed that she had eaten 8 fatty tuna sushi, drank 2 glasses of oolong tea, and didn’t know how much meat she had eaten.

The last part of Maimi’s segment for the episode included footage of the practice for the 50 person sword battle from the play, and it was revealed that the practice that day had gone on for 7 hours.

Maimi’s pet dog pride

With Bijo Gaku now in the books, the new Hello! Project show “Haropuro! Time” began this week. The format of the show is the girls showing off snippets of their lives from their own points of view, as each girl is the camerawoman for their own segment. On the maiden episode of Haropuro! Time (aired 4/21), Maimi took the camera and introduced everyone to her three pet dogs.

The segment began with Maimi returning home at night from the rehearals for the ℃-ute and S/mileage joint concert. As she approached her house, the sound of her dogs barking could be heard, and when she entered she was greeted excitedly by her toy poodle Aroma (3-years-old, female). The segment then cut ahead to the introduction of her other toy poodle and Aroma’s mother, Cologne (5-years-old, female).

Maimi then made several attempts to get Aroma to obey her, only to be met with failure both times. First, Maimi tried to get Aroma to join her on the couch, only to be met with Aroma’s growling. Then, when Maimi tried to get Aroma to come to her, she instead walked off with Maimi’s father.

Next Maimi brought out some treats for the two dogs and tried to get them to jump, but to little avail. She then tried placing the treats on the ground in front of each dog and getting them to wait to eat them, but Aroma quickly snatched up the treats intended for both her and her mother. Moving on, Maimi then showed off Cologne’s special skill of fetching a ball from the tight space under the couch, and then Aroma’s love of strange places by filming her on a chair beneath the table.

Jumping ahead after a brief intermission, Maimi and Cologne were getting close on the couch together, but Maimi had to tell Cologne to stop as she got carried away licking her face and neck. Then, as Maimi was later washing her face, Cologne was laying down beneath the sink while Aroma was scurrying around. Next Maimi got a shot of Cologne laying down on her leg and Aroma curled up in a ball next to her.

Maimi went outside the next morning to introduce her third dog, a Jack Russel terrier named Rookie (10-years-old, male). She played with his hand some, and when he started sneezing she wondered if he had hayfever. To end the segment, Maimi showed Cologne and Aroma taking a nap before leaving for work.

In addition to her own segment, Maimi appeared alongside Airi in Mano Erina’s segment, where Mano chronicled her experience with the recording and charity event for the “Ganbarou Nippon Ai wa Katsu” project. Maimi commented that they were going to go start fund-raising in order to help out those in need. Maimi was also briefly present during Maeda Yuuka’s segment showing the rehearsals for ℃-ute and S/mileage’s joint concert.

Maimi’s future forecast

This past week’s episode of “Bijo Gaku” (aired 4/14) marked the final episode of the series before its change in title (“Hello Pro! Hour”) and contents, and featured Maimi along with fellow ℃-ute members Nacky and Chisato making a guest appearance in Hello! Project soloist Mano Erina’s idol palm-reading corner.

Prior to the recording, Mano met with each girl individually and examined their hands. With the information she gathered, she was ready to present her findings to the three ℃-ute members. She started with the members’ economic fortune, and stated one of the three has a great forecast. Nacky and Chisato both predicted that it’d be Maimi, but much to everyone’s surprise it was Chisato. Mano stated the the reasons she think this is because of the pudginess and line-definition of Chisato’s hands.

Mano then asked all of the girls to make their hands narrow and hold them up to the light, and confirmed that there was no light coming through the space between Chisato’s fingers. Mano pointed out that this could mean she earns a lot of money, or that she’s stingy. She asked Chisato if she had any stingy episodes, and Chisato explained that she doesn’t usually buy anything that costs over 3000 yen.

The person with the worst economic forecast was revealed to be Maimi, and Maimi wondered if it was because her fingers are so thin. Mano pointed out the gap between Maimi’s pinky and ring fingers, and said that it implies that money will fall out between her fingers. Asked about her spending habits, Maimi said that she usually doesn’t go shopping, but when she does she spends her money all at once. That left Nacky in second place, who proceeded to explain her shopping habits. Mano said that her fortune was ordinary, which displeased Nacky.

Mano then moved onto the girls’ job forecasts, and asked them who they thought would have the best fortune. Maimi guessed Chisato, citing her YouTube activities late last year. Mano pointed out Chisato’s brain-line goes downward, which signifies that she’s the type who gains power little by little. Moving on to Maimi’s, Mano showed that Maimi’s brain-line is short which means that she has an artistic sense.

Mano asked Maimi if she has an interest in song writing, and Maimi replied that she likes to write, but writing a song seems difficult. Mano said that she thinks Maimi would be good at song writing, since she always writes such nice things in her blog. Maimi seemed to get embarassed that Mano reads her updates, and thanked her for reading. Last is Nacky’s job forecast, which Mano again said is ordinary. However, there was one thing different than the other girls’, and that’s that Nacky’s brain-line and “life-line” overlap each other. Mano said that this signified that she has a lot of discretion, which the other girls confirmed as she is cautious with other people.

To end the segment, Mano said that they should all work hard so that they can achieve a balance.

Details of Maimi’s earthquake experience

On the most recent broadcast of Maimi’s regular FM PORT radio show “℃-ute Yajima Maimi’s I My Me~ Maimi” (aired on 3/25), Maimi revealed some details of her experience during the devestating earthquake that struck Japan on 3/11.

First, in response to mail from a listener called “Taka-san” who asked if Maimi’s house was alright, Maimi said that she wasn’t actually at home during the earthquake, the biggest of her life, but that it had knocked down the pictures and toppled the dresser in her room. Before she returned home, however, her family had fixed everything. Maimi thanked everyone who sent in messages and expressed concern about her family’s safety.

Next, she read mail from a listener called “Machapani-san” who asked how Maimi was doing, and shared how they were worried about the people they knew in Fukushima. Maimi said that she could relate, as her grandparents also live in the Tohoku region. Maimi was riding on a train when the earthquake happened, so she couldn’t immediately find out where it hit. She overheard those around her talking about checking the TV on their cellphones, so she did the same. When she learned of where the earthquake had hit the hardest, she was extremely worried about her grandparents, but couldn’t contact them due to the phonelines being jammed. She was eventually able to get into contact with some of her relatives, and reported that her grandparents are alright.

Maimi then read mail from a listener called “Maimiyabi-san”, which was sent on the day of the earthquake, 3/11. They wrote that because of the earthquake, they were currently stuck at work and couldn’t return home. Despite the anxious night, listening to Maimi’s voice on the radio was comforting him. Maimi thanked him for his comments, and said that she saw a lot on the news about people who weren’t able to return home for various reasons, or were trying to return home by walking or biking. Maimi herself was quite aways from home, and couldn’t return because the trains had all stopped. After waiting for some hours, her older brother eventually came and picked her up by car. Maimi then said that she was extremely happy that her voice was able to bring someone comfort at such a troubling time.

Maimi’s canned food genius, Part 3

Here are the previous recaps for this series of Bijo Gaku appearances:

Part 1 Part 2

Maimi, Captain, Maasa, and Mai returned for a third week of canned food study under the tutelage of canned foods expert Kurokawa Hayato on the “Extracurricular Lesson” segment of Bijo Gaku (aired on 3/17/2011), which immediately began with another quiz this week. Kurokawa showed the girls a can of “mentaiko” (walleyed pollack roe) called “Mentai Can”, and asked them to tell him what kind of fish mentaiko comes from. After a couple of incorrect guesses from the other girls, Captain asked Kurokawa for a hint. For the hint, Kurokawa pointed out the character on the can (Taizoo-kun) and read his profile, which contained information on his age (28) and hobbies (surfing, karaoke). As that hint clearly didn’t help any, Kurokawa offered another one, first telling the girls that the fish is called “_______dara”, and then “su_____dara”. With that hint, Maimi was able to correctly guess “suketoudara” (walleyed pollack) and won a bowl of mentaiko on rice. Captain asked Kurokawa what he was going to do with the remainder of the mentaiko, to which he replied that he was going to eat it himself afterwards.

For the next quiz Kurokawa brought out a can of “Matsusaka-gyu WHAT’S Curry”, a high-grade beef curry which is made from meat that is boiled for 3 days, and asked the girls to guess the price. Before the girls wrote down their answers, he offered the hint that each 810 gram can has 4 servings in it. With that in mind, Captain guessed 1980 yen, Maasa guessed 2200 yen, Maimi guessed 3500 yen (citing the luxury of the long cooking process as the reason for the high price), and Mai guessed 2400 yen. Kurokawa revealed that someone had guessed the price exactly, and it was Mai with her guess of 2400 yen. While enjoying her plate of curry, Mai feigned like she was going to share a spoonful with Maimi, but quickly pulled it away and ate it herself. Maimi commented that Mai pulled the spoon away too fast, though, as she hadn’t even opened her mouth yet.

Kurokawa had one more special canned food and rice dish to teach the girls about, and for that he took out a can of SPAM. Upon seeing the can, Maimi revealed that she really loves SPAM and has it in the morning for breakfast. Kurokawa then showed the girls how to prepare “SPAM and tuna Italian donburi”. The first step is to make a spread by mixing together tuna, anchovies, and mayonnaise. Then you spread it on top of a piece of SPAM and add black pepper and soy sauce. Kurokawa placed the SPAM on top of the bowl of rice with a “DON!” (the Japanese onomatopoeia for a loud thud), and Maimi tried to make a pun by saying “SPAM don” (“don” being short for “donburi”, a bowl of rice with food on top).

Like the weeks prior, the girls had to battle it out in a series of Rock-Paper-Scissors matches to see who’d be the lucky three to try the “SPAM and tuna Italian donburi”. The first winner was a jubilant Maimi, who avoided repeating her fate from last week by beating the three others’ paper with her scissors. Captain won the face-off with Maasa and Mai and secured a bowl for herself, leaving Maasa and Mai to battle each other for the final bowl. A nervous Mai tried to gather her composure, but ultimately lost to Maasa’s rock versus her scissors. As if being excluded from the meal wasn’t enough, Kurokawa then asked Mai to hand everyone the chopsticks that were next to her. Mai watched on with teary eyes as the winning girls sampled the SPAM donburi, and Maimi commented that the combination of flavors was really delicious and that she was really happy.

The canned food “Extracurricular Lesson” series came to an end with Kurokawa asking the girls to try to apply what they learned there at their homes, and with the girls thanking Kurokawa.