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The story
The October 19 broadcast of NHK’s “Tsurube’s Family Toast” (鶴瓶の家族に乾杯, a long-running travel show in which comedian Shofukutei Tsurube drops in unannounced on small Japanese towns) featured former Morning Musume member Miki Fujimoto visiting Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture, sampling squid dishes and meeting locals along the way. On 5ch’s Hello! Project board (dedicated to the Hello! Project idol stable that includes Morning Musume), posters reacted in real time to Fujimoto’s antics, Hachinohe’s squid cuisine, and her exchanges with Tsurube. The thread also spun into the board’s favorite recurring argument — “who really loves Morning Musume the most?” — plus reactions to Fujimoto’s meeting with a fan who calls himself Hachinohe’s #1 Morning Musume supporter.
What people said
Miki Fujimoto heads to Hachinohe in search of fresh seafood! She digs into a dish made with squid "harawata" (innards)! She also meets a Morning Musume fan who calls himself Hachinohe's biggest supporter! And Tsurube unexpectedly turns mortician!? (a nod to the film "Departures"/Okuribito, about a funeral professional who prepares bodies for burial)
Monday, October 19, 19:57–20:42, NHK General TV1 / Tokyo
Makino's got the most, surely
For real, same
The woman who just missed her shot at the top
Background and Talking Points
“Tsurube’s Family Toast” is NHK’s long-running travel series in which comedian Shofukutei Tsurube visits regional towns with no advance arrangements. Miki Fujimoto joined Morning Musume as one of its early members in 1999, graduated from the group in 2007, and has worked as a television personality since. The episode’s destination, Hachinohe, is a port city famous for its squid landings, and the thread featured several posters reminiscing about local squid dishes. True to the Hello! Project board’s usual character, discussion drifted away from the broadcast itself and into the perennial debate over “who loves Morning Musume the most” — and the moment where Fujimoto looked blank at a younger member’s name was read by posters as a telling snapshot of the gap between the group’s alumni and its current lineup.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “■ Miki Fujimoto ■ Tsurube’s Family Toast — Meeting a Morning Musume Fan Who Calls Himself Hachinohe’s Best, in Hachinohe, Aomori ■ NHK General TV 19:57–20:42 ■“
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