Maimi crosses into 2016 surrounded by the fans and several returning Hello! Project acts in her January 2nd update “Countdown Party!“. Full translation below.

※This blog was written yesterday.

The Hello! Project Countdown Party held at Nakano Sunplaza New Year’s Eve and Day has finished

Thank you so much to everyone who put aside their precious time to spend it with us!!(T ^ T)

Everyone who supported us even though you couldn’t come to the venue or live viewings, thank you too

Sayashi Riho-chan graduated from Morning Musume。’15 during the first performance yesterday.

Thank you for all your hard work the last 5 years.
The letter Sayashi-chan read at the end…

Her words were for all of the other members and fans.

Once again I felt that the members and fans are irreplaceable to Sayashi-chan.

Sayashi-chan has a strong sense of responsibility and is a hard worker,
so she makes good on her word,
and I’m sure she’ll come back having grown even more(^^)

After the performance, I gave Sayashi-chan a surprise interview

I asked about a lot of things I was interested in

That interview will air on January 6th on Hello! Project Mobile’s Hello! Radio “Yajima no Heya”,
so please check it out

Backstage as well,
the staff were crying and didn’t want to say good-bye to her,

and I felt “She really is loved by a lot of people~“

The charm of a girl who gives her all no matter what she does but is sometimes a little scatterbrained makes everyone feel like supporting her

Surely a lot of people will help her at the place she’s studying abroad too

 

We’re cheering for Sayashi-chan from afar too

But, before that…(^^)

Let’s go have the meal we promised(*^^*)

Sayashi-chan has been running nonstop up to this point,

so I hope she relaxes at home with her family this New Year’s

 

Ah
This morning,
Sayashi-chan gave everyone presents and messages saying “Since it’s the last time…”

She gave me a lot of cute clips to organize my documents

I was happy(>_<)
I will use them to organize my documents for the Hello! Project concerts that start tomorrow in a way that’s easy to understand

Thank you so much Sayashi-chan.

And then,
the 2nd performance featured the hosts Sawayaka Goro-san,
Natsuyaki Miyabi-chan,
Kumai Yurina-chan,
the members of Hello! Project over 18,
Bitter & Sweet,

and the OGs Takahashi Ai-san,
Niigaki Risa-san,
and Mitsui Aika-chan came too!!

Just the thought of being able to see a performance from Morning Musume。’s Platinum Era got me excited,

and it was a real highlight, so I was glued to my seat((((；ﾟДﾟ)))))))
As expected, they’re so cool

They’re seniors that I’ve aaaaalways looked up to,
and I’m really proud that I have so many seniors like that!!

Once again I thought that I want us to become a group that charms a lot of people like our seniors

A~h… They really are amazing(T ^ T)

In addition!
There were more special guests
The host Natsuyaki Miyabi-chan also participated,

and we got to see Buono! perform

All of Buono!’s songs give us bright and positive feelings, so they’re really exciting to hear during a concert

When Berryz Koubou’s indefinite hiatus was announced,
I thought “Soon I won’t be able to see Buono! anymore~…”,

but 10 months later they returned!
I was really happy

It was announced during the concert that on August 25th

Buono!,
℃-ute,
Country Girls,
and the band led by the birthday girl Miya

will have a concert at Budoukan

It’s still a ways off, but I’m really looking forward to it（≧∇≦）

Please be sure to come

In addition,
I’m happy I got to sing “Chou HAPPY SONG” with Miya and Kumai-chan

It really felt like a New Year’s Eve festival,
and I enjoyed it from the bottom of my heart

Having all the members and fans I love with me when 2015 became 2016 made me really happy

 

I think it’s really special being able to spend this important time together

The tickets were sold out,
so I think there’s a lot of people who couldn’t participate,

but there were a variety of people who watched in real-time at the live viewings,
and not just in Japan but overseas too,

and thank you so much to everyone for using your precious time for us

Hello! Project crossed into the new year while being watched over by a lot of people

We’ll definitely have a wonderful year with everyone in 2016 too

Please continue to warmly support us again this year

After everything was finished,
I went home and relaxed with my family and pet dogs~

I watched a live broadcast that Chisato,
ANGERME’s Takeuchi Akari-chan,
Country Girls’ Inaba Manaka-chan,
and then the OG Yaguchi Mari-san appeared on,

and then I fell asleep after watching Sawayaka Goro-san on the next program(￣▽￣)

Thank you for working so hard into the morning after the Countdown concert（≧∇≦）

 

I slept so soundly that I couldn’t remember my first dream of the year＼(^o^)／

And then,
today I went on my first shrine visit of the year(((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))

But my update has already become really long,
so I’ll save that story for tomorrow

How did everyone spend the first day of 2016?

Let’s have a year overflowing with happiness together in 2016 too＼(^o^)／

Good night