Kakizaki Memi blog: Nagano newspaper, Nagano baseball, Nagano mascot

Arukukuma-chan

Kakizaki Memi
2017.07.05


Good evening,
It's Kakizaki Memi

I'm in the July 4th Nagano Asahi Shimbun!

From the time of the auditions until now, there have been stories about me in the Naganao Asahi Shimbun three times now.

To be in my home-town newspaper makes me very happy!
Truly, thank you very, very much, Nagano Asahi Shimbun ‼( > <。)♥

This time we talked about high school baseball!
To all of you living in Nagano, to all the baseball players my age, definitely please take a look ♪

And there are signed baseballs as gifts!! (smile)
Definitely please feel welcome to those, too <(_ _*)>

Whose back is that?

The answer...

It's the Nagano mascot character Arukuma-kun!

He's very popular...and anyway he's cute ～(*´◡`*)

Nagano Prefecture is a wonderful place. Please go there and have a look: to meet Arukuma-kun, or right now to go to Karuizawa and cool off (^-^)

Bye-bye.

Kakizaki Memi
_____________________________________ posted by staff 170705 02:02h

Aruku-kuma would mean something like "walking-around bear." The character's real name is a contraction of that: Arukuma.

While Techi, Mon, and even Neru remain quiet, Memi keeps the posts coming. And now there's the news article she refers to, as well, from the Nagano edition of the Asahi Shimbun:
 

-- Fierce contests are unrolling between baseballers the same age as Kakizaki-san. Have you watched high school baseball?

Kakizaki:  I've often watched broadcasts of Koushien on TV. And of course I supported the Nagano team. Also, in middle school I had friends who knew a lot about high-school baseball. Every year I was told things like: "This year Saku Chosei and Nagano Commercial are strong." So I got to know a bit about it. High school baseball feels like it is a thing of friendship and mutual ties. So cool!

-- Were there any baseball players among your friends?

Kakizaki: There were among my classmates. And it seems that some of them have gone on to play high school baseball. I hope they are doing well.

-- Have you had any experience in sports?

Kakizaki: Actually, starting in 4th year elementary school, I was on a local sports club's softball team for three years. Mainly covering right field. I liked running for the ball more than I liked batting (laughs). At that time, I used to go to the park and play catch with my father.

-- Playing softball for three years, you must have gotten pretty good.

Kakizaki: No, I wasn't good at all (laughs). I only got into games when they didn't have enough players. It didn't involve hard effort, just fun practicing and playing. Good teams always beat us. But surprisingly, I was really happy. What stays in my mind is the ice-cream we ate after practice. It was delicious.

-- At the ballpark, you can hear Keyakizaka46's Silent Majority coming from the stands. Does Kakizaki-san have any songs to recommend to the players?

Kakizaki: Hiragana Keyaki's Dare yori mo Takaku Tobe! is an energetic, up-tempo song. And Keyakizaka46's Fukyouwaon is also good. I think its feeling of power will get across to the players. Beyond our group, I suggest UVERworld's Arubeki Sugata. Part of the lyric goes: "Other people's right answer is not your answer." That really resonates.When I'm feeling down, I often listen to it and get back on my feet.

-- I think a lot of players feel nervous when they are about to go to the plate or to the mound. How do you yourself lessen the anxiety?

Kakizaki: Umm. How.... Hiragana Keyaki is on its national tour right now, and I can feel really nervous before a performance, almost to the point of tears (laughs), saying things like "It's no good, I can't..." At those times, a member will hit me on the back and I'll shout: "Let's go!" But usually I remember the fact that as soon as I step on stage, the nervousness will go away and I will have a good time!

-- Finally, could you give a shout-out to the Nagano players?

Kakizaki: You have practiced hard with the goal of winning. Some people will not get the result they want, but I support you in giving your all to work toward your goal.

Memi signing baseballs that will be given away to readers

Here's the original story online. Here are images of the physical newspaper:

(Click to enlarge.)