Interview Now - Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku Kaho Kobayashi, Riko Nakayama) -（2/3）

2015.04.30

As soon as we touched down in the airport in Taiwan, the Ebichu family were there to greet us, it was such a surprise! (Kobayashi)

Q.From January 24-25 the "2015 Taiwan KAWAII POP FES by@JAM×J-GIRL POP WAVE Vol.4" was held. This was Ebichu's first public performance abroad, how did it go performing live in Taiwan?

Kobayashi: Even though I am a member of Ebichu, this was my first time abroad, and when we touched down in the airport in Taiwan, the Ebichu family (Ebichu fans) had come to greet us and were cheering for us, it was such a surprise! And then, eating foods such as xiaolongbao (Chinese steamed bun/dumplings) really made me feel like I was in Taiwan!

Because there were so many people in our party, we split into smaller groups while we were there. Then when Ayaka Yasumoto, our head master (manager) and me had a meal together, we had table full of dishes, the likes of which we have never seen, and we thought that this is "the flavor of Taiwan"!

Q.By the way, in Taiwanese cuisine a lot of herbs are used, are you ok with all the herbs?

Kobayashi & Nakayama：Herbs...? Oh! Coriander (Chinese parsley) is used a lot, right!

Kobayashi: I tried coriander, but I couldn't handle it, it knocks me out (lol)!

Nakayama: I was surprised that after our live performance everyone was giving us high fives, and our Taiwanese Ebichu family are so good at Japanese.

Even though I am Japanese, my Japanese is so poor! So, I thought that Taiwanese people's Japanese was better than mine.(lol) And also, it surprised me when the local fans knew the "calls" (cheering for us in Japanese)!

Q.Were there many Taiwanese fans?

Nakayama: There was lots! There were even many fans from Japan who made the journey. And there were also fans of other groups who were performing, who said "Ebichu were so fun" after we had played our set, we were so happy to hear that.

Q.Was there anything else you found interesting in Taiwan?

Kobayashi: I thought that the Taiwanese people were really nice! When we would get out of a taxi, the driver would say "arigatou" instead of "xiexie" ("thank you" in Japanese instead of Chinese).

I thought, wow... Taiwanese people have a real knack for communication! I felt really happy!

Nakayama: And also, as the taxi was pulling out with us inside, we would wave to the Ebichu family and say "bye bye" and the driver would also say "bye bye" to our fans, it was really funny.

Q.Taiwan sounds like it was really fun! In the future, are there any other countries or regions that you think you would like to go to?

Kobayashi: I think it would be great if we could do another live perfromance outside of Japan. Maybe in Europe or somewhere...

Nakayama: Well... in my dreams we go to Canada and play a live set under the northern lights...

Kobayashi: That would be so cold (lol)! Besides, we can only stay out until 9pm...

Everyone：(burst out laughing!)

This year we would like to appear at Kōhaku Uta Gassen. That's what we're aiming for! (Nakayama)

Q.What was it that made you want to become an idol?

Kobayashi: When I joined the talent agency, I didn't really know what I could do, and at first I would just say "yes" to whatever the talent agency asked me to do. I was invited to join the fixed term group "Team Daioh Ika ," I really enjoyed the experience and then I was asked to join "Ebichu." So, it came about in that kind of way.

Nakayama: I was taking classes in modern ballet, and then an older girl I knew joined the talent agency who had aspirations of being an actress. So then I thought it would be great if I could also become an actress and it was at that time I joined the group "Team Daioh Ika." As an actress you are often by yourself, so I found it reassuring be in an idol group surrounded by other people, I thought that the lessons were really fun and then I got invited to join Ebichu.

Q.Your group is made up of junior high and high school students, and the average age of the group is just 15.7 years old, is the school work and life as a pop idol compatible?

Kobayashi: I'm not really good at studying and the studies at Junior high school are difficult, but I want to be in Ebichu, so I've got to make a lot of effort.

Nakayama: I think that for an idol, communication is really important, and so I want to improve my writing ability. I'm not so gifted at expressing myself... So my goal for 2015 is to do my best in Japanese, I want to improve my Japanese and to be able to communicate more smoothly.

Q.Rico-chan, we hope you keep this really cute character of yours! Well then, how would you like 2015 to go?

Kobayashi: If we can maintain this kind of momentum it would be great, but...

Nakayama: Well, also... This year we would like to appear at Kōhaku Uta Gassen (NHK's annual and prestigous singing contest held on New Year's Eve)... That's what we're aiming for!