Tamura Hono, member of the idol group Sakurazaka46, held a press conference at Kodansha (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo) on October 22nd to commemorate the release of her photobook "Tonari no Seki Ni Naritai" (I Want to Be the Next to Me), which was released that day, and revealed the story behind the photobook's title.
Tamura, who has released her second photobook in about three years, said, "I never thought I'd be able to release one, so I'm really happy. I can't wait to hear everyone's thoughts on it." Of the photos taken in Santa Fe, she said that her favorite cut is the denim outfit she wears, saying, "I think this is the one that shows my American side. The lipstick stands out, and I like the hair and makeup, too!"
When asked to rate herself, she smiled and said, "325 plus one point! The three for Santa Fe and my age (at the time of the photo shoot), but I turned 26 (yesterday), so I think I can give myself one more point." When asked why she chose the title "I want to be sitting next to you," she said, "Of the many ideas I was given, for our first album I thought, 'This is it!' But (this time) I spent every day thinking about which would be best... I chose this title because I thought it would be best for fans to think of me that way the most and feel a sense of closeness to me."
When asked who she would like to be sitting next to, she laughed and said, "In the dressing room, I feel happy when I'm next to the girls who are busy. When I'm next to (my contemporaries) Yamazaki Ten, I want to start a conversation. I think everyone has fun sitting next to Yamazaki Ten."
The photobook is said to be filled with "a new side of Tamura Hono," and she will be showing off her mature swimsuit look and her heart-stopping lingerie look. A4 size, 160 pages. Price: 2,500 yen. Comes with one postcard with a message from one of six options. "Loppi・HMV limited edition," "Rakuten Books limited edition," and "TSUTAYA limited edition" with different covers will also be released.
