The first way to contact the boys is by using the email addresses from their radio shows:
"FAQ
1. What can we send to our idols...?
You may send letters, postcards, and greeting cards ONLY! Do not send any type of gift or money items at all or otherwise, this will happen...
- If you live in Japan, Johnny's will return the gifts/money to you
- If you live somewhere else other than Japan, then you just wasted your money... you or your idol will never see the fate of those gifts/money ever again...
2. What about language barrier problems....?
Most likely, the second language that most Japanese would be able to read and understand is English. Japanese is always preferred, especially for those who just could not understand (or are not even interested) in learning another language. If you know some Japanese, then Kudos for you! If you are having trouble with the Japanese, feel free to write some English too (since many Japanese tend to do that now--- mixing up the Japanese and the English altogether). If you don't know Japanese at all, then just write in English. Most likely, unless if you're writing to either Sho Sakurai or Masaki Aiba (who both can read and write (and speak, only Sho-kun is better at it ^^;) English, by the way), your idols will have your letter translated by someone who knows English. If you can't speak, read, or write English at all, then I'm afraid I can't help you there.
3. Will the staff at Johnny & Associates be inspecting all our fanmail...?
Yes, the staff will inspect the letters first, only to determine its size and volume. They only inspect to see if gifts or money are included in there, as well as the weight of the letter as well (in case that there may be a small gift inside, of course). However, they do not open the letters and read the messages.
"POSSIBLE" REPLY METHOD GUIDE
Not all of the Johnny's idols respond to their fanmail, depending on how much they receive everyday. There are quite a few who actually respond, only except that these were sent by the ones from Japan. There is one possible method to get a quick reply from your favorite idol, but again, this all depends on various situations. When you write your fanmail, think about what the idols may be doing the time that you're writing this email and if possible, estimate or anticipate within on which days you may think or believe that the idol of your choice may be free or occupied. In addition, even if I'm writing out this "possible" guide, don't feel guaranteed that your idol is going to reply to you using this method.
A few of my friends and other Arashi fans have emailed me and sharing their experiences in receiving some responses from their idols of their choice. The bottom line is, yes, our STORMY MEN DO REPLY to their fanmails, however, keep in mind that they only reply to certain fanmails, so be sure that you make your fanmail as REAL, EFFECTIVE, and TAMED as possible. I'll get in to this just a bit later.
Again, I am sharing you this "reply guide" to you, because I know as a fan that you would like to write a letter to your favorite idol and say a few words to him. It's also every fan's dream that the idol would respond to your letter. Based on fan experiences that they shared with me, here are tips on how you may have your favorite idol respond to your fanmail. As mentioned before, it's not guaranteed that your idol may reply to you, but why not use these tips a chance?
1. Write your letter in your own customized stationery. It doesn't matter how plain-looking or cute it may be, as long as you feel that this piece of stationery defines you as a person, write it in a stationery. Don't use plain paper (sidenote: this was my huge mistake when I wrote my first few fanmail to Sho and Nino XD) or they may get possibly discarded or ignored.
2. If your stationery is rather plain, do something to give some eyecandy in to it (such as putting some flashy stickers or have a few cute drawing doodles here and there, etc.). Individualize your letter! Make your idol take notice of your letter if it reaches his Inbox! Don't be a "hidden" and "boring" fan! ^^
3. Try to make your letter as short as possible. Your idol may not have all the time to read your whole letter if it's in multiple, numerous pages (unless if you have huge handwriting and the stationery paper is small... XD). Make your letter straight, simple, and right to the point!
4. After you are finished with your letter, fold it as neatly as possible and place it in an envelope. DON'T SEAL THE ENVELOPE--- YET!! You're not quite done yet. Read on.
5. If you happen to have some, you're going to need international Japanese stamps in handy. If not, please continue reading. If you don't have any international Japanese stamps with you, head over to your local post office and purchase an IRC (international reply coupon). What an IRC would do is act as a "substitute" payment of the international Japanese stamps that the idol will exchange. In other words, not only that you are paying postage for you to send your letter to Japan, but you are also paying postage for the IDOL to send HIS reply letter to you in return. If you REALLY want your idol to reply to your letter, you might as well do this. They will not waste their money going to the post office to buy international stamps just for you, as they have a lot of fanmail to read and (possible) reply, plus they don't have time to go to the post office by themselves and fall in line to buy stamps anyway. More information regarding the IRC can be read here (NOTE: The IRC that you see in that link is how the U.S. Postal Service IRC looks like... I believe it will also look like that for other countries as well).
6. Provide another extra clean envelope with you. Write your return address on the envelope. Stick your international Japanese stamps on that envelope as if you're sending a letter coming from Japan. If you have an IRC, place the IRC inside the envelope. PLEASE DO NOT SEAL IT, as it is an empty envelope after all.
7. Provide a small pen or pencil (pen preferably) and at least 5-6 sheets of fresh, blank stationery. PLEASE do NOT use the SAME STATIONERY as the one you used to write the letter, please... -.-;; The reason why you need more than one sheet of stationery, NOT BECAUSE you expect THEM to write a LONG response, but just in case the idol messes up on his letter and tosses it, he can always have a fresh one in handy.
8. In a slight bigger (not package-sized) envelope, place everything neatly and cleanly inside):
- your written letter inserted in an unsealed envelope.
- the empty envelope with your mailing address written on it, the Japanese int'l stamp attached on the envelope OR your IRC inside the envelope.
- your 5-6 sheets of fresh blank stationery and your small pen/pencil.
9. Be sure that your envelope remains as flat as possible as if it's not a package of sort. Try to feel it in your hands that you feel paper inside and not a huge object of sort. Your envelope must not be one of those "sealed, cushioned" ones, or else it'll come out like a package.
10. Seal your envelope tightly and write the address on the envelope directly to Johnny's. You'll see the address to send later on. Please keep reading.
11. Head over to your local post office to be sure that you have enough postage to send this letter to Japan. Pay for extra postage in case that the scale goes over the limit.
12. That's it! Let it go... don't be impatient about it, don't think about it. Let fate decide its course from then on as to whether you will get a reply from your idol or not. Are you really going to receive a reply? Only time will tell...
I would personally would like to thank those who were kind enough to share me this information regarding fanmails and replies. There's a lot of you and it's too long to list, but if you do read this, you know it's you who I'm talking about. ^_~
DO'S AND DON'TS
Before you get all excited, as a fellow fan I would like to let you know that there ARE some things that you need to do in writing your letter and some things that you don't do. Here is a small guide for you to keep in mind as you send your fan letter kit to your favorite idol(s).
* If this is your first fan letter, a simple typical letter that you can talk about is to introduce yourself, where you're from, how have you heard of him/them, what works (song, drama, etc.) that you like, and a few kind, encouraging words to your idol. You are writing a letter to your idol because you would like to give something special to him, and even if he doesn't reply to you in return, just the thought of him reading what you have to say should be fulfilling enough.
* If you are sending a greeting card, especially for an important event (birthdays, etc.), I would suggest that you send it at least 2 weeks before that actual date. The earlier, the better chance you have in having your letter/card received by the idol before the big event date.
* As you write more letters, it's a good idea to write a few questions to your idol, just so that it's a better chance for your idol to be convinced that you want to hear his words through letters. PLEASE DO NOT ASK VERY PERSONAL/TOUCHY QUESTIONS to your idol in regards to negative matters such as gossip and rumors being spread throughout fandom. That is considered disrespectful and it also does not define you as a devoted, dedicated fan to ask such things. It may also considered as invasion of privacy as well, and that is ONE HUGE OFFENSE.
* PLEASE REFRAIN FROM USING WORDS SUCH AS "my love," "my dear," etc. as if you're writing a love letter! Your idol is someone you admire, not your boyfriend or whatever. Please don't write some type of a romantic love letter to him, please... it will give you a VERY bad picture through your idol's eyes. Just don't... -.-;;;
* DO NOT SEND ANY EXTRA ACCESSORIES SUCH AS A GIFT OR EVEN MONEY!!! The fanmail staff at Johnny & Associates Headquarters will return your mail (if you live in Japan) or discard it (if you live outside Japan). It's a company rule.
* You are also encouraged to share an experience or an incident that you may feel comfortable writing your idol that can possible be applied to the idol's everyday routine and life, like giving some wise advise even if the idol did not ask for it. It lets the idol know that you don't just admire him because of his physical appearance, but you admire him for who he is as a person overall. If you are lucky that your letter will be read, your idol will surely remember you for your openness and assertiveness.
* You may even ask your idol for an advice in regards to your everyday routine of life. Who knows, your idol may even be your counselor of sorts whenever he has the time to be one. Maybe from this point you may retain good communication between idol and fan. I've never heard of cases such as this myself, but this may be possible.
* PLEASE DON'T BOAST AROUND FELLOW FANS THAT YOU GOT A REPLY!! Just because you got a reply from your idol, doesn't make you any more special than your fellow fans. You are not the "#1 fan", just because you got one, for it's for sure that you're not the only one who gets replies from that same idol, so please, don't. It's also up to you as to whether you would like to share your reply to fellow fans or keep it to yourself. DON'T USE YOUR ACTUAL LETTER TO MAKE MONEY OFF OF IT AND FOR PERSONAL GAIN, PLEASE!! There is NOTHING more cruel and inhumane than to make money off of your idol by auctioning off his letter along with his authentic handwriting and all that. What kind of a fan are you if you do such a horrid thing?
CONTACT ADDRESS
And finally, the moment you have been waiting for... the address. ^_^
UPDATED may 3rd 2008
(member's name)
Johnny's Family Club
Miyamasu Tower B1F
1-10-10 Shibuya
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8550
NOTE for Foreign Fans: If you don't know anything about the Japanese language, please don't make the address writing hard for yourself just by struggling to write the address in Japanese script. Besides, your own postal service won't be able to read Japanese ANYWAY... X____x;;"
