, literally "Ride together", or "Car pool" but can also be read as "love ride", is a popular
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
program that runs Monday evenings from 11 pm in Japan on
Fuji TV
JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network Sys ...
. It debuted on October 11, 1999. The show originally ended on March 23, 2009 but returned under the name "Ainori 2" on December 25, 2010, running through April 30, 2011.
''Ainori'' was revived by Fuji TV and
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
beginning with ''Asian Journey'', which was first broadcast on the streaming platform in November 2017 and on Fuji TV in January 2018. Both media outlets also aired the second season of ''Asian Journey'' as well as the first season of ''African Journey'', which was available on Netflix in late 2019 and on Fuji TV in early 2020.
Description
Ainori is a
reality program
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
where seven young men and women travel the world riding a pink bus. The program is reminiscent of a travelogue; as of December 2008, the show has followed the bus across 90 countries as participants explore both famous tourist attractions and more off-the-beaten-path places. The participants are led across each country by a native who serves as tour guide, bus driver, and friend. Upon reaching the border with another country, the bus stops and participants head out to their next destination country to meet their new tour guide and get into their new bus.
The show's twist is that the participants are each young, single people whose goal is to find love with another participant and return to Japan as a couple. When a participant has decided they like someone else, they ask the driver for a ticket back to Japan. They then declare their love to the object of their affection, and ask that the two return to Japan together. After a night's consideration, the person who received the love declaration can either answer with a kiss, after which both participants leave the bus for Japan. Otherwise, the jilted participant is left to return to Japan alone. Besides the love declaration, participants are forbidden from talking openly about their love interests with other participants, but inform the TV audience of their feelings through diaries and confessions to the camera (shot when no other participants are present).
After people leave the bus, new people are added to the program, to keep the total at 7 members. They are seen on the side of the road with a painted cardboard sign (appearing to be
hitchhiker
Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free.
Nomads have ...
s) and brought aboard after a self-introduction.
The First Lap Around the World ended in May, 2003, and the Second Lap ended in March, 2007. After that, the bus visits the countries which has never been visited on the show, without the route. The 400th episode was aired on May 5, 2008.
As of March, 2009, 44 couples have found love through the program, and there have been 8 marriages (though one couple has divorced). On March 1, 2005, the first "Ainori Baby" was born, and as of mid-2008 there have been 4 babies born in total.
Countries visited
The First Lap
*
*1 : Paolo is a native person who participants met in the
youth hostel
A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ba ...
in Italy. He could speak Japanese because he had stayed in Japan for one year.
*
*2 : Once Midori had been jilted by Kin-chan, and been back to Japan from Vietnam. After that, she received a letter from him, and visited Thailand to meet him again there.
*
*3 : Once Hisashi had been jilted by Mariko, and been back to Japan. But Mariko gave up the trip to meet Hisashi again in Japan.
The Second Lap
*
*1 : Michele, Pendo, and Andy are native persons. Michele was a special participant as the commemoration of the Second Lap. Pendo and Andy took part in the trip during a single episode.
*
*2 : In the episode #315, Outlaw gave up the trip because of the mistake by the staff, and Goki also did. But in the episode #317, they reported that they had met again in Japan and had started to love each other. Although they are not counted as an official couple of the program.
*
*3 : Once MIE had been jilted by Susan, and been back to Japan from Hungary. But in Switzerland Susan gave up the trip and returned to Japan to meet her again.
The Indefinite Travel (after the Second Lap)
Ainori 2
Ainori: Asian Journey (Netflix)
Ainori: Asian Journey Season 2 (Netflix)
Ainori: African Journey (Netflix)
Memorable incidents
Although relationships between staff and participants are forbidden, some incidents involving staff have occurred:
* In
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, a female participant fell in love with the tour guide, and when the bus stopped at the country's border (and she realized she'd never get to see him again) she begged the producers to let her confess her love. She did and the two became a couple.
* In spring of 2006, a female participant got intimate with the audio technician (even though the two had never talked, and the audio technician had a girlfriend). This incident resulted in the female participant, a male participant who was in love with her, the audio technician, and a cameraman all returning to Japan.
Other memorable incidents include:
* In
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, three male participants were arrested by the police for exposing their buttocks to children. After five hours they were released by the staff's persuasion.
* After leaving Costa Rica, the program avoided
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
because of insecurity of the political condition, and visited
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
. But the Nicaraguan ambassador in Japan made a protest against the program. So the program visited Nicaragua after leaving
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
. The participants were welcomed as the sightseeing goodwill ambassadors.
* A female participant developed a physical ailment for which the doctor prohibited her from riding on the bus, or any other prolonged sitting position. Because of this, the only solution seemed that she would have to be sent home, and be eliminated from the show. However, the group came to the decision that they would ditch the bus, and walk for the rest of the trip (while carrying around all of their baggage), just so the girl could remain with them.
* In January 2006, a female participant broke down in tears and explained that three days before leaving for her Ainori trip, a male friend who she had long been harboring feelings for had finally confessed his love for her. She explained that she missed him terribly, could not get him out of her mind, and would likely not find love with any of the participants on Ainori, and thus left the show.
* In the summer of 2006, during a break in shooting when participants were on vacation back home in Japan, a female participant discovered that the male participant that she was in love with had a girlfriend in Japan, and indeed had had a girlfriend when he left for his world trip (strictly against the rules of Ainori). After all the participants were back in Europe shooting the show, the man was confronted, finally confessed the truth to his bus-mates, and left the show to return to Japan.
Fundraising
Since April 2004, the program started the
fundraising
Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...
campaign called ''Ainori Bokin'' (Ainori Fundraising). This is a donation for poor countries visited in the program. The money has been mainly used for children living in these countries, and the schools called ''Ainori Gakko'' (Ainori School) have been built.
''Ainori Bokin''
Commentators
* Masami Hisamoto
, (July 9, 1958 – ) is a Japanese comedian, actress, singer and tarento from Higashisumiyoshi Ward (now Hirano Ward), Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, belonging to the Wahaha talent agency. She is also, as of 2007, the head of the fine arts department ...
– October 11, 1999 – 2006
* Koji Imada
is a Japanese musician, comedian, ''tarento'' and TV presenter. His talent agency is Yoshimoto Kogyo.
In the mid-1990s, Imada paired with the acclaimed Japanese record producer Towa Tei under the stage name Koji 1200. He released two albums an ...
– October 11, 1999 – 2006
* Haruhiko Katō – October 11, 1999 – March 20, 2006
* Eiji Wentz
is a Japanese singer, entertainer, actor and a member of the singer-songwriter duo WaT and belongs to the production company Burning Productions.
Early career
Born in Mitaka, Tokyo to a Japanese mother and a German American father, Wentz be ...
– April 10, 2006 – 2011
* Becky – October 2017 – present
* Mayuko Kawakita
is a Japanese-American
actress and model, known for her role as Rena on '' Fashion Story: Model'', Nippon Television variety show ''Hirunandesu!'', and ''Sekai no Hatemade Itte Q!''. She is the 2003 winner of the Japan Bishōjo Contest which i ...
– October 2017 – 2018
* Audrey
Audrey () is an English feminine given name. It is the Anglo-Norman form of the Anglo-Saxon name ''Æðelþryð'', composed of the elements '' æðel'' "noble" and ''þryð'' "strength". The Anglo-Norman form of the name was applied to Saint Aud ...
– October 2017 – 2018
* Shimon Okura – October 2017 – 2018
* Asako Ito
is a Japanese comedian.
Ito is a resident of Nakano, Tokyo. She is a graduate of Togo Kindergarten, Futaba Elementary School, Futabachu Secondary School and High School, and Butai Geijyutsu Gakuin. She also competed on one tournament of Kunoichi ...
– November 2018 – July 2019
* Natsuna Watanabe
, better known as just , is a Japanese actress.
She was born in Saitama Prefecture. When she graduated from high-school she decided to focus her career entirely on acting.
As of 2009, she shortened her stage name and is now simply going by "Nats ...
– November 2018 – July 2019
* Karina Maruyama
is a Japanese ''tarento'' and former football player. She played for the Japanese national team. Since her retirement, Maruyama has been active as a television personality, represented by the talent agency Horipro.
Club career
Maruyama was b ...
– January 2020 – present
* Ryo Kato – January 2020 – present
* Kouhei Takeda
is a Japanese actor, entertainer and model. He is best known for his roles as Kohei Kitahanada in Fuji TV's ''Hanazakari no Kimitachi e/Ikemen Paradise'' drama, Otoya Kurenai and Kazumi Sawatari in TV Asahi's tokusatsu series ''Kamen Rider Kiva' ...
– January 2020 – present
Trivia
* To help prevent relationships between the staff and the participants, only staff members who are married or are already involved are chosen to work on the show.
* Hit tunes such as ELT's "Fragile
Fragile or The Fragile may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Fragile'' (film), a 2005 film by Jaume Balagueró
* "Fragile" (''Smallville''), a television episode
Literature
* ''Fragile'' (manga), a 2016 Japanese series by Bin Kusamizu and Sab ...
", Glay
Glay (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese rock band, formed in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, in 1988. Glay primarily composes songs in the rock and pop genres, but they have also arranged songs using elements from a wide variety of genres, includ ...
's "Way of Difference", and I WiSH
I WiSH was a Japanese pop group consisting of two members, Ai Kawashima and nao. Ai is responsible for the vocals and occasionally plays the piano also with nao on the keyboard or piano. Their most notable track is and was in the Oricon ranking ...
's "ashita e no tobira" are used as the main theme music
* The "Love Wagon", as the bus is nicknamed, is typically a Toyota High-Ace, painted pink with Ainori logos on it. However, when the bus breaks down, or local traffic regulations prevent the love wagon from being used, a locally purchased Japanese van painted in the same way will often be substituted.
* Although typically the couples are "born" on their world trip, in the summer of 2006, two separate couples (Goki/Outlaw and MIE/Susan) were formed after the participants returned to Japan and realized their feelings for each other there, and in February 2007, an "Ainori news special" told the story of another couple (Hide/Kayo) who got together after returning to Japan.
International versions
Vietnam
The Vietnamese version is called "Hành trình kết nối những trái tim" (" Journey to match hearts"), or "Love bus", was broadcast in December 2008, becoming a high rated show of Ho Chi Minh City
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
and Hanoi Television. It is originally aired every Tuesday at 10PM.
References
External links