Chuo Dori

So this was the first handshake event for the 42nd single, and the only one anywhere near the release date. The rest of the events aren’t going on until the late Spring. This is also the first time we were all going to experience the interview/photo-op event within the handshake event. I had one ticket for that. Well, actually I had two. But I was able to cancel one because of Chara-Ani’s mixup regarding Wasamin’s schedule. About that…

Today was also NagaraPro’s Enka Matsuri’s Tokyo tour date. So my oshimen wasn’t even at the event. I probably wouldn’t have even gone to this event if it wasn’t for the screwup on the part of King Records and Chara-ani. By the time I had figured out that the dates conflicted I had already purchased a bunch of tickets for this handshake event. This is why I ended up going to the Nagoya leg of the Enka Matsuri tour instead. Of course I still had a ticket for Wasamin’s cheki event later in the evening. The question was would I blow off my last three tickets in order to see Wasamin?

I got to Makuhari around 11:50, 10 minutes before slot 3. I had time to slip in my first handshake before the interview/event I had scheduled…

Tani Marika (Slot 3)
To be honest I am slightly worried about Tani. It seemed like when she debuted with SKE she was really on a roll. But now it doesn’t seem like they are utilizing her nearly as much anymore. It makes me wonder if she might be getting discouraged. Also her lines at these events are never really that big. Marika was late as usual, but it was probably a three minute wait.

Marika: (Sees me coming in) Whoah, thank you!
Me; You look nice today. Very cute.
Marika: Yes I am genki
Me: Last week I was worried about you.
Marika: I was fine!
Me: But you were coughing. (As I am being pushed out)
Marika: Thank you, mata ne!

Yes, she was much more genki than last week. And she caused much more of a commotion when I entered. In fact she moved all the way across the partition to follow me as I was being pushed out. I had another Marika ticket scheduled a little later…

Interview Slot D-8 (Slot 3) Yakata Miki and Yamada Juna
Okay this was the event that became the source of a bit of controversy a few months ago. To me all of that was complete nonsense, mainly perpetuated by a bunch of troublemakers who probably weren’t even going to the events anyway. Most people got these tickets to see the members they like. The idea of cosplay was a nice bonus, but it is the member that makes the event interesting. What they are wearing is completely secondary. I mean if Wasamin was doing this event would it matter to me what she wore? I just want to see her, right?

Here’s the rundown: 20 minutes before your event starts (after the previous one has ended) they call your group in. As you hand in your ticket you draw a seating ticket that determines your place in line. Each event could accommodate up to 300 people. I drew #67. However there were ultimately only 25 people at this particular event slot. So my #67 was really more like #16. It was good enough to be seated 2nd row just right of center.

The members came in an introduced themselves. Then it was time for the 1-minute photo session. 20 seconds each facing right, center, and then left. You could ask for poses, and I guess you could also record the session. Once the bell rang the photo session was over and it was time for Q&A from the fans.

It as eight minutes, so there was really only time for 4 questions. I don’t remember the first question. The second one had something to do with good handshake experiences and tips. The third person asked them to describe what they liked about one another. Finally the last question was about their signature items at the SKE Cafe.

Anyway, if you ever saw the Densha Otoko TV Series and remember the interview/photo-op with “Karin-chan”, that was pretty much exactly what this was like. It wasn’t “Oh my god, awesome!”, but it was something fun and different to do. Perhaps they could do it like once a year to change things up.

It was now time for Slot 4. By the way, they really had the lanes set up in an odd configuration. There was not a lot of walking, or queueing room. It made getting around certain parts of the venue extremely difficult. That said, I was very excited about my next handshake…

Murakawa Vivian (Slot 4)
So I had made a commitment to myself to visit with more HKT members. One member I have been really wanting to meet was Tomiyoshi. The other is Akiyoshi Yuka. So it was odd that when it came down to it that I chose the Vivian ticket instead of Akiyoshi. But there was something drawing me to her. Her queue wasn’t too long, and she was right next to Chihiro and Meru. Which reminds me…

****So there was a conversation recently on this forum about Tashima Meru “flopping” at handshakes. It is ironic that I would have a front row seat to her 4th slot. She had a decent sized line. Not the biggest, but it was definitely busy. She looked very energetic, always smiling, listening her fans. The people were leaving with smiles on their faces. So as a result of my “investigation”, those rumors are false. Back to Vivian…

I get to the front of the line. Vivian takes one look at me and completely lights up. Huge smile, mouth wide open.

Vivian: Oh Hello!
Me: Hajimemashite Vivian-chan!
Vivian: Is Japanese OK?
Me: Yes it is ok
(It really didn’t matter because I had prepared what I wanted to say to her anyway…)
Vivian: Ah, hajimemashite…okay
Me: I watched you on Odekake…
Vivian: Really? thank you!
Me: I loved your smile. I really wanted to meet you!
Vivian: Whoah, thank you! (As I am being pushed out)
Me: I will come see you again.

The way she smiled so widely, bounced around and was genuinely excited, it was totally a Kami-handshake experience. I really want to talk to her again. This also put great pressure on Tomiyoshi (unbeknownst to her) since I was also going to meet her for the first time. If my experience isn’t close to this one I may be switching favorite HKT members very quickly…

Yokoyama Yui (Slot 4)
To be honest I really don’t get excited about seeing Yui anymore. It’s one of those things. There are memberI would ratheree, but I have been going to see Yui for so long that I feel bad if I don’t get a ticket for her. Her line was much longer than 2 weeks ago at the Shamekai event. Her lane was also shoved back into one of these two weird corners that were extremely difficult to get in and out of. But I braved the mess. I didn’t know what to say to her, I finally decided at the last minute…

Me: Sokantoko-chan!
Yui: Ah, hello again!
Me: How about Yuihan’s new train station billboard?
Yui: Yes, I have seen them (She also said the name of the product, I forget what it is for but it features Yui laying on some sort of bed or couch)
Me: You look so cute on them
Yui: Thank you.
Me: And they are so big…huge!
Yui: (laughing)
Me: Bye Bye (As I get pushed out)

Medium sized version at Sugamo Station. I have seen a couple that are at least 4x the size of this one.

The jury is out on whether I will get more Yui tickets in the future. Don’t get me wrong, she is very nice and always has been. It’s just that she is too normal for me. I need my idols to be slightly more quirky.

I had an hour to kill before slot 5. I originally intended to go upstairs and have lunch. But I ended up running into Shining Ojisan (an old time fan. I forget who his original oshmen was, but he graduated when Hayano Kaoru left the group) and he introduced me to one of the original AKB fans. He was an older guy, and a huge Kojiharu oshi. We ended up talking for the hour. This was also the first time Shining had purchased a ticket in a very long time (like over 2 years). He had one Honda Hitomi ticket. Apparently he is getting into Team 8.

Yakata Miki <4 tickets> (Slot 5)
I had promised Mikitty I would be spending a lot of time with her in this slot. Although I ended up looping the line 4 times, it was like one continuous conversation. Mikitty sees me coming down the lane and immediately the tension starts…

Miki: There you are!
Me: Hello Mikitty-chan, that was fun!
Miki: Did you get some good pictures? (referring to the photo-op event)
Me: Yes, I got many good pictures.
Miki: Yatta!
Me: What is this M.K. burger you were talking about? (once again, referring to the earlier event)
Miki: It is delicious!!
Me: Yes, but what is it?
Miki: Eat it!
(in the meantime I went out and looked up the burger on the cafe website before looping back around)
Miki: Hello Chris!
Me: So ithe M.K. Burger has pineapple on it?
Miki: Yes, pineapple!
Me: So it’s like a Hawaiian burger?
Miki: Yes, Hawaiian burger yes!!!
Me: What kind of sauce
Miki: Hmmm…
Me: Is it teriyaki sauce?
Miki: Ummm…. (as I am getting pushed out)
Me: Okay, I will eat it.
Miki: Thank you Chris!
(switching gears, don’t want to make it all about food…)
Me: Did you have fun at the live concert yesterday?
Miki: Yes, it was a good concert.
Me: I applied, but I didn’t win.
Miki: Oh…
Me: Did you sing Finland Miracle?
Miki: NO! I didn’t get to sing it…
Me: But I LOVE Finland Miracle!
(Looping around for my final Mikitty ticket I was running out of things I wanted to say to her)
Me: So next week SKE is here at Makuhari
Miki: Yes…
Me: Are you coming? (I actually already knew she was)
Miki: To the National Event?
Me: Yes
Miki: I don’t know. I think I might be. Are you coming?
Me: Yes. See you next week!
Miki: Great! Thank you Chris! (As I get pushed out one last time. But before that I get the infamous…)
Miki: Chris Thank you!!! I want you!!! I need you!!!

Good tiems with Mikitty as always…

Tani Marika (Slot 5)
One last Tani ticket for the day and then I really needed to find lunch. Her line was jus emptying out when I got to the lane, so Marika excused herself to take a short break. I stood there waiting for less than five minutes. She saw me before she even got back into the booth…

Tani: Ahh, you are back.
Me: Yes.
Tani: Thank you!
Me: I love Tani’s apartment!
Tani: (laughing)
Me: It is so cute! (I’m laughing)
(at this point Marika started talking very animatedly and quickly so I didn’t get any of what she said. But it was classic Tani)
Me: I want to help Tani. See you next week! (as I get pushed out)

After a quick lunch break I was back for Slot 6. This was going to be my final slot of this event. I would lead off with my other HKT member…

Tomiyoshi Asuka (Slot 6)
Another first time meeting I was excited about. I almost got tickets to see her a year ago, but decided to economize and skipped her, instead going with Goto Izumi. Since Iichan graduated I have sorta considered Asuka my favorite HKT member. Not ever meeting her though, made me less than confident with designating her that way. Tomiyoshi’s queue was hidden behind a speaker, right next to Kojiharu. I could see that cute smile of hers all the way down the lane

Asuka: Konnichiwa
Me: Hajimemashite, I have always wanted to meet you!
Asuka: Arigatou.
Me: I went to the concert in Nagoya, and thought you were great!
Asuka: Oooh, Arigatou!
Me: I will be cheering for you in Tokyo this week. (As I am getting pushed out)

She’s adorable, but I think she was at a loss for words for what to say to me. That happens sometimes, especially in a first time handshake. On the other hand, I mut admit that I am a lot more excited about seeing Vivian again than I am to see Tomiyoshi. I do have another ticket for Asuka in March, so we will see if a little familiarity helps.

As I was walking over for my next ticket I hear my name being called. The Nakky committee is calling me over…

Me: “Hey, Nakky Fever!”
Nakky Fans: Aren’t you supposed to be over at Tokyo International Forum?
Me: Yes, I am leaving after this last handshake with Kaotan.
Nakky Fans: Ah, Kaotan (They all immediately start laughing)
Me: I saw Enka Matsuri in Nagoya.
Nakky Fans: You did?
Me: Hai! I have to get to Tokyo by 7pm. Wasamin event is #1 most important to me! (I show them the Wasamin cheki tickets)
Nakky Fans: Of course!
Me: Where is Frank?
Nakky Fans: He is in the queue.
Me: Minna-san do your best today! (as I point over to Nakky’s lane)

Matsumura Kaori (Slot 6)
I would get this ticket done, then I would head back to Tokyo. It would give me plenty of time to make it to the Wasamin cheki event. Kaotan’s line was huge. It was bigger than I had ever seen it. Usually it is long past the check-in point, but today she even had a queue to check in. No matter, I had plenty of time…

Me: Hey NICE GIRL!
Kaotan: Oh yeah, NICE GUY!
Me: Kaotan Daisuki! Your handshakes are the most fun!
Kaotan: Thank you! (She begins pulling me tightly over to her)
Kaotan: I have autographed my card for you before, right?
Me: Yes, I have one!
Kaotan: Yes. I will see you again?
Me: I will see you next week.
Kaotan: Oh, thank you!!!

Kaotan: I LOVE YOU!!!
Me: I love YOU!!!

I felt slightly sheepish because she didn’t know I was about to blow off a ticket for her in the next slot. However, I have plenty of tickets for her next week and next month. So no biggie. I was also about to eat tickets for Chori and Tanamin. It would have been my first time talking to Chori too. Oh well, will have to be another time. And Tanamin…after she was waving at me so enthusiastically last week when she saw me in the Wasaqueue… What can you do?

I ran into @naruse and Pandadash as I was on my way out. They were queueing for the Nako/Miku interview/photo-op slot. I caught the express from Makuhari back to Tokyo, and found special exit that takes you directly to the Tokyo International Forum (and allows you to skip that never-ending trek back into Tokyo Station. Anyone who has caught the JR Keiyo Line back to Tokyo from Makuhari (or Disneyland) knows exactly what I am talking about.

Iwasa Misaki (Slot-Tokyo)
I entered the venue and was looking for the washroom when I found the queue. It was a big line, and all of a sudden I am hearing a chorus of “Chris-san!” “Chris-san!” The guy running the queue says please come over and check in. I’m like, yeah but I need use the toilet first! The funny thing was the men’s room was right next to Wasamin’s dressing room. So as I headed in I think Saso-san thought for a second I was going for her room or something. I was like “I just want to use the toilet” I came out a couple minutes later and I here an unfamiliar voice say “Chris-san, this way please” I’m thinking “Jeez, everyone knows me here” As I go to check in the guy is marking my name off before I even put my ID down. Although honestly it is probably easy to figure out which name is mine on the list.

I was about 60th in line. There were at least 100 people there. Eventually it was my turn. Wasamin was wearing the same Kimono she wore for the Cheki event in Nagoya, but her hair accoutrement was quite exquisite.

Wasamin: Kurisuuuu!!!!!
Me: Misaki-chaaaaan! You have bling-bling! (pointing to her hair)
Wasamin: Nani???
(Ichikawa-san, Wasamin’s manager is laughing as she knows exactly what I am talking about)
Me: (pointing directly to the decoration) This! Bling-bling! Kawaii!
Wasamin: Ahh! (laughing) Kawaii!! Chris-san is kawaii!
Me: I just arrived here, I am sorry I missed the concert.
Wasamin: You didn’t see it???
Me: No, I am sorry.
Wasamin: What pose do you want to do?
Me: Since I missed the concert, how about Tsundere Wasamin and crying Chris?

(and this is what happens when you miss the Wasamin concert!)

Me: It’s been so long since I have seen you!
Wasamin: What? You are leaving Tokyo?
Me: Not until April. I will see you at AKB Shamekai!
Wasamin: Okay
Me: But I want more solo events. Please have more while I am here!
Ichikawa: Okay okay!
Wasamin: We will do our best! Chris Kawaii!
Me: No, Wasamin Kawaii!

And the long day was over. Time to go have a couple of celebratory brews. I have a busy week to prepare for. Monday I am seeing FES☆TIVE in Akihabara. Tuesday and Wednesday are the HKT Tokyo shows (I got a crappy seat for Tuesday night, but my Wednesday night seat isn’t bad) Then next weekend SKE Individual handshake event AND National Handshake event. So plenty more fun with Mikitty, Tani and Kaotan. And I may try to sneak in visits with Dasu and Shibata as well.

CK in Tokyo

So this post is going to be a combination of two separate AKB Shamekai events.  The first was on February 7th in Chiba, the second a week later in Kanagawa.  Ultimately I reserved tickets for four of the events in support of AKB48’s latest album, but in only one event (the last event) did I get a bunch of tickets.

I only had three tickets for the first event. For one, the album’s theater version ain’t cheap. Since I am going to a bunch of these events I wanted to kinda space out my tickets. Of course I have Wasamin tickets for each event. In fact for one of the events in March she is the only member I have tickets for. The only event I have more than just a few is for the one in late March.

My first ticket wasn’t until Slot 6, so I technically didn’t need to be at Makuhari until 4:30pm. However we had a Wasamin Seitensei committee meeting at 2:45, not to mention I wanted to help with the birthday booth. So I got to the venue around 1pm. Wasamin’s booth was over in the graduate section, sandwiched in between Nakky and Umechan. For a while I had the duty of holding up the sign to guide people to the booth. However Umeda’s team was fairly aggressive, and had three people out there completely blocking the Wasabooth. Not to be outdone I moved outside of them. It was fun, and I will probably hep with the booth this weekend too. In the meantime…

I walked around the birthday area looking for members to write cards to. Unfortunately hardly any of the members I really like have birthdays in the Spring. I found the Lemon booth, so there was one. The rest of the time I tried to dodge the other committees, many of which love to get English messages into their book. Normally if someone asks I will go sign a card. In fact at one point I got pulled over to the Jurina booth by a fan who spoke fluent English. So I wished J a happy birthday and congratulated her on her Request Hour ranking.

Later on the Tano fans tried to pull me over to her booth, but this is where I had to draw the line. I have only had a couple of brief encounters with Tanochan. However, I always had the impression that she didn’t like me for some reason. So as nice as her fans were I had to decline. I just have the feeling Yuka wouldn’t want me writing in her birthday book. Anyway, sometime after 4pm I headed down to the “pit” to get my tickets stamped and see which lanes I would be going to. This is when my worst fears were realized…

Yui: Lane 52 No problem, the middle of the hall
Tanamin: Lane 21…
Wasamin: Lane 22 Oh no! They are right next to each other!

Normally I go “Wasa-exclusive” when she is on the floor. The problem was both she and Tanamin were Slot 8 only. So if I was going to see Tanamin it would be while Wasamin was around. In the last five years Wasamin has only once ever seen me in another member lane (ironically it was also Tanamin) and she gave me a sad little frown. But I would worry about that later. After eating a “Karaage Taco” (which for some odd reason was slathered in yellow mustard) I headed for Yui’s lane, which to my surprise was fairly short.

Yokoyama Yui (Slot 6)
As I got close to the front of the queue I noticed Yui looked quite stunning. I mean I have always thought she was really pretty, but the turtleneck sweater with the necklace she was wearing looked very classy. I walked in and as I am saying “sashiburi” she is already asking what pose I want. Unfortunately I hadn’t though of what pose to do so I just blurted out “faiting pose” Okay…

(She looks tired. I would be too if I were wearing a turtleneck in that hot and humid hall all day)

So they took the shot. By the way, since this was my first table and chair experience I ended up in weird angles on every picture (which is why I edited myself out) I really need to figure out how to play that table more to my advantage. Anyway, Yui turned to me and said “sashiburi”, then she began asking me something. However one guard was literally pulling me out of the chair while another was shoving my phone back into my hand. I was barely allowed to turn to say goodbye. This brings me to my little rant, and I have said this before…

To me there is no poorer a value AKB offers than the shamekai events. Especially when it comes to the more popular members. I mean it is such a rushed process. “Is your camera ready?”, “sit down”, “what pose do you want?”, “get out of the chair”, “look at your photo, is it okay?”, “leave!” As far as I am concerned spending that time actually talking to the member is much better time spent. 2-shot events are all about getting a souvenir. So my advice to anyone planning a first trip over is if you want to actually talk to your favorite member choose a handshake event. For the 3000yen you spend for one 2-shot you can get three handshake tickets which will give you plenty of facetime.

I had 2+ hours until my last two tickets, so I went back upstairs to the Wasabooth. I ran into a bunch of overseas fans later on, including @MurasakiSora , @rscl , and @naruse. Finally Slot 8 arrived. Since one of my friends had a Tanamin ticket and the other had a Wasamin ticket we would queue together. This ended up being a godsend. First up, Tanamin…

Tanabe Miku (Slot 8)
Both Wasamin and Tanamin had decent sized queues to start the slot. As I feared, Wasamin’s table had a clear view into Tanamin’s lane. However, my friend is like 6’2″ So I basically hid behind him the entire time. Of course I was still in plain view of all the Wasafans, who were making fun of me.

Meanwhile my friend and I noticed Kobayashi Kana in the next booth over. She had nobody in her queue, and looked completely annoyed with the entire proceedings. It was too bad, because she looked really cute. At one point she left for almost 10 minutes, forcing the couple of fans who eventually arrived to wait for quite a long time. Even when she came back she barely broke a smile. I have a feeling that she is just mentally “done” with this AKB business.

Ultimately I was successful in dodging Wasamin’s glance, and made it to Tanamin’s table. Of course, she always has on something cute and interesting. The first thing she said was “sashiburi”, and then immediately noticed my Wasamin concert shirt. She was like “So you are a Wasamin fan?” I said, “Yes, and so are you since you also went to the concert” She was like “Yeah, I went to the concert too” But before I suggested a pose (I actually had a couple in mind for her, like a “Kaijin” pose, or perhaps a “Beer Drinking” pose) she basically said “Lets do a faiting pose”, and boom, the photo was taken.

I barely had time to look at the camera. The nice thing was that the guards actually let us talk for a few moments in the beginning. Some of the guards are definitely more strict than others. Usually they are more strict in the bigger lines, but it isn’t always the gauge. I have been in really short lines where they push you out quickly too. I grabbed my other friend and we queued up in Wasamin’s line, which was even bigger than before!

Iwasa Misaki (Slot 8)
I was back in Wasamin’s queue, all was right in the world! (And she hadn’t caught me “cheating” on her ) BTW, this was actually Wasamin’s first chance since her concert (and graduation announcement) to talk with her fans in person. Luckily, her guards were giving fans plenty of time to talk with her. She was super-genki, and had a cute conservative outfit on. I eventually made it to the front, and was greeted with “Chris-kun!!!” I told her that I loved her concert so much, and when she cried I had tears as well. I also told her I was impressed with her guitar playing, and that my favorite song of the night was Anko Tsubaki wa Koi no Hana. I suggested she record it some day. She was like “umm, okay” She asked what pose and I suggested the “porori” pose (in reference to Tomonoura Bojou. It’s a running gag she and I have from her release tour) “Porori? Kawaii Chris-san!”

I was able to tell her that I liked her outfit before I was eventually escorted out. Then my friends and I bailed for dinner. The good news was that her line was still really long. In fact it was the longest queue on that side of the hall.

The following weekend I had four tickets. One for Wasamin, as well as my SKE trio of Mikitty, Tani and Kaotan. If nothing else it should be fun tiems!  I think this was a day most of the fans were sure to get tickets. After all it was Valentine’s Day! Who wouldn’t want to spend this day with their oshimen? I was no exception.

For this day I had four tickets, one for each slot 5-8. In fact, for each member it was either their last slot of the day or only slot of the day. So there would be no overlapping. Per usual I spent most of the day outside in the birthday/graduation section. It is just too damn hot and humid inside the venue, epecially in the middle of the day when the place is packed. I headed in around 20 minute before slot 5, quickly got my tickets stamped, bought a couple of items from the goods booth. I was ready to go. First up, always a challenge…

Matsumura Kaori (Slot 5)
It’s funny, Kaotan really does like me. But more than that, she LOVES giving me a hard time. She had a fairly long queue, and they had us packed in there quite tight since Dasu’s lane was taking up a lot of space (per usual) In fact, I had a clear site of Dasu’s table and was quickly reminded of how much fun I used to have going to her for handshakes. It has probably been around three years since I last saw her, same with Masanya who was in the lane to my right. I was right behind another foreign fan. Not sure where she was from though. I spent the time in queue trying to take my jacket off since it was sooo hot…

We got to the front of the queue. Kaotan immediately thought the girl and I were friends. We were like “No no, we have never met before!” It was my turn, I was sure to cover up my Wasamin shirt before I headed in…

Kaotan: Nice to meet you!
Me: Nice to meet you??? What the hell?
(I think she was just using the phrase as a greeting. I have met her quite a few times in the past)
Kaotan: Happy Valentines Day!
Me: By the way, I love your “Sashinshuu”
Kaotan: Photobook? Thank you! What kind of pose do you want to do?
Me: How about a Happy Valentine’s Day pose?

Kaotan grabs a little heart balloon and hands it to me. We leaned in holding our props and did the usual hearto pose…

Me: Arigatou Kaori-chan, I will come to see you again.
Kaotan: Thank you…..

(I’m stepping out of the booth)

Kaotan speaking loudly: Nice guy…..

(I’m grabbing my bag and looking at my photo)

Kaotan at the top of her lungs: I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me: I LOVE YOU TOO KAORI-CHAN!

Meanwhile, the entire line is cracking up. Not to mention Dasu’s line as well. However I am used to this kind of treatment from Kaotan so it doesn’t phase me nearly as much anymore. So one down, three to go. Meanwhile I went over to Lane 1 to check on my “date” for Slot 6. Since she had taken off sick the previous day I wasn’t sure she was going to make it on Sunday. Luckily her line was open, so I was set…

Tani Marika (Slot 6)
Since Marika was just coming off of being ill I wasn’t sure if we would get the spastically genki Tani that we usually experience. The first thing I noticed was that the same girl from before was also in Tani’s queue. Jeez, we have the same taste! I wonder if I will see her in any other queues? In the meantime I was next to another foreign fan from Thailand. We were talking about our past experiences with Marika. I was telling him that she always gives me a super experience. He said he hadn’t had such luck, and that she always thinks he is from Taiwan. The line wasn’t long when I first queued, but Tani was 20 minutes late. Luckily I had lined up early since the line was really long by this point.

As I got closer to the front, I noticed that Marika wasn’t very loud. I also caught her coughing a couple of times. So she was still bit under the weather. I decided if nothing else I would get her to smile. Soon it was my turn.

Tani: Ah, Wasamin fan!
Me: That’s right, I am a Wasamin fan.
Tani: Yes! I like Wasamin too! (pumps her fists)
Me: Wasamin’s manomane of Marika is great.
Tani: Hai (nodding in acknowledgement), let’s do candy pose.
(most of the girls had prop candy boxes on their tables. She wanted me to hand it to her)
Me: Okay, Choco for Tani! (snap)

Tani: You are from America, right?
Me: Hai, California.
Tani: I remember. See you again?
Me: Of course!
Tani: Thank you!

It wasn’t the high octane Tani I have experienced before, but she is still a sweet girl. I have plenty more opportunites to see her over the next couple of months. Same with Kaotan.

Since there is a long break between Slots 6 and 7, I headed upstairs. I wouldn’t have to come back down for like 2 hours. I passed the time by a) vegging b) hanging out at the Wasabooth c) running into various other fans I know and d) checking out the other birthday booths. And today one particular booth was quite intent on having me sign a card. So I went for it. I was thinking of signing a card for this member anyway. Happy Birthday Nishino Miki!

Yakata Miki (Slot 7)
Aside from Wasamin, this is the member I get the most excited about seeing. She is just so much fun. I had to wait a little while since@Tensai wanted to go in with me and he only had an “open” ticket. It wasn’t until it got close to 7pm that we headed toward Mikitty’s queue. She immediately spotted us hanging out outside the lanes and began yelling to get our attention. At first I thought she already recognized me from over 50 feet away. I soon realized she just got excited to see foreigners…

“Hi!”

“My name is Miki!!!!”

“I like movies!!!”

“I love Star Wars”

This was just some of the stuff she was yelling at us. Actually, Miki’s English is pretty damn good. Every time I would point back at her she would jump up and down, scream something else. It was all too comical, and eerily reminiscent of my fateful first encounter with her a few years ago. Eventually a friend from the Umemoto Madoka committee I had seen earlier came over since he had a Mikitty ticket too. He offered to introduce us. I was like “you don’t need to introduce us, she knows who I am” We walked in together. The moment she saw Tensai and I heading her way she got really excited. My friend went in first…

Friend: I brought your friend Chris-san
Miki: Ohhh, Chris!!!!!
Me: Mister Chris!

My friend finished his 2-shot so I headed in. Mikitty is bouncing all over the walls
Me: Miki, long time no see. Happy Valentines Day!
Miki: Happy Valentines Day! (looks at my shirt) Wasamin!
Me: Yes, I went to the Wasamin concert.
Miki: Yatta! What pose shold we do. How about Chocolate?
Me: Okay (She hands me the infamous prop choco box)
Snap…

Me: Next week I have four tickets for Mikitty!
Miki: Honto?? Yayy!!!
Me: See you next week!!!

I love her! She is so much fun. So cute. So great! I cannot recommend her any more highly for any foreign fan who wants to have a really fun handshake. I can’t wait to see her next week! I had one ticket left. Always end the evening on a high note…

Iwasa Misaki (Slot 8)
I couldn’t wait to see what Wasamin was wearing. I was also excited to ask her about her new perfume she received as a present from Kana the day before. (She had blogged about it the previous evening) I waited for a while, but the line wasn’t getting any shorter so I queued up with the rest of the Wasafaithful. In the meantime Tanamin spots me in Wasamin’s queue and begins waving to me. I felt so bad since I didn’t have a ticket for her. I waved back and smiled, but I felt so sheepish.

Misaki: Kurisuuu!
Me: Wasamin!
(oops, we were forgetting to use our pet names )
Me: What about this new perfume?
(Wasamin leans forward and brushes her hair into my face. We then sit down)
Misaki: What do you think?
Me: Oishii!
(Wasamin almost falls off the chair laughing)
Misaki: Oishii???
Me: Yes, Wasamin is delicious!
(Wasamin is clapping and laughing, even the guard is chuckling)
Wasamin: I will give you chocolate for Valentine’s Day
(leans forward like she is giving me the choco box) Snap…

Me: Wasamin, I got the new Man With A Mission CD! (Since I know she likes the group too)
Wasamin: Eh?
Me: It is a good CD!
Wasamin: Arigatou Chris-chan!
Me: Mata-ne!
(Now I am wondering if she thinks I bought her the CD)

I waited until the end of the slot to see Wasamin off. She waved to us for a while, then began waving at us through Tanamin’s queue. Then she was in Kana’s queue, and finally Komariko. The four of them were all waving to us as they walked backstage. I headed over to the Nakky lane just to see her end of the day sendoff, since it is always such a commotion. Wasamin spotted me over there and started waving to me again. So a small bonus.

The following week was the 42nd single handshake event. It was also the Tokyo stop of Enka Matsuri. I wasn’t going to the concert (saw it in Nagoya) but I did have one cheki-ticket for Wasamin’s post concert event. The question was did I blow off my last 2-3 handshake tickets so I can run back to Tokyo and have a cheki with Wasamin? Wasamin chekis are so much fun. Here are the two I took with her last week in Nagoya…

Decisions…

CK in Tokyo

As expected, Wasamin was absolutely glowing. During the first MC she went down to bow and couldn’t get back up because the crying started again. Wasamin with that half-laugh/half-crying. She knows it’s funny. The first couple of MCs were pretty much talking about the venue, what an important day it was. Later she talked about the goods, specifically the shirt and penlight. Having the official penlight be yellow was her idea. And I must say the shirt is so cool!

For the first half-dozen songs are so it was pretty much what one would expect from a Wasamin concert. That was until after the second MC when Wasamin did a set of songs that she has never recorded. And I don’t think she has ever performed most of them either. (Iirc she HAS performed Amagigoe before) I have to admit I was absolutely floored by her performance of Anko Tsubaki wa Koi no Hana. It kept with the traditional style, but was definitely an “updated” verion. Wasamin absolutely nailed it I was looking at the faces of some of the fans around me and they felt the same way. Just brilliant!

Midway through all of the new songs there was a VTR. Much like the one that accompanied her first single, this video featured former members of Watarirouka Hashiritai sending Wasamin their best wishes. First CinDy, followed by Lovetan, Ayarin, Harugon and finally Mayu. I must admit I saw kinda sad that Komorin didn’t participate. I mean she was Wasamin’s first “best friend” in AKB. But alas, Komorin’s days in show business are long over. On the other hand, the fun was just beginning for us…

“Get your cellphone cameras ready, in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1″ All of a sudden Wasamin comes through the doors on the third floor singing Tokyo Boogie Woogie I was really impressed with the way she could go up and down the aisles, literally posing for people while singing the song perfectly. This was also about the time we spotted around 10 AKB members sitting in the top balcony. A video camera followed her through the outside corridor as she went from floor to floor. The second floor got one song as well. However most of the fans were on floor level, so it took 2 1/2 songs for her to cover that level. She came back to the stage at the end of Seto no Hanayome. Before the photo-op portion of the show finished she gave us a few “poses”. Actually those were some of the best shots I took!

The stage went dark, but those of us up close could see the staff bringing out a chair and her guitar. I mentioned three weeks ago that I actually ran into Wasamin in Hamamatsucho and she was carrying a guitar at the time. When I asked the fans about that some of them told me it was going to be a concert surprise and to keep quiet about it. Unfortunately I had already blogged about it. Anyway, I was really excited to hear how well she could play. I remember how she was during the Give Me Five days. She exceeded all expections. She had trouble playing some of the bar chords, but other than that she was great. And needless to say her singing was flawless. Nada Sousou and Nagoriyuki are not easy songs to sing even without playing a guitar.

Next up was the birthday celebration. Of course in addition to being her first concert, it was also Wasamin’s 21st birthday. To help her celebrate was special guest and AKB48 graduate Matsui Sakiko who presented Wasamin with a birthday cake specially prepared by Wasamin’s older sister (a professional patissier) And we couldn’t have Sakippe on stage without a dual performance. This was yet another memorable moment. Sakippe played on special versions of Hakimono to Kasa no Monogatari and Tubasa wo Kudasai. After one more song Wasamin left the stage…

I’m not sure if the committee planned out an encore call, but all of a sudden the back of the venue started an “Encoree” chant. Not to be outdone, the front of the venue immediately started a WA-SA-MIN chant which quickly engulfed the venue. In fact the conductor of the live band was even conducting the chant. I laughed when I saw that. Eventually the video screen came down…

The second VTR was a “History of Wasamin”, only this time much of it had to do with her time before joining AKB. There were tons of photos of Wasamin growing up. Pictures in school, playing sports, with her family. I was getting so choked up. I have always wanted to know more about Wasamin before she became an idol. I was getting my fill in this moment. Eventually it moved to the 7th gen auditions where we learned for the first time that TGSK actually mispronounced her name when he announced that she passed. (Iwase Misaki) The accompanying music was very dramatic, and built up to a big climax. It was at that point that I felt almost for sure she was going to graduate from AKB on this night. Two songs later, she did exactly that.

I think as fans we were probably just as conflicted as she was. There was no way her moment of announcing it wouldn’t be emotional. As much as we know that in many ways it isn’t going to change much. It’s a big move to make, and in some ways very scary. She is moving on to the next level in her career, without the crutch of AKB to hold on to. As she said in her announcement there will be tough times ahead, but I know most of her fans are ready to go on that journey with her. It as also very sad when she said that she knew that announcement probably meant that some of her fans would be leaving her. Of course we all said “no way”, but I get what she meant.  And on some level she is probably right. Though for her biggest fans I don’t think this change will make a bit of difference…

After a final performance of Mujineki the show was over. many of us stuck around to take a group photo in front of the stage. I then headed out to take photos of the costumes on display in a side room. I was so excited to see Wasamin’s “Ebi” costume from the last Janken. My friend was complaining that he was hungry, so we left to get dinner. Unfortunately I ended up missing the post-concert dinner attended by many of the committee members. Oh well, I am sure there will be more down the road.

Obviously this will go down as one of, if not THE most memorable moment in my 10 years of being an idol fan and coming to Japan. I have been dying to communicate with Wasamin ever since the show ended. I am going to see her perform live tonight for the NHK Kayou Concert, and of course this weekend is an AKB 2-shot event. Then next week is 1) Enka Matsuri/Wasamin cheki-event AND 2) another AKB 2-shot weekend. So there is going to be no shortage in playing with Wasamin. I think for all the fans (and probably for Wasamin too) having some fun together will be great medicine.

CK in Tokyo

Nippon Cultural Broadcasting x Nagara Group Joint RADIO (2016/01/11)

All of the members of Nagara Pro’s Enka stable visited the radio station doing interviews, weather forecasts, and in the case of Wasamin and Hayabusa, perform outside the station. This was also to promote the upcoming NagaraPro Enka festival next month, which Wasamin will be participating in. I was able to score a ticket to the Nagoya show today. I would love to go to the Tokyo show, except I already have tickets to a conflicting event. So to Aichi I will go! Here are a few pics of Wasamin on the radio…

Hayabusa & Iwasa Misaki Free Live at Nippon Broadcasting First Floor Square, Hamamatsucho

Can you spot me?

Iwasa Misaki Setlist
1. Mujineki
2. Ajisai-bashi
3. Hatachi no Meguriai
4. Gomen ne Tokyo

It was interesting to see Hayabusa perform live for the first time. It was also interesting to see all the Wasafans mingling with all the Hayabusa fans in the queue. And believe me, there were quite a few Hayabusa fans there. They had their swag. They knew their chants. They were ready to go!

Like Hiroshima this was another outdoor event, and it quite chilly outside today. Once again Wasamin thanked the fans for their dedication, and especially acknowledged the fans at the front of the line who had queued up at 6am.

As for Hayabusa, obviously I have no plans to oshihen. They are all very talented singers. As for the songs, I didn’t like the first one. It just didn’t match the image I had of them. But the last two were pretty good.

BTW, I had another “close encounter” with Wasamin today. After the event I went to lunch with a friend who also attended the event. Later we went over to Lawson so she could help me print my ticket to the Enka Festival. We were talking across the street from Hamamatsucho Station when my friend suddenly said “Oh…” Wasamin and her manager were walking up right behind me. We quickly moved to the side to let them pass. Wasamin was in street clothes, wearing a mask and carrying a guitar. I knew she took up guitar back in the “Give Me Five” days. I didn’t know she was still playing though. Good for her! I always feel a little awkward in those situations. I knew she was tired, and was probably ready for a little break after a week+ of entertaining her fans. So I am glad I technically didn’t see her until she was passing me so she really didn’t have to “switch on”.

As far as I know she doesn’t have anything scheduled until Request Hour, so hopefully she’ll get a couple of days off to rest.

CK in Tokyo

The tour continues.  This time from Hiroshima back toward Tokyo.  The connection between Wasamin and I kicked into high gear quickly.  But wait, it gets even better…

Iwasa Misaki 5th Single Release Week Day 4 at Ito-Yokado Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture (2016/01/08)

** with special guest, Roller-chan! (Fukuyama Community Mascot)

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Iwasa Misaki 5th Single Realease Week Day 5 at Aeon Mall Itami Koya, Hyōgo Prefecture (2016/01/09)

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Iwasa Misaki 5th Single Release Week, Day 6 at Dynacity Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture (2016/01/10)

The Tour Finale!

So the end of 2015 saw some major life changes happening for me.  As a result I find myself living in Japan.  For how long?  That’s a great question.  If it were purely up to me it would be a permanent change.  But things like this aren’t that simple, especially for someone my age.  But I’m here, and that’s what counts for now.  What the future holds?  We’ll see…

I landed in Tokyo on New Year’s Eve.  I would have loved to party all night like half of Tokyo, but the jet lag was just too strong.  That’s okay.  It wasn’t too long after the new year that Wasamin kicked off her one-week tour in support of her 5th single.  I was all ready to go full force to support my oshimen…

Iwasa Misaki 5th Single Release Day Mini-Live & Handshake Event at Yoro-do (Asakusa) and Shimbashi SL Square (2016/01/05)

FURAGE DAY!!!

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Iwasa Misaki 5th Single Release Week Day 3 at Aeon Mall Wakamatsu, Fukuoka Prefecture (2016/01/07)

Part 2 to come!

CK in Tokyo

If was about this time one year ago, shortly after the Janken event during an episode of All Night Nippon when AkiP casually announced that Wasamin would be getting a solo concert…one of these days.  That was the key part of the announcement he didn’t make clear.  When would this concert take place?  Our hearts sank a little bit acouple of months later when Wasamin tweeted that she didn’t even know if AkiP was talking about this year.  So in many ways wasamin’s first big solo concert was backburnered in the minds of the Wasafans….

But we never forgot.  We always held out hope that it was just a matter of time.  And this weekend Wasamin’s dream, and by extension our dreams, finally came true.

January 30th, 2016, Iwasa Misaki Solo Live at Asakusa Public Hall in Tokyo!

Asakusa Public Hall is a multi-purpose venue, seating 1082 people.  It’s a stone’s throw away from the famous Senso-ji and Asakusa Shrine.  The hall hosts a wide variety of events, but specializes in more traditional performances like Kabuki and Taiko.  This is perfect!  Right up Wasamin’s alley.

With four singles and an album, Wasamin has amassed quite a song catalog.  That doesn’t even count the many other songs she has performed on NHK.  I think we can count on quite a few surprises.  Speaking of surprises, there will surely be “special guests” during the show.  Possible from AKB, definitely some of her senpai at Nagara Pro.  Jeez, I am getting excited just thinking about it.

(Wasamin celebrating the happy announcement with Takamina)

So extremely happy news in Wasaworld.  But that’s not the only big venue concert she will be appearing in.  It was also recently announced that this coming November Wasamin will be appearing at the Moshi Moshi Nippon Festival at Tokyo National Gymnasium.  It’s a three day event, November 6th through the 8th.  Wasamin will be performing alongside quite a few notable acts, including Golden Bomber, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Dempagumi, Inc., 9nine, World Order, May’n, capsule among others.

(Wasamin performing earlier this year at Asakasa Sacas)

Not to mention her performance last month at Jingu Gaien Fireworks Festival last month.  I blogged about that performance a few weeks ago.  Wasamin has been getting quite the indoctrination into performing solo in front of large crowds.  BTW, here are some highlights from that show.  (Wasamin’s part begins at 3:20)

So now that the big announcement has been made, I now need to figure out how I am going to make it to this show.  To me this is an absolute must-see event, and I will be very sad if I have to miss it for some reason.  But when there’s a will there’s a way, right?

(Wasamin praying that I make it to the show)

CK in California

This year was the 7th Annual J-Pop Summit in San Francisco, and the 4th time I have attended in the last five years.  It has probably become the biggest Japanese-themed con in the Bay Area.  Well, there is Comic Con in San Jose.  We also had Japan Expo in San Jose/San Mateo which once boasted an idol lineup of Kikkawa Yuu and Dempagumi, Inc.  But it looks like that one may no longer go on.

I almost chose to skip J-pop Summit this year.  Frankly, there weren’t any idols/artists on the bill that I was too excited about seeing.  Over the last few years this event has managed to bring quite a few notable idol acts.  Danceroid in 2011, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and LoVendoЯ in 2013 , Itano Tomomi and Tokyo Girls Style in 2014, plus the US premiere of AKB48’s first documentary in 2011.  I was hopeful this year would bring another fun idol act that could muster up some enthusiasm.

(My TGS 6-shot from last year)

Then of course last year’s event left a slightly bad taste in my mouth with the neighboring Ramen Festival turning the entire event into a complete clusterfuck.  It was next to impossible to walk through the event because the ramen booth queues overwhelmed the entire street.  This year, instead of the traditional free street fair J-pop Summit always was, they actually held it in a convention hall.  And for the first time they actually charged admission.

It wasn’t until some of my friends who were flying in asked to stay at my house that I decided to go.  I’m glad I did.  Despite the fact that they were charging admission, despite the fact that I didn’t really know any of the musical acts, and despite the fact that the Fort Mason location would make it somewhat inconvenient to get there via public transportation, it was by far the best J-pop Summit ever!

(The food trucks, not bad.  At least the lines weren’t huge, and not difficult to find a seat)

To my surprise the event went off with hardly a hitch.  There were plenty of booths, most of which were highy interactive.  Lots of free food, including a free Shochu tasting booth, Miso Soup, Calbee Products, and Onigirasu (a sandwich shaped Onigiri) served to you by idol group Musubizm.  I entered both days for the H.I.S. trip to Japan contest.   Unfortunately I forgot to go the the actual drawing both times.  Anyway, on to the idol acts…

The first concert took place 15 minutes after doors opened.  The performers were…

FES☆TIVE: A relatively new idol act who just signed with Tokuma Records.  The same label as Wasamin I might add. (More on that later).  They recently released their first major single, Omatsuri Hero.

LittleGlee Monster: A sextet known for their harmonizing and general singing prowess

Faint☆Star:  An idol duo, also known for their quality singing.

The crowd was quite small, which meant their wasn’t too much synergy going on.  But it did mean that everyone there got to be extremely close to the stage.   On first listen I was most impressed with Little Glee Monster.  They really aren’t idols as much as they are a true vocal group.  They mixed their original songs with covers of The Jackson Five’s I Want You Back and Pharrell Williams’ Happy.  I was definitely interested in purchasing some of their CD’s, which I did later on for their autograph event on Sunday.

FES☆TIVE actually led off the event.  And per usual I let my subconscious mind and eyes decide if there is a member who will catch my fancy.  My friends thought I would be drawn to Suzuki Mitsuki, the petite blonde member.  But if you are familiar with my blog (and my taste) you will know that a gorgeous smile will catch my attention every time.  It didn’t take me long to find the girl I liked.  It was the Orange member, Aoba Hinari.  I just couldn’t take my eyes off of her the entire set.  Not to mention she noticed me watching her, and immediately responded.

Of all the acts to appear the only traditional idols were FES☆TIVE, and Musubizm who performed later that afternoon as part of the MOSHI MOSHI NIPPON ensemble.  This was another smart move by the event producers.  It seemed that all of the performers came sponsored by the various vendors.  So instead of having to pay for all the talent, I am guessing it was done on more of a barter system for sponsorship and booth space.   FES☆TIVE came in support of the CHEERZ Phone App.  Little Glee Monster, Gacharic Spin, and Eir Aoi seemed to be associated with Kinokinuya, as well as another J-pop music app.

The other nice thing was that pretty much every group had scheduled Meet and Greet and/or Autograph events, only a couple of which were “VIP Only”.  The only group who had no events like that scheduled were FES☆TIVE, which was disappointing to my friends since that was the group they came to see.  Little did we know that they would become the most accessible group of the entire weekend.  Which brings me to the highlight of my weekend, and pretty much why I thought the entire event was so awesome…

MY WEEKEND WITH FES☆TIVE…AND MY NEW “SECRET GIRLFRIEND” AOBA HINARI

(Luckily my friend had a cheki camera.  Note the spelling of “Sanf Rancisco”)

One of FES☆TIVE’s Japanese fans had flown in for the event, and he had a dialogue going with their manager.  He let us know that despite there being no “official” fan interaction scheduled, they would be spending a lot of time at the CHEERZ booth throughout the weekend.  On Saturday that meant we were allowed to take group shots.  I was one of the first to go…

Now the cool thing was that for most everyone else’s shots the fan was the only person in the CHEERZ frame.  But I had been “playing” with Hinarin the entire time.  So when it was my turn she decided to lean into the frame with me.  I took plenty of other photos of Hinari that day, and she always seemed to be striking a pose for me.

Then came Sunday, and it was a FES☆TIVE “free for all”!  2-shots, Group Shots, Autographs, Conversation.  We pretty much hung out with the group the entire day.  Now on the first day I went pretty much “incognito”, but on the second day I decided to represent with my Wasamin sousenkyo T-shirt.  The first person to notice it was Hinarin, who immediately dropped the bombshell “I know Wasamin, she is my friend!”  Really?  Well, they are both from Chiba (I really seem to be attracted to Chiba girls XD), close to the same age, and they are on the same recording label.  Oh no, this could be a total disaster!  Or…it could be a good way to make Wasamin jealous.  So I told her to be sure and tell Wasamin that we met.  A couple of the other members also noticed my shirt, as well as all of Little Glee Monster.  So Wasamin is well known among idols.

(Autographs)

Later on Hinarin delivered a message to me via the Japanese fan (who also happened to be a Hinarin oshi)  She wanted to thank me for supporting her, and that she was so happy I became her fan.  Then, as we were leaving her event we again ran into the group in the parking lot.  Hinarin immediately gave me the “heart” hand symbol.  Later that night she was busy favoring a bunch of my tweets, something she has continued to do all the way up until today.  So as far as I was concerned it was mission accomplished.  I managed to find an idol I really liked and made quite the impression on her.

(She wrote on my hand too!)

BTW, here is one of their PVs.  There is a lot of YouTube content on their official site.

So that was pretty much my fun at J-Pop Summit.  If you are wondering why I didn’t talk more about the other performing artists.  Well, they really weren’t the type of groups I am in to.  Gacharic Spin are definitly talented and exciting, although I didn’t really care fmost of their songs.  JAM Project was just a trip!  Five Heavy Metalesque singers on stage like they are idols or something.  It was all so campy I couldn’t help but giggle most of the time.  The other highlight for me was running into my old friend “K”, who I hadn’t seen in over 5 years.  K was the author of a blog called Mini Moni Mania, and one of my biggest inspirations to get into blogging in the first place.  In fact I remember asking K for advice when I started my first blog.  So it is always nice to run into old friends like that.  Oh, and then there’s this…

(Finally got to see the award my friend won for producing the Koisuru Fortune Cookie Fan Video)

So all in all a great weekend.  I was happily surprised at how big a success J-Pop Summit turned out to be.  It has instantly turned into an event I am going to look forward to every year…

Now if we can just get Wasamin to come and perform!

CK in California

Late last month Wasamin’s management reported that she would have a fairly heavy promotional schedule for August.  As a Wasamin fan, this is always great news.  Not only does it give her fans a chance to see her perform more often, but it is a sign that NagaraPro and Tokuma Records are still committed to promoting her as a solo artist.  Even better news, it was announced that she would be kicking off this round of promotion with an appearance at major Tokyo Summer event, the Jingu Gaien Fireworks Festival in Shinjuku.

This festival takes place next door to the National Stadium, at the home of the Yakult Swallows of the NPB.  Wasamin would be performing on the second stage, next door at the softball stadium.  The artist lineup featured most of NagaraPro’s major talent, as well as a few idol groups including Dempagumi, Inc.

Festival Lineup

For this day Wasamin performed in her brand new Yukata.  Usually she performs in a more traditional Kimono, but I thnk given the event this attire was appropriate.  And I must say she looks adorable!

As for the setlist, Wasamin led off with her rendition of Let It Go ~Ari no Mama de~, followed by her latest single Hatsuzake.  Unfortunately it was only the abridged version.  So it was a fairly short set.  Although she got a great review from Nikkan Sports.  Hey…anything to spread the Wasa-awareness, right?

Nikkan Sports Article, via Yahoo

Like I said in the beginning of this post, Wasamin has a fairly busy schedule over the next month, with over a dozen mini-live events between now and early September.  A few of the venues she is performing at are the same places she performed during her release tour in April/May, so I guess those little Enka shops were satisfied with the turnout during her previous visit…

8/13 16:00 Akasaka Sacas, Tokyo (She will also be recording for a TBS television appearance)
8/17 13:00/16:00 Nittoh Mall Kumagaya, Saitama Pref.
8/21 13:00 Yoro-do, Asakusa
8/21 17:00 Music Shop Dan, Higashijujo Tokyo
8/23 13:00/16:00 Aeon Mall Ishioka, Ibaraki Pref.
8/28 12:00 Shinseido Kashiwa, China Pref.
8/28 17:00 Ongokyu-do, Koiwa Tokyo
8/29 13:00/16:00 Aeon Mall Sayama, Saitama Pref.
9/05 13:00/16:00 Savia Hanno, Saitama Pref.

Always great news to see Wasamin keeping busy with her solo career.  Not only does it give her fans ample opportunity to see her perform, it further cements her as an established Enka artist.  I am sure we will see Wasamin performing a lot more during the rest of 2015.  Hopefully she will be at some special events like the one she performed at yesterday.  It begs the question of how long until Wasamin is in the discussion of performers at the annual Kouhaku Uta Gassen?

A small bonus, Wasamin’s outfit at Sunday’s AKB Handshake Event. What is this cuteness?

Ganbatte Wasamin!  With every passing day I become more and more proud of you!

CK in California

Oftentimes it can be an extremely dispiriting endeavor being an AKB48 fan who oshis Wasamin.  Everyday there seems to be something new going on with the group, and rarely…RARELY does Wasamin get to participate.  It’s a good thing she has her solo career.  Even if the majority of 48-group fans pay her no mind since she isn’t one of the “chosen few”, not to mention she sings Enka (da hahrer!), those of us in the know have gotten to witness the blossoming career of a highly talented young singer.  So while you won’t find h front and center at any AKB48 concerts, you WILL find her taking center stage for NHK’s many live concerts.  Wasamin has participated in quite a few of those shows is Summer, even servine as a co-MC for one show.  Misaki-chan has treated us to some incredible performances of some all-time classics.

First up, a duet.  Wasamin sharing the stage with another young Enka talent, 16-year old Sakura Maya.  Together they performed an amzing rendition of the 1955 classic “Suki ga Totte mo Aoi Kara”, originally recorded by Tsugawara Tsuzuko in 1955.

Wasamin has mentioned that she grew up with her grandparents living in the same house, and they had a huge influence on her choosing the path of Enka singer.  In any case, I am always impressed whenshe performs a classic selection like that one.  Speaking of classics…

Wasamin and a pack of genki cheerleaders peforming Matsuda Saeiko’s 1981 hit “Natsu no Tobira”

Misaki once again showing she can sing in many different styles.  The ripple effect of this performance was that it got me started perusing through Matsuda’s song catalog, and I have found a bunch of songs I am really excited about.  So I will very likely be starting a Matsuda Seiko CD collection sooner than later.  Anyway…

This is an older performance, but definitely worth checking out.  Wasamin performing Naoko Ken’s hit song “Abayo” from 1976.  Very pretty song, and Misaki-chan does a great job with it!

Of course Wasamin wants to promote her own records.  So here is the latest live performance of her 4th single, “Hatsuzake”

This is why I decided to start blogging about more than my trips. I really don’t think enough people are seeing what progress Wasamin in making in the “real world” of music. Hopefully I will have more performances to show in the near furure. And hopefully these YouTube videos stay up for a while.

CK in California