Chuo Dori

2013/11/09 Setlist, Iwasa Misaki “Request Covers” Promotional Event @ Ito-Yokado Department Store in Nishikicho, Saitama

Special Opening Act, the karaoke stylings of Jumbo Kobayashi 

BTW, I attended this event with Andy, and my friend Daryl!!!

11am
1. Moshisora
2. Nagori Yuki
3. Tsugunai
Outfit: White Kimono w/ Fiery Red @ Purple Print
Note: Grand prize won by the guy sitting next to me during the show

Handshake: (won 2-shot) I told Wasamin her Kimono was beautiful. She asked “Aren’t I beautiful?”, to which I responded “of course!” I also told her that Jumbo was my new twitter friend (I attempted to follow him on twitter the previous night, but his account is protected. He came over to me while I was in the handshake queue to tell me that he approved my request  )

2pm
1. Toki no Nagarene Miwo Makase
2. Blue Light Yokohama   
3. Mujineki
Outfit: Pink Kimono w/ Black Pattern at the bottom (hawt!)
Handshake: (won sticker) She said I was cute. I told her she was cuter. But she said I was cute too. I asked her if she was happy about the tremendous turnout, and thanked her for finally singing Blue Light.

Note 1: My friend Claudia from Italy is now living in Tokyo, and showed up at the end of the 2nd event, in time to see Wasamin going up the escalator in her Kimono. She looked starstruck, and thought Wasamin was beyond adorable. I was so proud!

Note 2: Between shows I was walking through the food court, and a little old lady came up to me, pointed to my Wasa-shirt and exclaimed “Kawaii, ne?!”

5pm
1. Nada Sousou
2. Moshisora
3. Akai Sweet Pea
Outfit: Light Blue checkered dress w/ Pink scrunchie, Tan thigh high boots

Handshake: (won postcard) I basically introduced Claudia to her. Gave Wasamin her name and told her she was very nervous.

Note 1: Jumbo was excited not only was San Francisco and Hong Kong in the house, but now Italy was in attendance! Wasamin is truly an international star!

Note 2: I won the postcard, but Claudia got the 2-shot…on her first try! My tally was now 12 handshakes w/ 4 each of the stickers, postcards and chekis. Yep, right on average.

Note 3: Wasamin delivered a message to me via Claudia. “Please teach Chris Japanese so we can have more conversations” It tugged at my heart that Wasamin really wants to talk with me more, but our language barrier limits what we can really talk about. I wanted to cry when Claudia told me that  Not to mention she had just performed Nada Sousou, which brought me to near tears the first time I heard it. Yeah, I was an emotional wreck for the third performance.

* I had now heard every song on the album performed live

That was the first time I had heard Tsugunai live. It is a great song, so chalk it up as another of my faves. As for Blue Light, it got a huge reaction when she announced it. The fans had noted all day that it was the only song not performed so far. Not only did Wasamin do a flawless job, she actually riffed on the second chorus. I was so impressed that she was confident enough to play with the song on the first live performance!

I think I love that song so much because it really has a sexy vibe to it. Really neat to hear Wasamin sing a song like that! 

Note: Crowd was by far the biggest of the week. A majority of the seats for the 11am event were taken over an hour prior to the show. 2pm show was absolutely packed to the rafters. Handshake session for the 2pm show took over 45 minutes, 5pm event’s handshakes took about an hour. (they had traditionally been around 30 minutes)

It wasn’t that Wasamin hurt my feelings, but there is so much I would love to say to her but don’t know quite how to say it. But if there is a will, there is a way. I had a trick up my sleeve for the last day…

Anyway, the final event was upon us. It was going to be bittersweet. I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle it, as I was already a little bit choked up…

The Wasa-faithful were already strategizing for the final day. Fans from afar were making the trip early in the morning too. It was going to be great!

Iwasa Misaki “Request Covers” Release Week Event FINAL, 2013/11/10 at Ito-Yokada in Ageo, Saitama

It was a very emotional day for so many reasons. What Wasamin said about our language barrier was still haunting me. I knew I wanted to give her a gift and a letter, so I was nervous about that. Plus it was the last day, and I wasn’t sure I will get to see Wasamin again this trip. It didn’t help that I was listening to Request Covers on my ipod, and found myself in tears on the train more than once.

Switching gears, I forgot to mention after the Saturday night Wasa-performance I had dinner in Shnjuku with Darryl and Andy. It was an awesome Katsu place. I headed back to my hotel via the Chuo-Sobu Line, which passes right by Tokyo Dome. At Suidobashi station about a million teenage girls boarded the train after watching the Kanjani 8 concert. We were packed in like sardines! But a lot worse places to be than crammed in a train with a bunch of wild young girls!

BTW, there was a 5.5 earthquake in the morning near Ibaraki. It caused everyone to be late, including Wasamin. The JR Takasaki Line, which is the main train to Ageo was running extremely behind schedule. First set got off 15 minutes late.

Nice sized crowd, but not as big as the previous day’s Nishikicho event. I guess the casuals stayed home to watch the draft?  But her big fans were out in force to support her one more time. Even my friend Wild-san made the 280 mile overnight drive from Shiga!

11:15am Setlist
1. Mujineki
2. Kita no Yado Kara
3. Ai no Mama de…
Outfit: Red Kimono, similar to the one on the regular version CD

2 Handshakes (sticker, sticker) Wasamin leads off with a shot to the heart…”Chris -san, you are older than my dad!” BTW, this is not true. I happen to know how old her Dad is, and he is older than me. Anyway, I have never told Wasamin my age, and most people guess I am much younger than I actually am. So I re-queued the line after I realized what she said to me to make sure she knew I was younger than Papa-Wasa.

Note: Speaking of Wasamin’s family, they have been to a couple of events in the past. Her Dad looks very young. And as far as her sisters, they all look alike. Oh, and her older sister is apparently really cute. If you mention her older sister’s looks, Wasamin gets jealous. They say her younger sister looks like Wasamin when she first joined AKB. But OMG, 3 Wasamins in one family?   

2pm Setlist
1. Nagori Yuki
2. Ettou Tsubame
3. Moshisora
Outfit: Light Blue Kimono with Purple/Silver Sash

Handshake (postcard) I finally broke down and gave Wasamin a bouquet of pink roses. I was so nervous about it I forgot to take a photo of them. I bowed as I handed them to her. Wasamin, said “Flowers?, then in Japanese said “Chris-san, I really love you.” She said to me “Love is over”, and I quickly said “chigau!”

I spent the next break writing a really mushy fan (love) letter to her. I had Andy, and Calvin (a Suuchan fan who decided to check out the event) do the Japanese translation for me. It was a great relief to be able to convey some more detailed thoughts to Wasamin for once.

5pm (final) Setlist
1. Mujineki
2. Toki no Nagareni Miwo Makase
3. Akai Sweet Pea
Outfit: Cream colored one piece with brown boots. OMG, this is the sexiest I have ever seen her!

2 Handshakes (2-shot, sticker) I was having horrible luck picking chekis, so I asked one of her managers Yoshida-san to give me some luck. He shook the box and said “Chris-san, come on!” And whaddya know, I got a 2-shot! I reacted with a bit too much glee, people thought I had drawn the grand prize.  Since Wasamin looked so incredibly sexy, I decided for her to do a sexy pose with me having a shocked look on my face. She looks great, I look ridiculous. I told her I was off to Hakata tomorrow and would be back in Tokyo on Friday. I told her I hoped I would see her again soon.

For the second handshakes there were two random people who were trying so hard to get our attention, so Wasamin had both of us turn around and wave. I barely had time to tell her that Request Covers is wonderful and that I love her very much. I handed her my letter, and assured her that it was “Ego to Nihongo” She then said “Love is Over!”, to which I replied again “Chigau!” She said “Please, Please?” Okay, “Love is over….wait, Love is NOT over!” I’m not sure why I did my last handshake so early in the event. I was watching everyone else for at least 45 minutes after that. I would have gotten one more CD, but I was running low on cash in pocket. And 17 copies of Request Covers is more than enough, wouldn’t you say?

It really is a wonderful CD. All of you need to pick up a copy. Then imagine Wasamin doing these songs live in a beautiful kimono (or a smokin hawt dinner outfit) That has been my week. And I will never forget it. I don’t think Wasamin will either. Same with her manager…Wasamin spent a little extra time at the end acknowledging the staff and telling us how wonderful we had been as fans. Her manager was crying as this was going on. Wasamin got a new manager recently, and this was her first release. She was really great to all of us.

And that was the end of an emotional day. I later admitted to my friends that I was on Wasa-overload, and I am afraid that I love her too much. But the rest of the Wasafans assured me that was impossible. You can never have too much love for Wasamin! They all love her just as much. But I really do adore her, and when these events come to an end it is goodbye for a long period of time. It really hurts.

But our celebratory Wasa-fan dinner at Saizeria made me feel a lot better.

Some additional observations.  First off, the new manager…

I heard a few different explanations regarding why she had a change in managers, none of which made me any more or less worried about Wasamin’s career. I remember the original manager from the Mujineki events. She seemed nice enough. But the new one seemed especially sweet, and interacted very well with the fans. It is almost like having Wasamin’s mom helping out. In fact, all of the staff were extremely nice. It is a nice change of pace from an AKB event, where everything has to be so regimented otherwise fans overstep the boundaries. This is Nagara Pro and Tokuma Records running the event. So a different vibe. Plus, the Wasa-fans collectively put Wasamin before themselves. So there is a lot less jealousy, and more cheering each other on. For example, there are guys going to these events that buy TONS of CDs. You think my 17 CDs were a lot? A few guys bought more than that for EACH DAY. All of the fans realize this means more sales for Wasamin, so it is all good. We cheers these guys on, and thank them for being so instrumental in helping her sales numbers.

She doesn’t have a huge fanbase, so it is a lot more intimate.

A couple other observations. I mentioned before that Wasamin’s average fan has to be at least 40 years old. I’m like a young guy in that group. It is also 99% male. For some reason Wasamin hardly attracts any female fans. (if you leave out all the Obasan that show up to hear enka) Danie (Jouttex) is probably her biggest female fan, but she is very tom-boyish.

It makes a lot of sense, especially with the musical style Wasamin is striving to succeed with. But even in the beginning the older fans seemed to be attracted to her. I think it is that sweet an beautiful smile.

With that in mind, I see a lot of talk around the forums about “creepy older otaku”. But if you went to any event you would see that the older fans are usually always the most dedicated, and the most well-behaved. AKB was founded on an older male audience, and back then there didn’t have to be rules about everything because common etiquette usually prevailed. It was when the younger fans grabbed on to the group that all the crap started happening that forced Togasaki to implement a million rules for every event.

One of the many reasons I would love to see more people go to these events IN JAPAN so they can see what it is really like.

Notice the rope barrier? So close to Wasamin but there is always that fine line   That said, I was surprised that her manager would quite often invite us to get in closer to one another for the shot. Here are a couple more of my cheki, “Hearto Version” and “Mujineki Posu” (I got 5 in all)

BTW, Here is the final tally of how many times each song was performed…

Moshisora 8x
Mujineki 7x

Ai no Mama de… 4x
Akai Sweet Pea 4x
Ettou Tsubame 4x

Nagori Yuki 3x
Toki no Nagareni Miwo Makase 3x

Hanamizuki 2x
Love is Over 2x
Tsugunai 2x
Nada Sousou 2x
Kita no Yado Kara 2x

Matsu wa 1x
Blue Light Yokohama 1x

Quite funny that my favorite song, and Andy’s (Matsu wa) were the only two songs performed once. But she mentioned us as the two that came from far away to see her at least once per day. So she was still thinking of us.

I can’t believe she performed at the theater tonight after that surely grueling week. Although I think Wasamin really enjoys performing, and the adulation she gets when she does.

BTW, my big wish was that Wasamin would be at the National Handshake event next weekend in Iwate. But it was just announced that she will be performing in the theater that day. So my only chance to see her will be if I win that show. Even if I don’t win, I think I will stay in town and watch the show in the lobby.

I listened through the album a couple times again while on the Shinkansen. It is a truly wonderful CD. Her voice just does it for me…

Someone asked if the songs are true to the originals, or are they all done enka style. For the most part, they are true to the originals, but Wasamin does indeed put her stamp on them.

The next day Wasamin posted on her Ameba Blog.  A couple people had wondered if the post made me cry…

It did. I really wanted to understand that one part of her post properly. Part of what I wrote in that letter was how much I want to be there to support her all the time, and how frustrating it is to only to be able to see her once in a while. Also that there was so much I wished to communicate with her, but not knowing quite how to say it when I am standing in front of her. And that my biggest wish was that we could communicate better with one another. So yes, that post spoke to me quite a bit.

I think I have sort of “graduated” in my fandom. I went to the HKT theater for the first time tonight, and watched their new Pajama Drive stage on the monitors. It was fun, but there was something missing for me…Wasamin. I think going forward any trips I make over here will be based on what Wasamin is doing, rather than AKB.

So that’s it for now.  I am still enljoying the CD, and thinking about Wasamin on these long trainlines out of Shin-Osaka  I DID enjoy my visit to the HKT Theater.  I am truly in love with her,  She means so much to me.  I just long to see that beautiful smile beaming at me every chance I get

Anyway, that’s it for now.  Time for sleep!

CK in Tokyo

Continuing from the previous post.  The entire day she was down South I was burning with envy and regret.  Why didn’t I make the trip down to Osaka and support my girl?  What was I thinking.  She had one more day out of town before she resurfaced closer to Tokyo.  But I wasn’t going to miss this.  Who cares if it was out in the middle of nowhere, and it would take a whole bunch long train rides to get to?  I wasn’t going to miss another event!!!

Iwasa Misaki “Request Covers” Release Event 2013/11/07 @ Suzuka Hunter-Suzuka, Mie Prefecture

Quite the trek to go all the way to Mie Prefecture, but it was totally worth it. I will begin with the setlists and go from there…

2pm Event:
1. Nagori Yuki
2. Love is Over
3. Mujineki

Outfit: Wasamin in Off-White w/ Pink detail Kimono

5pm Event
1. Moshizora
2. Nada Sousou
3. Akai Sweet Pea

Outfit: Wasamin in mini floral print skirt, with tan wool sweater and thigh-high brown suede boots w/ scrunchie

So the first question I asked when I got there was “Why would they decide to have events out in the middle of nowhere?” I mean, Suzuka…it is an hour outside of Nagoya. No real fun for tourists unless you are coming for Formula One racing. But my question was answered when the crowd began to fill…

The place was packed, even more than Shibuya. Not only was the main floor packed, but the second and third floor verandas were packed too! The most amazing part? At least one-third of the crowd could be classified as elderly. This was perfect. This is her demographic! They were buying the CD too! I was so excited when they would win the 2-shot.

BTW, a funny aside…When I got off the train I was walking to the event behind two random guys. About a block later I noticed their bags and briefcases had the Tokuma Records insignia on them. They were there from the label to run the show. Kinda funny.

Anyway, I was hanging out behind the performance area when the show started, and rushed to my reserved seat (4th row center) As I entered the MC was talking about people coming from out of town for the event, and half the crowd began pointing at me. 

As for her performance…her voiced cracked a little bit on Nagori Yuki, like she was straining to hit the high notes. But the rest of the songs were perfect! In fact, Nada Sousou brought me to tears. Seriously! It was beautiful. Wasamin even noticed, kinda squinting at me in acknowledgement.

OMG Moment…During the second performance, in the second MC Wasamin commented about how many people she noticed came from Tokyo, and one person from San Francisco! I couldn’t believe she was singling me out again in the middle of the show! But a lot of her Nagoya fans came up to me after to talk about it.

Once again, she gave away her hair accoutrement as a grand prize, and both winners were friends of mine. I had dinner with both of them after the show. Here is the piece from the early show…

I bought 2 CDs, so I got 2 handshakes. During the first meeting I apologized for not going to Osaka and Kobe, and told her I enjoyed Love is Over. She freaked out over my pronunciation, and asked me to repeat it. So I did, then I said it emphatically a third time…”Wasamin, Love is Over!” She and her manager were laughing. I won the postcard for that meeting…

For the second meeting, I won the 2-shot! She again started talking bout “Love is Over”, so I had her practice the American pronunciation of “I will Follow You” (Akai Sweet Pea) It took her two tries, but she got it…sort of. I then told her that I was requesting a performance of Blue Light Yokohama tomorrow. So when she sings it, and I think she will since it is one of three songs she hasn’t done live yet, she will think of me…

I can’t begin to tell you what an almost religious experience this has been. Wasamin’s singing has far exceeded my expectations. You can see it in her eyes how focused she becomes when it is time to perform. And for the most part, she nails every song!

Next up, three performances in Ibaraki. I was ready!  Another day of Wasamin awesomeness completed. Lets begin with the setlists…

Iwasa Misaki “Request Covers” Event 2013/11/08 Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture

11am
1. Ai no Mama de…
2. Moshisora
3. Kita no Yado Kara
Outfit: Pink Kimono w/ pink flowered pattern. Pink/Blue flower set in hair (won by one of the first people in line)

2pm
1. Ettou Tsubame
2. Love is Over
3. Mujineki
Outfit: Purple Kimono with Pink floral print. Ponytail with black&white flower piece in hair (won by one of the guys I was with)

5pm
1. Moshisora
2. Matsu wa
3. Hanamizuki
Outfit: Grey skirt w/overalls Bergundy sweater w/ black short boots. Black choker w/cross Black scrunchie

First of all, the day before I told Wasamin that Blue Light Yokohama was my favorite song on the CD, and now it was the ONLY song she hasn’t done live. Was she mocking me on purpose? Torturing me? The song is beautiful, and I wanted to hear her sing it!

Got to the mall just before 10am, since that is when the CD sales were to begin. One problem, the mall was closed! They were also doing seating on a first come first served basis. So when the mall doors open it became a race for seats. I came to the mall with Okaji-san, who is heading her birthday committee this year. He isn’t a young guy, so it was amazing to see him run so fast! BTW, a lot of Wasamin’s otaku fans are in the older age range. 35+ In fact I would guess that she has the oldest average fan age range of all the girls in AKB.

The show was MC’d by Jumbo Kobayashi, who is a high profile guy from Tokuma Records. I remember him from the Mujineki events I attended. He’s a really slick dude, and he plays with the audience (as well as Wasamin) quite a bit. Jumbo started off by calling Wasamin “kawaii” in a very strange way. This totally creeped her out. But Wasamin, as well as the fans love to poke fun of Jumbo as well. In the first show, Wasamin challenged Jumbo to donate something as a grand prize since she was donating her hair set, and suggested his sport jacket. (He wears very expensive looking suits) He offered his pen, but didn’t think anyone would want it.

This was an extremely high end mall, and Tsukuba looks like a beautiful place to live. Nice homes…everything looks clean and new. Far enough from Tokyo to be a sort of refuge, but close enough to enjoy the city. (around 50 minutes by Tsukuba Express from Akihabara)

Didn’t seem to have as many people in attendance compared to Suzuka. 2pm show was definitely the most crowded. There were 150 seats (which were about 90% filled each time) Quite a few people chose to watch from the upstairs verandas in the mall.

They love the international angle. In the 2nd pre-show MC, Jumbo made a big deal about my friend Andy coming all the way from Hong Kong. Later in the second show Wasamin talked about the people traveling all over the country to the various events, and then mentioned me coming from San Francisco. She proceeded to say to me “Hello, I am Misaki Iwasa!”, to which I responded “HELLO…Wasamin” BTW, I have never said “hello” to her. I always use a Japanese greeting. But it was all in fun. On one hand, I get slightly embarrassed when she puts the focus on me during the show, but I also get that they enjoy pointing out that Wasamin is now “world famous”. Anyhow, she has now done that to me 2 days in a row!

I bought three CDs today, which means I got three handshakes and three prize drawings. Obviously the goal is to get the cheki (or the grand prize, but there is only one of those). Today I got the postcard on each of my first two. I want to be disciplined and not buy a million CDs, but I decided that if I didn’t win the 2-shot on the third try I would buy one more CD and try again. Luckily, I got the cheki with my third ticket. (Jumbo kept calling them “Chucky”, to the amusement of everyone)

So that made 9 CDs purchased so far, and I had won three of each prize. Three stickers, three postcards, and three cheki. I posted the first 2-shot where we did the obligatory peace sign. For Suzuka we did the joined heart, and today we did Mujineki singing pose. Some people get really creative with their pose requests, it is fun to watch. The guy who won the grand prize for the third show did the “Team B Oshi” pose.

Speaking of cheki. Jumbo had purchased the CD, and kept taunting Wasamin that he wanted his handshake like everyone else. He waited for the end of the last show. And for his prize, he drew the 2-shot. Wasamin suggested the “nyan nyan” pose, but right before the shot she dropped it and gave him a shitty look. Too funny. Jumbo then proceeded to do his best nerdy otaku impression during the handshake until the guard forcefully threw him out!

For my handshakes, the first one was sort of a “failshake” I greeted her with “Ohayowasamin”, and before I could say what I planned she started talking to me in Japanese. I asked her to repeat it but still didn’t get what she said. So I just said “Gomen Wasamin, I love you!” before I got pushed out.

For the second one I had remarked about her performance of “Love is Over” (more on that in a minute) I got an excited “Hontoni???” as a response. Oh, she again asked me to repeat “Love is over” in American pronunciation.

Between each show many of the fans hung out in the food court. Between shows 2 and 3 Wasamin posted on her google plus, drinking a Bubble Tea from Dipper Dan, the shop we were sitting next to. The next thing you know there are about a dozen Wasafans (including myself) in line buying the same drink. So for the third handshake I told her I got the Bubble Tea on her recommendation. She said she really liked it and asked if I enjoyed it to.

On to the performances…needless to say she did an amazing job. This was the first time hearing Matsu wa and Kita no Yado Kara. I you listen to “Yado Kara”, it is an extremely intricate and difficult song. Very traditional Enka. To hear her pull it off live…wow! She is really impressive. As for “Love is Over”, there is a singing ” run at the end of the song that Wasamin performed flawlessly. That is what I had commented to her about on the 2nd handshake.

I think that was it for Friday. It was time to rest and get ready for Saitama. We were hoping that tomorrow’s event will the biggest, since it is the weekend AND close to Tokyo. Fingers crossed…

And I had my fingers crossed for Blue Light Yokohama

Gonna finish this off in one to two more posts…

CK in Tokyo (Fukuoka)

Okay, this is the reason I am in Japan.  And it might take more than one post to present properly.  It isn’t often one gets to spend a week up close and personal with their favorite “idol”.  Actually I should really say Performance Artist, as Wasamin is so much more than an idol now…

Wasamin released her first full-length CD, “Request Covers”.  A complete array of classic Enka and Kayou Kyoku.  This is an very important step in her musical career, and I wanted to be there for her.  Wasamin, along with many of her fans were getting to celebrate with 15 performances in 7 different venues throughout Japan.  I was lucky enough to attend 13 of those 15 events.  But I had my close eye on the two events I missed.  It was going to be an amazing week…

Mini-Live
Handshake Event
A different outfit for EVERY event (and not always in a Kimono)
Prizes, including 2-shot cheki with Wasamin!!!

After attending these events it is pretty evident Wasamin is growing up as a performer.  I went through some emotional changes myself.  I think you will see that as the days’ reports progress.  So lets begin…

By the way, I am going to post these almost exactly as I wrote them on the forums…

Iwasa Misaki “Request Covers” Release Event 2013/11/05 at Marui City, Shibuya Tokyo

3pm Event
1. Ai no Mama de
2. Akai Sweet Pea
3. Moshizora

6pm Event
1. Ettou Tsubame
2. Hanamizuki
3. Mujineki

I got down to Shibuya around 3 hours before the event.  I wanted to see how the land laid, so to speak.  Along the way I met Okaji-san, who is this years chairman of Wasamin’s birthday committee.  With him was Andy, a HUGE Wasamin fan from Hong Kong.  Not only was Andy going to every event, he had a gift for her for every day.

 Her performances were all top notch I think I heard her voice crack slightly off-key once. It is amazing to watch her get “in the zone” when she sings.

I bought one of each of the regular versions w/ special cover. As expected, it is an overlay much like the “Densha Version” of Mujineki. Also picked up one Limited version

They made the 2-shot cheki’s a lot easier to get than expected. That said, my luck was bad. I only got one 2-shot out of 4. Seemed like most people that bought at least 4 versions got 2. 

Thy also gave away signature boards. However, they were Moshizora Signature Boards with a Request Covers sticker affixed to them.  We also got clear files

Grand Prize for each event…Wasamin’s hair accoutrement from the performance. One of my friends won it during the 3pm event.

Lots of photographers, news crews and reporters there for the first event. It was a lot of fun watching her work with the press First with photo taking, then with Q&A.

The Wasatruck, circling the block. You could see the street from the stage, and it would get Wasamin’s attention every time it drove by…

at Tsutaya in Shibuya

Some official shots during the event…

I wish I had won a 2-shot in the late show. Her Kimono was dark red, with black. Very pretty!

So for the four handshakes…

1) The first thing she said when I walked up was “Hello Chris-san!” I said, “Yes, Chris desu” She asked if I had won the 2-shot, then did the “crying pose since I hadn’t. I told her I flew to Japan just for her….but I screwed up the words. So god knows what I actually said. She must have figured it out though, since she replied Oh, Thank You!

2) Won the two shot, and yelled “Yatta!” Wasamin and her handler both congratulated me, and I just blurted out “HAPPYYYY!”, which Wasamin laughed at. Got a fan ovation for winning since I made such a big deal out of it. Actually, they did that for a lot of people in the early show.

3) I told her that I loved Akai Sweet Pea, and it made me tear up when I heard her sing it.

4) Told her I learned Katakana and Hiragana, to which she replied “Good, then write me more letters!”

Need to come up with more to talk to her about in the coming days…

There were a lot of people there, especially for the early show. It’s funny, I would have thought the later show would have had the better crowd.

When you buy a CD you draw a random number for entry. The idea is to get a low number for a good spot. Then there is a bit of trading going on. For example, lets say I bought two copies and drew #12, and #20 for the early show, but got bad #’s for the late show, and somebody else did the opposite (got good #s for the late show. We would trade our second tickets. So we get better placement for each show. I had #27 for 3pm, and #36 for 6pm. But for both that was really close to the stage. My friend Andy was really lucky, drew #5 for the 3pm show

One interesting note…I noticed a lot of her bigger fans were standing in the far back. It turns out many of them have decided that it is better for new fans to get the closer spots. They feel it is good to help grow her fanbase by letting the newbies have a great time. I asked them if I should stand back there too. But they said since I don’t live there I should get as close to her as I can 

Not sure if anyone came in on a whim. It seemed like most everyone there had come on purpose. I did notice a few AKB fans walk by and get surprised by the fact Wasamin was having an event. They were passing out flyers up and down the block, and the truck was circling Shibuya all afternoon (as well as other neighborhoods earlier in the day) Hopefully it drew some new people in.

I had wondered what all of the tourists walking by thought of the goings-on. I saw many of them take flyers. Not to mention that giant Wasamin picboard on the stage. She looks so adorable in that photo, I have to thing some of them were interested. But as I said before I didn’t see any foreigners in the show aside from myself.

That was my report from Shibuya.  Next came the two events I missed.

Iwasa Misaki “Request Covers” Release Event 2013/11/06 in Kobe and Osaka

Early shots of the Kobe event. I know of a couple people who took off for Osaka after last night. One of them is taking the photo, and I see the other one in the photo. 

Based on that pic, doesn’t look like they are expecting a huge turnout, but who knows. Last night’s area was pretty small too. But they packed us in, and there almost as many people watching from the sidewalk behind the makeshift venue

Kobe Setlist:

1. Mishisora
2. Toki no Nagareni Miwo Makase
3. Ettou Tsubame

Wasamin wearing a yellow Kimono, this is taken from her G+

Osaka Setlist…

1. Tsugunai
2. Mujineki
3. Ai no Mama de…

Wasamin did not wear a Kimono for this appearance, instead wore an extremely short miniskirt, white knit top and black bow. It seems nosebleeds were abound in Osaka…

Also, a couple of screenshots of TBS coverage of the Shibuya Event

So there are the first two days.  But there is a ton more to report!  Watch for the next post…

CK in Tokyo (actually, in Fukuoka at the moment)

For those of you who don’t know much about SDN48, this may not interest you too much. For those of you who remember how awesome they were, I think you will get how amazing the following experience was…

I felt re-energized on Monday after finally catching up on some needed sleep. It’s unusual for me to have a weekend day in Japan with nothing to do. But on Sunday I felt really out of it. So the best thing for my body was to merely rest. I have a big week coming up to get ready for…

In the meantime I had another warm up event to attend. I remember how sad I felt when SDN48 graduated in early 2012. I wondered if I would ever get the chance to talk to some of my favorite members ever again. To this day I still follow a few of the members’ blogs. I like to see what they are up to, especially when I have a trip coming up. So I was really excited when I realized tonight’s event would fall right into my trip window…

Hatakeyama Chisaki “Chaki Live Vol. 3″ and Birthday Celebration at Live House Mosaic, Shimokitazawa 2013/11/04

If it wasn’t for Meetan, Chaki would have easily been my favorite member of SDN48. I also adored Akiko (keep that fact in your pocket, it’s gonna come up later in the story) But Chaki…There is a reason her nickname is “Babyface”. She is sooo cute! It is amazing that she is turning 25 today. She still looks like a teenager! She was also one of the best singers in SDN. And boy, could she dance! I had trouble keeping my eyes off of her whenever I went to an SDN show. Anyway, I was going to get the chance to see Chaki up close for the first time in two years (Next Encore concert doesn’t count since I had nosebleed seats)

The Pre-game Adventure

The Main Concert

The Celebration

Two girls came on stage in clown outfits. I have no idea who they are, perhaps comedians? Next came a woman who everyone called “Sensei”. Perhaps one of Chaki’s managers? It turned out the fans had some work to do to create a birthday present for Chaki. The present? A song written by a few members of the audience, to be performed by the audience. The song was called “Chaki-panman” And of course, it was done to the Anpanman March. We went over the lyrics, then did two rehearsals before Chaki came back out.
She was crying by the end of the song. It totally brought back memories of how she always cried at her birthday shows in the AKB48 Theater. I’m not sure what it meant, but there was something in the second phrase of the song that really got to her. The fans that wrote the lyrics got to give her special birthday wishes during the show.The birthday cake finally came out, then her former groupmates finally came up on stage. Whaddya know, the fourth girl with the mask…was Akiko! I had a feeling it was her because of the hair, but he looked noticeably thinner. Not to mention I noticed her eyeing me more than once. Chaki took some photos with the crowd, then bailed upstairs to do handshakes with everyone as they left. I knew Chaki would remember me, and she gave me a big “sashiburi!” and thank you before I walked out the door. But not before I got a special Chaki button from her manager. And that was it, show over!

On the surface, it wasn’t a major event. A talented singer with a small fanbase in a tiny venue. But it really brought back emotions from the old days of SDN. It helped that a few other grads were there. Not to mention I had managed to win two of Chaki’s three birthday shows during SDN’s tenure. So in many ways it was just like old times. Heck, I was just excited to be there!

Chaki meeting the fans post-show

I remember two years ago wondering if I would ever see and talk to my favorite SDN members again. It’s funny how the world works, and I am so thankful for this experience.

And now, my friends, begins the Wasamin release event marathon!

CK in Tokyo

Landed at Narita Friday afternoon. I made this trip with one series of events in mind, and I’ll give you one guess which events they are.   But there will plenty of other fun to be had!  After having a nice sushi dinner with the gang from Selective Hearing and New School Kaidan in Akihabara UDX, I went back to my hotel for some sleep. I had to be up super early on Saturday to catch the Shinkansen, and I knew the jetlag would be kicking my ass all day…

SKE48 Utsukushii Inazuma National Handshake Event @ Port Messe Nagoya 2013/11/02

So I woke up an hour late, scrambled to clear my head and get ready before I jammed for the train station. If I had caught the earliest train I would have made it to Port Messe around 8:30am. Now my ETA was closer to 9:30 am. I figured I would get a crappy spot since I was so late. But when I finally got there I noticed hardly anyone was inside the venue. They were all outside photo trading. The goods line was short, so I grabbed a few photo packs before I went in.

I lucked out and got a Section A ticket. That is the closest area to the stage. It wasn’t even 1/3 full yet, so I was standing around 5 people from the front rail. This is one of the reasons I love going to sister group events in places other than Tokyo. The crowd is a bit lighter, so you don’t have to wait in as many gargantuan queues. That said, there were plenty of people there. Even more than attended the Kiss Datte Hidarikiki event I went to last year.

Mini-live started, Kage-Ana was done by multiple members doing silly voices. I wasn’t sure who was who, but I am fairly certain I heard Jurina and Akarin. Show opened with 1,2,3,4 Yoroshiku. This was my first live look at idols in 6 months, so it felt great when I first spotted Masanya. She looked gorgeous of course.

For some reason I am blanking on the rest of the song order, but I know they performed Choco no Dorei, Banzai Venus and Kataomoi Finally before finally doing Utsukushii Inazuma. They ended the show with SKE48.

For the MCs they first did the bit where they grab props from a table and use them for joke impressions. Mikitty was great! She kept grabbing an old broom, and doing Harry Potter Quidditch bits. A couple of the girls also did puns with Kato Rumi’s name. For the 2nd MC they had a mini-skit battle referee’d by Dasu and Jurina. Yuria played the guy in all of the scenarios. They battled by team, and Masanya won for Team S in the first round. Team KII was very funny. Every time they lost they would “beat up” the girl who got beaten. First Churi, then Matsumoto Rina. That bit was a lot of fun, and everyone was surprised at how well Ego Yuna did. (However, she still lost to Furukawa) The hour flew by quickly, now I had lunch break to figure out how I would use my 13 tickets!

Since I was in A block, I got to go to the handshake area relatively early. I figured I would go visit Akarin first before her line got too huge. But they had screwed up her sign and placed it where the handicapped queue was. I asked the staff and they pointed me to Lane Three. I thought it was wrong, but he insisted that was Dasu’s lane. It wasn’t an extremely long line either. I looked over and saw Jurina’s huge queue, and what I figured must be Yuria’s huge queue. It wasn’t until I got to the front that I confirmed what I had suspected.

Lane 3: Takayanagi Akane (1x) This is Churi’s line!!! I was caught completely off-guard. So I said my quick hello to Churi. As always, she asks me if I am genki, then I get pushed out as I respond. As I headed back outside I passed the rear of all the booths. Mikitty spotted me and started screaming. Hahaha, she remembered our exchange back in June for sure!

The wait for everyone to queue for their first handshake wasn’t long at all, maybe 10-15 minutes. There were 13 lanes, and I managed to visit 9 of them at least once. Originally there was a 14th lane but Rena called in sick. I think that is a general law. You can pretty much always expect one sick Matsui for any SKE handshake event. Almost all of my favorite SKE girls were there, except for Kaotan. Yumana was originally scheduled, but she got replaced. So that was a slight bummer too. In addition to Churi’s solo lane, these were the other lanes I visited…

Lane 7: Oya Masana/Deguchi Aki/Umemoto Madoka (2x) It is great to be able to see multiple girls in one shot, except that it forces you to have conversations with girls you don’t really follow. That is often quite awkward. I visited this queue twice. Masanya was excited to see me again. I told her she was great during the MC. I had no idea what to say to Deguchi, but she took care of that and began flirting with me. I pretty much just introduced myself to Madoka. The second time around I told Masanya that I was rooting for her in Ebi-Friday Night, and gave her a “Komanechi!” Aki thought that was cute and started laughing at me. So this lane was an overall success.

Lane 6: Ishida Anna/Nakanishi Yuka/Miyamae Ami (2x) Anna is another girl I visit often, so I always get a good reaction. This surprised Yuka, who then began playing matchmaker with me and Anna. She kept asking if I loved Anna, and if Anna was my oshimen. Of course I lied. This continued the second time I went through her queue, so I just played along. Unfortunately I had no idea who Miyamae Ami was, so all I could really do was say hello and where I was from and pray for a quick staff push out!

Lane 4: Suda Akari (1x) I really wanted to say hi to Dasu, and I was burning through tickets rather quickly, so I braved her queue for the 30-40 minute wait. The funniest part was that the staff was literally pushing people out as soon as she grabbed their hand, so the interaction was 3-4 seconds at the most. But she never fails at a great handshake. So much fun!

Lane 5: Kizaki Yuria (1x) I hadn’t planned on visiting Yuria’s solo queue. But her line wasn’t long at all, and I had never spoken to her before. So I had decided to give her a shot, even though I had heard that she isn’t the most exciting to meet. To my surprise, she was extremely nice. She even ga me a “Yuria-chan Peace!” pose. A very pleasant surprise. Another great lesson, while it is great to get advice from people on certain girls handshake experiences, sometimes you need to just see for yourself.

Lane 13: Suga Nanako/Kato Rumi/Kaneko Shiori (1x) I have always liked Rumi, but I was really in this line to meet Kinchan after her character fished me so hard in the AKB 1/149 game! There was no line. As I came up Kinchan looked up and gave me this huge surprising smile. She was even more surprised when I told her I came to that queue especially to see her.

Lane 14: Furuhata Nao/Ichino Narumi/Tsuzuki Rika/Iguchi Shiori (1x) I felt really bad for these girls as their queue was almost always empty. You could see them repeatedly poking their heads out to see if anyone was coming. I don’t follow any of them, but I had never met any of them either. So I figured it wouldn’t hurt to introduce myself and say hello. I basically jumped in and rattled off the usual cliche’s. “SKE48 is great”, “Keep fighting”, that kind of stuff. But I stopped at Iguchi and exclaimed “Shiori-san sugoi!” in reference to her height which might have caught her off-guard a little bit. Although I am sure she gets that all the time.

Lane 9: Isohara Kyoka/Kinoshita Yukiko/Yakata Miki (x3) Saving the best for “almost” last, I have made a new best friend in SKE, and that is Mikitty! I posted about my insane experience with her back in June.  The moment she reacted after seeing me in the exit lane I knew I was in for a great time with her. The only problem was that for some reason I don’t really connect with Yukiko. However, I did discover that Yukiko does know a little Spanish. That should be good news for a few people. I really didn’t have much to say to Kyoka either. But it was pretty clear who I was in that queue to see. I reminded her of our exchange at Makuhari, which she remembered. She then asked me to come back through their lane. I got a big “I LOVE YOU” the 2nd time around, and the last time she asked me my name. When I answered she loudly repeated it back “Chris! Chris!” I have obviously connected with her in a major way, evidenced by her Google+ entry after the event. I didn’t even think to look, but one of her local fans found me on twitter and told me about it.  So yeah, Lane 9 was a huge WIN!

I had one ticket left, and I had noticed that one normally huge line had gotten pretty short. So I decided to jump in…

Lane 2: Matsui Jurina (1x) It was pretty quick, but she was super genki and gave me the often-seen “OMG, it’s a foreigner!” look. I congratulated her on the Janken win before getting quickly pushed out. I had used all of my tickets, and it wasn’t even 4pm yet! Oh, and the four lanes I unfortunately didn’t visit were…

Lane 8: Mukaida Manatsu/Ego Yuna/Matsumoto Rina
Lane 10: Shibata Aya/Uchiyama Mikoto/Niidoi Sayaka
Lane 11: Furukawa Airi/Sakai Mei/Saito Makiko
Lane 12: Takeuchi Mai/Goto Risako/Kimoto Kanon

It was a great day. Given that I am not going to any individual handshake events this trip, I was so happy I got the chance to interact with SKE. Hopefully some of my favorite AKB members will be at the National Event I plan on attending in a couple weeks. But HKT…and Tani. I have nothing planned for them, I am going down to Hakata next week. Maybe I will get lucky and win a show.

Also, a HUGE Thank You to everyone who sent me their extra SKE handshake tickets. As you can see, they were all put to good use. You guys are awesome!

It seems like just yesterday I was hanging out with friends on the streets of Tokyo. I have been back in California for two weeks now, but I wanted to do one more post on my Summer extravaganza. During this eleven day trip I managed to squeeze in two major concerts, two huge handshake events, two live viewings of Anta Dare, and a show at the AKB48 Theater. But that left me 3-4 open days…

I spent some of that time shopping…

I didn’t pick up as much as I usually do on a trip. But I did find some cool photobooks like Tanamin’s Otaku Guidebook and Yazapai’s slightly more risque than usual photobook. Then there was this surprisingly not AKB-related item I really wanted to get…

The full first season of Hikkonen Sentai Akibaranger. I absolutely love that show! Hopefully when I return the complete 2nd season will be available on DVD.

I spent some time time visiting amazing sights…

Enoshima is one of my favorite places around Tokyo. It’s a beautiful island, with awesome food. And you are right on the seaside. Nothing like a warm afternoon enjoying a big Tuna/Shirasu-don and a large mug of beer. Then later watching the sardine fisherman busy at work….

Speaking of drinking, how about a refreshing Highball in the shadow of Tokyo Tower?

I went to Yebisu Beer Garden and drank like Acchan (or the narrator chick from Terrace House).  Well, maybe not exactly like Acchan as I was able to walk out of the place on my own.  BTW, I had the Black and Tan.  Just like Maeda made in her beer promo.

Or if you are really ready to party, an eclectic mix of various appetizers and huge alcoholic drinks at your local Izakaya?

But the main thing I spent my time on was a temporary addition to Chuo Dori, in celebration of this year’s AKB48 Sousenkyo….

The AKB48 Sousenkyo Museum 2013/06/04 – 2013/06/16, Bellesalle Akihabara

It was announced right about the time I arrived in Tokyo. AKB48 would be opening a temporary museum in celebration of this year’s Senbatsu Sousenkyo. We weren’t sure how tough tickets would be to obtain, so Panda, Koba and I immediately worked on scoring tickets. It was 1000 yen to attend, but you could pay 1500 and take home the Sousenkyo poster of your choice…

Campaign posters? Really??? Awesome!!! “Let’s go twice!” I suggested, knowing I would have the chance to not only get a Wasamin poster, but a Meetan poster too!

 
It turned out tickets were pretty easy to get. You could even show up and buy them at the door. There were actually a bunch of different lines in front of the Bellesalle building, which is right across the street from Sofmap and the Donki. It turned out a) they were pre-selling photos for the Nissan Stadium show there, and b) you could buy all of the Senbatsu posters you wanted for 500 yen each. Panda and I showed up opening day expecting a long line, but to our surprise we just walked right in…

The exhibits were fairly standard faire, although they had a few neat pieces on display…

Outfits from various Senbatsu related singles

Some of the past awards!

Acchan’s Graduation Gown! I took this closeup because that was the spot Takamina affixed her rhinestone, as seen in this year’s Documentary

Can it really be a museum without those ghastly paintings that serve as the stage backdrop? I can’t wait to see Sasshi’s next year! And of course, a chance to be head of the Senbatsu!

Actually, that chair is kind of underwhelming up close. But at least I can now say my butt has shared a seat with Acchan and Yuko! Then again, anyone who has been to the AKB48 Theater can sort of say the same thing.  (BTW, I’m not sure why I blur out my face, most of you know what I look like already)

They gave you an hour to spend in the place, but you can really see everything in about 15 minutes. There was really no reason to spend too much time there. But that all changed a couple of days later when various idols began making surprise appearances. And one of the first to show up?

I am so bummed, as I was actually outside the museum while this was going on, and didn’t find out until later that Wasamin was inside. Luckily someone I know snapped those awesome photos. Anyway, after the Nissan Show a couple of new features appeared inside, including the podium from where the Senbatsu is announced….

By then quite a few members had signed their Senbatsu Posters. I have always loved Wasamin’s silly autograph with the heart, happyface and star. So cute!  Meetan’s Heart-Butterfly thing ain’t too shabby either!

The posters were a brilliant idea, and people were buying them up by the stack! I ended up coming home with 16 of them, including five from the special Senbatsu Set that came out on Monday. They are now framed and lining the entryway into my house. So I guess you could say my “Casa de Wasa” is itself becoming an AKB48 museum!

I also spent a couple of hours in “the pit”. They had set u a special room for pic trading in the basement of Bellesalle. Just imagine 500 people jammed in a little room. I managed to trade for a Wasamin set, as well as Tani and Rena Kawakami. I would have traded for more, except the local fans seem to think of me as a “mark” for unfair deals. A couple of times I had to exclaim “Baka Janai!” as people would offer me ridiculous trades. I would have loved to have traded for more of my SKE girls, but they seemed to be the least popular team to trade in the room. That said, it was a lot of fun!

I think that sums up just about everything I wanted to talk about for this trip. It was really an awesome time. I did so much, hung out with some old (and new!) friends. Just partied hard AKB-style from landing all the way up to departure. I wish I could stay there for longer stretches. Heck, I wish I could just stay there permanently. But to be honest I think not living there, and visiting as a tourist makes these trips even more special.

I’m not sure when my next trip over will be. But after this one I will have a very hard time keeping my promise of only one trip this year. We will see.

CK in California

I mentioned in my previous post that I won tickets to two major AKB concerts during my trip. The Sousenkyo was one. The other show popped up at the last minute. I decided to double my chances by applying with Pandadash. Lo and behold, we won again. Tickets were available for pickup just four days before the event. Would Panda and I get good seats???

Denied!!! Our seats would be near the ceiling. But that’s okay, we were going to the show. And Budokan isn’t a very big venue. Oh Budokan…

It had always been a dream to see a show there. I grew up with the legendary Cheap Trick at Budokan and countless other classic American artists’ performances there. And here it was, two trips in a row. I finally made it there last year to see Momoiro Clover Z. Seven months later I was back again…

“Oshimen Hayai Mono Gachi” AKB48-Group Kenkyuusei Live at Budokan 2013/06/05

Ahh, the last “add-on” concert of the AKB at Budokan series. When the AKB-Budokan series was originally announced in January I was sorry I couldn’t make it to a show. But now I was getting the chance, although it was for the Kenkyuusei. But why is that a problem?

There are many fans (including some in the West) that feel the Kenkyuusei really don’t get their due. Admittedly I am one of those who doesn’t pay as much attention to the trainees as I should. And it’s too bad. When one takes the time to pay attention, there are quite a few talented girls making their way up the ranks. Case in point, I found Wasamin when she was a brand new Kenkyuusei. It makes me happy that I have been a Wasa-faithful since her very beginning with AKB, and I love the fact that she remembers that. Not that I am looking to replace her, but it is worth the effort to check out the girls struggling to make it within the groups.

Not that there aren’t Kenkyuusei that I like. I have already stated that HKT’s Tani Marika is one of my favorite idols. And what about Kaotan, the eternal Kenkyuusei? I love her personality. Her balsiness makes me want to support her! I also had the chance to meet Iwatate Saho the previous week. Yes, I was going into this concert with total enthusiasm. I was rooting for the Kenkyuusei to put on a great show!

I made it over to Budokan shortly before 2pm. That would give me almost 4 hours until the show started, plenty of time to get goods, right?

Wow, the line wasn’t very long. When I went to see Momoclo the line was at least twice as big, and I got everything I wanted within 90 minutes. However, as short as this line seemed to be, it moved at a snail’s pace. Not to mention we were directly under a glaring sun. Luckily I remembered to wear sunscreen!

It seems that AKB management had decided to release the member buttons in limited quantity, and the fans up front were hoarding them at an unbelievable pace. An hour into the line and most of the popular members were sold out, including Tani, Kaotan and Saho. I guess I wouldn’t be getting any buttons. Over three hours later we were beginning to get close to the front. I managed to pick up a t-shirt, a program, and buttons for Hillary and Yukarun. But time was short, less than a half hour until curtain!

We ran across the street to load up on liquids and to grab a quick smoke. Panda and I then headed into the venue. We were ready for the show!

It was freakin’ hot where we were, but Panda and I were excited for the show. Before it started we were treated to videos of the member’ messages to the fans on the monitors. Then, as the overture rang through Budokan out came the evening’s MC’s. It was Miichan and Kaotan!

Somehow it seemed totally appropriate. Miichan is sort of a mother hen to the trainees, and Kaotan is queen of the Kenkyuusei. So it seemed perfect that they would be hosting the show. My favorite part of the opening MCs was Tani completely trolling Tashima Meru as she introduced HKT. Tani is so full of energy, there is no way you are going to keep her quiet for an entire MC.

After the opening set we were treated to Unit songs, leading off with Miki Nishino doing Acchan’s Nagisa no Cherry. Little did I know, my favorite new Kenkyuusei (Tsuchiyasu Mizuki) was one of the backdancers…

I must admit that I was less than impressed with Kojimako’s First Love. I have heard much better renditions of this beautiful song. Later on I enjoyed Tani and Nakky during Ame no Deboutsen. Speaking of enjoyment…

I feel bad as I do not know the Kenkyuusei as much as I should. on the other hand, Panda is completely into the trainees. He is usually a mild mannered guy, but he was going all out cheering for his favorite girls. I was totally impressed with his energy!

After the units, each team took turns performing hit songs from their respective teams. I was excited as it was the first time I had heard Suki Suki Skip, Oh My God! and Seishun no Laptime performed live. And during the encore we were treated to a first of sorts…

“Let’s Go Kenkyuusei”, which is an alternate version of “Wasshoi B”. But this time over 100 members were featured in the song. It was a sight, and a sound to behold. I can’t wait to see this on DVD as the fans clearly got a kick out of this song going on and on and on….and on! It was long enough to curtail the planned ending, so we didn’t get to see the Kenkyuusei version of Heavy Rotation. But that was okay….

Overall, this show was as exciting as any other AKB48 concert I have ever seen. It didn’t matter that the performers were all trainees. They put on as good of a show as the top members. It is too bad that there are a lot of snobs in this fandom. They miss out on some of the most fascinating aspects of AKB. I certainly learned a lesson that day. There is no reason to think of the Kenkyuusei as a “lesser act”. They are every bit as exciting and entertaining as their senpai. And you never know which young member might tickle your fancy…

Then you can say “I was a fan of her since the beginning!”

CK in California

It has been a while since I have attended a major AKB48 event. If you don’t count TDC Hall, the last major concert I saw live was…Yokohama Arena? Wow, that was three years ago! But it isn’t really a big deal to me. Major venue concerts are not what AKB48 is about as far as I’m concerned.

Back in 2007 when I first started getting into the group, it was the “idols you can meet” and “theater experience” concepts that I bought into. So when I plan my trips over to Tokyo, I make these experiences a priority. There is nothing more fulfilling to me than spending the day shaking hands with and talking to Wasamin. Nothing makes me happier than to win a theater show and watching one of AKB’s teams performing up close. That is the AKB I know and love. It is the perceived intimacy that makes AKB so special. With huge arenas you lose that completely. In fact I would say the biggest thing that makes shows like that worth it are the chance that Togasaki might come out and make a surprise announcement…

But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t go to a major venue event if given the chance. It just so happened that not one, but two major venue concerts fell into my trip window. Luckily, I won tickets for both of them! The first one I got was sort of “poetic justice”. Those of you who know me might remember that I won Google Plus’ Oshimen support contest last year, which included a trip to Tokyo to see the 2012 Senbatsu Sousenkyo at Budokan. Unfortunately I was in the middle of escrow on my house and couldn’t afford to leave the country for the trip. As much as it hurt, I had to pass up the prize. But the world works in mysterious ways…

AKB48 Festival + Senbatsu Sousenkyo @ Nissan Stadium 13/06/08

Almost exactly one year later I won a ticket to the event I so reluctantly missed before. Wow, Nissan Stadium. I have been there before, the place is huge! I sure hope I get a good seat…

I picked up my ticket from the conbini the day after I got to Tokyo. Most of my friends had gotten tickets in the lower stands. I didn’t know anyone with arena/floor seats. But for me, I was in section E26. Oh jeez, that is the Upper Deck! In fact I was nine rows from the top of the Upper Deck. Better bring my binoculars eh? But at least I was going to be in the venue.

The morning of the show arrived, and I had already received word from a friend that the lines for goods were unbelievably huge at Nissan. Before I gave up on getting souvenirs for the show I decided to try the group’s alternate goods venue in Tokyo, which happened to be the AKB48 Cafe. I got there around 30 minutes before opening and was about 50th in line. This was more like it. The show didn’t start for another five hours. There was no reason for me to hoof it out to Yokohama so early, especially for the planned concert/Sousenkyo 6-hour marathon. The Cafe-Shop had most of the goods being offered, only missing the t-shirts of the sister-units. So I was good to go, and still had a couple hours to rest before I headed out.

I got to Shin-Yokohama around 1 pm, and made the trek over to the stadium. Found a couple people selling binoculars, but they were ridiculously expensive AND amazingly ineffective. So I passed. BTW, all of the area restaurants were advertising “AKB48 Special Menu”, which I thought was kinda funny. Upon arrival I was surprised by the mass of food stalls and trucks stationed all around the venue. Jeez, they had everything! Even AKB48 got into the spirit with their own bento boxes. I decided to go lite and grabbed a quick snack and some tea. I spent the next hour people=watching and searching for some of my friends who were also there. But the place was so huge, I didn’t end up finding anyone. I decided to head in…

After grabbing lunch inside (Yes, even the concessions were open!) I climbed up to the top floor and found my seat. Sure I was high, but since Nissan has a curved-in roof I was in the shade. This was a blessing since it was a sunny and humid day AND I was already sunburned. Since it was daytime, they gave us little pink flags (along with the promised Rain Poncho) to wave instead of lightsticks.

Finally the show started, and I immediately realized two things. First, I was really far away. The girls looked so tiny on stage that I pretty much resigned myself to watching on the monitors. Next, the sound system was AWFUL! I’m not sure how it sounded in the rest of the place, but up where I was sitting was really bad. Echo, totally out of sync with the video monitors. I tried to find Wasamin a few times, only being successful once with the monitor’s help. But that was okay with me. I was there mainly to see the Sousenkyo.

The setlist seemed very pedestrian, including the top members (and interestingly Tomu Mutou and Meru Tashima) performing in the units. But I had a great view of the coming action. Why were the next group of girls coming in under a tarp?

I guess it was to hide Kawaei Rina, along with Haste and Waste performing BKA48′s new song. Actually, that is my favorite song and PV on the Sayonara Crawl Single! Other highlights included Tomochin performing 1% and NMB’s new single Bokura no Eureka, which I REALLY like! Happily, the concert portion came to an end so I bailed to the bathroom before the line got long….

Or so I thought. “Chotto Matte!” CinDy’s voice rang throughout the stadium as the graduated members came out to perform one last song. Unfortunately I was in a sea of people moving toward the exit so I walked as slow as possible so I could watch Meetan do her performance. Yes, that was the highlight of the concert of me!

The break was very short, maybe about 20 minutes before the Sousenkyo started. I made it back to my seat in time to watch the girls make their way onto the stage. Obviously management had planned in case of rain, as the girls’ seats were sheltered on the stage. Oh, and for those of you who watched the event online, the announcers did indeed get totally out of sync with the members coming out. I believe they were two teams behind at one point. I waited in anticipation, as the was only one thing I cared about at this moment…

When would Wasamin’s name be called? Where would she rank???

Once again, the speakers echoed badly up where I was. I swear I thought I heard the name Urano Kazumi at #62, it was only when I saw Nacchan on the screen that I realized who got called. However, the speakers were loud and clear when I heard who ranked at #56…

Much like Wasamin, the gamut of emotions ran through me when her name was called. I first felt excited, and admittedly relieved. After her preliminary ran at #62, there was no guarantee that she would rank at all. Although when I heard the lower ranked girls coming in at around 12K votes, I felt good about her chances. I know #56 is quite a drop from her previous rank of #33. But the competition was a lot rougher this year. There were a lot of newer members heavily promoted in ALL of the groups. Wasamin has had a quiet year when compared to her breakout solo effort in 2012. So frankly I wasn’t surprised that we dropped. That said, I am concerned about next year. Hopefully Wasamin will have some exciting goings-on to help her climb back up the ranks.

With that out of the way, I was free to enjoy the rest of the rankings. Hopefully there would be some awesome surprises along the way. Oh yeah, there certainly were…

I was rooting for a few more things to happen. I seriously doubted Meetan would actually rank, and I was okay with it. Would HKT48′s Marika Tani rank? I think we are a year away from that happening. What I really wanted was a shake up of the Senbatsu. Kaotan was so close to the Top 16 in the prelims, could she jump into Senbatsu? I seriously hoped so. I wanted to see WMatsui move up in rank. I wanted Milky and Sayanee. And most of all, I wanted to see someone OTHER THAN Yuko or Mayu at the top!

I wanted to see Sasshi rank #1 in the worst way!!!

It’s not that I am a huge Sasshi fan, but like a lot of fans I am tired of seeing the same 10 members constantly in front of this group. I am ready for the change that will take AKB into their next phase. To me, newer members like Paru, Milky, Kawaei and the like are much more interesting right now. So as girls like Mocchi, Kitarie and Umechan ranked lower, I held a glimmer of hope that the Senbatsu of the future could be coming. Not to mention the fact that I cannot stand antis. I think they are ridiculously immature, and a cancer in the fandom.

Once we got to the Top 16, it was clear who would be there. But in what order? The first breathe of fresh air was Suda Akari at #16. I can’t think of a more perfect girl to make her Senbatsu debut. She is awesome on stage, she is great with her fans. She is just a super-idol, and I am so happy for her.

After watching the NMB girls come in, Sae’s great speech, and who can forget Paruru’s lolzworthy speech at #12? Once again, it’s not that I am a big Paru fan, but I think her antis are a bunch of idiots. I have no expectations of her. So when she stands there with a blank expression I merely giggle. But now there was an interesting dynamic happening in the crowd. Even before the girls’ names were announced, some of the crowd would cheer when they would hear “AKB48 Team…” because they knew Jurina, Rena and Sasshi were even higher. You could see a lot of fans bowing down in prayer, and then pumping their fists. It was awesome, all the way down to #2 And when Yuko was called, you could hear a combined mix of ecstatic cheers and exasperated jeers. It was awesome, even the guy next to me gave me a big High-Five! I have never had so much fun watching the Top 5 ever before. I think quite a few people felt the same way.

And this is why having Sasshi win Senbatsu is so great. Here it is a week later and the conversation about the Sousenkyo is still going strong. I highly doubt we would still be talking about it if “the usual suspects” ranked at the top. This is a great shot in the arm for AKB, and hopefully next year will see even more drastic changes. The fans seem to be embracing the new generation, and that is going to keep the AKB-family going strong for years to come.

Anyway, I jammed out of the stadium as Sasshi started her lap around the infield, and caught the Shinkansen back to Tokyo in record time. It was a good night. Wasamin ranked, Sasshi won, and I completely avoided the massive crowd trying to jam themselves into the JR Yokohama Line. I couldn’t wait to read the shitstorm that would await me on the message boards.

More to come!

CK in California

I have tried not to make a habit out of scheduling shows or events on the day I arrive in Japan. There are too many X-factors at play. Will my plane be late? Will I be held up at immigration for some reason? Will traffic into the city slow me up? I would hate to blow money on a show ticket, only to not be able to make it in time.

 
Only twice I have taken my chances. Once was an SDN48 show that was scheduled almost 7 hours after my plane landed. The other was a Matsuura Aya concert in 2008, which I barely made it to by the skin of my teeth. So yeah, nothing concrete planned for arrival night unless…

 
If I can get to my hotel by 3:45 I might have a chance to get into AKB48 no Anta Dare. For those of you who don’t know, Anta Dare is a show held at the AKB48 Cafe and Shop during the week. It is presented by NOTTV and features two comedians and four select AKB Idols. If you subscribe to AKB48′s Official YouTube channel you have probably seen select shows linked there on a weekly basis.

 
One of the things I love about Anta Dare is the fact that you have a considerable chance to win a ticket for the show…so they say. Last year I tried to get in a few times, and got skunked each time. But the odds had to catch up with me, right? They let 50 people in per show via lottery. On an average day you have 100-150 people line up. So at worst you will have a 33% chance. For this trip my luck definitely changes as I was lucky enough to win twice in three chances!!!

 
It isn’t often that I have guest writers (I think the last time was Ray Mescallado, and that was at least 3-4 years ago) But one of my partners in crime Tensai did a very nice writeup of my very first Anta Dare, so here goes!

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AKB48 no Anta Dare 2013/05/31

CK was flying in on Friday, so we decided to try to meet up for AnDare. The members performing today were:

Sato Amina
Maeda Ami
Miyazaki Miho
Uchida Mayumi

CK had enough time to check into his hotel and rush over to meet me at the cafe. We had to line up almost immediately, and ended up being assigned numbers 39 and 40. While waiting, had a couple people from overseas come over to ask what was going on. (this was a bit awkward as you aren’t supposed to be near the line when the numbers are called if you aren’t in the lottery – but I tried to explain as much as I could).

Sometime between Monday and Friday, they had changed the lottery process. For all my previous shows, the lottery was done by pulling paper slips from a box and reading the number on the slip. Now they were being randomly generated by an iOS app that the staff would show to everyone. (the girl who runs the drawing was explaining to everyone that it was supposed to be displayed on an iPad – but I guess they couldn’t get it working and had to use an iPhone).

Once again they got through all the seats without either my number or CK’s being called. We were kind of in a dead zone (not many called from the 20 – 50 range). With only a few standing room slots left, CK’s number 39 was called. I gave him a quick congrats, and had resigned myself to not making it. When the next number called was 40, the entire crowd remaining let out a big ‘Whoa!!’. Chance no Junban indeed.

I told CK to go to the left side – and ended up in pretty much the same spot I was for the Monday show. Again – really close and a really good view of the stage.

The MC’s were Top Reed. They went through the usual routine, including asking who was there for the first time. I poked CK to raise his hand. The MCs spotted us at that point, so when it was time to ask “Who’s from outside of the Kanto area”, they instead said “Let’s do this different today, who comes from somewhere other than Japan?” Our hands and another person’s went up (I believe they were from Taiwan).

When asked where we were from, I had CK go first. He said he was San Francisco, and when they asked me I said I was from there too (and that we were friends). They made a really big deal about this, and it would be the start of a running gag throughout the entire show. I lost track of how many asides and comments the MC’s made about “the guys from San Francisco” during the show. Then there was some practice for two of the segments. One was how to do a slow standing ovation, the other was splitting the room into two teams for applause (that second one never came into play on the show).

Amina read the rules of the show – and flubbed the first instruction. Which lead to a very frustrated growl from her that got everyone laughing. Then the show started and the members came running out. The intro’s focused on the fact that it was a ‘Mi’ show (all the members have ‘mi’ in their first name) – though that seemed to be flubbed a bit too. Then they called out the fans from outside of Kanto, and when they got to us it became a bit amusing. Aamin was either having trouble pronouncing San Francisco or confusing it with Shanghai, and

The rest of the intro segment focused on Aamin, because her 18th birthday would be the next day. They had her do another intro, this time talking with her eyebrows. This was also the last episode for one of the production staff, so all of the appeal segments were devoted to the girls talking about him. The main segment after were:

THE BEST: In this challenge, the members rank the other team members based a random question. The first was ‘Who is the best smelling member of Team K?’. Aamin did the ranking vs one of the MC’s. Myao was ranked high, along with Natsumi. Aamin’s theme was all the girls who smelled ‘tropical’? I remember there was a lot of discussion about Hawaii.

The second question ‘Who has the most beautiful body parts on Team K’. Ucchi and Amina did the ranking. Ucchi selected Sayaka and Mariyagi and I believe Abe. She really liked Sayaka’s V-shaped face. Amina picked Hirari as number one, followed by Aamin, and then Chikarina. When she had to explain her reasoning it was epic.

If you know Amina, you know she likes boyish girls, so she went off on this long explanation of how cute Hirari is in tight shorts (short pants). Talking and demonstrating how she looks at rehearsal and I swear she nearly started drooling. Everyone was dying of laughter. Then the MC asked why she hadn’t picked Sae, and Amina was like “well I haven’t seen her in short pants yet – but I want too!”

TOUGH CROWD: In this segment, the member has 1 minute to perform some random task to please a very unmoved fan (played by the MC). This is when we had to do the slow standing ovation. Aamin had to make a paper cut out silhouette of the MC, Myao had to craft something with clay (she ran out of time – and ended up making a pea pod), Ucchi had to do a dramatic reading from her photo book, and lastly Amina had to do a moe sketch. Once again, Amina was the star of the show doing a take of a girl chasing after the guy she likes to surprise him.
FAREWELL: The final segment was a farewell to one of the AnDare producers, Tanaka P. They played a slideshow of many of the photos from the G+ posts over the year, and everyone talked about their memories of the occasion or event.

When it was photo time – I wanted to ensure I didn’t have my head cut off again. But the person in front of us was very nice, he had CK and I move in front of him and stay there even when the girls went off stage.

Aamin did the closing announce (after the girls went off-stage), and took a moment to give special thanks to the ‘guys from San Francisco’.

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Thanks Tensai!!!

 
I tried again, this time with Pandadash to get on on June 4th, but was unsuccessful. I had one last chance to get in the night before I flew back to California. This time I would try my luck with Memorybreak. There weren’t too many people there when they started the queue, but it quickly grew to over 100 people. Just before they were going to distribute the number (they write it on your hand with a marker) I noticed that Memorybreak was in the spot to get my lucky number, so I asked him to switch with me. And whaddya know, guess who got picked?

AKB48 no Anta Dare!  2013/06/10

It would be my second AnDare in three tries. Unfortunately Darryl didn’t get in. To make it double heartbreaking, it was his birthday too. Sorry Darryl  For this show I was selected 10th, which would be a great seat! I would be getting a closeup view of:

Matsui Sakiko
Sato Sumire
Tano Yuuka
Sato Amina (for the second time)
The hosts for the night were ChikiChikiJohnny, who I have seen on television before. I swear J-comedians have the strangest names! At least with a new team they would be surprised by my being from San Francisco. There was also a guest from Hong Kong. So in the intro they made reference to the show having an international flavor.

Since this isn’t a handshake event, you don’t get much personal reaction from the girls. Although Amina did wave to me at the very beginning and Sakippe smiled at me. As for Suuchan, she was looking at me with this odd stare.

The highlight of the show was the girls doing voiceovers for one another in short skits. The first one involved Tanochan as a sassy schoolgirl with Sakiko as her mom. Suuchan and Amina were behind me, so I couldn’t see who was doing which voiceover. But since they are both AKB0048 members, they both did an excellent job. I just love Amina’s voice. I am pretty sure she was doing Sakiko. For the second skit it was some thing about Amina angry about a Weekly Playboy, and Suuchan getting a sexy bikini as a gift!

BTW, before the skit started Amina was leafing through the Playboy and exclaiming “woo hoo!” Too funny!

There were other segments, but because of my language barrier I really only got bits and pieces, and sometimes missed out on the context of the segment. But it was just fun watching the girls up close like this!

For the end of the show Tano won the Chance no Junban and got to do the ending announcements. Tano was interesting to watch. She was generally much more shy than the other girls, but would occasionally light up and be very funny.

 
And I had a great spot for the Team Picture!

What I love about this show is the general intimacy of the cafe theater. he overall experience is reminiscent of the old days of AKB, when winning a show was a good possibility. Plus the subject matter really gives the members a chance to relax and be themselves. Overall it is a lot of fun for everyone involved, and I can’t wait to do it again!

 
CK and Tensai in Tokyo

After all of the fun I have had this trip, the one thing I still hadn’t done was won a theater show. The tough part was with the Nissan Stadium show, most of the theaters were closed for the bulk of the week. That didn’t leave me too many chances to win. There was Komori’s final stage. I really wanted to win that, but no such luck. Anna Ishida’s birthday show? Got skunked on that one as well.  It came down to a select few shows…

This is my 11th time in Japan, and I have never come here without winning at least once. Would my lucky streak come to an inglorious end?

I finally got the good news when I returned from Nissan Stadium on Saturday night. I had won via Ippan to see the AKB Kenkyuusei and the 15th generation’s debut.  This was going to be great.  I was getting a first look at AKB48′s newest members in action!

I met Koba and Pandadash in the afternoon. Our plan was to hit the Sousenkyo museum , and then I would cut out for my theater show. When we got to the museum the line was super long. I seriously considered bailing on the museum (I have already visited once) and just get my theater ticket. But I stuck it out since they have a bunch of new post-election exhibits. I will post about the museum later. Finally at 5:15 I jetted out of the museum, and jumped across the street to the Donki.

Paid for my ticket, #154. I jumped downstairs for a quick smoke where I met a couple of young fans who also love Wasamin. I love this Sousenkyo t-shirt I bought at the cafe! I have been wearing it everywhere and getting endless comments and thumbs-up. Anyway, I wished them luck on the entrance lottery and headed back upstairs.

Went though the usual formalities with the queuing process. In fact I saw a bunch of what looked like parents being led in as special guests.  I am thinking these were the moms and dads of a few of the new girls.   But now it was time for the lottery. First up…
150-159. Oh hell yes!!! First row again! This was my 31st theater show. For my first 27 I never made it closer than 4th row. But three of the last four have gotten me a 1st row seat. And this was the second time I have been front row center. This show was going to be awesome, except…

I am not as well versed in the kenkyuusei as I should be. Sure, there are some that I know about and like. But the majority of them are a mystery to me. Throw in the 15th gen debut, and I was seeing a lot of girls I knew nothing about. This could be a huge problem with me in the front row. I better figure them out quickly, or I am going to feel like an idiot. So here was the plan…Pay close attention during the opening set, listen attentively during MCs, and go from there.

Show begins, the crowd is giggling because they screwed up the opening chant in Shonichi. Right off the bat, Miki Nishino is in my face. 30 seconds in and I already love this girl. But I knew she wasn’t a new member. I spent the first two songs wondering which were the new members. I knew Komiyama Haruka was new since she was so unique looking. But what about this super tall and skinny girl? Was she new? She keeps trying to get my attention. There is one gangly looking girl, and what about this intense looking one? Then I found her…

One girl kept looking at me. I wasn’t sure if she was new or not. But I thought she was extremely cute. Just something about her made me want to pay attention to her the entire time. Not too young, but a very pretty face…

During opening introductions Miki took the lead. Now my first reaction was to go for her. But I could tell she was extremely popular. I like underdogs. The tall skinny one who keeps looking at me? Maeda Mitsuki…not really my type. Super-intense girl? Okada Nana. And the foreign looking girl? Shinobu Mogi. So now I knew who the players were. Oh yeah, the one I was totally into???

Tsuchiyasu Mizuki. Oh wow, she is brand new. I am going to have fun with her tonight!

On to the units, and I was having a great time playing with any girl who landed in front of me on stage. I was pointing, doing the hand motions, cheering, doing all I could to get their attention. Although it is pretty easy for someone like me. Big gaijin with a goatee, not to mention my Wasamin shirt. I might as well have been wearing a neon sign. Then came Kogami no Naka no Jeanne d Arc…

Oh my, my new love is already centering a song! Yeah, she is good. I am totally focused on her, and she is totally focused on me. She couldn’t stop looking my way. For the rest of the show it was more of the same. Not to mention other members were also looking right at me, and I didn’t want to be rude. Maeda Mitsuki had her eyes on me all night as well.

Now I am sure many of you want to hear about the other 15th gen members. All of them were there except for Nana Owada…

I’m sorry, Owada Nana must have been off of my radar, because she was indeed there. Struggling to remember. I believe I thought she was cute, but I was thinking she was 14th gen.

I already mentioned Komiyama Haruka. Very cute, always smiling. She will be great after she gets more comfortable.
Yumato Aimi. Reminds me of Haruu. Not my type at all.
Fukuoka Seina is a lot like Nakky looks-wise. But kind of quiet.
Ichikawa Minami was very good. I was surprised she was a debut member.
Mion and Kiara were both very cute, but look extremely young! I try to avoid the baby-girls

That said, they all did a great job with the performance.

Anyway the rest of the night was me looking at Mizuki, Mizuki looking at me, me trying not to look at Mizuki. Looking at Miki, looking back at Mizuki since she is looking at me. For me, being in the front row means I want to make as many of the girls feel acknowledged as possible. And with the 15th gen, I wanted to carry them through the show. Not that they needed it.

The setlist finally ended with Sayonara Crawl. I screamed “Omedetou!” to the 15th gen and Maeda Mitsuki nodded to me in approval. As they left the stage every girl came up to me at one point, Mizuki found me twice. But not to be outdone, Okada Nana came up to me and blew me a kiss! (???) Then came High Touch…

once again, there are times when it is great to be a foreigner. High Touch is one of them. At least half of the girls exclaimed when I came by them. Nana held my hand tightly, as did Miki. they were all great, but I was looking for one girl…

She saw me coming from two girls away. I slid by the two girls in front of her (not sure who they were, sorry) and gave Mizuki a big congratulations. It was a great interaction! Her reaction was just as awesome! I am so happy that I got to be her first major fan experience. In fact I feel so lucky to be able to make such an impression on the 15th gen in their debut! The bummer is that I go back to California in 2 days. I would love another chance to interact with Mizuki. Oh well, it will have to wait. Hopefully I get back to town soon. And if I do, Mizuki will be on my handshake shortlist. Nana and Miki may make the cut as well!

Just don’t tell Wasamin I was looking at other girls! 

EDIT: Ya know, I forgot to put anything of real substance about the 13th-14th Kenkyuusei in the show…

Nishino Miki: was my favorite to watch. She clearly reminds me of Jurina when it comes to skill and intensity. She commands your presence and is great at interacting with the audience. She was in front of me quite often and I enjoyed her performance immensely.

Okada Nana: My first thought was that she was sort of intense and introverted, kind of like Tomochin or maybe Mariko. Very cute, and the more I watched her the more I liked her. And of course she did seem to react to me quite well!

Maeda Mitsuki: My first thought was that she wasn’t my type of idol. Kind of reminded me of Yurina Kumai from Berryz Kobo. But she is super-genki and energetic on stage. Paid a lot of attention to me as well, so I will give her props for some excellent fishing-work! 

Aigasa Moe: Gets a lot of attention from the fans (and the other girls) for being super-cute.

It was another awesome theater experience.  I am so happy!  I am coming toward the end of my trip.  Hopefully I can find a few more idol-ly things to do before I head back to California.

CK in Tokyo