Chuo Dori

So one of the problems with visiting the same city over and over is finding enough new stuff to do.  Not that Japan lacks in cultural and leisure activity.  But I am always happiest when I am doing something idol related. So how does one keep it fresh when they have done the traditional idol stuff over and over?  That’s where it’s advantageous to have a solid network of friends…

One of my friends, an old AKB48 fan and I planned a meetup.  Although we had spoken online before, this was the first time we were going to hang out together.  He is a somewhat well known fan, so I was excited.  What I didn’t know was that he had a little tour planned for me that I would never forget!

CK’s Sacred AKB48 Sites and Meetan Hometown Tour 2012!!

I took the train out to Chiba where my friend picked me up.  To start this day he would be treating me to a nice Yakiniku lunch, my favorite!  I had never hung out in Chiba before, but it wasn’t lost on me that this was not only the hometown of Ohori Megumi, but also the hometown of Wasamin.  I was getting a chance to see firsthand the neighborhoods they experienced growing up.  This idea helped me feel even more connected to them than before.  My friend explained to me that he shared the same Alma Mater with Meetan, so our first stop was going to be Meetan’s High School!

My first thought when we arrived was “So here is where she learned to be so pervy!”  Next we drove around the neighborhood looking at houses.  We had no idea where Meetan lived as a teen, but it was fun knowing that we probably passed through her neighborhood.  We also passed through an area known as “Chiberly Hills” which is known for it’s large and lavish houses.    Later we came to another school where Meetan’s first Image DVD was filmed.  However, we couldn’t go in since they seemed to be holding an event that day.

Along the way my friend decided to tweet at Meetan telling her that he was showing me her old neighborhood.  She actual tweeted back something nonsensical, but we took this as a “10-4″.  So Ohori knew I was on her turf!  Eventually we ended up at this bakery…

According to my friend Meetan has often recommended this place, especially for the Curry Pan.  Of course we had to try it out.  I sauntered right up to the counter and ordered “Ohori Megumi no Curry Pan o kudasai!”.  The girl behind the counter laughed, as she knew exactly what I was talking about.  As we continued to browse the shop we asked the owner if she had seen Meetan in there lately.  She said she had seen her before, but not lately.  We took our breads to go as we were both still full from lunch.  In fact I didn’t even try my curry pan until that evening…

The review???  Ohori Megumi no Curry Pan is excellent!!!  Later that week I tried curry pan at a couple of other places, and it wasn’t nearly as good.  So thanks for the awesome tip, Meetan!

We wound our way further East and headed for the coast.  I was a beautiful drive, passing beach resorts and surf shops.  It was definitely a part of Japan I had never seen before.  Eventually we found the beach we were looking for.  You see we weren’t looking for any beach.  We are idol fans.  So what better beach to go to than the one at which they filmed the Bingo! PV.

This was November, so there weren’t too many people around.  My friend said it was called “Desert Rose Beach”, named after the song that played on a loop outside the building in front of the sand.  The building?  You know, the one the girls are in at the end of the PV!

Anyway, it was neat to feel the energy of the ghosts of AKB PV’s past.  But it was getting late, and we had one more destination.  Frankly, all of the driving was wearing me out.  We also kept stopping so I could re-stock on Vitamin C.

I couldn’t believe how long this drive was.  It was getting dark.  All of the sudden I asked myself “How well do I know this guy?  He is driving me into the middle of nowhere!”  He kept saying we were getting close but an hour later we were still driving!  As panic began to set in he assured me that we were just about there…

And there it was.  I could see it over the hill.  For AKB48 fans this might be their version of Mecca…

“The Aitakatta Lighthouse”!

We parked our car at the bottom and began walking up.  In a way it reminded me a bit of San Francisco’s Coit Tower.  We finally got to the staircase where two Obasan’s were chatting by a conbini.  My friend explained I was a foreign AKB48 fan, to which they responded amusingly.  Yah, I get that a lot in Japan.  Anyway, we traversed the long staircase until we final reached the top…

First of all, the entire space was tiny, and a bit torn up.  It is amazing that they filmed so many scenes of the PV in this little space!  But the view was spectacular!  You could see all the way across to Yokohama.

By this time I was exhausted and just wanted to get back to my hotel room.  So we made the long drive back to Chiba where I would catch a train back to Tokyo.  Along the way my fever made a huge jump, causing me major dizziness and horrible chills.  I am sure I looked absolutely awful as I got a few curious stares from the other passengers.  But I made it.  I survived the day, as well as the next one with Momoclo.  And even the following day when I won a Team K Waiting Stage Show.  Sure, it is my least favorite of the three teams.  But these days fans should be happy to win anything!  Hopefully on my next visit I will get to see Wasamin and Team B.  Or maybe even an SKE win.  Now that would be awesome!

So I think that wraps up everything I have to share from last Fall’s trip.  I will try to be more timely and descriptive when I head back late Spring/Early Summer.  I will leave you with photos I took of the birthday flowers for the two Kenkyuusei Okada girls.  Their fans did an excellent job!

Just lovely.  The one with the lights is great!

CK in California

Life has a way of keeping people busy, and this has been a very busy 2012 for me.  Enough that I have wondered whether or not I will be able to make a second trip to Tokyo this year.  If certain things fall into place i will, but there is no guarantee.  That said…

I mentioned on my previous post that I had entered a “good luck” message for Wasamin into the Google+ Grand Prix contest.  I just thought it would be fun to participate, anwho knows.  Maybe I could win that special message if I am lucky.  But then I woke up Monday to a mysterious email…

Dear Applicant,

Thank you very much for applying for the official fan reporter, and
participating in the "AKB48 Grand Prix Search for the #1 Fan."

Considering the number of +1's on your post and registered
information, we would like to offer you the opportunity of becoming an
AKB48 General Election reporter on 6/6.

Please read carefully through the information below.

■Please wait for a phone call between 10:00AM to1:00PM on May
30th(Wed, PST) from a travel agency to the telephone number [
xxx-xxx-xxxx ]  which was registered in the entry form.

* If the telephone number you have registered is not reachable during
the time above, please send us an email immediately with a different
phone number.

■If there is no answer or the call is not returned within the
timeframe listed above, your offer will be canceled and be given to
the next candidate. Please make sure you are reachable by phone.

■Detailed information regarding your arrival to Japan will be given to
you by the travel agency on the phone.

*If by any chance we find that you have not fulfilled or have breached
any terms of participation, your offer will be invalid.

--
The AKB48 G+ Management Team

OMG, I had won the contest!  This was a dream come true.  I would be going Japan and getting to see the election.  This is going to be the most ama…..

And then life came into play.

To say that I feel devastated…totally in agony would be an understatement.  But given certain issues in my life right now it was just going to be irresponsible to jet out to Tokyo…even for just a few days.  I was practically in tears when I had to tell the contest reps that I would have to give up the prize.  What could have been one of the most amazing experiences in my life has turned out to be one of the most painful…go figure.  But I’ll get over it…

At least I hope I will.

Anyway, I want to congratulate Joe from We’re Namba One for getting the prize in my place.  Have an awesome time dude!  Maybe you can bring me back a little something (like Wasamin!) for giving you the prize.

I guess everything happens for a reason.  But right about now I could really use something wonderful happening in my life.  For having to give up an amazing prize like this, I think I deserve it.

CK in California

Warning, this is going to be long. Oh, and another warning. I might be slightly mixing up the order of events. It was a long show, and a lot of emotional stuff happened…

SDN48 Final Concert at NHK Hall 3/31/2012

So yeah, I am in Japan again. You surprised? I said that I would be aiming for this concert since the day they announced SDN’s graduation. But I almost didn’t make it to the main event I came here for…

After months of worrying about being able to score tickets for SDN’s graduation, they finally announced the ticket lottery. I had a lot of friends applying, so I was reasonably confident about getting a ticket. However, they did announce a “random id check”, which all but ruled out obtaining one from a reseller. Anyway, we didn’t have any luck with the ticket lottery, so I had resigned myself to the fact that I was probably going to miss the show. It wasn’t until the wee hours of Saturday morning that my friend found someone with extra tickets. They weren’t the greatest seats, and they were quite pricey, but we went for it anyway.

I spent the entire morning and afternoon with Tenkun and friends at the Wasamin mini-live, then headed over to Harajuku to meet my friend and the girl wth the tickets. BTW, it was raining, windy as hell, and freakin’ freezing in Tokyo. The doors were supposed to open at 5pm, so we queued up around 15 minutes before. Doors opened almost 25 minutes late. By then I was totally numb. So I skipped the goods line and went to my seat in order to thaw out. Basically missed out on trading pics. The t-shirt had already sold out. But enough of my yappin…let’s boogie!

I am guessing many of you have alrady seen the setlist…and the stage setup since tgsk posted it during the show.  If not, then here ya go.  I didn’t get the jungle theme, along with the door to “Club SDN”. The vines actually blocked the monitor from my view. Show started with the standard SDN overture into Sado e Wataru, which was a curious opener. But they did a very cool rain effect over the stage. That was neat. So the opening set ended, and I figured “Okay, they will do most of their songs, then a tearful goodbye, and that will be it” But then, something strange happened…and I swear I am choking back tears as I write this…

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring – J.S. Bach?

It was at this moment that I felt this concert was going to be special. It was like, wow, this is REALLY going to be graduation! The pipe organ played for a long time. I was waiting for something to happen Then suddenly two men appeared on stage guarding the door to Club SDN. And these guys were not Japanese. Three members, I don’t remember who was there other than CinDy tried to enter the club, but were blocked by the guards. Then Sayanee came out and asked the guards, in English, how they could get through the door. He responded that you had to knock three times. So the girls all knocked and went in. Next Konan showed up and asked the same question, but this time the guards yelled at her in the Kansai dialect!

The stage setup then changed to inside the club, with a bar, lounge, pool table and dancer poles. Then we got the standard show open with Saturday Night Party, Never, and Black Boy. Both gen’s teams were onstage for this. Then after the first verse of Black Boy, just as the crowd started the 2nd mix, the music changed. They began to intro the members in small groups, each doing a mini-performance while a VTR played above. There was hip-hop, ballet, bubble gum pop, you name it! To me the ballet one was the best. I don’t remember what everyone did, except that Meetan was in a group that did pole dancing ala Dump Show, and Chaki was in the hip-hop group. It was the greatest version of Black Boy ever! Too funny! Onto the next skit, and the first guest star of the night…

Cut to the bar, and some of the girls were hanging out, drinking with the bartender who was curiously “tounguing” a highball glass…Yama-chan! If you don’t know who I mean, he is the ref from the Janken. Masamin sort of led the skit, but Miray and Serina were also there. At one point Yama-chan started making fun of Serina’s voice. That led into the next set of songs…

Now the way they did the units, both team’s units were onstage simultanously. In the case of I’m Sure they were on each side of the stage. As for Yuuwaku no Garter (which was later in the show) the girls shared the same chairs, but on the final verse half of them performed on the stripper poles. At one point Mamitan did an insane split on the pole!!! Full crotch shot for everyone!

There was also a skit before all in, with the girls playing pool. At one point Nonti decided to try a “trick shot”, but failed miserably…TWICE! Didn’t even hit the ball. Then she just threw the cue ball across the table.

FYI, they did the PG-rated version of Futsuu no Anata, and it was about this point in the show that it became apparent the entire catalog was going to be performed.

Queue our next special guest, Mino Monta, who got an amazing reception from the crowd. He had some nice things to say about SDN, then he sat on the couch with the girls from the single. Meetan was totally perving out on Monta-san. They poured him a stiff drink as well. In fact, there seemed to be a lot of alcohol onstage throughout the show. I would like to think it was all real! But before they could perform the song, Rachel came out for her solo while Monta and the girls watched.  Oh, and when they sang Monta-san’s single, the fans’ call for him was louder than the girls!

In the next segment we got Kazue and Cha-min’s new songs. I was so excited to hear Chaki’s new song! I love Kazue, but I thought her song was just okay. Some great moments from the next segment…

Meetan chasing Yamachan around the stage with her whip during Jaujama Lady, the champagne pouring going on behind Onedari Champagne. And of course seeing everyone doing Tamanegi!! Next was the Nachu MC, where she did her impressions. We got to hear a little Daruma, Natsuko/Akiko, Chaki, a few others I can’t remember. The Natsuko/Akiko one was classic, with Natsuko sounding like an airhead and Akiko sounding dopey! And of course her big finale, Takamina.

I think it was at this pont when the speeches started between songs. Various members, featuring the former AKB girls talking about what the graduation meant to them. But then things would lighten up and they would go into the next song. They did both of their AKB covers, whh pretty much sealed that all of their songs would be performed. Oh, and I absolutely loved “1 Gallon no Ase“. Very cute song! When they performed Aisureru Tame ni, each gen’s members shared their respective lines. And since they had so many members on stage, the spelled out SDN simultanously instead of the letters one at a time. With that, the regular set had finished.

It had been predetermined, and communicated by a note on a white glowstick that the graduation committee would lead the encore, and it would be done as SDN…FORTY-EIGHT! It was deafening! At points it was so loud that you couldn’t hear the words anymore.

The first encore finished up all the songs remaining, with tearful goodbye’s from select members. The cameras would often cut to the girls that were crying the hardest. My poor little Chaki! At one point I thought she was going to fall over she looked so distressed! Also, one of Nonti’s MCs was a rundown of chart positions for all of the singles and the album, and a big thank you to the fans for supporting them. But when Kodoku finished and the girls left the stage it was obvious the show wasn’t over since they hadn’t done their official graduation song yet! Cut to the longest and loudest ever “Encoree” I have ever experienced. And then…

Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring. The Bach music returns?  OMG, it is really graduation time!

I forget the order that everything happened. But at one point Nonti was beside herself crying. Pretty much everyone was crying onstage. I think it was this point that the girls went silent and all you could here was pretty much the entire audience sobbing. It was freaking amazing! I wondered what tgsk thought when this happened. Perhaps he was crying too?  Oh, I forget. He was busy Google Plussing. Anyway, the girls came out all dressed in white. First they performed their new single. Then came the “final call” Nonti asked that all of the girls say their name one last time onstage, and the crowd call it back. It was so hard, I was so choked up that I was even having trouble speaking. But I muscled it up when my favorite members’ turns came.

Finally, they performed Owaranai Encore, and we all lit our last white glowstick. Although the effect from where I was sitting was slightly dimmed because the stage was fully lit at the time. Then, for the fans, a second dose of Kodoku na Runner. After a tearful double-bow with a huge SDN chant in the middle, they left the stage. Meetan being the last one to go. They did a closeup on her face…she was crying her eyes out.

As you left NHK there was a beautiful collage with messages from all the members. It was really hard to get close to it, but I did get a side shot to give you an idea…

Final thoughts…

At first I was thinking that management really “phoned in” the planning for this concert. It seemed kinda hokey in the beginning. But as the show progressed I started to see how perfect it really was. Pretty much all of the MCs and skits were unscripted. Tons of goofy things were happening as the show worked up to it’s emotional finale. At the end I think everyone in the audience had to be satisfied. It was a fitting goodbye. Perfect in it’s imperfection. The girls being completely authentic. It was everything SDN is all about, as far as I am concerned. And when you make an entire audience cry, you are doing something right.

And I think about the select few that called SDN a “failure”, and that their concept was “off the mark”, “too sexy”, and whatever else. I don’t think those people truly saw what SDN48 was really about. Sure, they had a sexy side. But in truth that was just a small piece of SDN. they were about fun, they were about authenticity. And more than any other spoke in the AKB wheel, they were about a true comeraderie with their fanbase. Perhaps it was because they are more mature, but the bond they had with their fans was very strong. The manifestation of that was this unbelievable concert that I will remember forever.

And suffice it to say, I will never again be able to listen to that Bach piece without thinking of SDN.

I did a couple of other neat things this weekend, I will post about them later.

CK in Tokyo

Actually I have been home for about six days.  I swear I am going to finish up this Japan series as I have more to share, including more of my ‘GETS’.  And that reminds me…

During my many trips from JR Akihabara Station to the area of the DQ.  For some reason I like taking the escalator up to UDX and crossing over to the DQ instead of walking out to Chuo Dori (hehe) and walking with the crowds.  There is a giant screen on the side of the UDX building playing random videos.  Yes, the same one I saw Kozue’s PV playing.  During the first few days I was there they kept playing this manic PV from some cute idol I had never seen or heard of before.  It wasn’t until I checked Ishimaru’s appearance site that I figured out who the girl was.  Her name is Aso Natsuko and the song is called More-more Lovers.  At that point I had to buy the CD!

And whaddya know?  She is on the same label Momoiro Clover originated from, Stardust!  The cool thing was she had a handshake appearance scheduled for Thursday.  Even when I bought the CD the guy at the counter invited me to go to her appearance.  But unfortunately I couldn’t go as it coincided with one of the SDN shows I had won.  So many idols…So little time

I was also disappointed that the CD didn’t come with the PV, which I think is great!  It has finally shown up on YouTube, so here ya go.  Enjoy!

Oh, and I also finally found Aikawa Kozue’s ‘Ruka Ruka’ CD.  Silly me, I figured the best place to look for it was at the many Anime/CD stores that line the streets of Akiba.  But none of them had it.  Where did I find it???  Tower Records, DUH!!!

I love the back cover.  So sexy Kozue!!!  What I didn’t know is it came with two Kozue dance PVs.  So well worth the buy, and I love the song!  Anyhow, more to come…

CK in California

You may notice that I skipped days 5-7.  That is because aside from one SDN48 show, I spent much of those three days doing non-idol related things like shopping, sightseeing and meeting friends.  I needed to save my energy because the weekend promised a whole bunch of activity beginning with Friday night at Tokyo Tower…

I make it a tradition to visit Tokyo Tower at least once per trip to see the Tokyo Tower girl Umeda Ayaka spin records for a couple hours.  It was at this event that I got a first hand look at how popular AKB48 is getting.  But first I stopped at Pizza-LA for a quick bite, and who did I see?  It was Pete from Hello!Online!  I had met Pete last year at the Tanaka Reina birthday show.  He had been in Japan for about a month with fello H!O-er Oroburous (sorry if I misspelled your handle).  They had been traveling around the country seeing various H!P acts, and had even found the time to catch AKB48 and Momoclo.  Anyhow, the three of us caught the elevator up to the observatory…

It is amazing how popular AKB48 is.  Two years ago I came to the Umechan event, and maybe there were 20 or so fans there.  Last Spring it was more like 50-60.  But this time?  Wow!  At least a couple hundred to see her spin records and chat for a while!  I could barely get close enough to see her.  But she was loose, and having fun with the fans.  I excused myself a little early because I figured the elevators down would be a madhouse after her show ended.  But still a fun time…

This was the first time I have gone to a release event like this for AKB. I did go to Momoclo’s CD release at the same venue the other day. I am so glad I went, it was so much fun.

I got there late, and everyone was lining up to go up to the room. I asked the guy running it if the show was sold out, he said no and quickly grabbed a copy of her DVD for me to buy. Cool, although I think there was some sort of screw-up as I didn’t get the ticket for any of the goodies. That would end up being a cool story later…

Yukarin came out in a cute little outfit wearing this silly thing on her head. It looked like a triangular pillow with masking tape on it. The moderator interviewed her about the photoshoot for the DVD, all the while with SDN48 songs playing in the background. It went on for 20 minutes or so. Then it was time for the first photoshoot….

You had to bring a regular camera (not a cellphone) and you could take from one to four shots with her posing for you. They said the ticket I had was good for one shot, but when I got to the front they asked where my other ticket was. I said this was all I was given. I told them it was okay and turned back to my seat when one of the other fans ran up and handed me a ticket. So I got to take one shot. When I got up to her she said “Oh, hi!” which got a laugh from the crowd. There were about 100 people there in total…

From my own camera Yayyyy!

Ofter another short interview segment it was time for handshakes and autographs. She had pre-signed the CD covers. And when it was my turn I was determined to talk to her in Japanese. Once again as I shook her hand she said “Hello, thank you!”. I said in my best Japanese “Thank You Yukari-san, I think Gagaga is really great! I love SDN!” She thanked me and asked me something. But I didn’t know what she was asking me. I just said “Hai” and she said “Okay” Once again, giggles from the audience.

When I got to the goods table once again I didn’t have the right ticket, but her manager gave me one autograph sheet. That was fine, it was all I really came for anyway. To be honest I don’t know why I wasn’t given that other ticket. I did everything the sign said in order to get the goods from the event. But whatever…

Finally at the end it was time for 2-shots. I had already played my “gaijin-card” twice, so I decided not to push it and skipped this part.

At the end she thanked everyone as she left. But at the last moment she stuck her head back out and looked for me. When she spotted me she said “Thank You!” and waved which was too funny. Got a laugh from everyone, including her manager!

I was really happy because of all the SDN girls, I have never really “connected” with Yukarin during all of the High-Touches I have been through. So to connect with her at this event made me really happy. I’m sure the next time I do High-Touch with her it will be a totally different experience.

Makuhari Messe “Chara-Ani” Handshake Event 11/14

Let me start by saying my legs and feet are killing me after spending 12 hours in that place meeting idols. But it was well worth it. Got on the train at 6:45 to make it down to Chiba for doors. The goods line was already huge! I had no idea how long the handshake lines would be, so I blew off goods for the time being. Although the line was pretty short to exchange unwanted beginner pics for Suuchan and Lovetan, so I did that. I had 23 tickets for 10 different members, I also had a few exchanges with members I didn’t have tickets for. My god there were soooo many people there, tons more than the 2-shot event at Big Sight in the Spring.

They were playing a loop of videos on the monitors, including the Yoyogi DVD, the latest Shukan DVD, K5, Beginner PV, Hebirote PV, Yokohama DVD and the 19th single Chance no Junban!!! Also, my name on the chara-ani sheet was a Katakana version of my “not Japanese” name, which got many chuckles from the staff.

I did manage to pick up three of the microfiber towels (Wasamin, Moeno and Mikapon) and the Shukan DVD when the goods line died down. Also, the birthday committees for Yukarin and Suzuran both came up to me and specifically asked me to write a birthday greeting in English for their oshis. Yukarin’s fans remembered me from the Ishimaru event.

Keep in mind that most of my convos were in my horrific Japenglish, and for every girl below I had at least two tickets. Also, each interaction was about 5-10 seconds. It might seem short, but for a moonspeak-challenged gaijin like me it is a godsend!

Wasamin: I had four tickets. I spaced them out for one each hour she was there. All of my interactions with Wasamin are always pure heaven. I showed her the 2-shot we took in the spring. We talked about the Singapore show (she said she liked Singapore). I congratulated her on her Karaoke win and told her I saw her Ude wo Kunde performance. And of course I told her how much I adore her. I got two seperate “I Love You”‘s from Wasamin. And everytime she would see me soming up her line she would turn to me and smile. Yatta!

Next to Wasamin was Anna from KII, who smiled and waved to me a couple times. I also ran into Shiichan as she entered her booth while I left Wasamin the first time. Apparently they were fiming Shiichan as a follow up to that recent Shukan episode. Also, Nakatsuka Tomomi was in the end slot, and leaving that area always brought you within two feet of her, so I saw a lot of Kurisu

Haachan: I am pretty sure Haa remembered me from the Spring. I commented on how cute her haircut is, and that Gold Rush is my favorite song from A6 (well, that and Zuttox2). I think I mentioned that I think she gets the best units. Just goes to show, the last time I met her it was kind of awkward since I had never spoken to her before. But this time was better.

CinDy: Had her cute little Tiara on. I imitated her Suppon no Onnatachi narration voice. And told her how much I like Gagaga. She asked me what my name was and where I was from. Not that she didnt remember me, but I guess I had met her enough that she decided she wanted to know. CinDy is always great!

Komori: My first time seeing Komori. She is sooooooo sweet, and had the hottest pair of shorts on in the place. She listened intently as I said the Komori version of Hebirote is the best, and she should come perform in the USA. (Just stretching to come up with stuff to say). I said I love watching Komori. For a first time meeting I thought it was great!

Moeno: I wasn’t sure if she remembered me from LA, so I asked and she said she did. Okay, so maybe. I got sort of tongue tied but I did manage to tell her that Bungee was kakoii! She asked me my name as the guard pushed me out, and she stretched her arm out like to say “No, come back!” Cute!

BTW, I walked right past Miichan and Mayu coming back from break as I left Moeno. But the security was there so I just kept walking…

Chaki (SDN): I have seen a lot of Chaki this trip as I have won quite a few SDN shows. I told her I loved her sexy scene in Eros no Trigger, and she went “Yeahhhhhh!!!!!”. And of course I mentioned how much I love SDN, which I’m sure she already knows. Chaki is adorable.

Chenchu was next to Chaki, and didn’t have much of a line. She waved to me while I waited for Chaki and gave me a sad little frown.

Tanamin: First time I have met Tanamin. Her little hippy “Batman” outfit was too cute! I have to admit my conversations with her were slightly awkward. I was trying to say I had wanted to meet her for a long time, but it just didnt come out right.

Harukyan: Poor Harukyan looked exhausted. She isn’t used to having six slots at these events. She stayed seated throughout the slot I saw her in, and repeatedly put her head down. I believe they shut her line down early to give her an extended rest. I was attempting to mention how much I love the phrase “Harucan Doit”, but then she proceeded to tell me her name was Haruka and asked me my name…Huh? Yeah, she was tired. Still, Harukyan is so cute!

Nakayan: First time actually talking to Nakayan, I met her very briefly last year, and did High Touch with her last week. I was attempting to tell her that I love coming to Japan and seeing AKB48. She asked where I was coming from. I basically told her it was nice to finally meet her.

Ahh, too funny…While I waited for Nakayan the first time Nonti was in the next booth with nobody coming. She kept daring me to jump the rope and come to her instead

Last but not least…

Meetan: I had three Meetan tickets. The first thing she said was that now she knew what I was saying to her at High Touch last week. (I said I would see her this weekend) Meetan always asks me if I am coming back around again to see her. Whe I came around again she said (in Japanese). Wow, this is third time right? We talked about Gagaga. I told her I saw her Music Japan appearance live. I told her how cute her outfit was. Meetan does that happy noise she makes when she gets excited. I loved every minute of it. Once again, it gets easier to communicate (even with the language barrier) when I meet people like Meetan multiple times.

Oh, later on while I was waiting on my last Nakayan ticket, Meetan went full “Hug/Kiss Attack” on Chikarina in front of everyone! Gotta love her!

I also got closeup looks at Sae, Tomo-mi, Kitarie, Natsumin, Sakippe, Suuchan, Sayanee, Kato Mami, Machiko, Amina, Aamin, Yuko, Maachan, Umechan, Uchida, Reinyan and Myao since they were all in booths close to the girls I had tix for.

It was an awesome event and a total reminder of why I am an AKB48 fan! And I sa a lot of old friends I had met on previous trips over. Now I need sleep!

CK in Tokyo

Okay, where do I start?

As of this writing this is actually my 7th day in Japan.  I got here last Friday night and was greeted with a good old-fashioned California-style earthquake.  Jeez, it’s like I never left home!  Anyway, there’s a lot on tap for this Fall Vacation.  And I still have quite a bit to do before I leave a week from now.

As a fan of AKB48, you need to pick your Japan travel time very carefully.  I mean I would hate to travel all the way here and just see one AKB show…and nothing else.  So there were two catalysts for this trip.  First, the Beginner chara-ani handshake event coming up on the 14th.  I managed to score 23 tickets to this event, most of which are for my favorite members Wasamin and Meetan.  But I did manage to win for CinDy, Chaki, Haachan, Nakayan, Moeno, Harukyan, Tanamin and…Komorinnn!  Oh, Mikapon!!!  I cannot wait to finally meet her.  It is going to be great!

The second big event was the release of Momoiro Clover’s Pinky Jones single.  The girls have been heavily promoting their single for the past month, and I difinitely wanted to hit at leaat a couple of their release events.  But before any of that…

A Whole Bunch of AKB/SDN Shows Right in a Row

Who said it was impossible to win shows?  Before I had even set foot on Japanese soil I had already won three.  Last Saturday not only was I going to see Wasamin and the new Team A stage, but I also won the opportunity to return to see Meetan and SDN48.  And if that wasn’t enough, the SDN show was going to be a TRIPLE BIRTHDAY event for CinDy, Chaki and Chenchu.  Man, this was going to be awesome!

For Team A Harugon and Rabu were out for WH handshake event, and Nyan was last minute sick-leave, so in their place were Nakamura Mariko, Nagao Mariya and Ichikawa Miori who is really a fan favorite! She is so tiny! That girl is almost 17 years old??? She looks about 7 in person!

I loved Akicha’s hairstyle! Straight and long with forehead showing. It really made her look alot more mature!

Of course I spent most of the show watching everything Wasamin was doing. Just when I was ready to roar her name in the MC she rips off Natsumin’s MC catchphrase, causing WTFs from everyone, including the other members. I think this is a running bit for her, looking for an MC shtick and repeatedly screwing it up. Also when Natsumi listed the girls not there she forgot to mention Kojiharu. The crowd kept muttering “Haruna? haruna? Kojiharu?” Then Shiichan said told her she forgot Nyan, so she started over LOL. BTW, I was fully expecting a larger than usual applause for Shiichan after her Shukan episode. But there was nothing. I guess the noon shows are usually pretty sedate. Speaking of sedate…

This was the quietest theater crowd I have ever heard! It really says something when I am one of the Top 5 most vocal people in the room! Hardly any mixes, non-existent girl calls. Nobody trying to follow the girls’ hand movements. Just mostly clapping to every song. There were also a couple of little kids at the show.

FYI, Mocchi subbed for Nyan in her unit and did a great job. IIRC Nakamura subbed for Rabu in the same song.

At the very end of the show after the bow Sasshi ran Wasamin back onto the stage so she could do another intro, and she imitated Ichikawa’s LOL! Oh Wasamin!!!

During High Touch I am always interested to see the reactions as I have met most of Team A before. Wasamin was first in line, and since she and I have met quite a few times it was one of the best reactions I have ever gotten. She stepped backward with a big smile and put both hands out for me, Awesome! Aamin and Sasshi definitely remembered me from LA. Sasshi screamed “Hey hey hey!!!” and leaned forward when I got to her. And of course I have taken a photo with Haachan before. Acchan was sweet, and Takamina gave me the “OMG it’s a foreigner!” look. Nakayan didn’t seem like she recognized me, but I told her I have tickets for her in next weeks hs event. TBH the rest were kind of a blur.

Between shows I headed to the SKE store in Shibuya and picked up the Setlist DVD and PB which came with your choice of photo. I picked Masanya That store is tiny, and a bit hard to find. But they had a few cute photosets and most of the recent DVDs.

As for the SDN show, it was an unprecedented “Triple Birthday Show” for CinDy, Chaki and Chenchu. Everyone was waiting to see how the three Birthday committees would handle that. CinDy’s Team was huge, they all were wearing black T-shirts that said in English “I like CinDy? No…..I LOVE CinDy” Man, I wish I could have gotten one of those! They DID give me a CinDy birthday Uchiwa. Chaki’s Team all were wearing red shirts with a ton of writing on them. I only remember “Babyface” being written across the back and the number “22″. Chen’s Team was definitely the smallest, and led by my friend Chiichan. They didn’t have shirts. They had towels instead, and for the 2nd year in a row I got to sign Chen’s birthday card!!

All in all the birthday Teams did an awesome job. The flowers were beautiful. Chen’s were especially awesome with the Japanese and Chinese flags and a Panda right in the middle of the bouquet. Team CinDy handled the birthday glowsticks. There were four of them which I think confused quite a few in the audience. It seemed like only the back of the theater knew when to use them. I was right next to the captain of Team CinDy, so I just followed his lead. We did white for Saturday Night Party. Blue for Chen’s unit, Red for Jaujama lady and Orange for Vampire Keikaku and of course green for Aisureru no Tame ni.

We were also wondering who would get to do the pre-show speech, it was CinDy. I guess that was to be expected. BTW, this is the 2nd year in a row I have gotten to see Chen and Chaki’s birthday shows. And Chaki is so adorable when she gets loud cheers. She just cries and cries. She must have teared up a half dozen times during the show. I absolutely adore her!

I was in sort of a quandry during the show. Of course I wanted to cheer for Meetan, but all of the birthday Teams were so cool that I wanted to cheer for their girls too. And the three birthday girls are among my favorites in SDN anyway. But I spent half the show thinking “who should I scream for on this part?”

The encore was totally awesome! Captain of Cindy’s team did an opening speech mentioning all three girls. Then one by one a member of each Birthday committee did an individual call about how they loved their favorite member. I loved hearing Chiichan doing an encore call. I can’t remember ever hearing a girl do one before! She was great. The encore itself was just done in regular style.

After Vampire each girl did their own birthday speech while Nachu wheeled out a cake. Once again Chisaki cried her eyes out. Just like last year it seemed to affect Meetan too as I watched her begin to tear up. There was some running bit about it being CinDy’s 30th birthday or something. Whatever it was they were all laughing. And CinDy ran offstage in the middle, and came back out wearing her tiara which she also kept on for HT. Hahaha!

While we waited for High Touch they first said they were going to show GaGaGa, but instead they showed the PV for one of the B-tracks. It was the one with Sayanee in it. Such a sexy PV! Totally K-pop style! wearing business shirts and ties with hot lingerie on underneath while being doused with water! Awesome! I am so glad I pre-ordered both versions!

High Touch was great. I was surprised by Kana Ito’s reaction to me this time around. She asked me in English if I liked the show! Chaki was amazing, she bowed and thanked me for coming! I remember Serina, Machiko and Rachel being really cool. And Nachu definitely remembered me from previous encounters. I am still puzzled by Sayanee. As many times as I have met and talked to her before I am never sure if she knows who I am. As for Meetan, she didn’t seem as excited as our previous encounters. But that’s okay. She can make it up to me at the HS event Meetan stayed out after HT for a brief minute and waved to all of us while everyone left by the escalator kept screaming for her.

Two awesome shows. But I must say the energy at an SDN show just seems to blitz anything else I ever see in the theater. There is this camaraderie and casualness not only among the audience, but among the girls too. SDN seems to treat their fans like they are “friends at their house” or something. it is just so cool. The entire team is really loose, but at the same time keeping their performance intensity. And their setlist is simply amazing. I can’t imagine ever getting tired of it! Although I wonder if they might be.

If that wasn’t enough, my Sunday was just as hectic.  That post is coming soon!

CK in Tokyo

Kira!!!

Picking up where I left off on my last post, I left Akihabara UDX and Momoiro Clover for a mad dash back to my hotel.  I needed to get to Shinagawa, pick up the goods I purchased for my friend and go back to Akihabara and deliver them.  It had been an awesome trip so far, so I feel a bit sheepish saying I had one disappointment.  SDN48 performed four times while I was in town, and I only won a ticket to one show.  I had cancel machi for another, but missed getting in by one.  But since this was the last time they would be performing during my trip I would get to watch them one more time on the monitors…

Ignoring the headache and fatigue I was experiencing I headed back to Akiba.  My friend got his CinDy gear.  And whaddaya know, it was signed!!!  After he jokingly remarked that he couldn’t wear it I offered to take it off of his hands.  But he wasn’t going for it.  Oh well.  It was almost showtime, and my friends had reserved a spot for me right in front of the screen.  It couldn’t have been more than 10 minutes into the show when it hit me…

Dizziness, chills, a pounding headache.  I couldn’t believe it.  I was getting sick, and I had almost three days left in this vacation.  I held out as long as I could.  I had to at least make it to the Nachu/Meetan MC.  But when Ganbarina started I had enough.  I jettisoned myself out of the theater and quickly made my way back to the train station and my hotel.  Hopefully I would wake up feeling better.  There were things still to be done.  Like taking pictures of that famous dog statue is Shibuya…

I woke up the next morning drenched in sweat and coughing like crazy.  It was obvious I had some sort of sinus infection.  After lying in bed for a while I took off for an early lunch.  Perhaps food would give me some energy.  But I had no appetite.  My choices for the day were to either see Idoling!!! perform in my hotel that night, or go see Momoiro Clover one more time.  I checked the ticket booth at the hotel.  Idoling!!! was sold out.  I wasn’t too disappointed with this even though I had never seen them before.  My favorite member Yazapi was off doing a promotion somewhere around Osaka that day, so she would be absent.  I had five hours until Momoclo.  I would grab a bit of rest and head to the show…

I woke up eight hours later

Since there were really no events for my final day and a half, I spent the rest of the trip making sure I got all of the idol goods I wanted.  Earlier that week I had seen an autographed photo of AKB48′s Nakaya Sayaka for sale pretty cheap.  So I headed back to Nakano to see if it was still there.  It wasn’t, but as I looked around there was a new AKB autographed B.L.T. in the display…

Another autographed Meetan, Yatta!!!!  I am so glad I checked!!!  That makes three autographed Ohori cards in my collection.  And that brings me to my goods.  What the heck did I end up bringing home on this trip???

DVD
AKB48 Shibuya AX 2010 Box (Iiwake Maybe ver.)
AKB Kagekidan * Infinity DVD Box
Berryz Kobo – Fall 2009 Concert DVD
Saito Yua – Nittelegenic 2009 DVD
Ohori Megumi – Abunae DVD (a gift, of course I already have a copy)
Watarirouka Hashirtai – Akkanbe Bashi DVD
Majisuka Gakuen DVD Box (pre-ordered)

CD
Idoling!!! – Sunrise LE CD w/ DVD & photobook
Ebisu Muscats – Banana Mango H.S. CD
S/mileage – Suki Chan CD (bought in error, wanted the new one)
Watarirouka Hashirtai Akkanbe Bashi CD LE Ver. A
Queen & Elizabeth – Love Wars CD/DVD Ver. A and Ver. C
SKE48 – Aozora Kataomoi CD/DVD
AKB48 – Team A 1st Stage CD
Momoiro Clover – Momoiro Punch Reg. Version
Momoiro Clover – Mirai He Susume Reg. Version
AKB48 Sakura no Shiori Theater Version (Ten copies!!!)
Momoiro Clover – Major label debut single (preorder 5 versions)

Photobooks/Mags
AKB48 – NY/Cannes/Paris Photobook
Maeda Atsuko – 2nd Photobook
Watarirouka Hashirtai – Akkanbe PB
AKB48 Fashion Book
SKE48 2010 School Year Calendar (2 copies)
Sabra – October 2009 Issue w/ Meetan Gravure
B.L.T. – AKB/SKE assorted special issues (x6)

Misc.
Idoling!!! Yazawa #7 T-shirt (Black)
AKB48 – Yokohama 2010 “American Edition” T-shirt (Red)
Iwasa Misaki Yokohama 2010 microfiber towel
AKB48 phone strap and screencleaner
AKB48 “Hikoukigumo” Flag (new version)
AKB48 giant glowstick (green)
68 new AKB/SKE/SDN pics, and a new pic holder (yatta!)
H!P Photoset w/pin – New Version at the store x3 (Tanaka, Maasa, Yajima)
Tanaka Reina 3/21 Special concert photo
Morning Musume chocolates (hehe)

Surprisingly I ended up spending less than I thought I would considering I came home with plenty of cash in pocket.  And there were a few items I neglected to pick up for various reasons.  That’s okay, there is always next trip.  There has to be a Fall 2010, right?

To summarize the vacation, at the moment it doesn’t feel as epic as previous trips because I was sick for part of it.  But looking back, can it get any better than this?  I had the opportunity to see AKB48 perform at the biggest venue in their history, and had great seats for all three shows.  I got to see Momoiro Clover for the first time.  And all the perks I got as a result were a total surprise.  And who can forget AKB’s 2-shot event, which might have been the most awesome thing they have ever done.  It made me realize that coming for AKB’s special events is really the way to go.  Yes, the shows are cool and all.  But it is at the events that you really get to experience the “idols you can meet” concept!

And it does take time.  This was my fifth trip to Japan and in many ways I am still ‘learning the ropes” of this J-pop stuff.  There is only so much you can learn from reading blogs/sites and collecting merchandise through the mail.  You really need to head to the Japan to really know what’s going on.  I am so glad that I was open and persistent enough to continue these trips when they were so challenging in the early going.  I have been home (and sick in bed) for three days now and I already miss the place, my friends, and of course all the adorable idols.

Speaking of friends, I want to thank everyone that helped make this trip as awesome as it could be, and that includes a couple of people that weren’t even in Japan at the time.  You know who you are!  For those of you I didn’t get a chance to hook up with on this trip, I am truly sorry about that.  But don’t worry kiddies…

I’ll be back “home” soon!

CK in California

I know I have been a bit slow on the uptake when it comes to doing my Japan trip reports.  In fact I believe two posts are in order.  The reason is that this first weekend was so busy that when I got to my hotel I could think of nothing but going to sleep!  That’s a good thing, right?  By the way, am I too late for IW’s cake day celebration?  Courtesy of one of the many crepe places around Tokyo…

The first order of business, two shows at the AKB Theater in Akihabara.  I had won for the afternoon show of Team Kenkyuusei, and SDN48′s evening show.  That meant I was going to spend quite a few hours in Akihabara.  I spent the morning cruising Harajuku, mainly to see what kind of Morning Musume tickets I could score for the Sunday matinee.  I am in sort of a quandry with MoMusu.  On one hand I am bored with them, and they don’t give me the excitement they used to.  On the other hand I still support Tanaka Reina 100%.  And to come all this way and miss their show feels like somewhat of a betrayal to Reina.  With that in mind I scored a 9th row seat!

Saturday = AKB Day

AKB48′s Research Students are pretty much an unknown to me right now.  Since the Team shuffles are beginning as we speak, Team RS is mainly comprised of brand new 9th generation girls.  I have seen Team B’s 4th stage many times already, but I saw this as an opportunity to get the know the new girls and pick out a few faves.  One particular girl who stood out to me is not new by any means.  She was fired about a year ago, but had the chutzpah to give it another go and got rehired.  That girl is Sara Fujimoto.

One thing about Sara, she is really cute.  But her looks were never the problem.  I think the issue was really her age.  She wasn’t mature enough to be an AKB girl yet.  And being dismissed by management really sparked something within her.  She was confident, she looked great.  She was a totally different person from the girl I saw subbing in Team K a year ago.  So good for her!  But the Kenkyuusei were merely the appetizer to the main event…SDN48!

As many of you know SDN48 is my favorite idol group, and why not?  Meetan is in it!  To be honest I missed her, and couldn’t wait to say hello at the High Touch event again.  I got a 4th row seat, but was majorly obscured by the “pillar of death”.  Anyone who has been to the theater knows what I am talking about.  Ultimately I could only see the left side of the stage.  Meetan spent most of the first half of the show on the other side, but came to my side for the second hour.  Finally!  She spotted me pretty much immediately, from then on she was giving me eye contact and playing with me for the rest of the show until….

During the 2nd to last song she ran offstage.  WTF???  What’s the matter with Meetan?  This can’t be good!  There is a history of correlation between my Japan trips and Meetan’s injuries.  Please don’t tell me she got hurt again!  She didn’t participate in the closing MC, but came back out for Vampire Keikaku.  I was happy for a moment, until she bent down for part of the dance and I could tell she was in total distress.  She looked like she was about to cry.

Poor Meetan!!!!!

Before they started the High Touch portion of the show they announced Meetan wasn’t participating.   Oh no, this is serious!!!  The problem was nobody knew what was the matter with her, and she didn’t post on her blog the rest of the night.  Thus began the onslaught of worried messages by fans (including myself) wishing her the best and praying for her to be okay.  The next day she posted this message…

Post From Ohori’s Blog

It turned out she had come down with some sort of cold/fever but decided to perform anyway.  Her temperature rose up at the end of the show, so she left.  But she felt better the next day, and surprisingly chose to perform for Sunday’s SDN48 doubleheader.  She is such a trooper, sometimes to a fault.  As a fan often i wish she would take it easy and not try so hard.  At the same time it is one of the traits I love about her.  She is always thinking about the fans, and wants to make them happy!  Anyhow, Meetan was okay.  That’s all that matters.

__________

Morning Musume Spring Tour 2010

This was the opening weekend of Morning Musume’s Spring Tour, and as a tradition I usually attend the concert with Celestia from Bikkuri Project.  Unfortunately we couldn’t make our schedules work.  Too bad, I love seeing the shows with her!  I got to Tokyo Koseinenkin Keikan about 40 minutes before the show.  I didn’t have any glowsticks so I decided to head to the swag counter to pick up a few goodies…

Pika Pika Choco!!!  I am not a sweets eater, but they always have these so I decided to get them for once.  I also got my first MoMusu Uchiwa!  You may have noticed it isn’t in the picture, that is because I dropped it at some point.   I thought of buying another one, but the show was about to start.  What the hell do I need another Uchiwa for anyway?

The show was predominantly the new album tracks, coupled with virtually the same songs from the 2009 fall tour.  As many times as I have seen Morning Musume there are still a few songs I have never heard live, and would love to.  Shabondama anyone?  Instead I focused on the girls’ performances.  That is when I wasn’t ogling Reina! (hehe)  She is a living doll!

Two girls who really stood out for me were Mittsi and Sayumi.  Sayumi is really beginning to transform into an adult.  Her chubby cheeks were noticeable absent, and her skin looked better.  Personally I think it’s great.  As for Mitsui Aika she was omnipresent at the front of the stage in the opening set.  Good, it’s about time she showed up!!!  The biggest WTF moment came during Renai Revolution 21 somebody came out dancing in a dog costume for the song.  Who is this????  The “dog” stayed for the MC, and the girls were interacting with it.  I thought for sure that someone famous (Koharu?  Yossie???) would pop out of the costume, but we never found out.  Awwwwww!

About midway through the show they did a “unit set”.  Gaki/Aichan started with Ani hi ni Modoretai, which is a nice song.  Not quite my style though.  I really wanted to love 8th gen’s Osaka Omainen.  LinLin was in the lead, being totally genki per usual.  And JunJun was obviously adorable.  But the fact is I don’t like the song.  the 6th gen’s song was the best overall.  Ooki Hitomi is like a typical H!P song, but the girls performed it well.

After seeing them perform Resonant Blue for like the 1000th time, LinLin came out to introduce a video.  I guess they are going to do this differently for each show, as Celestia’s show had Sayumi and a different video.  I saw Chokkan2, which was a mix of live performances and the different versions of the PV.

At this point i wasn’t too enthused about the show.  But the next set was by far the most entertaining to me.  It included Mikan, which is quite possibly their best live song.  Ame no Furanai lead by Jun/Lin.  I lived seeing them front the entire song.  The medley was cool, My Dear Boy was good, and Koko ni Iruzee was probably the best part with all the fan interaction.  But the second to last song was far and away my favorite…

Genki Pika Pika is awesome, and dance they do for it is soooooooooooo friggin’ cute!!!  Like they are washing their face or something.  KAWAII!!!  I could watch that song all day!

The encore started with How Do You Like This Japan?  I have seen this performed tons of times as well.  But the costumes they wore were the most Kakkoi!  Blue jeans, totally yankii style.  Except for Reina.  Hahaha, I can just imagine the think tank for that one.  No way Reina is wearing Jeans!!!  I was really looking forward to the final song Namidacchi after reading Celestia’s review.  And I can see what she likes about it, although I prefer the fast part of the song to the slow part.

So there ya go!  I think that makes 12 times seeing MoMusu.  I was covered in sweat so I went back to the hotel to dry off before going back to Akiba to see if I won for SDN48.  I had “Cancel Machi #114″.  Not a good number, but there was an outside chance.  When they announced the waiting list, it finally ended at #113

Awwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!

A few of the fans knew I had #114 and said “Hey let him in, he’s from out of town”.  The staff took one look and said.  “Forget it, he is here all the time!”  LOL, I guess my gaijin pass is expired.  They now see me as a regular!!!  Instead I had an awesome dinner with a bunch of fans who seemed to be fascinated with my reasons for loving Meetan.  We talked for hours over Chinese Food.  It was as good as any show.  So a great night.

But as far as awesome experiences are concerned…none can be compared with Day 3.  Stay tuned…

CK in California

Oops, I forgot to put my last posts up from my Japan trip.  I have been back for almost two weeks now, and my next trip is already in the works.  It will either be mid-April or early-May.  But here are the last three entries from my original blog site…

CK in Japan, Fall 2009 Day 8…AKB ∞・Infinity

In this post I chronicle my experience of AKB48′s play at Theater G-Rosso.  I loved the Tokyo Dome complex!  There is tons of fun to be had there, and now I know where JCB Hall is in case AKB48 performs there again.  But that’s not all!  I had the experience of my life on Saturday night during the SDN48 “High Touch” event.  What can you say when you have idols grabbing you and declaring their love? (hehehe)

A Special Day for a Special Girl

Not much about AKB in this one, unless you count the autographed Uchiwa I received from SDN48′s ChisakiHatakeyama .  This post is mainly about the Tokyo birthday concert for Morning Musume’s Tanaka Reina.  Birthday shows are always great, as you usually get to see the girls break character and get real for a few moments.  Oh, and if you want to check out Tokyo DisneySea, there are a few pics of the place here.

Retrospective

I tried not to make all of my trip posts about the “gets”.  Instead I loaded them all up here, with a few thoughts about this trip and how ti stacked up to previous trips to Japan.  And if you ever wanted to see a picture of AKB48′s shuttle, I took a close-up pic of it parked behind the DQ!

There ya go!  Japan was awesome!!!  Now I just need to get through the Winter, and next Spring I will head back over.  More awesome experiences to look forward to I’m sure!

CK in California

Yes, I am in japan again.  And to keep with tradition I am posting all of my experiences on my original site.  but here are links and a brief synopsis…

Trick or Treating in Akiba

In the first post, I give a brief overview of my itinerary, which includes seeing AKB48′s new play infinity.  I also give a brief overview of my first experience seeing SDN48.  Wow, they are awesome!  They are now my favorite Team by far!  Finally there is a show and tell of some of the gifts I received from friends and fellow fans upon arrival.

The Fateful Day Has Finally Arrived

Jeez it got cold in Japan all of a sudden!  The post starts out with my experience buying tickets to Hello! Project concerts in japan, as opposed to buying them from a deputy service in advance.  Yeah, it means i need to bring more cash along with me, but the seats are better and i am ultimately paying less $$$.  I then describe my first experience with SDN48′s post-show “high touch”, and how Nachu’s enthusiasm got in the way of me spending a few extra seconds with Meetan.  Gotta love Nachu, she is great!!!  BTW, I won tickets to SDN48 three times, and will post a full review after those performances.

Hatakeyama Chisaki Picspam

Plain and simple, this post is about how adorable SDN48′s little front-girl is.  Once you get a good look at Chaki in action, you will know she is born to be a star!!!

I will keep this site updated with future posts!

CK in Tokyo