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

I left Saturday’s GM5 handshake event early. In fact I didn’t have any late handshake tickets at all because I was hoping another event might pop up worth seeing. It didn’t even have to be AKB-related.  But one never knows what make shake out on a Saturday night.  It turned out to be a great move since the event that “popped up” just happened to be…

Ohori Megumi DVD Release Event at Tower Records Shibuya 4/7

So it turns out graduations aren’t necessarily goodbye after all, eh? When this was originally announced, there were supposedly going to be a limited number of tickets, and they had to be reserved in person at Tower. Since I was still a couple of weeks away from arriving in Tokyo, I had to pool my resources, and ask a few favors in order to score a ticket. And I did! However, it turned out to be unnecessary after all as I found out they were letting people in who bought the DVD the day of the event. Oh well…

So my new friend and I got over to Tower around 2 1/2 hours early, bought our DVDs (2 copies each) and received our entry vouchers. For those of us who preordered, we queued up on the stairwell by number (I was #143) As we were let in we were greeted by one of the managers who gave us our autographed covers. One for each copy bought.  BTW, I was surprised that the manager was the same guy who ran Sato Yukari’s DVD release at Ishimaru a couple of years ago. He seems to be a nice guy. Anyway, there were no seats left when I got in, but I got a pretty good standing position on the left, behind three petite girls. So I had a clear sightline.

BTW, while we were waiting they were playing a medley of Meetan’s singing spots on the Summer Zoo show she appears on. The songs that she totally butchers. Half of the audience is just cracking up the entire time. They need to release THAT as a CD! Then a video starts..It is Meetan giving us the rules of the event in a way only Meetan could…totally pervy!

So far the show is totally awesome, and Meetan hasn’t even appeared yet!

Finally our girl comes out in a sexy beige one piece with pink flower trim that totally showed off her curves. And what does she open with? ZOMFGWTF!!! Amai Kokansetsu!!!! I was in utter disbelief that I was getting to see her perform her solo debut single. It was awesome! After that came the interview, where Meetan talked about her future. The grad concert of SDN48. Meanwhile, she of course kept flirting with the audience with her “fake embarassment”. Just too funny. Then came time for games…

can you spot me in the pic?

It was a quiz/janken. the winner of each round getting to go behind a curtain for a little private time with Meetan. When they got back there you could see the goings-on in silhouette, with pink backlighting.  Sexy Meetan getting pervy with the lucky winner. There were three rounds. I actually came pretty close to winning the first contest. I got knocked out the round before the final. On the last round it was between a guy and a girl, and I think everyone wanted the girl to win including the guy she was up against. But fairness won out, the guy beat her, and we got no girl on girl action.

We also got a few previews of the DVD, including one where the crew played a practical joke on her. Meetan is a great reacion queen. Anyway, this DVD seems to be filled with tons of sexy beach stuff. And judging by the back of the jacket, a bit of cosplay as well. Nice!

After all of that it was time for the handshake portion of the event. Now remember I said both me and my friend bought TWO copies of the DVD. That was because one DVD got you a handshake, two got you a two-shot! It all went went very fast because there were so many people to get through. So they lined you up for your photo as she was handshaking the previous person. then she leaned in for your 2-shot. Then you came around for handshake and talk for about 5-7 seconds. But it was an awesome experience nonetheless.  Ohori said something to me while posing for our photo, but I didn’t understand it.  Then she thanked me for coming while i congratulated her on her graduation, told her the SDN48 concert was great, and finished with a big “Meetan I love you!”…

It was a perfect day. Started off with nothing but Wasalove all morning, then Sexy Meetan for a nightcap. The first of three straight days of total idol bliss!!! I am so glad I got another chance to interect with Meetan post-graduation since I wasn’t sure I would ever have the chance again. But I guess it was fate!

And I have more to post later…

CK in Tokyo

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

from My Sweet Meetan…

SDN48′s Debut single becomes more tangible every day, now with the debut of the full PV and preview of the jacket covers!

How much do I love these covers? Let me count the ways…

1. Meetan front and center

2. Meetan front and center

Yes, right where the #1 Senbatsu belongs. I have heard a few folks say the cover is a bit short on pizazz, for lack of a better word. I dunno, I think it is perfect just the way it is. And if you haven’t reserved your copies left, Meetan points out that the local CD shops still have a few reservation cards left, so you better hurry!

Now onto the PV. We ‘ll see how long this one stays on YouTube before it gets taken down…

Let me start by saying I like the PV. If for no other reason that Meetan is in it. Do I think it is the greatest promotional video I have ever seen? I wouldn’t go that far. I am surprising myself by saying this, especially since I have always said that my love for idols is much more the visual presentation over the musical content. But what I love most about this single is the song itself. It sounds sexy, provocative and has a great edge. I think my favorite aspect of the song is the slightly flat and and breathy style in which they do the verse. It fits Meetan’s smokey vocals perfectly. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like the PV. I really do. They played it fairly straight, capitalizing on what SDN48 is all about. That’s not to say that they won’t take a few risks with future releases. But you don’t do that with the debut. You put out a solid effort, and that is exactly what the girls have done. So great job!

And now…a few Meetan PV moments, YATTA!!! First a couple of closeups…

Sekushii!

Meetan throwin’ elbows. GO GETEM’ GIRL! And the big finish…

By the way, that shot with the Top 3 Senbatsu is absolutely delicious!!!

Not that Meetan is in them or anything, but now I want to see the c/w track PVs. And ofcourse the video for Kodoku na Runner. It should be awesome!

CK
(thanks to Jasey for the covers!)

I keep saying to myself that these trips to Japan could not possibly get any better.  It just did…

Actually, there is quite a bit of stuff I haven’t reported about yet.  I DID go to a Momoiro Clover event, albeit briefly.  I couldn’t stay because I had to leave for the MoMusu show.  The good news is they have two more events next weekend, so I have another chance to see them!  Idoling!!! is supposed to be making an appearance at my hotel as well!  That’s awesome!!!!  Well, almost awesome.  Only because my favorite member Erika Yazawa won’t be there.  Oh well, I may have to check it out anyway.  Right now it is time for another amazing experience…

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AKB48 held a promotion with the “Theater Versions” of the latest single.  The pre-orders came with a 2-shot ticket.  That meant you got the chance to meet and take a photo with a member.  So all of the members of AKB, along with SDN48 and two members of SKE were on site for the photo ops.  I was able to obtain a bunch of tickets through friends, and of course there was much “wheeling and dealing” of tickets at the event itself.  Actually there were three of these events.  This was the last one.  The rest of this post will be a reprint of my entry in Stage 48′s forum…

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OMG, was this freakin’ epic! When I first planned this trip it was to see the Yokohama shows, but this event ended up as what will probably be the most epic part of the trip. I got there a little after 8am, which was when the doors were supposed to open. The line to get in was pretty big, but seemed to be moving quickly, then it stopped. Oh shi…according to the guys next to me in line the entrance was filling up quickly so they decided to stop the line for everyone to filter in. But to my surprise when I got in the hall it was surprisingly peaceful. I had eleven tickets in my hand with the promise of at least 4 more. After finally scoring my elusive copy of Infinity (Yes!!!) and talking to Koba for a little bit I went over to Meetan’s line to see how long it was. Only 8 people? Piece of cake. I immediately joined the queue.

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OHORI MEGUMI: Her line didn’t open until about 10 minutes after 9. That’s my girl…fashionably late! When I walked in I handed my camera to the photog, and a guard held my bag. Meetan immediately noticed my GIANTS jersey, which I wore specifically for that reason “Giantsu Sugoi!” I know Meetan knows me, but I’m not sure if she knows my name by heart as she didn’t say it. She suggested the peace symbol, we posed and that was it! I got up to leave and she grabbed my hand and thanked me. I waved and backed out of the room. I ultimately went back to Meetan 4 times. The second time she did say “Chris-san”, and asked my something about my iphone that I didn’t understand. I said “Yeah, iphone!” and gave her a big thumbs up! When I left I accidentally bumped into Kobayashi and Matsubara who were going to break. Aas their guard kinda moved me to the side Natsumi smiled, and Kana had this “scared look on her face” LOL. I actually bumped into the two of them twice yesterday! Between my second and third shot she went to lunch, and I saw her come back with Wasamin, Kana and Natsumi. And from my angle I could see her putting on her makeup and talking on her cell before her break was over.

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There was some incident that happened in her room a few moments later. I’m not sure what it was but security ran into her room, and later they were talking to a fan. But after like a 5 minute delay they opened her room back up. For the third shot I noticed she was starting to look tired. So when I went into my 4th and final pic I told her ” Hey Oshimen, get some sleep tonight…oyasumi!” and suggested we do the following pic. Yes!!! I finally got a chance to “sleep with Meetan, LOL!”

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IWASA MISAKI: Every time I see this girl I love her more. And it isn’t just because she is drop dead adorable! Everything about her! She is so sweet and unassuming. The moment I walked in I knew she remembered me from NY and from Infinity hs. She always speaks to me in English. Not conversational but she is better than most, and seems to comprehend well. But that huge smile, wow. She said “I’m so happy to see you again”. WOW! Later on while I was waiting in Nachu’s line she walked by with an escort, she saw me and that smile immediately returned, and she waved to me all the way back to the staff curtain. Wasamin is awesome!!! I wanted another pic with her, but couldnt find another ticket. Her line got pretty long later in the day, so I was so happy for her!

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URANO KAZUMI: To be fair, I had just seen CinDy on Saturday. And yes, she said “I love you” to me again, hehe! So when I walked in she said something I couldn’t understand, and I responded “Cindy, I love you too!” to which she replied with a big “Thank You!” Cindy is so cute!

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Sometimes big fans of certain girls will give you a ticket because they want their oshimen to have a huge line and feel popular. That was the case with my pics of CHEN CHU and UMEDA HARUKA from SDN. Interestingly, the Chen-fan is a cute young girl named Chiichan, who I had met on my last trip during Chen’s birthday show! Chen is adorable in person, I greeted her with “Niihau”, to which she asked if I knew English, Japanese and Chinese. I said I didn’t. Oh well. With Umeda I walked in after Hiro@vegas, and he told her my name. I walked up behind him and said “Yes, Chris-san” She wanted to take a goofy pic. To which her fan repeatedly commented “Chris-san kawaii ne!” to me repeated “chigau!!!”

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NACHU: Before I got into Kondo Sayaka’s hellaciously slow line I decided to get my Nachu and Machiko pics out of the way. Nachu’s line was short, but while I waited in addition to Wasamin I also saw Takamina come back from lunch. The ad for the Infinity DVD came on and she stopped and started singing along with “Maria” Haha, cute! I few minuted later I saw Matsui Rena come back from break. She kinda bounces when she walks. That was my first time seeing an SKE girls in person! While I waited for Nachu all I could hear was pandemonium in her room. She is so funny!

I greeted her with her “chorisssss” line and we sat down. She doesn’t speak or understand English at all so that was a little challenging. We did her hand gesture for the pic, but I didn’t see that she snuck a chicken wing into the pic…LOL. As I left I said “Majisuka Gakuen wa…Daruma-san saiko!” then she turned into Daruma and started screaming “Atsu~ne” and “tebasaki” at me with the wing in her hand. Nachu is awesome!!!

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TEZUKA MACHIKO on the other hand is sooooo sweet and demure. Now I feel bad that I have made sport of her on my blog.  Machiko is really a nice girl!  She talks quietly, and spoke to me mostly in English, which was cool. All I know is I did my very best not to look at her chest!

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KATAYAMA HARUKA was one of the few AKB girls I met, and she was so sweet. The bummer was I have virtually no history with her, so there wasn’t much to say. She is adorable in person though.

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KONDO SAYAKA: I had two tickets for her, but for some reason her line was painfully slow and long. the good news was while I waited Oku Manami walked near me as she went to break. She smiled and waved to us as she walked by. Then a moment later Mayuyu came back from break and was also smiling and waving at us. She looked so cute! I never realized how dark her hair was! Anyway, I finally got to Sayanee who immedialy called me Chris-san. I said I missed SDN so much I had to come back. She asked how many shows I had seen so far, then asked if I had memorized any songs. Then started singing “Ga-ga-ga-ga-Ganbarina!”, but before I could respond the staff pushed me out! When I returned for the 2nd shot I finished the line as I walked in, LOL! I told her I was here for another week and would try to win for next weekend’s show.

Big sight 111

The night started wrapping up with KATO MAMI, who is the center girl in Yuuwaku no Garter and totally cute!

Big sight 112

And finally I had three tickets for HATAKEYAMA CHISAKI. Oh gawd do I adore Chaki, she is sooo great on stage. I did a one shot set and a two-pic set because it was getting late and I was running out of time. Damn, I forgot Iwanted to do a “Nyan” pic with her, but forgot to ask!” I said “Yokohama Arena iki masu”, which she was happy to hear!
So those were my pics, but that wasn’t all…

I finally got to meet Youkokurama and Hiroki who were both tons of fun to hang around with. I felt bad that Youko didn’t have any tickets so I gave him one of my Chisaki tickets (I had 4). I wanted him to experience the awesomeness! the two of them later did a pic with Chikarina that was totally cute. I also met two other notable fans. First it was the “Meetan Ojiisan” guy that wears the blue happi covered in her pics. One of the fans who I met earlier told him I was a big Meetan fan from the US, so he came over to say Hi! I said “You are famous, AKBingo!” referring to his appearance on the Meetan special episode from 2007. He was shocked that I knew him from that, and pulled a present off of his happi to give to me.

Big sight 031

Later on I was talking to some fans who were interested in knowing why Meetan was my oshimen, and out of nowhere one of the fans from the AKBingo “Golden Happi” special ( I think he was the school teacher) came up behind me and put me in a bear hug! WTF! I turned to see who it was and thought “Wow, it’s that guy!!!” Hahahaha.

It was a total blast, 13+ hours worth!  I met tons of new people. Got to see the insanity known as the lines for Yukirin and Acchan, who both had seperate queues from the regular queues. yes, you had to wait in a huge line just to get into a second huge line! And who had the third longest line in the place???

tgsk! LOL. His pic was free! He’s a nice guy.

So I have my tickets for AKB48 in Yokohama. Floor section B for all three shows. I’m sure it will be awesome!

CK in Tokyo

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

Yes, again!!!  If you were wondering why I was conspicuously absent from International Wota’s Cake Day Festivities, Thursday (or is it Friday?) I spent a harrowing god knows how many hours making the journey from my humble San Francisco Bay Area apartment to the place known as “Awesome Island”.  That’s right, I am back in Tokyo for another vacation full of idol fun!  Unfortunately my first evening was blown by a 2 hour delay for my flight, plus extra heavy traffic from Narita Airport to my hotel.  But I finally checked into my hotel at 7:30 pm.  But what is in store for this trip???

The first weekend is going to be extra hectic…

Morning Musume Spring Tour.  I don’t have a ticket yet, but I plan on heading out to score one tomorrow morning for the Sunday Matinee.  Actually, there are a few H!P related shows while I am in town…Melon Kinenbi, H!P Eggs, and I believe Manoeri.  But I haven’t decided whether or not to see any of them too as many of these events conflict with one another.  We will see…

AKB48 2-shot Handshake Event at Tokyo Big Sight.  This is going to be awesome.  I am finally going to get that 2-shot with Ohori Megumi that I missed out on last year.  I actually have tickets to take pictures with 4 girls, and I am working on more.

AKB48 Live at Yokohama Arena.  Since AKB48 is getting so popular these days I figured I would plan my trip around one of their big shows.  This way I was assured of getting a ticket instead of hoping for the lottery.  This is the biggest venue AKB has performed at in their history, so I am sure all three shows will be super-special.

AKB48 Theater.  Everyone says I have great AKB lottery luck.  So far I have won a ticket for the only two shows I have applied for, and they are both tomorrow (Saturday)  I am seeing Team Kenkyuusei in the afternoon, and SDN48 at night!  I have an email in for SDN48 on Sunday night as well.  I hope I win!

So that sums up the first half of my trip.  I also have a ticket to an SKE48 handshake event, but I may not have time to get there…

The last 6 days have nothing definite, but I have a few possible events in the works.  I don’t want to jinx it, as I haven’t figured out how to score tickets yet.  But I just found out about a concert happening next weekend in Tokyo.  Who are the performers???

Momoiro Clover!!!!!

Anyhow, I would add media to this post, except I am totally jetlagged.    But please look forward to my reports, if for no other reason than to see if I survive this hectic weekend.  And I promise loots of pics!!!

CK in California

Now that the AKB48 Team Shuffle is right around the corner.  It is merely a matter of weeks before my favorite member Ohori Megumi moves over to SDN48 full-time.  Personally I think this is the perfect move for her at the perfect time.  And as I have seen SDN48′s new stage in person multiple times, I couldn’t be happier with the work she is now doing.  Meetan will always be my favorite idol no matter what she is doing career-wise.  Nothing will ever change that.  But this also means that I am going to need a new Oshimen in AKB48…

I recently wrote this post, which listed my nominees.  But deep down in my heart there was one particular member who I was most intrigued by.  It began in May at the Theater.  It continued with a brief adorable moment at the New York Anime Festival.  But it was my most recent trip to Tokyo that clinched it….

CK’s new AKB48 Oshimen…Iwasa Misaki AKA Wasamin!!!

When I wrote that post back in October I mentioned that I hadn’t seen enough of Wasamin to truly gauge her talent.  That all changed when I saw her perform in AKB Infinity three weeks ago.  She was absolutely sensational in it.  And no, that isn’t just my opinion.  It was the scuttlebutt of fans around the theater.  Not to mention Akimoto Yasushi himself singling her out for kudos on such a wonderful job.  At this point the consensus seems to be that Iwasa is a star in the making.  And since she is only 14 years old she has a lot of time to develop her talent within the group.  But make no mistake, she already performs with the confidence of a veteran!  So in celebration, here is a picspam of Iwasa Misaki and an unbelievably great performance of Tonari no Banana at Theater G-Rosso…

Her interactions with Lovetan were so cute!!!  Now for a few solo-pics…

When I saw Infinity, one of the perks was to get a picture of your favorite member in the play after the performance.  The two leads had their own lines, but the rest of the cast were bunched together.  That meant that you could briefly greet each girl as you passed, but could only stop at the girl you wanted a photo from.  When I went up Yonechan, Haachan and Chiichan seemed to be getting the most attention.  And I was really bummed to see Tanamin standing alone, especially since she is another of my favorite members and I knew I was going to pass her up.  When I finally got to Wasamin I fully expected her to have a line since she was so good in the play.  But there she was, with no one in front of her.  As I stepped toward her she automatically said “Arigatou” as if she fully expected me to keep going.  But when I stopped and said “Oh…WASAMIN!” She truly looked taken aback for a brief moment.  I don’t think she expected a foreign wota like myself to be a fan.  And when it finally dawned on her that I was the one screaming her name in the front row at Webster Hall the look on her face was priceless!  It was one of those fond memories I will keep in my heart forever.

Hopefully when she becomes a front-girl for AKB she will remember the fans that followed her from her humble AKB beginnings.  I know she will.  Wasamin is awesome!!!

CK in California

Courtesy of scramble-egg.com

I would love to hear the songs from this stage.  It looks so unbelievably awesome.  Maybe we will have to wait a couple of months for an LOD.  And hopefully I will be lucky enough to win a ticket when I am in Japan for two weeks in early November.  But in the meantime…

Two shots from the opening set.  They all look so sexy, and they have a little “meat” on their bones.  That is completely hawt.  It is nice to see these gals have grown up and aren’t a bunch of frail idols!

Yuuwaku no Garter, featuring Yukarin, Kato and Kazue .  This is the song where they throw their garters into the audience.  So sexy!

“All in“, lookin about as sexy as “End Roll” from K5, except the outifts are even hotter.  I think that is Reiko in the foreground.  She looks “feminine” in that shot.  (LOL).

Wow, look how cute Chisaki looks in Jajauma Lady!  But I still want to see Meetan with her whip.  Is this a country song?  Damn, I really want to hear this stage!!!

More shots…from later in the stage

And finally, some solo shots of our fave AKB girls!

Meetan and CinDy look gorgeous.  And below…Nonti looks great too.  Yukarin?  Some have noticed that she looks a little “thick in the middle” in that pic.  Once again, everyone has an unflattering pic once in a while.  We all know that Sato Yukari is utterly gorgeous.  Sometimes the camera does lie, so I’ll chalk it up to a bad angle.

Ultimately, I am frothing at the mouth to see this stage live!!!!!

CK in California

I think I have made it very clear who my favorite member of AKB48 is.  Team K’s Ohori Megumi.  With that in mind, here is a new worship site started by me and CJ from The Groove Music Life…

MY SWEET MEETAN

Yay!  A worship site.  And who better to worship than the Princess herself.  Hmmm, I should have asked Jasey from Stage48 to get involved.

Anyhow, check it out.  I hope you like it!

http://www.megumiohori.com

CK in California