Continuing with my concert adventures, I attend a Lady Gaga concert last weekend in Yokohama. Scored 4 tickets from my favorite ticket selling site for only a bit more than the face value of the tickets for me and some friends. We got pretty lucky because soon after I bought the tickets the prices increased and soon most were selling for more than double the face value cost. I was also extremely lucky to get 4 seats. Lucky as in I've only ever seen 4 ticket sets sold on that site maybe 3 times since I started using it.

Anyway, I hit up Yokohama a bit early and chilled in Chinatown before the concert with my friends. When we got to the concert the first thing we noticed was a bunch of cosplayers. They had set up a roped off section for those who dressed in costumes and people would like up and take pictures of them. Pretty interesting and there were plenty more people dressed up wandering around inside the arena as well. The most prominent fashion accessory of the day? A fake bow made of hair. So many people had one that, even though I think they look stupid, I still wanted one.

According to the tickets, the concert was set to start at 6pm, but having been in Japan for too long, I forgot that most western artist start with an opening band. So we had about an hour to wait before the 'for real' concert started. As I had no interest in the opening act, I headed for the goods line. Took pretty much a hour to get through it and, to be honest, the goods available were disappointing. Mostly T-shirts. I was hoping there would be a keychain or strap as they are staples at concerts here in Japan, but no go. I ended up just getting a pamphlet, which also ended up being a big disappointment because all it contained were a bunch of photos, no set list, no interviews, no words of any type whatsoever. Boo.

The concert however was great. Lady Gaga's music is very upbeat and dancable to which is why I like her in the first place. Seats were kinda crap and in the way, way back but they were cheap, so, yeah. I spent most of the concert singing the songs and jumping up and down. I was also greatly amussed when she did her MC parts as I am pretty sure a good 90% of the audience had no clue what she was saying. However, everyone would always yell after she said the words Japan or Tokyo (but that was funny too as the concert was NOT in Tokyo at all) so said words were liberally sprinkled throughout any talking parts.

I did get into a bit of trouble at one point though. During the concert a bunch of people were filming and taking pictures of the show. Like, pretty much everyone, include full on flash pictures. I didn't see any no photo signs or anything so this led me to assume that photos and filming were okay. Apparently not the case as I was yelled at by one of the security guys. However the security people must have been having an off day because I got the warning during the second to last song and had been filming and taking pictures throughout the show (along with everyone else).

Anyway, it was a great night with friends. At the time I got my tickets, I didn't really realize how popular Lady Gaga was. Apparently its really hard to find tickets for her shows in the States. Sorry to everyone I made jealous! Haha. My friends and I finished off the night by hitting up Bubbys, a New York style, limited time, restaurant. What's a limited time restaurant you ask? One that is only open for a year or so before it will close down. Probably explains why it was so packed because Japanese people love limited things way to much.

Labels: concert, Yokohama

My j-boy band obsession is coming along quite nicely. After a summer full of KAT-TUN concerts I decided to switch it up in winter and try out an Arashi concert instead. Arashi (aka. Storm) consists of 5 members: Mastumoto Jun, Sakurai Sho, Ninomiya Kazunari, Ohno Satoshi, and Aiba Masaki. While I prefer KAT-TUN's music over Arashi's, I like Arashi as a group better. They all seem to get along and have a nerdy/fun sort of image. I'm also a big fan of their dramas. Particularly those starting MatsuJun and Ohno. Good stuff.

Anyway, this year is Arashi's 10th year anniversary and thus they have been everywhere. On TV, in magazines, and all over the radio. They are the preferred band of pretty much every female student I teach and are considered the most popular band in Japan right now. In fact, I just watched a show last night that was recapping the most popular songs and albums from 2009 and Arashi was at the top of both lists.

I'm sure you can imagine how difficult tickets to this show would be to get. Arashi is a Johnny's band just like KAT-TUN so only those in the fan club can apply for the lottery to get tickets. I am in KAT-TUN's fan club and managed to snag tickets that way, but I am not part of Arashi's and didn't really have an interest in them until after the balloting was complete. Thus, my only option left was the blackmarket. And boy was I shocked when I started to looking for a ticket. For KAT-TUN you could get a fairly blah ticket for around the $150 mark. For arena level they usually started around $300-400. For some of the worst seats in the Tokyo Dome the starting price for an Arashi ticket was a whopping $500. Arena level? Try $2,000 plus. And no, that's not a typo.

I knew 2 other ALTs in my area who also wanted to try and get tickets as well so we made plans to try our luck the day of the show. I also wanted to pick up some concert goods even if we didn't manage to find tickets. However, I was worried that as a group of 3 we wouldn't be able to find anything or get stuck in an awkward, we could only find 2 tickets, situation. So I kept checking all the ticket selling sites and eventually bought a pair of tickets for $400 a piece. It was the best price I saw listed from the time I started looking till the day the concert started. I talked to the two other girls to see if they wanted the other ticket and if so, who would get it and decided I would sell it if they weren't interested. One of them ended up taking the ticket, but I probably could have sold it and made some money. But, it was nice to help out a friend and I was looking forward to actually sitting with someone I knew rather than a bunch of strangers.

The day before the concert was absolute crap. Pouring rain from the morning till the evening. Luckily, the day of the concert was gorgeous. I got into Tokyo a bit later than I wanted, but I started off by hitting up the goods shop. I walked away with a concert program, a bag, an Ohno uchiwa, a notebook, and pic sets of Ohno and Aiba. I really wanted one of the charms they were selling, but by the time I arrived they were sold out. Then I met up with Katrina, the girl who bought my extra ticket. She had spent the morning with Jennie who was still trying to get one. I was worried that she might not be able to given that there was a literal sea of girls with 'I want a ticket' signs. Together, we headed to Shinjuku for lunch and ice cream and got back to the Dome about 20min before the start of the concert. During this time we received many updates about Jennie's ticket finding exploits.

One thing to note about finding tickets the day of is that you can pretty much guaranteed to find one. It's really just a matter of how much you'll pay for it. There are always shady yakuza looking guys who have several to sell, but they were wanting $1,000 dollars for a crappy seat so Jennie had to pass. She also had someone approach her and told her to go to some shady host club to meet up with a woman who was selling a ticket. That was a no go to. She was approached several times and eventually ended up with a ticket in the same row as us, just on the other side of the Dome, for $500 which, while expensive, was the same price that most were selling for online before the show. I was actually surprised by how many offers for tickets she got. I wasn't expecting anyone to approach her, but apparently the other J-girls around her were actually getting jealous with how many people offered her tickets. Guess it helps to have blond hair and blue eyes. But, I also suspect those j-girls wouldn't have paid anywhere near what she did to buy the ticket. Ticket sellers are pretty smart. They know the gaijin will probably pay more than most and take full advantage....the bastards.

Anyway, the concert was amazing! When we got to the dome, we snapped some pics and headed to our seats. Normally I'd remember to stop by the 7-11 to pick up some drinks and snacks but I forgot this time. I ended up getting a really expensive orange juice box and Katrina got a soda and some type of potato snack. Our seats were pretty far back, but not too terrible or anything. I managed a quick and crappy shot of the stage, but it really wasn't much to look at.

Labels: arashi, concert, Tokyo

Hello, my name is Amanda and I have a problem. I am an addict. I thought I had it under control after I finished my N'Sync/Backsteet Boys phase at the tender age of 13, but it is back. I am addicted to a boy band. A j-boy band at that. ♥ KAT-TUN ♥

I recently attended several of their Tokyo Dome concerts and thought that I would be through with concert viewing for the summer. But right after their Dome tour finished, they announced a Summer Tour across Japan. I already had plans to visit China for a week or two, but decided the rest of my summer vacation could be held in a city where the concert would be. While the Dome tickets cost me an arm and a leg, this time I was ready. I was already a part of the fan club and after looking up an untold number of kanji, managed to ballot for tickets for the first time ever. You see, you can't just buy tickets to a KAT-TUN concert. You first have to be part of their fan club. It takes about a month to process all the paperwork before you can become an official member. As an official member, when a concert is announced, you receive a ballot. You essentially write down the number of tickets you want (not to exceed 4) and then write down a list of 3 locations/times/dates in order of preference. Last, you pay for the tickets. BUT, nothing is for sure yet. After balloting for the tickets, you have to call the JE (aka, Johnny's Entertainment, who are pretty much the band's agent) concert hotline where they will give you a date and an additional number to call. Once that date rolls around, you can call and see if you won any tickets. Those who don't win are refunded their money, while those who do win are put in a lottery for seat assignment. Tickets are not sent out until about 2 weeks before the show so no one knows where they will be sitting till that time.

I balloted for 3 tickets to the Niigata concert and ended up selling 2 of them to some really nice girls from Italy. Visiting Niigata kind of ended up being a bust as there isn't much to do around the city, but the concert was really fun and the seats I won were amazing! In Niigata I went up to the top of the Hotel Nikko Niigata, which is the tallest building in the city and conviently right next to the convention center where the concert was held. The view was nice, but no spectacular. I managed to catch a glimpse of Sado Island, which is a really popular tourist destination off Niigata's coast. I tried to plan a visit to the island, but ended up not having time for it. I also went on a boat cruise of the river. Relaxing, but not all that exciting.

After Niigata, I took the train to a much more exciting city, Kanazawa. I had been to Kanazawa before with my friend Tiffany, but it was pouring rain the entire time we were there. This time, the weather cooperated and I actually got to take in all the sights. I got around via the very convenient tourist bus. Kanazawa is most famous for the Kenrokuen Garden. It is considered one of the "three most beautiful gardens in Japan" and is filled with a variety of trees, ponds, waterfalls and flowers stretching over 25 acres. Also, right next to the garden is the Kanazawa castle, which is more just a wall than a castle. Parts of it were under construction, but what was there was very pretty and high tech. First 'castle' I've ever seen with a working elevator inside!

I also went to Ninjadera, aka. the Ninja Temple. It really has nothing to do with Ninja's at all, but is still quite interesting. It is an old samurai house that is full of tricks and hidden passages/rooms. Much cooler than your average temple. If you plan on visiting, know that reservations are required and give yourself plenty of time to get there as it's a bit difficult to find. I also visited the geisha house and samurai house districts. I didn't go to any of the samurai houses, because that was the only thing I managed to do the first time I visited. In the geisha district, I had to wander around for quite some time before I managed to find one of them. The signs are not very English friendly and the maps to the house are downright confusing. But I did find it and ended up getting a tea service while there. A bit expensive, but it was a nice break and the sweets were really tasty.

Ended up taking a night bus from Kanazawa back to Tokyo and then trained back home from there. Kanazawa pretty much wrapped up my summer vacation. Normally I find myself ready to start up work after a long break, but this summer felt too short.

Labels: concert, KAT-TUN, niigata, travel

Just had another fun filled weekend in Tokyo. I was supposed to go down to Fujiyoshida and attend a BBQ but I ended up not being able to find a ride to the party and I would have taken almost 4 hours via train and bus to get even remotely close to the lake where the party was being held, thus I opted to spend 2 hours traveling to Tokyo instead.

I spent the weekend with Katrina, who really wanted to go to the DBSK concert that was happening at the Tokyo dome. DBSK, or Tohoshinki as they are called in Japan, is a 5 member Korean boy band. I don't know much about them, but Katrina recently became a big fan of theirs. She wanted to get tickets to the concert, but they were sold out by the time she tried. I recently gained a lot of experience in getting Tokyo Dome tickets thanks to the KAT-TUN concert so I offered to help her look for some. All of the tickets I could find online were selling for at least 3man (aka $300) or more. And that was for crappy seats in the 2nd floor sections where the band would probably look like ants. She wasn't too please by those prices and opted to try her luck with scalpers on the day of.

I didn't want to wake up to early, so I just met her at the Tokyo Dome on Sat. afternoon. First we got lunch at this quaint little Italian restaurant and then it was off to hunt for some tickets. For one of the KAT-TUN concerts, I managed to buy cheap tickets off a scalper, but it was right at the start of the show and on a weekday for a concert that would be going on for 7 days straight. The DBSK concert was on the weekend and only 2 days, thus tickets were a bit scarcer. My first ticket buying via scalpers experience was super easy. When I got off the station at the Dome, there were girls just standing around with tickets to sell. This time, the only girls standing around were those with signs wanting to buy tickets of their own.

That made things a lot harder. Earlier in the day, I was paying close attention to the girls trying to buy tickets and did see a few who would approach the buyers and sell their tickets. Some things I noticed were that some girls who had already bought tickets could be seen trying to buy more later in the day. Either they had a lot of friends to buy for or where doing something a bit more shady and reselling the tickets for more than what they paid for. I was also trying to pay attention to how much the tickets were selling for and I definitely saw a few sell for under 1man.

But, for us, it was not so simple. Seeing as everyone had a sign, we stopped at a 7-11 and got a notebook to write up our own. Our sign simply said that we wanted to buy 2 tickets to the concert. At first, the only person who approached us was a seedy looking old man who wanted 3man for a ticket. We passed. However, it was really disheartening to see a bunch of other girls around us getting tickets while we were passed over. I can only assume that sellers didn't approach us because they didn't want to have to try and speak in English. I think next time our sign should also say Japanese okay! Eventually a Korean girl came up to us, but only had 1 ticket to sell. I assume she approached us because her English is better than her Japanese. By that point Katrina was getting angsty about not having a ticket and I didn't care either way, so we asked how much she wanted for the ticket. And low and behold, the price was 3man. She had one ticket to the Sat. show and another for the Sun. show. The Sat. show was for a crappy 2nd floor seat, but the one for the show on Sun. was for a 1st floor seat that seemed pretty decent. So Katrina decided to snag the Sun show ticket.

It took her quite a while to decide, but eventually she bought the ticket. It was a tough decision to make because there was a chance that we might just be able to find a cheaper ticket closer to the start time of the concert, but there were also quite a few girls holding want to buy signs so there was a chance that we wouldn't be able to find any ticket at all. I was a bit disappointed that I would not be going to the concert, but I definitely was not willing to pay 3man for a concert ticket to a band I didn't even know.

After sorting out the ticket stuff, we got in line to buy some concert goods. The line took about an hour to get through and I only ended up buying a CD of their recently released single. Katrina got a pamphlet book and a pen light to use at the concert the next day. Then we headed to Ikebukuro to check into our hotel for the night. The hotel ended up being an apartment building turned hotel, which was nice and our room was a decent size, had a decent AC, and had a nice bathroom.

After checking in, we headed to the Sunshine 60 building for some dinner. We ended up eating at the Ikebukuro Gyoza Stadium. Its part of an indoor amusement park type place and consists of various stalls selling all sort of gyoza. You actually had to pay for a ticket to get into the area where the gyoza stadium was. We hit up a few stalls and tried all sorts of gyoza. During our first round of the stalls, we were drawn to a stall that had a picture of a little old lady on the advertising poster and grabbed some gyoza from there. During a latter round, we actually ran into the real live version of the grandma who was on the advertisement. She was really cute. My favorite gyoza of the evening was this really great cheese gyoza. Yum! After that it was time for desert in what was the equivalent of the gyoza stadium, but for ice cream instead! I had some garlic flavored ice cream (that sadly tasted like plain old vanilla but came in a cool carton) and some chili pepper gelato.

After that, it seemed everything in Ikebukuro had closed down and it was only 9:30! We were thinking of catching a late night movie, but both of the theaters in town had their last moving showings at, like, 8pm. One was still open, but was only showing the new Evangelion movie. But even that didn't start till 1am. Weird. We considered doing some karaoke, but since neither of us had a karaoke place membership we decided to grab some chu-his at the combini and have a nice quite evening in our hotel.

The next day, we headed back to the Sunshine 60 building, stopping to have lunch at a really cute star themed cafe, and went to the aquarium. Started off with watching a seal show that was pretty cute and then walked around looking at various fish and animals. That weekend was the release of the Ponyo DVD. It's the newest Miyazaki movie about a strange fish girl and one of the tanks had a replica of Ponyo floating around in the tank. It was really cute!

After that we did some shopping and went up to the observatory. I ended up buying the Ponyo DVD as I haven't actually seen the movie yet, but know quite a bit about it thanks to my students. I got a bunch of freebies with it too cause I bought it from the Miyazaki store. I had heard the observatory was free the last time I came to Ikebukuro with Janet, but its not. When we went to the aquarium though, we ended up getting a combined ticket for both the aquarium and observatory because it was a pretty good deal. Went rather quickly through the observatory (the Tokyo skyline doesn't really change all that much and I've seen it from at least 3 other tall building before) and looked around at the Eva exhibit that was setup.

After that, it was time for Katrina to head to the concert and I was just plain tired and decided to head back to Yamanashi early. Somehow, I ended up with an unusually long 30min wait at Otsuki to catch the next local train and ended up having dinner at a soba/udon shop in the station. And that was my Tokyo weekend! Next weekend I vow NOT to go to Tokyo.

Labels: concert, friends, Tokyo

I got lucky and got out of school early on 5/20. What better way to spend my free time that go to the Tokyo Dome for Kame's day! And this time I took notes.

This makes it my 3rd time going to the concert. The first time I had arena seats and the second time F1 stand seats. This time I was way out there in the 2F stand seats, but was also pretty much center stage, which was nice. Because it was a last minute decision, I didn't have a ticket when I showed up at the stadium. Not a problem though. There were several scalpers selling tickets and one agreed to sell me a seat for 2,000 yen. Seeing as the face value of a ticket is 6,500 yen, that was a great deal even though the seat was not so good. I was worried that buying from a scalper would be a bit shady, but it wasn't. Most of the scalpers seem to be girls that had friends cancel or who got better seats at the last minute and just wanna get a bit back for the tickets they bought.

From the high seats, the floating planets before the show starts are really cool looking. They also look nothing like the planets they are supposed to represent but I will forgive them cause they still look cool. I didn't even notice the planets the other 2 days.

I was really excited for the show because it was Kame's day and the day before was Jin's day which I had heard was amazing, so I was expecting big things! The boy is all about fan service so I expected to see some love. I was sad that I missed Jin's day, but I had to work. Before the concert even started, I stopped by the 7-11 to grab some snacks, drinks, and a pen so I could take notes. I also wanted to stop by the restroom, bu the line was ungodly long.

The show starts with cartoon versions of the boys getting into a shuttle and the big floating planets drift down behind the stage. I really like the pork or chicken comment during the cartoon bit, as if they were on an airplane or something. While the shuttle thing is happening, there is a junior on the stage acting like ground control for the shuttle. Then all the members were introduced, with Jin getting the most screams, followed closely by Kame. Sometimes I feel bad for the other band members cause the volume difference is so noticeable.

I love the first outfits they wear. Very heavy on the silver sparkles. First song was Rescue. Again, lot's of fire effects for this song. Even electronic flames on the screens to match the real ones. And there were a ton of Juniors in red dancing around. At the end of the song, Jin blew a little kiss. Next was One Drop. This song had a bunch of sound problems on the other 2 nights I went, but was fine this time around. A lot of water effects for this song.

Next was Lips and then Yorokobi no Uta during which a bunch of Kis-my-Ft2 members in green were pretty much molesting each other. Then it was Keep the Faith, which ended with a bang of fireworks. Following that was Don't you ever stop which was another song heavy on the flame effects. Jin was really into singing this song and Kame messed up his lines a bit. Koki took off his jacket and made it look like he was tossing it into the arena, but it was actually caught by a staff member. Next was White X-mas. The other time I saw this song, the stage was completely covered in fog, but it looked like the fog machines weren't working, so the effect was lost. Kame whispered his 'Christmas' in the beginning like he always does and got a thunderous scream.

Then it was Sadistic Love. Koki got some Akame love and there were these crazy green laser lights that I never noticed before. Next up was 1584. I really like the feudal era theme going on in this song. A bunch of juniors run around with these huge flags that are similar to the one I had to hold up during a parade that I was a samurai for. Those things are dang heavy! Kame was sexy as always and got caught up a bit when he was flying around with the black and white ribbon things. Then Koki starts his taiko thing, which is pretty cool and starts his solo, Pierrot. This song has definitely grown on me and is one of my favorites. They did the motorcycle cage thing. I noticed today that Koki's mic is all flame decorated which was awesome. Then is was time for Junno's, um, cloud song as I have dubbed it. Koki and Junno sang together for a bit. Then the crowd screamed at a random point during the song. I was confused until I realized it was because Jin had come out to get on his platform. Next, Maru does his beatbox thing and then they 'rescue' more Hey! Say! Jump! members. During this time, Jin kicked Junno off the 'rescue cart'. How mean! The 2 guests were in Gokusen 3 and will be in the movie with Kame. After a failed Maru bungee attempt, they bowed to him and he sang Cherry with them.

Then it was the song they sit in cages an float around for. Kame was hanging upside down of his and Ueda was bouncing up and down on the cage he and Maru shared and screaming at Maru to bungee! Jin just sits in his and does nothing. Next was the Jump up song. When the Juniors were running off the stage, Jin was bowing to them. Way different from the first day where I saw him try and kick one!

Then it was MC time. They all bowed a lot and did funny things to get the audience to scream. Junno's funny thing was ignored. They went over all their current projects once again. Following the MC was Water Dance, then Moon. Then it was time for the other bands. Kis-my-ft2 sang Fire Beat, which is really growing on me, and the other group sang Vanilla, or something. Seems to be a bit to racy of a song for such young boys. Then it was Real Face. I love the song but really hate the purple suit Kame wears during it. Then it was time for Kame's song choices. He chose I like, some song I didn't recognize, the make it world wide song (yay!), and I wanna be your lover song. Jin messed up the last song's lyrics bad and apologized mid song.

Next is was Ueda playing the piano and his solo. The Maru's solo and run around the stage screen thing, then Wonder! Still in love with this song. Jin bowed to the crowd at the end of the song. Then it was Battle of the Kings. First was Ueda vs. Junno. The had a battle with red and blue balls on the screen, but then brought out huge guns! Junno did a bit of acting from Romeo and Juliet and then Ueda blasted him with the gun and a bunch of streamers and sparklers came out. Very cool. Next battle was Koki vs. Nakamaru. They did impressions. Then it was Kame vs. Jin. They did their air battle thing and Jin died right away, again. Jin got thrown around a bit in the end and looked a bit freaked out. Ueda helped Kame down to the ground and gave him a big hug. Then it was Wilds of my Heart and Neiro. Encore was She said and Peaceful Days. They did not come out for a second encore.

After the concert I headed for the train station and came across something that wasn't there the last time. Unofficial concert photos! Yay! As I started to poke around and check out the photos, a bunch of cops came and made them leave, but they had a shop setup nearby. The shop was really small and squished, but I got my photos. All the photos were sold in sets of 4 for 500yen a pop and I got 2500 yen worth. I really wanted a good pic of Kame in his kimono, but most of the photos were of him all wet. And Jin had a ton of good shots. He is really photogenic. I wanted them all, but made myself pick only 3 of his sets. I can't wait for the official photo book to come out. They even handed out shiny silver flyers for it at the concert.

Labels: concert, KAT-TUN, Tokyo

Okay, not actually the official Day 2, but the second day I managed to make it to the concert which was 5/17. And this time, I was prepared!

I started my day by making an uchiwa! I felt really left out not having one the last time, so I stopped by the shop recommended to me by my day one concert buddy and made my own. I know that they are supposed to have your favorite member and everything, but I like all the members, so, yeah. Maybe my next one will be Jin-themed. I really had to rush to finish it, so it probably could have been better if I had more time, but I'm still really proud of it. The heart with wings design is based off the design that's covering all of their concerts goods. Here is is!

Once again, I got my ticket from the re-sale shop in Harajuku. This time around I spent 1man and got a seat in the stands. 23 gate, section 34, row 15. This time, I also got to the show early and thus had a full concert experience. Also, my seat gave me a really good view of the back stages that I could'tn really see at all the first time. I missed a lot of the water effects stuff and had no idea that Kame was dancing around all soaked, cause I couldn't see that from my seat last time. This time I got a perfect view.

Again, I was so wrapped up in watching the concert that I failed to take any notes. Concert started with Rescue, which is one of my favorite songs that I knew I had missed by showing up late the last time. Lots of fire effects for this one! Then it was One Drop followed by a medley of keep the faith, don't you ever stop, and white x-mas (man I missed sooooo much that first day!). Then it was Kame's solo. This time I managed to catch where he and the stuntman switched and knew it wasn't him. Made that whole part way less exciting. But Kame's kimono strip tease was just as thrilling as the first time and this time I had the added bonus of watching him dance around all wet and sexy like. And he ended it by not only floating on an umbrella on the water, but also spun around with fire work sticks too. Then it was Koki's solo followed by Ueda playing the piano and singing his solo. Also, in there somewhere was Junno's solo and Akanishi's new collaboration with Crystal K. called Wonder. Can't wait for that single to come out! Real Face was also in there somewhere too. Uggg, my memory sucks!

During the MC part, they talked about all their upcoming projects. At one point, Kame was pretending that he played Yabuki Hayato in Gokusen and it earned a bunch of screams. And Maru jumped for the first time! Though, it was at a lowered level. I still felt really happy that he managed to jump this time, especially cause people booed him at the first concert I went too. It was around this part that I met another concert going friend. She was 2 seats away, but managed to scream over at me. She was visiting from Malaysia and was happy to see a foreigner that was also a fan of KAT-TUN. We had a brief chat and exchanged contact info so we could keep in touch.

During the Battle of Kings I actually kinda got what was going on. The first was some type of light ball battle, then it was some kind of comedy imitation thing, and then an air battle between Kame and Jin. Still kinda weird though.

They did an encore and came out on a rocket ship. Jin's hair was all wet and sexy. They did She said and Peaceful Days. Once they finished, they popped back out for what could have been a second encore, but was just them talking for a bit and then leaving. Before heading back home, I picked up one last concert good. A bag. Its the perfect size to hold an uchiwa, which was annoying to carry to the concert in my not quite big enough purse.

Labels: concert, KAT-TUN, Tokyo

I've recently become a bit obsessed with a Japanese boy band called KAT-TUN. They are holding a massive 8 day concert in the Tokyo dome and I went to the very first day of the concert on 5/15. I bought my ticket from a re-sell shop in Harajuku the day before the concert. Spent 2 man on an arena seat in the A16 section. When I bought the ticket I had no idea how the stadium was setup and thought I was buying what I now know to be called a 'stand' seat. When I was at the shop I just assumed a 'stand' seat was one where you had to stand and thus was on the floor and not in the stadium seats and that 'arena' was a spot in the stadium seats. Boy was I wrong, but it ended up working out well for me cause my seat was amazing! Here is a pic of my ticket!

The A16 block was on the far right side of the stage, if you are facing the direction of the stage. It was really far from the back stage but really close to the giant main stage (though way off to one side) and right next to a ramp where the band members run up and down. So, while I wasn't super close to any particular stage I did get an up close and personal view of all the band members as well as a crap ton of Juniors who seemed to be everywhere at all times.

The biggest down side to the day was that I got to the concert late! I think I might have missed a train connection, which made me a bit late, and I was made even later by the fact that I had to go check in at my hostel. I arrived during White Christmas, which was a surprise because I didn't think they would perform that at the concert seeing as it's a Christmas song and all and it now mid May.

Because I was late, I didn't have one of the light up ball things that everyone else had, which made me sort of sad. I also noticed that everyone had uchiwa's. Uchiwa's are traditional Japanese fans. They usually come in pretty flower patterns and what not, but the ones at the concert were self made and decked out with all sorts of various sparkly things and the names of band members in neon colors. I obviously did not do my JE concert research! However, I made friends with the Japanese woman sitting next to me who told me about the uchiwa and where I could go to pick up supplies to make my own. Her English was pretty good and she was good at speaking in simple Japanese that I could understand so we ended up talking during the slow periods of the concert. She was actually a big Kis-my-Ft2 fan, who were one of the secondary bands in the concert, and would go crazy whenever one of them passed by on the ramp (which was quite often). After the show, I took my picture with her. Got a few glares from the guards, but apparently they are okay with you taking a pictures as long at its not in the direction of the stage. Either that or they decided it wasn't worth trying to explain the rules to the gaijin. Here's the pic!

I was so overwhelmed by the concert and taking everything in that I didn't bother to take notes and thus sort of forgot the specifics, but there are definitely some memorable moments that stood out. First is Kame's 1582 solo. OMG! That boy is insane. He got into this huge cage that was raised into the air and then he fell from it! I now know that is was a stunt person, but that day I actually thought it was Kame falling like that. I thought I was gonna have a mini panic attack. Koki's motorcycle thing during his solo was also quite cool. I thought it is was actually him riding around the metal ball cage on the motorcycle, but later found out it was not. The King battle confused the crap out of me, but Kame was swinging over my head for part of it, so my confusion was quickly forgotten. During the MC they talked about Gokusen, which comes out the in July and about Jin's upcoming movie Bandage. During this time, some Hey! Say! Jump! member was rescued by the group and Maru tried to bungee! He backed out though and everyone sort of booed him. I felt bad for him.

After the concert was finished, I got in line and purchased some concert goods. I knew I'd be going to the concert again, if only to see what I missed by coming late, so I got one of the light up balls. I also got a towel, water bottle, key chain, poster, and some pics of Akanishi Jin, who is currently my favorite member. I had to wait in a huge line to get them and it wasn't till I reached the front that I realized I could have gone to a different gate that had no wait at all. Oh well. A few more pics to wrap this up including pics of various KAT-TUN features that were outside the stadium, and a picture I sneakily took of the stage after the concert was finished.

Labels: concert, KAT-TUN, Tokyo