Iwasa Misaki (Wasamin) / 7th Generation

@Arubaro Thanks for the links! The last one is from PON. I saw the earlier, shorter report before I left for the Saitama events.. That one was much better. Anyway...

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



Setlist 13:00
1. Mujineki
2. Kawa no Nagare no You Ni
3. Haloween Night (Enka Version)
4. Gomen ne Tokyo

Setlist 16:00
1. Tomonoura Bojou
2. Kita no Yado Kara
3. Ippome Ondo (Iwasa Misaki Version) <-- Debut Performance!!!
4. Gomen ne Tokyo

**Third time performing at this venue in Kitakyushu. I saw her here during the Tomobojo tour. She was also here a few months ago for Hatsuzake.
**Surprisingly decent number of fans made it out from Tokyo. I'd say at least 15. Most of the regulars said they will be skipping the Western Japan shows and wait for Odawara on Sunday. However, many have been known to change their minds.

**Wasamin wearing multi-colored floral pattern Kimono. Here ya go...



The crowd overall wasn't very big. Well, the CD buying crowd wasn't very big. Plenty of locals showed up for the early performance, but most just come to watch and don't buy the CD. On the other hand I was standing near the Tower Records table before the 2nd show and noticed that some of the elderly fans DO buy the CD, and reject the handshake ticket.

Second day in a row of sound trouble. This time it had to do with the Karaoke CD. Mujineki kept starting and stopping a few seconds in. Wasamin had to do some impromptu MCing for a few minutes while they ironed it out. Moments later they started the wrong song, so it was a complete mess. That's okay, we all had fun with it.


(Today I had a front row seat for both performances)

HANDSHAKES (Part 1)
Leading off I asked her if she was genki this morning. She first said she was, then she said "I am blue". I responded "Kowai so" and immediately pulled another Autographed Clear file. So that's 5 of 6 for wins. The fix must be in, right? WRONG! I pulled seven losing tickets in a row after that. We later got to talking about shrimp again, and Sushizanmei (Sushi chain in Japan) That inspired our cheki pose, it's the pose the guy does at the end of their television commercial. We later talked about Shinkansen bentos where Wasamin told me she likes Ginger Pork too.

HANDSHAKES (Part 2)
First off, she finally sang Ippome Ondo live. KITAAAA! It's a really fun live song, very much like her version of KFC. I had told her that some of the overseas fans had been asking me about the song, and they would be happy to know that she finally sang it live. Oh, and she did a great job with it. I hope she sings it more this week, since I think it is a real crowd pleaser.

At this point I had lost three draws in a row, so Wasamin offered to draw my next ballot....and I lost again! She kept apologizing, but when I came back around she offered to pull it again. I immediately responded "NOOOO!", which got her mad at me. "Hidoi Chris-san!". And of course I pulled another losing ticket anyway. So karma nailed me. Finally I told her my birthday was a couple of weeks ago, so she sang Happy Birthday to me, which was nice.

After pulling 7 losing tickets in a row, one of the fans took pity on me and gave me one of his cheki winners, which is why I got a photo after all. So thank you to Kimura-san! After making it back to Kokura I ended up falling asleep for over half the ride back to Osaka. I went to bed early too, so I should have plenty of energy for the Hiroshima event today. Hopefully we will get a much bigger crowd.

 

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


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

Setlist 13:00
1. Mujineki
2. Kawa no Nagare no You Ni
3. Tomonoura Bojou ("Duet" with Roller-chan)
4. Gomen ne Tokyo

Setlist 16:00
1. Hatsuzake
2. Ettou Tsubame
3. Tomonoura Bojou ("Duet" with Roller-chan)
4. Gomen ne Tokyo


**Wasamin wearing pale purple kimono


**Wasamin spent much of 2014 promoting her 3rd single in Fukuyama, and notably in the coastal town of Tomonoura. So this was a sort of homecoming. I know last year they said the "Wasamin-bus" was still operating, but on an irregular schedule. In any case, the sign for it has been taken down. Glad I got the chance to ride it when I did! Roller-chan, along with representatives from the Fukuyama community organization were on hand to welcome her back.


**For some reason they decided to move the event outside at the last minute (it was on the Tokuma page this morning) It was a much bigger space, but the temperature was under 10 degrees (celcius) and got even colder for the late event. Fortunately she only performed outside. All the post-live festivities (handshakes, etc.) were moved inside the mall.

**Decent sized crowd, certainly better than yesterday in Fukuoka. Seating was for about 200, and it was about 2/3 filled for both events. However there were plenty of people standing too.



Ito-Yokado is just a short bus ride away from Fukuyama Station. I arrived at 11:30 and couldn't believe it when I saw the stage setup outdoors. Granted, there is sort of a roof above the the area, but that doesn't really stop the biting cold wind from whistling through. The early show was okay, but by 4pm it got really cold out there. Wasamin's manager looked absolutely miserable. Of course Wasamin was worried about the fans, but you could tell she was really cold too. She kept switching the mic between hands and hiding her hands in her kimono. Despite all that she performed just fine.

As expected there was a focus on Wasamin's 3rd single, Tomonoura Bojou since that song is her "love letter" to the area. In both performances Roller-chan appeared on stage during the 2nd MC and stuck around for the third song. BTW, before the first show I saw Roller-chan behind the stage and she started playing "peek-a-boo" with me, LOL.

Handshakes (Part 1)
I started off reminiscing about Roller-chan, and how I first got to meet her 2 years ago in Ikebukuro (and again in Hiroshima) I was hoping to have slightly different karma today with the prize drawing, but drew a losing ticket. I immediately went back up, and before I could say anything Wasamin quoted a recent tweet I made. There she goes, Wasamin reading my twitter feed again. I wonder how often she really checks it out. All the time, or only when I am in town? She also noted that I talked about Roller-chan on my twitter too. Anyway, I decided to bite the bullet and apologize to Wasamin for not letting her draw my ticket yesterday. As a peace offering I allowed her to do it again. And whaddya know, she drew me a signed CD! And I got a nice bonus message to boot...



When Wasamin handed it to me she said something to the effect of "Good luck trying to read it", LOL

Handshakes (Part 2)
Everyone was just happy to be out of the cold. BTW, there was a girl at the event who I had never met before. Cute female fans at Wasamin's events are sort of few and far between (for lack of a better term), but this girl was so cute. She looked just like Churi. In fact, for a minute I thought it WAS Churi. Apparently she's a regular, and I think she might even be on the committee. There were a couple other cute girls at the event too. All three of them bought a lot of CDs!

Wasamin always worries about her fans. I reminded her that we were all more worried about her since she is only wearing a Kimono. I mentioned I was mostly worried about her manager because she looked like she was freezing. Oh, and I finally learned her managers' names. They both laughed when I called her "Kantoku-san". Her manager is Ichikawa-san and her assistant is Saso-san. Next I had told her that I understood what she wrote on my CD. On a related note I told her that I planned on starting more formal Japanese lessons beginning next week. She gave me a "fai-ting!" chant to that news. I had one more chance to win something after technically I had pulled 12 losing tickets in a row. The win rate is around 30%, so 12 consecutive losing tickets really sucks. After telling Wasamin that she was again wearing my favorite of her enka hairstyles (long on one side, pulled back on the other) I finally pulled a winner. Another clear file. As Ichikawa-san noted that was my 4th clear file this week. Amazing that she's keeping track.

And with that our day in the freezing cold was over. A group of us ran to catch the bus back to Fukuyama Station where we all parted ways. It seems we all had different itineraries getting to Osaka. Some were taking the bus, others were taking local trains, some were taking the Nozomi, I was taking the Sakura. But we'll all see each other tomorrow in Hyogo Prefecture.

 

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



Setlist 13:00
1. Mujineki
2. Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyugeshiki
3. Halloween Night (Enka version)
4. Gomen ne Tokyo

Setlist 16:00
1. Tomonoura Bojou
2. Kawa no Nagare no You Ni
3. Ippome Ondo (Iwasa Misaki version)
4. Gomen ne Tokyo


**Wasamin wearing bright red kimono
**This was her first time performing in Itami

Itami is just outside of Osaka, not too far from Itami Airport and the Takarazuka Theater. It took a 20+ minute bus ride to get to the mall. In fact, none of the last three locations were near train stations. So I am getting a crash course in the various bus lines of Japan. And they are ALL different. Some have tickets, some don't. Some you pay at the beginning, some at the end. It always makes for an awkward moment when I board the bus and can't fogure out what the local etiquette is. Luckily I arrived at the same time as a few other Wasafans and we all boarded the bus together. Anyway...

Most of the regulars were camped out 2 hours before showtime. The first thing I noticed was how small a space they were using, AND how few seats they were putting out. It was over an hour before the show and there were already more people waiting than there were seats. At noon they opened the space and the rush was on. I was going to sit in the back (been in the front row for the past two days) but some of the fans saved me a seat at the end of the first row. For the late show I stood in the back.



Overall the crowd was comparable to Hiroshima, perhaps slightly larger. Although the handshakes went significantly longer. That was because, as I predicted, some of the Tokyo regulars ultimately decided to come out. Fans and onlookers packed the area, and were also viewing from the upstairs verandas. Wasamin also noted that there were quite a few children at the show, especially the late performance. She absolutely LOVES to play with the kids who come to see her live. In fact I think she annoyed the guards as she was being escorted out of the area because she stopped to play with a little girl in a stroller.

Handshakes (Part 1)
I remarked to Wasamin that it was also my first time in Itami (as well as Hyōgo Prefecture) and I noted how good the crowd was. I screwed up the part about the crowd but she eventually figured out what I meant. I also congratulated her on being #1 in sales at Tower Records. Of course it helped that Tower supported the events at Saitama and Fukuoka. For my last ticket she was talking to the fan in front of me and kept saying "Hoho" "Hoho". I went "Hoho nani?". She immediately laughed. "That's his name! Hoho-san. He is Hoho-san, I am Misaki-chan, and you are Chris-san." Although later in the day my honorific changed. (Hehe). I asked she and Ichikawa-san what foods Hyogo Prefecture was famous for. It stumped her for a minute, but she finally said it was Sake. Sounds good to me!



Handshakes (Part 2)
I have mentioned multiple times that Wasamin's confidence and abilities have graduated to another level. It couldn't be any more evident in the way she performs Tomonoura Bojou. She has changed the style in which she sings a few songs, but this this one she has really changed. My favorite part is where she sings the line "Hitotsubu porori, miren ga porori" Not only does she sing it differently, but she does an entire routine with her body and hands. I was really impressed the first time I saw it. She also pointed me out to the crowd today. I was kinda half-listening so I didn't hear what she said about me. All of a sudden everyone was looking at me, pointing lightsticks and smiling, including Wasamin. I was like "Nani? What?" LOL.

So for the first handshake I told her I no longer live in San Francisco, and have moved to Los Angeles now. She responded "But now you live in Itabashi!" Yeah!!!!! I wanted to tell her how I felt about Tomobojo. She seemed to really appreciate it. Then she asked me to sing it with her and do the hand motions. Then she got everyone to watch us do it. Too funny. That was so much fun that I asked her if we could sing my favorite part of Hatsuzake. Last year she noted that while everyone else is clapping, I follow her hand motions on the second to last verse. That's because I think it is so cute. So we sang it and did the hand motions together. At the end she told me that from now on she wanted me to call her Misaki-chan, and she wants to call me Chris-kun. Pet names, awww!


BTW, these are the autographed Clear Files I have been talking about

After that it was time for many of us, including Wasamin to head back to Tokyo. The final event of this particular promotional tour will take place tomorrow in Odawara, which is on the outskirts of Kanagawa Prefecture. It's close enough to draw the Tokyo crowd. We have three performances left to help her end the week successfully. Actually she has a free performance on Monday in Hamamatsucho. However that is more of a Nagara Pro promotion than for her single specifically. Regardless, I will be in attendance!

 

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

The Tour Finale!



12pm Setlist
1. Mujineki
2. Kikyou (Iwasa Misaki Version)
3. Kawa no Nagare no You Ni
4. Gomen ne Tokyo

15:00 Setlist
1. Hatsuzake
2. Seto no Hanayome
3. Halloween Night (Enka Version)
4. Gomen ne Tokyo

18:00 Setlist
1. Tomonoura Bojou
2. Ihoujin
3. Ippome Ondo (Iwasa Misaki Version)
4. Gomen ne Tokyo

**Wasamin wearing off-white Kimono with light pink floral trim.
**As expected it was a very big crowd. Seating was reserved for those who bought the CD, and even in that section it was standing room only. I was in the 7th row for the early set, then moved up to the 3rd row for the last two sets.
^^There were additional prizes given away today. In all of the events from Wednesday through today you gt to draw for the chance to win either 1) getting your CD signed, 2) Getting "anything" signed. 3) An autographed poster from one of Wasamin's previous releases. 4) An autographed clear file 5) A Wasamin cheki (these were occasionally signed) 6) A 2-shot 7) A 2-shot cheki Today they added 1) An autographed Mujineki tissue box and 2) Personalized notes written by Wasamin with cute little characters drawn on them.



So this was the final stop on the Release Week Wasatour, Odawara. About 30-70 minutes outside of Tokyo depending on what train you take. It is also the home of one of my favorite restaurants in Japan. Unfortunately I wouldn't have time to go there as there was barely an hour of down time between events.

I think for everyone, including Wasamin, there is a mixture of sadness and relief at the end of the tour. For me it was a little different than usual. Normally this is the last time I will be seeing Wasamin during my visit. However this time that isn't the case. In fact we wouldn't have long at all as Wasamin was doing a free radio station mini-live in Tokyo the very next day. Later this month we have Wasamin's big birthday concert, and February is filled with AKB AND Wasamin solo events. So there will be plenty of Wasatime to come. Anyway...



Handshakes (Part 1)
For the first set of handshakes we mainly talked about her upcoming appearances in Hamamatsucho, as well as NagaraPro Enka Matsuri. I told her I wanted to see her in Tokyo tomorrow. "Come on! Come on, Chris-kun!" When I mentioned Enka Matsuri Ichikawa-san seemed surprised. Oh, and we stuck to our pact to call each other Misaki-chan and Chris-kun. I also mentioned how it had been a long time since I had heard her perform Kikyou in person, so she sang a little bit for me. Unfortunately I wasn't prepared, or I would have joined in. The little duets Wasamin and I did in Itami were so much fun!

Handshakes (Part 2)
Wasamin had asked me how much of her songs lyrics I actually understand. To be honest even with English music I don't focus on lyrics. I am more into the rhythm and melody. So I told her only a little. However I did tell her that I do understand a lot of what she says during MCs.

Next I finally decided to ask her how well she knew the girls from the idol group Festive. When I saw Festive perform in San Francisco they claimed to be friends with Wasamin. None of the fans seemed to know who they were. But when we mentioned them to Saso-san (her manager's assistant) he said "Yeah, they're all ugly girls". As I feared when I mentioned them to Wasamin her immediate reaction was something to the effect of "Oh, so you like other girls eh?" I tried to explain that they were all fans of hers, but then one of the other fans spilled the beans and told her I have a bunch of 2-shots with Festive on my phone. I immediately got the "bull horns" reaction.

For my final handshake of the session Wasamin's first question was who do I love more, Festive or Misaki-chan? And when I thought things were going so well between us. I told her that Festive is cool, but there is nobody I love more than Misaki-chan. "Yay, because I love Chris-kun"



Handshakes (Part 3)
It was the last day of the tour, and that meant it was time for me to give Wasamin flowers and a fan letter. I had the letter already written and translated before I got to Tokyo. However that means I need to write another one because there is already new stuff I want to talk with her about. Anyway, I went to the mall flower shop and had them arrange me something pretty in Pink and Yellow. It turned out really pretty. I took a quick shot of them hiding in my bag, so you can't really see the arrgement to well...


Giving Wasamin flowers is always a WIN. She dances and smiles. "Flowers??? For me???" This time she was dancing around waving her arms. "Flowers...Flowers...Flowers..." So success, and this time I did my best not to be embarassed about giving them to her since I notice so many other fans are like "Awww, what a great idea!"

Later on I told her where my seat is going to be for her Solo Concert. 2nd Row! I had one more ticket, and then an amazing thing happened...

A couple of big buyers, who had already purchased a lot of CDs went up and bought a bunch more. It was around this point that the shop said "Last Call" for CDs since the mall was closing early on Sunday Night. I immediately went up and bought 2 more copies. And then the frenzy happened. Somebody said "Let's buy em out". That's exactly what happened. Everyone lined up and bought more CDs until the regular version was sold out. Wasamin was watching. Saso-san was like "Sugoi!!!!!"



Oh, this sort of pissed off security at the mall since it seemed none of them wanted to work late. Although everything got done just a few minutes after eight. Anyway, the rest of our talk was just a bunch of lovey-dovey stuff Wasamin and I usually exchange. I told her I was excited about tomorrow. She gave a nice long speech thanking everyone at the end, and acknowledged the four of us who made it to all 13 performances.

And that was it. 6 days, 6 prefectures, around 45 handshakes, another fun Wasatour in the books. And as far as prizes, I ended up winning 2 2-shot shamekai, 1 2-shot cheki, 2 signed CDs, and 4 autographed Clear Files. And of course I have a nice stack of Autograph Boards and Stickers.


(The Wasa-half of my second Shamekai)

As for the Hamamatsucho event today, frankly there isn't too much to write about since there was no handshake portion. But I will post the setlist and photos a bit later.

 

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

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







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


Can you spot me?

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

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

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

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





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

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

 

Did you buy both versions? Or just the CD/DVD version? The Regular version has the Misora Hibari cover

 

Episode #42 of "Iwasa Misaki no Kōshiki Rajio" (2016/01/14)


if the video does not show watch the video here

Finally the long awaited special guest, Sato Amina!!! (Part 1 of 2)

 

It's been a pretty good Request Hour overall for Wasamin. She got to sing her new single in two encores, and in today's matinee she participated in 4 songs and 2 MC's. Not to mention she was center for Seikaku ga Warui Onna no Ko. That was the Wasafan target song. A few Wasafans were disappointed with the #56 ranking. But I don't know, this is actually the highest we have ever gotten our target song to show up (Doremifa Onchi was #57 in 2013, Mujineki was #67 last year)