Your AKB48 Experiences

NMB48 Bokura no Eureka's 2shot event (Tokyo and Osaka)

Sharing also my experience with NMB48's Bokura no Eureka Shamekai event

Just like convenience93, I was also caught by the storm. The storm was really strong. At the morning of the event, I received alerts, asking some people in some places to evacuate due to the storm. I was also scared they would cancel the event. I live in Tokyo and traveled to Osaka just for this event. Thank God they didn't cancel the event but instead accommodated those people who came late due to the storm.

The excitement I felt when members were drawing numbers from the box was really really fun. When I get someone that I like, I would shout with joy. It just goes out from my body and from my mouth lol. There were also times when I would feel a little bit of disappointment especially if I hardly know the member, but I was still thankful.

So here were the members I got.

Spoiler

Osaka 1bu

Takayama Riko

Takayama Riko was really cute. She smiled and greeted me lively when I entered the booth. I said my greetings and sat down beside her. Then she suggested a pose, which I didn't here, but I saw her pose so I just imitated her. This was the first 2shot event I ever attended so I was so nervous. After our picture was taken, the staff escorted me outside and she greeted me goodbye with her sweet smile. A very very cute member.



Okita Ayaka

Okita Ayaka was a beauty! She didn't have the typical japanese girl beauty. More like exotic lol. So I said my greetings. I actually said I was from the Philippines and she replied with "Usually people tell me I look like a filipina", to which I agreed. So we decided a pose. I was still nervous so I suggested we do a peace sign.



Osaka 2bu

Kishino Rika

During the 2bu, no member got the number that was in my ticket. This actually was a random lane, where the fans would line up, pick a number from the box and the number you get will be the lane you will go to. When it was my turn, I kind of saw Tanigawa Airi's number but decided to get another since I was scared the staff would catch me cheating. After drawing, I got Rikanyan.

Rikanyan was also a beauty. She greeted me when I went in the booth and we decided a pose. I still did not think of any other pose so I again suggested a peace sign pose.



Osaka 4bu

Nishimura Aika

Nishimura Aika was a really cute. She greeted me with her big smile and I went with the usual introduction about myself. We then sat down, and decided a pose. Before I went to Nishimura Aika, a friend of mine who was with me at the 2shot suggested we do a heart pose. So I suggested the heart pose and she happily agreed to do it. When we were doing a heart pose, I notice that we were too close (I felt her arm touched my arm). But the staff noticed it immediately and warned me I was too close. I moved back a little and the staff took our picture.



Osaka 6bu

Kamieda Emika

Emichi was really lively when she greeted me. I said the usual and had a heart pose. Nothing much happened.



Osaka 8bu

Kono Saki

I love Kono Saki's smile when she greeted me. It was really cute and it felt genuine (i'm not saying the others were fake) but I just felt she smiled just like a child (you can see her smile in the picture below). Nothing much happened.



Shimada Rena

I was warned by my friend that Shimada Rena was a tsuri. If i'm not careful, she can catch me offguard lol. So I went to her booth and she greeted me. I said my greetings and sat beside her. We then decided on a pose. I only knew the peace and heart pose so I sugessted the heart pose. After our picture was taken, I stood up from the chair. But before I could go, she grabbed my in my elbow and rubbed my arm gently and said "Thank you, come back again" sweetly. I was caught off guard and did not prepare for that. She was trying to catch me lol. And she was successful. She was the only member who did that to me. But I was shocked but I needed to keep my composure. So I replied to her that I will and said our goodbyes. After
getting out of the booth, I could help but smile. One staff even saw me smiling. But I didn't care, Shimarena made my day.



During the tokyo event, my schedule for the the 2shot event was really far apart (9am-12am, 6:30pm-8:30pm). Thankfully, there was the Tokyo Game Show just beside the NMB48 event. I killed time there while waiting for my schedule.

Tokyo 1bu

Takano Yui

Takano Yui was really cute. I went inside her booth and she greeted me. I was ready to tell her we do the heart pose but instead she suggested we do the Takano pose. The pose was cute and later I discovered that her Takano pose was actually famouse along fans. I learned something new there.



Tokyo 2bu

Hayashi Momoka

Momoka was also cute, although not as energetic as Yuipon. I felt she was still sleepy at that time lol. Before I went in, my friend suggested we do the moka punch, since it was really cute and so that I could have a different pose aside from the heart and peace pose.



Tokyo 8bu

Shimada Rena

I started liking Shimada Rena after our 2shot at osaka. So when I heard the number she drew, I couldn't help myself but shout with joy. I wanted to experience again her tsuri. But I was prepared so I wouldn't panic when we will meet. Since this was also our second meeting, I couldn't tell my usual introduction. So I decided to tell her that we actually met and took our picture together during the Osaka 2shot. So I went inside her booth, and she greeted me. I told her that I went to the Osaka 2shot and without even telling her that our picture was taken in the Osaka 2shot, she said immediately that she remembers me. I never expected that and I expressed my joy that she remembered me. When I sat down, I asked for her suggestion on what pose we will do and suggested we do "takoyaki". She also demonstrated how to do it. Her face was really small and was really cute. I couldn't help myself but smile. We did the "takoyaki" and I was now standing up from my seat. She again grabbed me on my elbow and dragged her finger until it reached my fingers. I grabbed my fingers and swayed it a few times and telling me "Thank you again. And be careful on your way home." I said my thanks and waved her goodbye. She again made my day. Now I know why people say she's a tsuri.



Tokyo 9bu

Koyanagi Arisa

This was the last of the 2shot and I got 2 tickets. First one was Arii. Arii was way cuter personally than in pictures and tv shows. I was starstrucked when I saw her. She greeted me with her big and sweet smile. I asked for a suggestion on what pose we will be doing and she suggested we point at the camera.



Uno Mizuki

Last was Uno Mizuki. My experience with her was a little below average than all of the members I met in the 2shot. With all the members, it was usual that they will greet, shake their hands and give my introduction and when I seat down, that will be the time we discuss about our pose. But with Mikkii, it was different, when I entered the booth, she greeted me and asked directly what pose we will do. I was shocked and paniced a little. So I said the peace sign since it was the first thing that entered my mind. Our picture was taken and
she said Thank you then the staff escorted me. It was so fast, I forgot to congratulate her for the Janken.

Overall, the event was really fun! I enjoyed every minute of it. I even already ordered my next 2shot event (Feb 11 in Osaka, and March 1 in Tokyo). I hope this time I could have a chance with either Nana or Maachun.

 

Thanks to everyone for the recent reports. Really enjoyed reading them, and lots of good interactions and experiences.

I need to find my way to a 2-shot event

 

Hi everyone,

I recently did an AKB48 feature with several fans in different parts of the world regarding their AKB experiences and a few people you know from Stage48 are on it. You can check it out on the J!-ENT 20th Anniversary annual issue. Low res (PDF - 58MB) - http://goo.gl/dsbt4b Mid Res (PDF/Zipped - 109 MB) http://goo.gl/ocITVO

 

Haven't finished writing up my Team KKS show from the 5th yet, so my experiance from today will have to make up for that.

Ok, a few days back I was informed by memorybreak of an event taking place at Lumine EST in Shinjuku on the 12th October (today). Sato Sumire was doing a launch for her collab wth Japanese fashion brand, Vanquish http://vanquish.jp/venus/

Since Lumine EST isn't too far away from my hotel, I didn't set off until about midday. When I reached, the place was pretty quiet sans the usual Japanese shop assistants and the greetings. So I had a look at things for a bit and decided to come back a bit later (my mistake as I didn't people were already lining up down the stairwells having bought their tees).

Came back at around 1:15pm and again not many people, but thought I should get my tees anyway, so proceeded to go and buy those with the help of the shop assistant. Could only buy one in XL and one in L, as XL's were selling out pretty quick (didn't actually look like they had a lot behind the counters of any particular size).

After buying, I got my handshake tickets and joined the queue which spiralled down two levels. Waiting there wasn't that pleasant an experiance due to it being hot!! Queue was probably a ratio of about 70-30 guys to girls. Every 10min or so we moved up the stairs. Was about 30min until I reached the top and close to where Suuchan was handshaking and handing out the lookbooks. I actually didn't think it was a proper handshake, so didn't prepare anything before hand

So, it got to my turn and was beckoned to go over to the table. First thing that hit, boy she's cute. The shorter hair and Lolita-less style really have changed her appearance! Really suits her and makes her look that bit more mature too! Enough of that, back to the handshake. Out pops her hand and the customary hello, boy were her hands warm and soft. Possibly the softest and warmest outside of Tomochin's! Sorry Moechan, Amina...

Due to not having preapred and not having much to say, I kept it kinda short and said sorry for my lack of Japanese and that I came from London which surprised, cue the big eyes and surprised expression. She turned to her assistant and I'm guessing said something about London, English!! Didn't have much more time so, exchanged thanks and I was shuffled along

That's pretty much it for my write up on this. Turned out better than I expected and well, thanks to it, Suuchan makes her way into my to Handshake list for April/May next year!

The spoils from the event -

 

Thanks.....575 pages wow. And a lot of AKB stuff....and somebody demonstrating their Wasamin love....must have been some connection there from a previous life maybe.

 

I managed to squeeze another trip to Japan in September. Went to the Nationwide handshake in Hokkaido as well as the theatre handshake on Sept 23, which was my birthday. Managed to get in a Team 4/KKS show this time as well. I didn't have the time and motivation to type out all my accounts yet but a little here and there in this post.

Went to Chiba for Yukarin's radio show and she tweeted about a Singapore fan going for it and said thank you after the radio too. Got in one of the Anta Dare shows with Hirari too. T^T I had also gone for Girls Award as part of the media team and got some great photos and fanservice from Tomochin, Mariko-sama and Tomo~mi. T^T;;

Spoiler

For Hokkaido handshake, I went with 50-odd tickets. 28 were spent on Takamina at the end while the rest were spilt between the lanes, meeting the kids that I like and getting new experience with girls I've never met.

Yuko Handshake Repo:
1) Me: I’m from Singapore
Yuko: EHHHHHHHHHH?!?!?! SINGAPORUUUUU?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!???
Me: /nods/
Yuko: WANT TO GOOOOOO!!!!!
2)Me: /walks in/
Yuko: /looks at merlion/ SINGAPORE! KAWAIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!! MA-LION! /touches merlion/
Me: /walks out/

Takamina Handshake Repo:
Just part of the 28 tickets I had. Hadn't the time to type everything out...
Takamina: (suddenly) Twenty-five?
Me: EHHHh……..~~~
Takamina: (pissed/fierce voice) How old are you!?
Me: ……Twenty…………ssss
Takamina: Twenty six?
._. I forgot how old I'm and had to count -v- LOL But i was wasting the precious seconds -_-

Kawaei Handshake Repo
Hokkaido lane: ⑨大島涼花・高橋朱里・川栄李奈・小嶋菜月・中村麻里子・岩田華怜・森川彩香・名取稚菜
1st:
When I walked in, Kawaei “OH! きた！” & Ryoka was like ?????. Juri “Singapore!” Kawaei “YOU!!!!!” … Karen “Singapore?” /me nods/ Wakanyan “Singapore see you!”
Yeah, basically this. LOL I didn’t shake Nattsun’s hand for the 1st time because Kawaei didn’t let go, and I was already pushed past Nattsun when she let go, though there’s no one in front or behind me.

2nd:
Me: シンガポールから… (From Singapore..)
Ryoka: Hello!
Juri: /time got eaten up by Kawaei/
Kawaei: SINGAPORE!! HAHAHHAHAA HELLO.
Me: …hi. ;A))o
Nattsun: Hi~
Karen: Singapore I KNOW!
Wakanyan: I KNOW YOU!

Much later, when I was walking past their lane from behind them, since 9th & 10th lane are open lanes which people can see while walking, 9th lane didn’t had anyone queuing and Wakanyan was facing behind when she saw me and shouted: “覚えているよ〜! シンガポールにいた時!” Something along those lines, “I remember you! When I was in Singapore!” (I wrote about them in Singapore in the previous page on this thread.) And I laughed. ;A)o Then some of the others in the lane turned around.
Karen: “I SEE YOU! SINGAPORE!”
Me: /shouting back/ “Yes! From Singapore!”
Karen: Singapore! Hellloooo~~~ Byebye~~~
Me: Byebye~~~
Wakanyan: Go Singapore when?
Me: 来週 (Next week)
Wakanyan: Ah~ Byebye
Me: Byebye ;A)o


Theatre handshake on 23rd Sept
I had tickets for Takamina, Tanochan, Haruu, Hirari, Ripopo, Kawaei, AbeMa. But I don't have all the accounts typed out now.

Tanochan's.
My friend went to Tanochan’s lane before I did and I didn’t know. LOL I’m the OO in my friend’s convos with Tanochan. ;A))o
Friend’s convo with Tanochan:
Tano「おはよう！ありがとうございます！」 Good Morning! Thank you!
Friend「はじめまして！海外から来ました！」 Nice to meet you! I’m from overseas!
Tano「えっ、海外ですか！」Ehh, from overseas!
Friend「はい、○○の友達です」 Yes, I’m OO’s friend
Tano「○○‼︎」
Friend「そうｗ土曜日に北海道の握手会行ったね」 Yes, she went the handshake in Hokkaido on Saturday
Tano「そうそうそう！一昨日！」Yesyesyes! The day before yesterday!

Me:
I’ve a paper written: “Today’s my birthday, please say Happy Birthday to me” in Japanese. She spoke in Japanese, and so did I for the very little words I spoke… LOL
Part 1:
Me: /walks in/
Tano: You went to Hokkaido too!
Me: Yes~ /points to paper/
Tano: /takes paper up and reads aloud/ (english)HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Me: Thank you~
-Time’s up-
Me: (english) I’ll be back!
Tano: (english)…back? AHHHH BACK! OK! Byebye!
Me: Byebye~
Part 2:
Paper written: This is a messagebook with congrats messages from worldwide fans for making Jyanken Senbatsu!
Me: /walks in/
Tano: /takes paper up and read aloud/
Me: /thoughts in my head: hand too close to boobs, tanochan your hand…your hand…../
Tano: EHHHHHHH!! This book????? /takes book up and flips/
Me: /sobs silently at the hand that brushed against boobs many times/ Yes~ I’ll leave it at the theatre.
Tano: Ok!! すごい!!!

Friend’s convo with Tanochan again:
Poor friend had to bring my presents to show Tanochan this time, 3 figurines (1 of Tano’s election poster and 2 that’s TanoTomu’s outfit at Nissan stadium). They spoke in Japanese.
Tano: Ah~ Thank you~
Friend: This is a present from OO.
Tano: I received it!
Friend: No, it’s these. /points to charms/
(Note: Merlion was hanging with the charms, and Tanochan thought my friend meant the Merlion. But Tano’s reply is like confirming that she got the presents I left for her from my last trip!!!!)
Tano: AHH!! Kawaii!!!
Friend: Tanochan & Tomuchan-
Tano: AHHHH!!!!
Friend: …from this photo…
Tano: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Kawaiiiiii. Did you make these?
Friend: No, it’s from ○○! These.
Tano: EHHHHHH~!! Thank you! It’s amazing, this!!
Friend: Yes yes yes~~~
Tano: Kawaiiiiiii~~~
Friend: You really like this~
Tano: Yes!! Kawaiiiiiiii~~~ Amazing! Thank you!

Kawaei's Theatre:
I’ve a paper written: “Today’s my birthday, please say Happy Birthday to me” in Japanese. But Happy birthday is in English, so we katakana-ed the words for Kawaei. LOL
/walks in/
Kawaei: OH!!!! きた！(You came!)
Me: /points to paper/
Kawaei: /reads/ …今日誕生日？！ (Today’s your birthday?!) WOOWWWW~ おめでとう！…(reading the katakana) Hasphy B…AHHH HAPPY BIRTHDAY! WAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAAAAA おめでとう~~~~~~~~~~~~!!!!
Me: Thank you~
Kawaei: 何歳？(How old?)
Me: /shows 2 & 6 with fingers/
Kawaei: 22?
Me: …six
Kawaei: AH SIX! OH SIX. HAHAA~ SIX HAHAHAAAAA
Me: 来週劇場にプレセント送るよ。
Kawaei: 本当？！ありがとう〜〜〜
Me: Byebye~
Kawaei: Byebye~~~~~~~~~~

Ripopo's theatre:
りぽぽ「Ah! SINGAPORE!」
私 /shows paper that says it’s my birthday/
りぽぽ「AH?! 今日?! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!」
私「Thank you!」
りぽぽ「Happy birthday to you~~~~~」 /sings Happy Birthday while taking both of my hands and shaking them left to right/
私「Thank you!!!!」
りぽぽ「名前—What’s your name?」 (She said name in Japanese, and then corrected herself into english.)
私「Wen〇〇!」
りぽぽ「Wen〇〇? かわいい！Cute-o Cute-o! /points to herself/ Ripopoです!」 (I’m Ripopo!)
私「Ripopo cute-o!」
りぽぽ「Cute-o? Ripopo cute-o? 嬉しい！りぽぽ可愛い Wen〇〇可愛い！」 (Ripopo cute? I’m happy! Ripopo cute, Wen〇〇 cute!)
私 (LOL)
りぽぽ「また、あのね〜〜コンサート行きたいです。コンサート１回だけ…シンガポール。」 (Also, you know~~ I want to go (to Singapore) for concert. We went to Singapore once for concert.)
-Time’s up-
私「はい！」
りぽぽ「Ma-lion!」
私「あ〜Ma-lion!」/shows Merlion soft toy/
りぽぽ「あああああああ！！！！！！！！！！！！！！」 /touches Merlion toy/
私「Thank you~」
りぽぽ「Byebye~~~~~」

AbeMaria theatre:
I met AbeMa a lot of times in Hokkaido because she's in the same lane as Takamina. She's a dear to meet because she remembers me from Singapore and I had even interviewed her (and some of the girls) before, which she totally said so in Hokkaido in front of the other members. ;A; ))
Me: /walks over
Abe Maria: AHHHH! Hokkaido! ありがとう! Ahhhh Singapore!
Me: /shows paper that it’s my birthday
AbeMa: Happy Birthday!
Me: Thank you!
AbeMa: Thank you!!! 来た嬉しい！(I’m glad you came)
Me: 明日劇場に私と友達のプレゼント送るよ! (I’ll leave me & my friend’s presents at the theatre tomorrow!)
AbeMa: Eh! Thank you!! 嬉しい！Happy!!
Me: Happy!
AbeMa: Happy? … Happy! ありがとう！
Me: Thank you!
AbeMa: Thank you!
Me: Bye bye!
AbeMa: See you!!!!!
Me: Singapore?
AbeMa: Singapore!!!!

Hirari theatre:
I didn't have time to type out all of Hirari's handshake accounts yet. I had 12 tickets with her on 23rd Sept. ;A; This is just Part 1 with 2 tickets. Crazy stuffs, meeting her.
Me: /walks over
Hirari: AHHH!
Me: ?????
Hirari: The one from!!
Me: Where?
Hirari: HOKKAIDO!!!!!!!
Me: ……well yes but I’m actually from Singapore.
Hirari: AH YES Right right!
Me: It’s my birthday today…
Hirari: REALLY? HAPPY BIRTHHHHDAY!
Me: Thank you~ Did you see my google plus comments?
Hirari: Yes! I’ve always see them, the one in English from Singapore!
Me: Well yeah I’ll see you later in the next session.
Hirari: Alright see you!

Girls Award:




When Tomochin was singing at the main stage, I was standing somewhere in the middle of the runway stage taking photos. Then when she walked down the runway to the extended stage, I moved to the back and is just nice at the side of the extended stage.
Then when she was halfway through performing 1%, there was a while when Tomochin was looking at the back of the extended stage and that’s where the media were standing (as well as one section of the moshpit fans). I lowered my camera already cus I’ve enough photos and wanted to enjoy 1% (which is my fave single from her) so I was just singing along and staring (starry-eyed I believed) at her. And suddenly she looked at me and gave an amused smile and I was like O_O?!?!? Then I realised it’s probably because I was the only one in the media area who was really enjoying the performance and I was even singing along. ;Ao She’s really close to us like about 1.5m away? And I was so embarrassed. LMAOs ;Ao She looked at me again when she was done with her performance before leaving the stage. ;A))))o
During the Mariko x Peach reporters session, Mariko-sama took a double take when she saw me in the reporters area and she kept looking over, even during the runway at the actual show. LOL ;A;^

 

What a fantastic write-up! I love reading about SKE handshake events, lets me live vicariously as I will never, ever go to Japan and when they're as detailed as this it really helps paint the picture. [rock] The interaction with Mikitty sounds adorably charming. If I remember correctly from one of your previous reports, didn't Kaotan stake a claim on you? Hopefully she and Mikitty don't get to talking...

Also I'd just noticed your post in the Utsukushii Inazuma thread asking for handshake tickets the other day, too late to send mine to you. I feel like we need an official ticket donation thread somewhere on the forum. It'd be nice for those of us outside Japan who buy tons of CDs to contribute our tickets and know we're helping other foreign fans live the glory for us.

 

Koisuru Fortune Cookie - Pacifico Yokohama - 10/19/2013

After nearly six months away from the land of idols, it was finally time to return. Much had happened while I was away, Elections, Promotions, Graduations, Janken. I was glad to be back, and even happier to once again have an action-packed handshake schedule.

Spoiler'ed for length as usual

Spoiler

Quick Notes

- I attended this event with Hiro, Greg, Dave, and Vu from NSK/Selective Hearing, and their friend Anthony. I also ran into Luckyone from Stage48, and Jason (who I know from the Fuji TV shows).

- The event was held at Pacifico Yokohama. The venue is about as large as Messe, but I believe it is longer and more narrow. This led to narrower walkways and more congestion overall. In addition the ventilation was terrible. As cool as it was outside, the interior got even hotter than Messe in early June.

- Open lanes for the non-senbatsu members is still the norm. In addition, this was the first event I’ve attended where members had the option of either sitting or standing. The majority of the members I met chose to stand, but there were some prominent ones who decided to sit.

I had 50 tickets in total for this event, including:
- At least 2 tickets for nearly every member I saw.
- 15 tickets for Uchiyama Natsuki (5 for each of the slots she was appearing in)
- 7 ‘unassigned’ tickets, which could be used on any member who hadn't sold out.


Slot 1

Watanabe Mayu: Decided to get in Mayuyu’s line early, before it got too long. She came out a few minutes late, but once her line started moving it was going pretty fast. I only had a single ticket, didn’t have a lot of time. I got a nice smile and a little ‘ohh’ when I stepped up to her table, and said ‘Hello’ and where I was from. Chatted a little bit about the TV shows that I had seen, like AKB0048, but otherwise nothing that really jumped out. Felt like she wasn’t up to full speed yet - even her usher seemed a little laid-back when it came to moving me along.

Interesting note, her OJS48 recognized me from the previous events.

Iwasa Misaki: Went to see Wasamin next, and was a bit dismayed to find her lane completely empty. That could explain this look:



Of course, I didn't get that look because I went to go see her. Congratulated her on the album and Election. Explained that I was flying back on Monday, so wouldn’t be able to attend her album events. But I let her know that Cristafari would be coming to see her next month for her album release. That got a big smile from her. She was a little quieter than other times, I think she was up too late playing Monster Hunter.


Maeda Mitsuki: This was my first time seeing Mitsuki at a handshake event, and the first time I’ve seen her with her shorter hair. It looks really good on her.



Told her I was from California, and that I had seen her at the theater in April and May. She asked me if I had a fun time, and I told her most definitely. Congratulated her on the promotion, and she thanked me. Explained that I was a big fan of original Team 4, and would be a new Team 4 fan to. She asked a question that I didn’t catch right away, but think it was whether I worked or lived in Japan. I explained that I was there for vacation, and then it was pretty much time to go.

Really nice, and I’ll be seeing her again in the future. (and Kojimako too - who I wasn't able to get tickets for this event)

Okada Nana: Got over to Naachan’s lane just before the gate closed. This was also my first time meeting her. She was dressed up in the 50’s-style costume, swear it’s from a video or photo shoot, but couldn’t place it. As with Mitsuki, explained that I had seen shows in April and May, and told her how much I loved her and Nakki’s version of ‘Temo Demo’. (and of course she finished my sentence - she probably hears it a lot). Congratulated her on her promotion and that I would be supporting Team 4. She asked me where I was from, and I told her I was from California/San Francisco before my time was up.


Slot 2

Sashihara Rino: With only a single ticket my Sasshi experience was a complete blur. She was sitting when I entered, and I said my usual Hello and where I was from. Congratulated her on the Election. She thanked me, but you could tell that it was like stating the obvious. Told her that I wanted to go to Hakata to see a HKT48 theater performance, and then I was getting hustled out. Wasn’t as upbeat as I expected, but apparently she was a little under the weather.

Hirata Rina: Hirari is now one of my ‘must-see’ members, so I was really looking forward to talking with her again. When I had been waiting to see Mitsuki in slot 1, I had managed to catch her eye and wave to her. Then immediately felt guilty because A) I was in another member’s lane and B) wasn’t going to see her until the next slot.

Hirari had dressed up as a police officer, but the uniform was a midriff-baring shirt and short pants. I understand now what Sato Amina meant, when she raved about Hirari in short pants at the AnDare show I was at in May.



She greeted me with a big hello as usual. Congratulated her on the Janken, and told her I had watched it and was cheering her on the entire time. She asked if I had been at the event, and I told her that I wanted to be there, but couldn’t fly out because of work. Explained that I had to wait an entire day trying not to be spoiled, but I watched it late the day after and kept waking up my neighbors cheering for her. Before I left, I told her I would see her again in December.

After I left, I realized I had probably talked too much. I had two unassigned tickets, and was thinking about going back and seeing her again. Especially since I forgot to mention the cosplay… but on second thought, maybe I shouldn’t mention that. So after debating for a while, decided to see a couple members I enjoyed talking to in the past instead.

Aigasa Moe: Had fun with Moe in June, and decided to go say ‘Hi’ again. Not sure if she remembered me, but I congratulated her on the promotion and let her know I would be cheering her and Team 4 on.



Tano Yuka: Can never get enough of Tano-chan, and she was ‘High Tension’ as usual. Told her I had seen the recent AKBingo episodes and she was great on them. She asked if the show was funny and amusing, and I told her it was. One of these days I should go ask her if she remembers me from the other TV show, especially since she was commenting on it when it aired.

Yokoyama Yui: Got a bit nervous waiting in Yui’s line, as I never know how it’s going to go. (if you’ve been reading my reports, you know it’s always been ‘hit or miss’ in the past).

This time, she completely blew me away when stepped into the booth. The instant she saw me, she lit up and went "ahh - California!" I immediately did a double-take and exclaimed "you remembered me!”. She replied “of course!” Now I didn’t know what to say, and for all the right reasons. I ended up telling her that it made me really happy that she remembered. Congratulated her on both the Sousenkyo and promotion to Team A Captain. Could tell that she's heard that a lot, because she basically went “yup, yup" and smiled. I let her know how happy that she was leading Team A, and she said “I’m really happy too!”. Before I left, I told her I really wanted to see a Yokoyama Team A performance in the theater.

I left her booth happier than I’ve ever been. Finally, everything ‘clicked’.

Slot 3 / Lunch Slot

This was the busiest slot for me, and I had two popular members and several of the 15th gen KKS. I had also applied to meet some of the draft members, but didn’t win a ticket for their lanes.

Yamamoto Sayaka: Got to her line as soon as I could, and it was already backed up. In fact, it's the first time I've ever seen a disorderly queue in Japan. At some point the line in had turned into two separate ones, and the staff had to come and straighten out how it was supposed to snake.

I’ve glimpsed Sayanee once or twice at the handshake events (in fact she nearly ran into me in the exit lane once). But this was my first face-to-face since the hi-touch at the Team N performance at Zepp Tokyo in 2011. As expected, she was extremely cheerful and looked amazing.



She did a crossed hand shake with me. Threw me off a little as usually that's something the younger members do. When I told her I was from America, she immediately asked from where in the US. I told her that I was from San Francisco, and that I loved NMB48 and really wanted to see them in Osaka.

The ushers were moving her line very fast, so that was all the time I had. There were a couple other things that I wished I could have talked to her about, so this really drove home my impression that single tickets, at least for me, are not a way to go.


Nakanishi Chiyori: Had to go to the other end of the venue to see Chori. While waiting to see Chori, I could hear Tani Marika talking to her fans 10 lanes over. She is so loud and ‘hi tension’, it made me wish that she wasn’t sold out so I could use some unassigned tickets on her. Have to wait for a future event.

Like all the HKT48 members, as funny and pretty as they are on TV, seeing them in person takes it to an entirely new level. Not only was Chori absolutely gorgeous, but her smile is just infectious.



I ended up a little speechless for the first couple of seconds. Then managed to get into the rhythm again. Explained where I was from, and that I watched all the HKT48 variety shows. Told her that I really loved her personality and performances, that they were really fun and interesting. Also let her know that I really wanted to go see an HKT48 performance.

Sayanee and Chori really backed me up, so I had to be really creative with the 15th gen KKS. Mion had been moved into this slot from 6, but luckily they extended her gate time by minutes. I was able to see all three, but just barely.

Sato Kiara: Kiichan had a short line, with only one or two people in front of me. She is incredibly petite, even smaller than Miorin. As I walked up to her table, I could see her get a little thrown off and that this would be an awkward handshake. First 10 seconds were easy, mentioned where I was from, and I was a big kenkyuusei fan. Watched the shows on demand, etc, etc. Then I ran out of things to say, and she just looked at me politely, but you could tell she was thinking "umm, what do I say?". I wished her good luck and pretty much exited as soon as I had the 'arigatou' from the staff.

Tsuchiyasu Mizuki: She had quite the line, which was good for her and bad for me. Because her lane was right next to Kiichan’s, there was no way Kiichan wouldn’t see me standing there. Which she of course did, and gave me a look that dropped the temperature in Pacifico by several degrees.

Mizuki gave me a little ‘oh’ when I stepped up, My pronunciation of California isn’t always clear in Japanese, and it took a little time for her to figure out what I was saying. Once we got it sorted out, time was up. I was all ready to tell her that when I saw her debut, she was like a pro and not a kenkyuusei. Well - guess I'll leave that to Cristafari.

Mukaichi Mion: She had a very busy line. She is really cute and extremely poised, but that’s not unexpected considering her background. When she saw me, it didn't even throw her off stride for a second. Did my usual explanation of where I was from, that I watched the shows on DMM, and that she was great. She was really happy and thanked me for coming.


Then it was time to dash off and grab something to eat during the break. Which turned out to be difficult because everything was packed. I had some time to think about the morning sessions, and realized that while there were some definite highlights, I had probably stretched myself too thin. Also really began to feel the pressure of being labeled DD (Daredemo Daisuki - I love anyone). Which is not true at all, I’m simply not the type of person that likes one thing to the exclusion of everything else. But there is no easy way to explain it to Japanese fans.

At any rate, I was beginning to think this event would turn out to be a little less exciting than the previous ones. Luckily, the afternoon would prove me completely wrong.

Slot 4:

Matsumura Kaori: I was nervous as heck going into Kaotan’s lane. She has a reputation for challenging her fans, and sure enough she was doing it as I watched. It seemed like every conversation ended with a loud “Why, Why!”. The other thing I noticed while waiting, she had her senbatsu trophy prominently featured at the end of her table.

Then it was my turn, and she saw me and busted out a huge smile. First impressions - she is pretty damn cute. busu-cute, but still cute. Also, softest hands I shook all day. She's pretty rapid fire, so I'm paraphrasing to give the vibe of the convo.

Congratulated her on the election. She was like "Pretty cool - eh. Did you see my trophy.” While I was saying “yes”, she picked it up and handed it to me. She held the top so I wouldn't let it slip out of my hands, but I was holding an actual piece of Sousenkyo history. I asked "are you sure is is okay”, and she was like “it’s okay, it’s okay”. There wasn’t much I could say but “wow!” Then she took it back and grabbed my hands again. Told her I was watching Ebi Friday Night and that she was a riot, made me laugh a lot. Loved the "Eternal 17 year old" and she replied that she was "Forever 17" in English. I told her I was the same, and always "Forever 23". She laughed and said "Yes - Forever 23". Then time was up but she waved me out the entire time asking me to come back again.

Absolutely amazing and one of the highlights of the afternoon.

Nishino Miki: I must have still been dazed by my Kaotan experience, because I honestly don’t remember much about meeting Miki-chan. Part of the reason is probably due to her being somewhat low-key that day. Having seen Miki-chan several times in the theater, I was expecting her event personality to be the same over-the-top reaction and excitement. I do know that I talked about seeing her in the theater, and congratulated her on the promotion and that I would be following Team 4 and cheering them on.



Had two unassigned tickets to use, and planned on using one for Miorin and another for someone else. However, time was getting short, and I couldn’t get over to the quieter lanes before the gates closed. Decided to use both tickets on Miorin.

Ichikawa Miori: She remembered me immediately, and I took a moment to properly thank her for seeing and remembering me from the TV show. She was adorable as usual, and wearing a really cute beret. I asked her how it was performing with Team N, and she said it was a lot of fun. Told her I really wanted to see a Miorin Team N stage. (think I mentioned I would be trying in December). Commented on her beret, and mentioned I really liked her leopard-print lemon head from the Janken tournament.



From this point on, I only had 3 members left on my schedule. Uchiyama Natsuki, Ishida Anna, and Natori Wakana. I also had 3 unassigned tickets, one for each of the remaining slots. I’m going to cover the slots a bit differently for this last part.



Slot 5

Decided to see Anna first, because it would be hard to get away from Nakki's lane once I went over there.

Ishida Anna: Anna was dressed to kill as usual, in high heels, short skirt, and a black blouse with sequined roses on it. If I had any doubt that Anna was a fluke, was gone the second I walked in. She gave me a big hello, while I apologized for it being so long since the last handshake. She said it was totally okay and not to worry about it.



I decided to go with the tactic that worked so well with Wasamin in June, and told her she seemed tall today (because of her really high heels). She thought I said warm (attakai vs takai), but that was perfect, because she said "yeah, it's warm today, but look what I did" and turned around so I could see her back. The back of her blouse had a sheer panel running from top to bottom. Pacifico suddenly seemed to get even warmer right about then.

I complimented her on the blouse, and said the roses were pretty too. Told her I really wanted to see Team S perform Reset, and was sad the enpou show on Sunday was canceled. Again with the "don't worry", and as I was leaving told her I would be back in December.

Fished or not, I never felt for a second that she was not genuinely happy to see me again. Just an amazing handshake, and such a self-confident girl as well. It’s like “she’s all that and a bag of chips” and she knows it. I still don’t know why her line is not always packed.

Slot 7

Natori Wakana: Wakanyan was adorable, wearing her Janken outfit. Unfortunately, it didn’t connect with me until after the handshake was over. I introduced myself and explained where I was from. Told her that I had seen her at an AnDare taping in May. She asked me if it was fun, and I told her that I had a good time. Mentioned that I watched Gachi Challenge and loved both of her episodes, though having her sing in Swahili was so unfair. She agreed, and said ‘unfair unfair’ in such a cute way.



Sigh - I really wish I could see some members over and over again. But I have to remain focused…

Slot 5 - 7

The rest of this report is devoted to one member, because she was the main reason I was here. I still had 3 ‘unassigned’ tickets to see other members, but I decided I would play that by ear.

Uchiyama Natsuki: The first thing I noticed, her lane was packed. She and Yuurin had the best crowds in that section. They were even outdrawing Saho and Mariyannu. I had planned on looping her line three times in each slot, but quickly figured out I could only make two passes before time ran out in the slot 5.

Nakki mentioned in Google+ that she wanted to wear ‘that shirt’, which of course meant the t-shirt from her Birthday committee. I’ve noticed she has three modes for handshake events: stylish, young, or cosplay. For this event, she decided to go with the ‘young’ look. Which meant twin tails with bows, the birthday t-shirt, styled up bit to show her shoulders, a short fluffy skirt, a cat's tail, and bunny socks.

[img]https://lh6.googleusercontent....dE/w320-h483-no/008AKB_4_uchiyama_g.jpg[/img]

Note: The paws are from Wakanyan’s costume, though neither of them wore them during the event. Would be a hard handshake.

While I was waiting in line, I chatted with some of the fans that I know. As usual, I was a bit nervous, not knowing if she would remember me or not. It has been 5 months, and while I comment frequently on her G+ posts, I had no idea if she read them. I didn’t need to worry. The minute she caught a glimpse of me her eyes lit up, and when I was my turn she just grabbed my hands, beamed that amazing smile, and went "Frank!!!!”

In a heartbeat I knew that I would use all 3 ‘unassigned’ tickets on her - 15 tickets were not going to be enough.

Rather than go into detail, and I could write a book, probably easier to recap the highlights:

- I’ve wondered if I could actually keep a conversation going for more than 30 seconds, or have enough to see a member multiple times. I now understand how other fans can do it. Talking with her is as easy as talking with my other friends in Japan. I had several things that I wanted to talk about, but the conversation flowed so naturally I ended up only talking about a few things that I had planned.

- At the end of every handshake, she would ask if I would be back again. I reassured her each time that I had more tickets and would be back. For the final handshake I made sure she knew I would be back in December.

- Talked about her birthday show, promotion, and the performances. She was very curious if I had seen Pajama Drive, and I told her that I had twice. She asked if she had been in the performance, and I let her know that she had been both times. Also talked about Amachan and how I watch shows in America.

- For the last session, I ran to the washroom quick to change into my Election t-shirt that Cristafari had picked up for me in June. Turns out that I wasn’t the only one with a wardrobe change. She had replaced the cat tail with a bunny tail, and donned a pair of bunny ears (from Disney - where she had performed the night before).

- I made sure to let her know that I had noticed, exclaiming ‘Usagi ni natte!’. She laughed and turned around to show me the tail. I asked if she was Thumper from Bambi, and I think she understood what I meant (didn’t realize Thumper has a different name in Japan). I told her that ‘First Rabbit’ was my favorite AKB48 song, and that I was so happy to see her perform it on AKBingo!.

In between the handshakes, I hung out with her fans and talked with most of them. I still get some heat for seeing so many different members, but I think they understand that Nakki’s my favorite. I ended up staying until the very end of the entire event, waiting until her lane was empty and she had to go back. When she was done, she came out and waved to everyone who had been waiting to say good night. Turns out she was nearly to last member to close their lane - there was one SKE48 member who ended up closing the place down.

Once again, it was another great experience and I was really glad that I came. Looking forward do doing it again in December, but I also have a serious problem. I only have six tickets for Nakki for the Heart Ereki event - that is nowhere near enough!

 

@Cristafari: nice write-ups, phew. I'll have to expand my ske handshaking in the future, that was a good sampling.
@tensai: Lol, so you get heat from seeing other members?? Uh oh, I gotta be careful . I can't believe I haven't handshaked hillary yet. Also congratulations on your yui [clap]

 

Thanks! Hirari is definitely an awesome handshake.

As for the heat, I feel I get it mainly because I have a declared oshimen, but still go see a lot of other members. It's the typical "if you aren't giving 110% to one girl, she's not really your oshimen". There are also some fans that still associate me as being a Yui oshi, or have met me in other member's lanes and thought they were my oshimen.

To add to the confusion, all gaijin apparently look alike. I've been mistaken for Cristafari a number of times. Even in Nakki's lane, someone asked me "wait - aren't you the Wasamin oshi who's entire apartment is full of Wasamin posters". (Cristafari and I also wonder if some of the members are confusing us too)

But for the most part it's pretty much just good-natured teasing. And as much as I adore Nakki, I still want to see Yui, Mocchi, Hirari, Anna, and Mitsuki every chance I get.

 

Thanks for taking the time to do the extensive write-ups. It sounds like it was an amazing experience from start to finish, and very good reads. Hopefully you'll have one or two more opportunities to say hi before you leave!

 

I have several experiences to write up, actually, since the budokan concert , but I will start with the most exciting thing that has happened to me as a fan, a theatre show. A few days ago I received the email with the notice I was a cancel machi no.24, so I was like " Oh well, I guess it doesn't hurts to try", so this Saturday I ran to Akihabara and waited in the lobby until the staff started to announce cancel machi. He was going through the numbers really fast, so I was getting really excited and my heart started to pound. Suddenly... the staff stopped for quite a while at no. 18 or so, so I was losing my hopes to get into the theatre today; however, he came back and started calling more numbers, and when he called my number I ran to the line as fast as I could and payed my ticket.

I couldn't believe it, I actually made it to a theatre show. The team was Oshima Team K and the setlist is here in the forums, so I am just going to talk about the highlights of the show.



As soon as I lined up, I accidentally lined in the enpou line because my ticket was in the same range of numbers, so when I was already seated in the theatre, the staff told me about the error, but no worries, my group got called after a little while. I decided to be in the center since the front seats were taken and the only available seats where the ones near the pillars, so I just decided to be in the middle standing up, I actually ended in a good spot since I got in second line of people and the person in front of me was shorter than me.

This show included Nao from SKE48 and Rena from JKT48, along with some members I really like: Tomu, Mochi, Hillary, Maria, Rie and Mariyagi.

The first songs were really nice, I was shocked how close you are from the stage even if you are standing up. Rie really did a great job as the center of some songs while Hillary put ALOT of energy in Saishuu bell ga naru, one of my Team K favorites.

On the first MC, where they introduced themselves, they talked about which item was a need for each time during winter. Hillary was talking about hand and body cream, when she forgot how to say moisturizing in Japanese , Rena was kind of shy and told everyone she liked to wash her hands with hot water. Shimada Haruka was talking about a nabe she usually makes in winter and told everyone to try it.

During the units, the highlights for me were Yuuwaku no garter and End roll. In Yuuwaku no garter, Mochi was SPLENDID, I have no words to describe that song live, it really fits Mochi; however, Kanachan was a little down that day and I believe Mochi would do as a better center for that song. On End roll, I was impressed by the quality of the dance, the videos do not make justice of how good dancers AKB really has.

I also need to give some props up to Mariyagi's Hoshi no ondo and Hillary centering Candy, so cute. Also, higurashi no koi was good with Uchi, she has a beautiful voice and it was such a nice song to see performed live. Hajimete no jelly beans was cute, and Rie is a really good performer.

For the second CM, each one talked about something they have been interested lately. Mocchi cracked me up with her obsession with ear lobes hahaha Other than that, I need to watch the video because I forgot other answers.

For the second part of songs, tadaima renaichuu got the crowd heated up and chants were starting to appear, I mean, the crowd was a little silent on the first time but you could see everyone was enjoying the show. On tadaima reinaichuu I stared Rena and I think she kind of noticed because I got a lot of contact. Alive was AMAZING, I love that song, the energy they put in it is amazing and Tomu really has a lot of energy in the song. For hashire penguin, I felt they did a good job, very energetic and the dance was really smooth, I was surprised how this song actually fits Team K. For honest man I don't have anything special to comment, but they did a good job on it. Now, the sister group medley... OMG Myao does have great moves when she is dancing during kodoku na runner, and tsuyokimono yo was a great song which I felt Team K did a really good job, during this part Hillary had her hair all over the place and I felt so proud of her, she is a REALLY great performer. Korogaru ishi ni nare is amazing, the crowd was really energic and I was really happy to see this performed in the theatre... it is an experience I will never forget.

For the third MC, they talked about something they would like to do in the winter/ like to do. Hillary wants to play in the snow and Myao talked about how cool it was to play with the snow in Russia when they had a show there... then Chikarina (or kanachan, I don't remember) joked how all of the members should be taken to Russia to play with the snow because it was so soft. And Rie totally broke Hillary's dream of playing with the snow in Tokyo with "well... Tokyo's snow is kind of dirty, isn't it?" hahaha .

Then, they sang Yuuhi Marie, I think the costumes for the song are great and it is a powerful performance.

After that, the main show ended and the waiting for the encore started. A guy about 2 people away for me started the "uncle lu" and everybody shouted along. When they finally appeared, they sang Heavy rotation with Tomu as the center, a very good performance, I liked Tomu did Yuko's moves and didn't do them partially as other members. Then, in first rabbit, a favorite of mine, Mocchi grabbed Tomu's ear lobe which totally killed me haha. Finally, they performed To be continued, I just love this song, so powerful and I could feel the energy of the girls, they really gave their best and I was about to tear up... the meaning of that song is so powerful I just don't have words. Oh!, they also performed Heart ereki with Mocchi as the center, very nice performance!

Overall, the show was amazing, they had a lot of energy an even in HOshi no ondo, which requires no dancing, you could see they were doing their best and I applaud them for that and for not doing theatre shows as an "extra" or just for the sake of keeping the tradition, they really put their best performance and I was really impressed... so far my ranking of AKB events is theatre> big venue concerts> national handshakes >individual handshakes, with individual handshakes being great and theatre shows being AMAZING.

After the show we got the high touch from them and Hillary and Mocchi seemed to recognize me, but even if not they were so cute and said how "kyuuto" I was thanking me for coming to the show

I would really encourage everyone applying and going even if you only have cancel machi, as luck might be on your side as it was with me today. (Mind my weird grammar or spelling, don't have time now to proof read it )

EDIT:

during Yuuwaku no garter or Hoshi no ondo where the slides of the wall turn back to the mirror, if you see a foreigner with glasses to the right, it is me XD

 

Amazing read! It gave me chill reading this!

I'm not found of team K but your write up made me want to try at least one LOD to see hoshi no hondo and To be continued live.

Do you mind giving me the date of the show?

Thanks, i appreciate people who share their experience, it's like you are living it on your own, or at least make you want to go to see a performance even more

 

it is the 11/16 show, the 2:00 pm one, if you find it on youku I would appreciate if you sent me a link, I would love to see it again