Your AKB48 Experiences

Iwasa Misaki 2nd Solo Concert at Asakusa Kokaido (2017/01/29)

To say this was a long-anticipated concert would be an understatement. I went back and looked at the OP of the concert thread, and it was announced 10 1/2 months ago. Wasamin's first solo concert was such a special event, that I am fairly sure every Wasafan couldn't wait to do it again. The first trick was not to lose our tickets, which we purchased and received in March. My tickets made the journey from Tokyo to California, where they sat in the trunk of my car all Summer, and finally back to Japan. Every once in a while I would check my small suitcase to make sure they were still there. LOL

A Weekend filled with Wasamin activity
The concert was on Sunday, but on Saturday most Wasafans flocked to Book 1st in Shinjuku, where we queued up to preorder Wasamin's upcoming PB. There were three different packages you could buy, from the basic package, which includes an autographed copy of the PB, plus a handshake and poster. Then there are multi-buy packages where you get additional perks like 1-shots and 2-shot chekis. However, this was not the only special PB pre-order this weekend....


Ad for the PB, plus my autographed Clear File. Do I spy a Mizugi???

Deja vu, weren't we just here a year ago?
So I knew there was going to be a lot going on Sunday, but I wasn't sure what was happening, and when. I only knew that an early goods table would be open from noon until 2pm. There was also the issue of me having an extra ticket to the show, which I hadn't been able to sell. I did have one buyer, but he flaked at the last minute. Ultimately I gave it to @@hermionepj1 as an upgrade, and he paid me the difference. This way I was eating a 3rd floor seat, and not a first floor seat.


Some of the flowers sent to give Wasamin best wishes

Anyway, I got to the venue at 10am, and the line wasn't too long. But again, I wasn't even sure what I was lining up for. However, everyone was there, so whatever happens, happens, right? At around 11am, the line started moving. When we got to the table, one of Wasamin's assistants, Yamaue-san, was passing out numbered tickets. It turned out they were to reserve an autographed Clear File at the goods booth later that night. Once they passed out the 100 tickets (I got #52), they re-queued us in the same order for goods. Pretty much everyone bought the 7500 yen "Everything" package, which included the concert T-shirt, Oshi-towel, heart-shaped lightstick, and a Saba Kaido Uchiwa. They also had the Wasamin calendar, but most fans bought that last year. So it was 12:30, and the next event wasn't until 3:15, so many of the Wasafans decided to have a pre-show party at a nearby Izakaya.


Heart Penlight on the right. Lightstick on the left is from last year, although I transferred it on to a multi-colored King Blade

Ichigo Seats
One of the perks for lucky fans was the "Ichigo Seat", which sold out in 5 minutes when tickets originally went on sale. I originally missed out on getting an ichigo ticket, but I was able to obtain one a few days later. Ichigo seat holders were to be treated to a special pre-show event, and receive some special goods. We lined up before 3pm, anticipating doors opening at 3:15, but there was a delay. A long delay. we ended up standing in the queue until around 3:50pm before doors finally opened. As we entered we received our gift...



It turned out that it was a short mini-live/sound check. Wasamin sang Mujineki, and Saba Kaido, with an MC in the middle where she was wondering why hardly anyone put the badge on. "You guys are supposed to wear it!" I also noticed there was no band. Last year she had a backing band, so I assumed she would have one this year too. But that was pretty much it, 15-20 minutes, and we were booted out while Wasamin did a few last-minute press interviews. However, we were led out of the hall but then stopped in this tight little hallway for 20 minutes, and it was friggin hot in there! Ichikawa-san kept coming into the hallway to apologize, but most of us were wondering why they weren't letting us out. There must have been a reason, right?

We were waiting for Wasamin! They had planned a high-touch for us as we left, but she was busy with the press. Finally she came out, but everything was running far behind schedule, so Yamaue-san was really rushing us through the line. However, I did get a chance to wish Wasamin good luck as she exclaimed Chrisuuuu!!!


Queueing up for the big show!

5:00 Doors Open
We pretty much queued for the show right after the Ichigo event ended. I was queued up outside. It was really funny, if you have ever been to Asakusa, they have those guys pulling tourists in rickshaws. Every one that passed the concert hall was telling their fare about the Iwasa Misaki concert. Once we got in, everyone was given an autographed cheering flag, which was something they mentioned back in March. Of course there was the concert goods table, as well as the CD DVD table, and a photobook pre-order table. which was by far the busiest since they had a special offer of a special limited-edition cover if you pre-ordered the PB at the venue. You also got free shipping!


Cheering flag, and the uchiwa

Again they had the special "museum room", where they had posted a bunch of Wasamin photography. (Last year it was a few of Wasamin's most iconic AKB outfits) Most of the photos were shot in London, Paris, and on location at her PV filming. Here are a few examples...




Between the goods, the clear file, PB, and photography room, it was already going on 5:30, time for the show!!!

The Concert
Right before the show we all noticed a bunch of AKB members sitting on the third floor. Everyone kept yelling for Tanamin, who waved and then hid. Meanwhile, Mariyannu was waving her cheering flag. Wasamin did the kage-ana, and a short time later the lights came down. The show started with a "music-box" version of Mujineki, before the curtain rose. So Mujineki opened the show, followed by Gomen, ne Tokyo, and then an entire section devoted to promoting her second album. To be honest, the beginning felt kinda like a glorified mini-live. But after the second MC, Wasamin started singing songs we had never heard her perform before, and that's where the fun really started...



Speaking of MCs, she was basically doing the same thing she does at her mini-lives. Promoting her CDs, events, PBs. The progression of the show was quite interesting. It was like it kept kicking into a higher gear. About one-third of the way in, we were treated to our first VTR, which was a history of Wasamin learning the guitar. She mentioned that "Give Me Five" was her initiation into the guitar, and she liked it. We got to see her taking lessons, stuff like that. From there Wasamin did a costume change, and it was time for the guitar portion of the show.

She did a very good job with the guitar, but she makes mistakes here and there. She still has some work to do to become more proficient. But at the end of the day she is playing these songs decently, and her singing never falters. She even asked the crowd at one point if we would like her to do more acoustic guitar stuff, and of course we said yes. Finally, after the three acoustic guitar numbers, it was time for....

Photography Corner!!!
This was probably my favorite part of the first concert, and this year it did not disappoint at all! Not only is it fun, but Wasamin picked excellent songs to perform. High energy, fun, and the fans went crazy when she sang Gakuen Tengoku. Wasamin was having a great time too, just look at my photos!



By the way, I put more photos in the Concert thread.
http://stage48.net/forum/index.php?...olo-concert-2017-01-29-asakusa-kokaido.14808/

After that, Wasamin sang a few old favorites before the main set ended. Fans immediately started a chorus of "Wa-Sa-Min!", and a short time later we saw a 2nd VTR. This time it was a look back at Wasamin's year from her graduation announcement to the present. She was really busy last year, and this year is proving to be even more busy. After TomoBojo and Ishikari Banka, Wasamin was into her final MC when we saw the third "Surprise VTR", announcing the concert in Otemachi this Summer. Everyone congratulated her, and she went into a long MC on how she felt this past year and how thankful she has been for the fan support. Finally she ended the show with Saba Kaido, which to me is among her best singles.



Aftermath
There was a special post-show backstage event that fans who bought the album could win, but nobody I know even applied for it since we all thought it was just going to be part of the Ichigo event. So I have no idea what happened there, nor have I heard anyone talk about it. Instead many of the regular fan club members (party of 36) created our own after-party at a local Izakaya, where we celebrated Wasamin's birthday. We even had a cake! (Which almost burnt the restaurant down...seriously) We also recorded a group birthday message and sent it to Wasamin's manager. So fun tiems!


Saba and Ebi!

And, we go right back to business as usual.
Wasamin has two mini-lives this week in Chiba and Asakusa
Chara-ani 2-shot cheki event on Saturday in Gotanda
NHK Performance in Osaka on the 9th
Following weekend on the 11th and 12th she will be doing two PB release events
Wasamin Bus Tour on the 13th
Mini-Live in Akabane on the 17th
Another Chara-ani cheki event in Gotanda on the 18th
Wasamin solo dinner show in Nagoya on the 19th
and then she is back to France for Japan Expo Sud, AND a performance in Paris

BUSY!!!

 

Iwasa Misaki "Saba Kaido" Chara-Ani Cheki Event at Nippon Crown/Tokuma Records Offices (2017/02/04)

In addition to the countless mini-live pre-order events...In addition to the special bonus offers via Tower, WonderGoo, Rakuten...The other CD promotion to sell Wasamin CDs in the special Cheki Event via Chara-Ani. Essentially you are getting a handshake ticket with a cheki when you do this pre-order. This isn't a singing event, instead it is done in the offices of Wasamin's record label. Actually, last year for Gomen, ne Tokyo they did them after the Nagara Pro Enka festival concerts in Nagoya in Tokyo.

For this single there would be two events, both taking place at the same location. Like with AKB, it is done in timeslots, and Wasamin does a costume change between each slot so.....you know.....we all want to get tickets for each one. The offices are in a non-descript building about a kilometer from Gotanda Station. There is a lot of security, and they are very strict about where you can and cannot go within the building. But that's alright, we are all there just to play with Wasamin anyway.

This was my first chance to talk to Wasamin since the big concert last weekend. I got there shortly before the first slot started and noticed that ALL of the fans brought their concert goods to use as props for their chekis. Shit! Why didn't I think of that? No matter, since there are two of these events I will do that for the next one. In any case, I had plenty of other stuff to talk about with her...

SLOT 1
Once I got into the building I was sent into the elevator, and led into the waiting room where I queued up. Eventually I was led into a second room, and the actual queue to see Wasamin. Since this was also the first time I was getting to see Wasamin since her birthday, I came bearing gifts. The first was a small tin of Chocolate Strawberries, but the most important gift was my first fan letter written completely in Japanese....

Wasamin: Hello! (I hand her the letter, she reads the envelope) Misaki-chan!!! (Showing it to her manager) Misaki-chan!!!
Me: Open it, look...
(Wasamin stares at it for a few moments, and turns to me)
Wasamin: Jouzu...Jouzu.
Me: Happy birthday, I have a present too.
We were then told to do our pose


(Misaki-chan holding my letter)

I handed Wasamin the gift. She thanked me for coming, and I told her I would be back. By the way, the moment I saw Wasamin's outfit I noticed something familiar about it. She actually wore the exact same outfit at one of her events for Request Covers 3 1/2 years ago. XD

SLOT 2
I went to lunch with a few of the Wasafaithful, and we didn't get back to Tokuma until the middle of Slot 2. No matter, I only had one ticket anyway. I recently started wearing reading glasses, mainly for reading Japanese. If any of you have read a comic or manga, sometimes they print small hiragana underneath the kanji, and this is impossible for me to read. So now when I am reading Japanese I have to wear glasses. Anyway, Wasamin had never seen me in them. I felt kinda silly, since they are strictly for reading, so everything was looking a bit blurry when I walked in...

Wasamin: You wear glasses?
Me: These are new. Misaki-chan looks super cute! (referring to the sexy maid outfit)
Wasamin: Thank you (does a curtsy)
Me: I bought the glasses to read Japanese. Very small Japanese writing is hard for me to read. (I pulled out one of my other tickets to illustrate what I meant)
Wasamin: Naruhodo
(Just then we were asked what pose to do, I suggested a "maid" pose, which Wasamin struggled with for a few moments. But I think it came out well)



Chris: Oh, I loved the concert. It was a lot of fun!
Wasamin: Are you coming to Otemachi? (referring to her 3rd concert this Summer)
Chris: Of course!!!!!!
Wasamin: Chris C'mon. I will be waiting for you (in English)


After that I left again, and found a Tully's coffee to go veg out in until the third slot. I wanted to line up early since I had dinner plans right after in Shin-Okubo, and I needed to walk all the way back to the train station. Anyway, I headed back shortly before the third slot started...

SLOT 3
I was trying to decide what to talk to Wasamin about for the third slot. I had a few ideas, we'll see how it goes. I enter the room, and Wasamin is wearing some sort of Ninja/Street Fighter cosplay. I immediately say....

Me: Misaki-chan to Kurisu no Taiketsu!!!
(We immediately get into fighting pose, and Saso-san snaps the pic)



Me: For Setsubun, I ate my first Eho-maki!
Wasamin: I know
Me: Ehhhh???
Wasamin: I read your twitter
Me: You did?
Wasamin: "Ooooh big, Eho-Maki Big!"
(That is exactly what I wrote on my tweet when I posted the photo of the Eho-maki)
Me: Yes, that is Takamina's line!
(We're all laughing)
Me: See you next week for Wasamin and Chiizu's Shashinshuu!
Wasamin: Chiizu, (LOL)

So there goes Wasamin, reading my twitter again when I'm not expecting it. I honestly wonder how often she is reading my tweets. I don't think she reads everything I write, but then again I didn't even link her to that one. So I'm not sure. But it was funny that she actually remembered exactly what I wrote.

That is why she is my Oshimen!!!

Anyway, the next couple of weeks are filled with Wasafun. This Saturday is the Wasamin PB release event in Shinjuku. I now have three separate tickets for that since a friend of mine wanted autographed copies, but can't go. He bought the ticket, and gave it to me so I get the benefits. Also, Monday is the Wasamin Bus Tour. We will be touring around Kanagawa Prefecture. First going to an historic site (that I have actually visited before), then we will be making our own Dumplings and Gyoza, and finally visiting a Shrine. I'm sure there will be some singing along the way, and of course we will be having fun in the bus too.

The following week we have Wasamin's second chara-ani cheki event, as well as her first solo dinner show in Nagoya. I am really interested in what this dinner show will be like. It was considerably less expensive than the two Christmas Dinner shows, which were both wonderful. The only thing that I do know is that it isn't open bar. But whatever, it should still be a lovely occasion.

 

SKE48 2nd Album National Pre-order Event AND HKT48 Saikou ka yo National Event at Makuhari Messe (2017/02/12)

Multiple 48-groups holding events at the same location on the same day is becoming an increasingly frequent occurrence. Such was the case on Sunday when both HKT48 and SKE48 had their National events right next door to one another. For SKE, this seems to be their big tactic for increasing the sales number of their second album. The only way to obtain tickets was to pre-order the album, either at mumo.net or at the event itself. For me, this would be my last chance to say goodbye to Mikitty before she graduated from SKE, so getting tickets to this was very important for me. And as long as I was there, I might as well jump next door and say hello to Yuka-chan, right? At least that was the plan...

A few days after ordering the CD I saw that the 48-group handshake event on the first weekend in February was being called "Mikitty's last." It was complete with group photo and everything posted on twitter. Now I was wondering why I went through the trouble of getting tickets when Mikitty will already be gone. Well, I guess I could use my tickets on Kaotan, or maybe Tani. And at least I still had Yuka-chan next door....

A couple of days before the events the schedules came out. I first took a look at HKT...No Yuka-chan. WTF? Why the hell am I going to Makuhari when the two girls I most want to see aren't going to be there? But then I looked at SKE's schedule, and to my surprise Mikitty was on it. Great! Not all is lost. I had considered getting more tickets than I already had (three for each), but with no Akiyoshi I would stick to three for HKT. SKE, however, was another story...

The Morning

I was going to wait until noon to show up, but all of my friends were getting there early, so I arrived at 10:30. My plan was to use a couple of SKE tickets in the morning, move over to HKT in the early afternoon, then finally back to SKE where I would finish out my tickets with Mikitty. It should also be noted that they had created a path between the two events where you could walk from one to the other without the hassle of security. So that made things a lot easier. Mikitty had a handshake slot in the morning, but I skipped that since I wanted to see her at night, closer to the "end" of her day. I spent my time watching all of the games they had set up. This was a pretty cool idea...

The Games

So you could spend your tickets on a handshake, or you could spend them playing the various games with members. They had basketball shooting, soccer shooting, baseball pitching, and badminton. On the other side there were some strength and measurement things, although I have no idea what those were like. There was a Haunted House (which did not get good reviews) and a booth where girls could try on actual member costumes. That was a popular line. In fact most of the games were very popular. The trouble was that most of the girls I like never participated in them, with the exception of Tani, who played badminton for almost an hour. I am kicking myself now for not going for that, but I was waiting to see if Mikitty or Kaotan would come out to play the games. I was here mainly for Mikitty anyway...

Special Stage B: Yakata Miki, Suda Akari, Goto Risako, Matsumura Kaori



Two hours later I finally spent my first ticket on the 12:40 special stage, featuring Mikitty, Kaotan, Dasu, and Goto. This was a lot of fun. The girls came out and sang Party ga Hajimaru yo!, followed by Doku Ringo wo Tabesasete. It was all done sorta tongue-in-cheek with the girls fooling around the entire way. And of course the MC went about how you would expect with those four involved. They did have a photography section, so I got a few cool pics...



Unfortunately I wasn't very close. The combination of members made this a very popular stage, so it was pretty much full. The other issue was that this stage started at almost exactly the same time as the HKT Mini-Live, which was just on the other side of the wall. So we could hear that almost as loudly as our event. But it was still fun.

And that was the one ticket I used for the first four hours I was there. Mikitty had another special stage later on, but it was the same time as the HKT handshake event, so I decided to skip it...

Moving Over to HKT

After grabbing lunch in the SKE food court, and queueing up to pre-order one more SKE Album (and three more tickets), I moved over to the HKT Area. It was a good thing too since there was like a tidal wave of HKT fans pouring over to the SKE area (interestingly, far fewer went from SKE to HKT) I had nothing to do, so I hung out with friends as we watched the staff transform the mini-live area into handshake lanes. This took far longer than they expected, and the handshake event started almost 30 minutes late. I knew how I was going to use two of my tickets, I would decide about the last one at the afterwards...

(Ticket #1) Lane 15: Toyonaga Aki, Inoue Yuriya, Murakawa Vivian.
I was going to use this ticket second, but my friend wanted to go into this lane, so we decided to tandem. This was a National handshake event, so the line moves really fast. Also, in the beginning you are supposed to use the mini-live ticket exclusively, which I didn't have. But since it just opened I guess they just assumed I had one since they let me pass. Anyway, when I got to Aki she excitedly asked where I was from, which I told her. Unfortunately, she pretty much took all the time I had with Yuriya too (who I really wanted to meet) so by the time I turned to Yuriya I was already being pushed away. Finally, Vivian excitedly thanked me for coming to see her again as I was pushed out of the booth. It's a National Event, so quick one-liners are about all you can really expect...

(Ticket #2) Lane 16: Miyazaki Sono, Kurihara Sae, Fuchigami Mai.
If Akiyoshi wasn't here, at least I would get to see Maichan. However, I would have to wait since they were now checking to make sure you had a mini-live ticket to enter a handshake lane. Fortunately, this line wasn't very long so I just hung out close to the entrance, and the moment they announced you could use a second ticket I jumped in...

Sono just stared at me, and unfortunately I had nothing to say to her so I just stared back. Then Sae, to my surprise tried to fish the hell out of me. Considering that she completely ignored me when I saw her special stage with Yuka-chan last month, this was quite the turnaround. In fact she kept at me even after I moved over to Fuchigami, who gave me the usual "Kami" reaction that I get from her every time. She is so adorable...

So now I had one ticket left. Would I sell it? Would I use it? I didn't want to visit those same lanes again (Kurihara is kowai!), but I was having trouble deciding which other lane I wanted to go to. Sasshi, Sakura, and Lovetan's lanes were all huge, and I was never much of a Lovetan fan anyway, even if this is her last handshake event. I finally narrowed it down to two, and then one. There is someone I have contemplated meeting for a while now. Someone I kind of have a love-hate feeling for. i decided to give her a shot and see what she's like...

(Ticket #3) Lane 8: Tomonaga Mio, Hokazono Hazuki, Sakai Moeka.
I have always thought Mio was cute, but I have been under the impression that she has sort of a shitty attitude, which is why I have avoided her. For me, "cute" only carries so much currency. I would much rather spend time with members who are fun. In any case, this lane wasn't too long, and it was getting close to Mikitty's final handshake slots next door, so I went for it.

I couldn't see in what order they were sitting because I was blocked. It was only when I got up to the booth that I saw Mio was first. She had long, and light hair. I had never seen this look on her, and I thought it was adorable. She greeted me with a big smile and I told her I loved her hairstyle this way. She stroked her hair and thanked me and I was pushed to Hazuki, who I barely had time to tell that one of my friends oshis her. I was quickly pushed past Moeka, and that was it. I walked out of the lane really happy that I had a great experience with Mio. In fact, I am considering buying tickets for her in the future. And with that I went back over to the SKE event...

Back to SKE

I had five tickets left, One I would use on Kaotan, the rest on Mikitty. The only question was how would I use the Mikitty tickets since she had three different slots happening. In the meantime, I met one of the other Wasafans who was at the event. He wanted to go see Kaotan, so I decided to tandem with him...

Lane 8: Takatera Sana, Matsumura Kaori.
The line was really short, and we both breezed by Sana to get to Kaotan. My friend was in a tight handshake with Kaotan when he gestured that he brought me with him, and she got so excited. She finally let go of him to grab onto me, and it was pretty much just a few seconds of squeeing before I finally got pushed out. It is funny how Kaotan treats me. I mean she does play with me, like she does with most everyone, but for the most part she just acts so happy that I have been coming to her for so long. Well, the good news for her is with Mikitty graduating, Kaotan will officially become my SKE Oshi. She earned it!

Lane 9: Kataoka Narumi, Yakata Miki, Ishida Anna.
What I really liked about Mikitty's evening lanes is that in both she was paired up with another member I really like. This time she was with Anna. After saying hello to Narumi-chan, I grabbed onto Mikitty. She immediately informed me that this was her final handshake event. I told her that I was aware, and I would be seeing her later. At that moment Anna grabbed me to say hello and Sashiburi. That was actually one of the most animated interactions I have ever had with Anna too. Hmmm...

I had over an hour until the last slot. I considered playing one of the games, but by then all of the lines were huge. So forget it. In the meantime I was watching the people shooting hoop and pitching. Jeez, some pretty bad athletes amond the SKE wota. There were a few skillful people here and there, but others...hidoi!

Lane 9: Saito Makiko, Hidaka Yuzuki, Yakata Miki.
The interesting part about this was that it was my interaction with both Miki and Makiko four years ago that made me a Miki fan. For those of you who weren't around back then...

In a nutshell, I was in line for Kaotan trying to decide what to say, and Miki and Makiko decided to try to play with me from the neighboring lanes. I got so flustered that I didn't realized I was next for Kaotan's booth. While I sat there stammering Kaotan started screaming at me, asking me why I liked her. "WHY WHY WHY!?!?", and then "I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU" as I was being shoved out of the booth. Meanwhile, with Kaotan still yelling at me out the back of the booth, both Mikitty and Makiko were laughing at me the entire time. The original story is on this post in the thread, if you want to read it.

Anyway, I entered the lane and Makiko gave me a real deadpan hello. That's okay, Yuzuki was all ready to give me a nice excited greeting. Finally I got to Mikitty, and just as I was telling her I would see her for matome the guard puts me in this "bear hug" I'm WTF? What did I do? So I turn to him and say "Nani!?!?" He tells me that I forgot to put the ticket in my pocket. (This was a unique situation where the tickets were "multi-use", and since they rushed me in so fast I forgot to put it back in my pocket. Why this is such a heinous crime, I do not know) In the meantime Mikitty said something to the guard, then called out to me. "Chris, it's OK, you are OK" and gave me a big smile.

Matome Lane: Yakata Miki
I debated just using the rest of my tickets in this slot, but I had never done matome before, so I decided instead to wait it out. Obviously a lot of people had the same idea considering this was Mikitty's last ever handshake event. So I hung out close to the lane so when they called for us I wouldn't be far back in line. Since it was only Miki I would have a little more time to say at least some of the things I wanted to tell her. When it was finally my turn I told her that I fondly remembered the first time I ever met her, and I have always enjoyed visiting with her, and that I hope this isn't sayonara. That was when she said she would still be on social media. So we parted with smiles.

I could have waited for the final photo shoot, but the line was extremely long, and all of my friends were done with their tickets, so I decided to call it a night. After all, I had to wake up extra early the next morning for the Wasamin Bus Tour, which you can read about here in the Wasamin thread.

 

HKT48 Bagutte Ijan Handshake Event @Makuhari Messe AND Iwasa Misaki Saba Kaido Cheki Event at Nippon Crown/Tokuma (2017/02/18)
~Breakfast with Akiyoshi and Lunch with Wasamin~

Saturday was the start of a wild 3 days where I would be seeing Wasamin on three consecutive days in three different prefectures, with a quick hit and run in a 4th prefecture to see HKT. It's a lot of running around for the girls I care about...

When HKT48 announced that they were adding a 2nd Kanto event on the 18th of February, my first though was that I couldn't go because it conflicted with Wasamin's event. But then I realized that Misaki-chan's event didn't begin until the afternoon, so if I wanted I could go to Makuhari for morning slots. I checked the schedule, and saw the Yuka-chan had early slots. Great! I would pop in early, say hello to Yuka-chan, and then go back to Tokyo. Easy, right?

BTW, I hate going to early slots, either at Makuhari or Pacifico. It requires you wake up at dawn, and catch a very early train. Of course, there is always the chance of oversleeping, which is EXACTLY what I did. Shit!!!

I woke up to the bright glare of the sun, and I knew it wasn't dawn. Checked the time, I was supposed to leave five minutes ago!!! I jumped out of bed, took a 3-minute shower, threw on my clothes while I brushed my teeth (luckily I had packed my bag the night before) and made it out of the house in fifteen minutes. Checking the train schedule, I saw the fastest route was via a Limited Express, but that is a major pain in the ass, so I decided to go the 2nd fastest via the Sobu Line to Funabashi. My train would be arriving exactly 16 minutes before Slot 1 closed. It would be close...

Alternating between a brisk walk and a slow jog, I made it to the building with 7 minutes to go, now I would just have to make it through security. Oh, and there was no way I would have time to get my tickets stamped. I would just have to take my chances that my ID is good enough. But security had other ideas. the guy checking my bag starts pulling things out and asking about them. I let out a low growl. "Dude, now???" Then the guy with the metal detector found something I forgot to empty out of my pockets. Finally they let my through, three minutes to go. I bee lined it toward Lane #12. There were two minutes to spare. I made it...

Slot 1: Akiyoshi Yuka.
I handed ALL of my Slot 1 tickets to the guard. She looked at them, checked my ID, and gave me a little smile. I was good to go. I headed down the lane, where Akiyoshi was just finishing up with another fan. She saw me huffing and puffing as I came into the booth. "Kurisssuuuuuu!!!" she said with a big wave.

Me: I'm sorry, I am late. I didn't wake up!
Yuka: You made it!
Me: Genki?
Yuka: Yes, I am genki. You live in Japan?
Me: Yes, I live in Itabashi!
Yuka: I didn't know you lived here.
(Now this whole time I am waiting to get pushed out, forgetting that I was using all of my tickets at once. So the push wasn't coming Also, Komada was in the next booth watching and laughing at us)
Yuka: That is a cute t-shirt
Me: My Wasamin T-shirt?
Yuka-chan: Wasamin????????
Me: It is from Wasamin's solo concert.
Yuka-chan: Sugoi Kurisu! (Now the push came)
Me: See you in a few minutes...

I left with a big smile on my face as I heard Akiyoshi and Komada giggling behind me. Now I could breathe. I went back upstairs to grab a conbini breakfast, and to meet my friend whose tickets I had in my bag. Now that I had a chance to relax, I went back down to the handshake area. No problems with security.



Slot #2: Akiyoshi Yuka.
For slot #2 I decided to split my tickets into two trips. For my first visit I decided to go into more detail on how I moved to Japan, and what I am doing here. Then on my last visit I finally revealed to her that I have oshi'd Wasamin for 8 years, and that I am a member of her fan club. I said I was only there for the morning, and then I would be leaving for a Wasamin fan club event (technically a half-truth, but sometimes my Japanese limits what I can say) But I really wanted to see Yuka-chan, so I only bought tickets for her. She was really happy about that remark, and asked when she would see me again. At first I said the next HKT Kanto event, but then as I was being pushed out I remembered that the first AKB Shamekai was in a few weeks, so I blurted out "AKB no Shamekai!" As I left I heard her still saying goodbye to me, so I turned to see her smiling and waving.

I kinda wanted to say to her that she has become my 48-group oshi. But sometimes I have trouble using that term for anyone aside from Wasamin. So I neglected to say it...this time. But yeah, I think she would be happy to know that she has become my #1 girl of all of the 48-groups. (Kaotan being my #2) Anyway, I would say goodbye to a few friends at the event, and then head back to Tokyo to see my #1 girl of all...

I made it to Gotanda about an hour before the Wasamin cheki event started. Jeez, I could have gotten more Akiyoshi tickets! I camped out at a nearby Tully's waiting for Slot #1 to begin. Wasamin's cheki events are pretty much like AKB handshake events. There are slots with fixed times. Wasamin's gimmick is that she changes costume for each slot, which of course encourages fans to get tickets for each slot as well. What we didn't know was that she would essentially be wearing the same stuff as the first cheki event two weeks ago. But that's okay, all Wasatime is quality time, no matter what she is wearing.

We all knew the drill, they are very restrictive about where we can or can't go within the building, and they pretty much escort us the entire time. After checking in at the entrance, we are sent to the third floor and taken to a waiting room. Once there is enough room, we are taken to a second room to queue, we get our picture taken, a little chit-chat, and then we are sent back to the elevator. Oh, the hallway on the third floor is lined with promo posters for various Tokuma and Nippon Crown Artists. Also, near the elevator is this cool statue of famous Enka artist Kitajima Saburo. They were slightly more loose with security this time, so I was able to grab a picture of it...



And here are my three chekis. By the way, since I forgot all of my concert gear for the last cheki event, I decided to bring it this time (which is also what caused the slight issue with security at Makuhari) Of course this time all of the fans brought either her PB and/or souvenirs from her Bus Tour to pose with. So once again, I was a bit behind.


I really need a haircut!

For the most part we just chit-chatted. I mentioned that I like when she wears chokers (she had one on in the first slot) I had told her that I used the experience of going to see the Battleship Mikasa with her as a class report, which actually drew a cool reaction from her manager, Ishikawa-san. Finally, on the third ticket, after Wasamin repeatedly tried to help me get that "Ninja hand pose" right, that we had a cute little exchange...

Me: At tomorrow's dinner show, will Ebi be there? (I purposely said it like Ebi was a person)
Wasamin: (looks at her manager) Errrr....
Ishikawa-san: Errrrrr, Kurisu Gomennasai...
(Wasamin says something to her manager about Ebi)
Me: I love the photo of Wasamin with the bowl of Ebi (in the PB)
Wasamin: Ahh, you like the PB?
Me: Beautiful!
Wasamin: Arigatou!
Me: Goodbye Ninja-chan!

And that was it for the day, and after three trips to drink coffee between photo-ops, I wasn't hungry. So I went home. I would be having plenty more fun with Wasamin on Sunday at her first solo dinner show. I will do that writeup the next chance I get, perhaps tomorrow night if I can make the time.

And just for a little preview, Wasamin and I had a personal interaction in the middle of her show that had the entire audience laughing. In fact, not only did I had people coming up to me about it after the show, it was a topic of discussion today at her event in Saitama. Also, Wasamin has been reading my twitter again. I got another recitation of some of its contents...

 

I have only ever had a ticket for Chori once, and then I had to waste it because of a last minute Wasamin event.

 

AKB48-Group "Thumbnail" Album Shamekai Event @ Makuhari Messe (2017/03/20)​

The cheki "booklet"​

So Wasamin has finally received a vacation of sorts, as she has no events for an entire month. Given that it seems like it has been quite a while since I have been to a proper handshake/2-shot event. I did go to the SKE and HKT National events in February, and the HKT handshake event a week earlier (where I only had tickets for Akiyoshi) So I had mustered up a bit of enthusiasm for this event, despite the fact that I am not as big a fan of the 48-groups as I used to be. After all, many of my tickets were for members I had never done shamekai with before. And, I was going to see Akiyoshi again. That in and of itself made me happy since she is my new "best girl" in the 48-groups.

The other issues I needed to deal with were 1) what to do with my now "open" tickets since Mikitty graduated, and how would I use these CD autograph tickets. I had four of them, two for each day I have tickets for. One big issue was the fact that many of my favorite members were signing in Slot 1, and my first handshakes in this event start in Slot 3 (for the April event I don't start until Slot 5!) So my choices were limited. But I had a game plan, we would see if it all works out. I arrived just before noon, and immediately got my tickets stamped. In the meantime they were doing the Senbatsu and Sousenkyo announcements on the big screen. Okinawa eh? Well if I didn't go to Okinawa to see Wasamin, I am certainly not flying there for the friggin' Sousenkyo...

Murakawa Vivian (Slot 3): I went to see Vivian first since I knew her line would be shorter than the other ticket I had for Slot 3. After a short wait ( and losing at the cheki lottery) Vivian greeted me first with surprise, and then with a big English "Hello". I told her that I really liked her pretty blouse. We sat down and we decided on the heart pose.



She asked me if she would see me again, so I told her that I had tickets for HKT at Saitama, so I would look forward to seeing her there. The thing about Vivian is I don't have that much to talk with her about. However, she is so genki in person it just makes up for that. So while I usually limit myself to one ticket per event with her, it is always fun. Anyway, off to my next meeting...

Suda Akari (Slot 3): I have always liked Dasu, but it has been quite a while since I actually bought an individual handshake ticket for her. the problem is that her line is always a total mess. Today was no different. It had reached "Sayanee level", stretching out into the crowd. I also noticed her curtain wasn't even open. After 20 minutes of not moving, I decided that this would not be worth the wait. Also, one of the girls I was considering using my Mikitty ticket on was Slot 3 only, so I took off for the other side of the venue...

Tanabe Miku (Slot 3): I really wanted to see Tanamin, since 1) I haven't had a handshake with her for almost a year, 2) I wanted to congratulate her on winning Janken, and 3) The last time I actually saw her she gave me this really enthusiastic wave, and I kinda halfheartedly waved back. Her line was actually longer than usual. but I made it to her in about 20 minutes. She greeted me with "osashiburi" But I reminded her that I saw her at the Wasamin concert. She was like "Oh yeah, you are a big Wasamin fan" "And you have the Wasamin iphone case" I asked her if she joyed Wasamin's concert, and eventually we sat down to pose.



I have always wanted to do a "beer drinking" pose with her, but before I could suggest it she thrust the Sakura branches into my hand. So it was decided. Anyway, it was good to see Tanamin again, even if I forgot to mention Janken. And Slot 3 wasn't over, sooo..

Suda Akari (Slot 3): I decided to give Dasu one more chance, rather than making it another open ticket. Her line was still huge, but it was slightly smaller than before, and it was in fact moving. I only had one ticket for Slot 4, so I had time....

30 minutes go by...Slot 4 starts, now it has been an hour, and I still haven't even checked in. I had a decision to make, since I was now risking burning my slot 4 ticket. BTW, this is exactly what happened the last time I saw Dasu. Line was a total joke, it didn't move, and I ended up losing out on two other tickets as a result. I finally made it to check in, promptly lost the cheki lottery, and now the line was moving faster. By the time I made it to Dasu I just wanted to get the pic done and get out. But she was her usual genki and sweet self. I told her that one of the first times we met that she made dog noises at me, so we should do a "Wan Wan" pose...



BTW, Dasu noticed my Akiyoshi ticket holder, and immediately exclaimed "Kawaiiiiii" Anyway, I really like Akarin, but I can't stand waiting in her line for 90-120 minutes every time I want to see her. So I am afraid this may be the last time I get a ticket for her. We'll see. Anyway, I had around 10 minutes before Slot 4 lanes closed...

Fuchigami Mai (Slot 4 & Slot 5): Maichan is so adorable, and I would definitely oshi her in HKT if it weren't for Yukachan. Her line wasn't long. So I got to see her very quickly. Per usual she started off trying to speak with me in English, but immediately abandoned it. It's funny, the first two times I met her she spoke a lot of English, but I think she has kind of lost whatever skill she had. In any case, I wanted a shot that emphasized her pretty smile, so we went with this...



I love that picture of her. She is so photogenic! In fact, when I was showing my early 2-shots to friends they all remarked how good a 2-shot they thought this was. So when I went back in the next slot I delivered that news. "All of my friends said that my shamekai with Maichan is the best of the day." She was really happy to hear that as we took our second shot...



Maichan asked me if I was coming back. Like with Vivian, I told her I was going to the Saitama concert, and I would try to win for NHK Hall too. I checked my photo, another really nice picture of Maichan. She REALLY is photogenic.

Tani Marika (Slot 5 CD Signing): By the way, I had finally decided to use one of my CD autograph tickets in Slot 5. Since I had heard that the autograph lines seemed to be slow, I decided to pre-queue, so it wouldn't mess up the time I had for the shamekai tickets I also had for Slot 5. This worked out well, since I ultimately was fourth in line. So it was just a few minutes before I got a signed CD jacket...



From Tani!!! Actually, I decided to go for Tani since the last time I saw her was at the High Tension event, where she watched me loop Mikitty's line like 4-5 times. So I wanted to make it up to her. Not that she remembers, but I remember. Anyway, Marika spent quite a while doing that autograph since she saw I was wearing a Wasamin shirt. She started talking to me all about Wasamin. I didn't get all she said, but I can tell she really likes and respects Wasamin. So it was a nice little conversation. I told her I would see her a little bit later. But first...

Akiyoshi Yuka (Slot 5, Slot 6): Finally, a chance to see my princess! This is how I know that she is my favorite member in the 48-groups now, since I could feel anticipation when it was time for this slot. And Drats! I didn't win the cheki. Originally I didn't care that much about the cheki, but after I saw a few of them I decided it really was a good prize, and if I managed to win one I would want it to be with Yuka-chan. Yuka-chan saw me before I entered the booth and exclaimed "Hi Kurisuuuu!!!" I immediately showed her that I was wearing my Akiyoshi ticket holder today. When we sat down, like Tanamin, she just handed me the branches. However, the ones she gave me were just in a big clump. So I started trying to untangle them so I could hold them properly. But Akiyoshi told me that I should be looking at the camera, so the whole "sakura" thing didn't really work out the way she planned it...



I told her I would be seeing her again in a little bit. I actually had my 2nd Maichan 2-shot (which I wrote about above) in-between these two. When I came back I told Yukachan that I had purchased a few more tickets for her at the HKT event in May, so I would be seeing a lot of her in the future. Anyway, for the second shot I suggested a "rabu rabu" pose (which is what Tani calls it)



After the shot I told Yukachan that I would be bringing a CD to her and that I hoped she would sign it. She said of course, and I was off to see Tani. And for the record, after seven tickets I was yet to win the cheki prize.

Tani Marika (Slot 6): Like I said before, I was really happy to be seeing a lot of Tani today. When I entered the queue I immediately commented on her kakkoii leather cap, and that she was like "Motorcycle Tani" But the newly observant Tani noticed my Akiyoshi ticket holder, so it was time for a bit of taunting. Pretty much every response I was getting was "Ahh-kiii-yooo-shiiii" She eventually paused to suggest an "onigiri" pose.



But once the photo was taken, the taunting continued... "Ahhh-kiii-yooooo-shiiiii" At this point I am hiding my ticket holder. "Chiigau! Akiyoshi nani????" as I put it behind my back. But Marika wouldn't let up. Too funny. I finally had a break until my final three tickets, so I went for a very late lunch.

Akiyoshi Yuka (Slot 7 CD Signing): Like with Tani in Slot 5, I wanted to pre-queue for the CD signing so I wouldn't miss out on the girls I had scheduled for shamekai. The problem was that Oguri Yui's lane was right next to Yukachan's, and it was a complete mess. There must have been 500 people in that queue, which was odd since there was a limit, and her slot had been over for an hour. It was such a mess that it completely blocked the lanes of Hazuki, Akiyoshi, Tomiyoshi, and Rikopi. The HKT fans started complaining, so they decided to move the YuiYui fans to some other part of the venue. Thank god! Although this caused the lanes to open up a little late. In the meantime Yukachan was taking pictures of us waiting for the lane to open. It finally did, and I was around 8th in line. While I was waiting in the queue, a funny thing happened...



Sakaguchi Riko was in the next lane over. Eventually she noticed me in Yukachan's lane, and starring calling out to me. "Kurisuuu!!!" while she is waving to me and smiling. Wow, I am amazed that she remembers my name like that. I mean I have met her once. And now every time I see her she is totally making a big deal out of it. Now I felt bad that I didn't have any tickets for her. I need to change that, since Rikopi is really making an effort to connect with me. Anyway, Yukachan was signing the CD as I told her I how excited I was about the HKT concert in Saitama, and that I actually lived not far from the venue. She also complimented my Japanese writing, which was on the back of the ticket. I reminded her that we are both left-handed.

Matsumura Kaori (Slot 7): The Akiyoshi autograph took a bit longer than expected, so I had to be strategic if I was going to get both of my Slot 7 tickets done. I checked both lines, Kaotan's was a bit shorter. Although Kaotan's lanes tend to go slow since she takes extra time with pretty much everyone, I took my chances. I checked in, and Yes!!! I finally won a cheki! I always seem to get lucky in Kaotan's lane. In fact, at the Love Trip event I also won the drawing at Kaotan's lane. Anyway, the lane was going very slow, I began thinking about what I would do with my last ticket if I couldn't use it as scheduled. While waiting in the queue I was spying on Jurina, who was in the next lane over. I finally made it to Kaotan. she was like, ah you're here, and you won!!! They quickly took the shot...



Now Kaotan really takes her time doing the signing part. She noticed my Wasamin shirt (I had hidden the Akiyoshi ticket holder, LOL), and she was like. "Oh right, you oshi Wasamin, right?" (Kaotan has told me before that she really likes Wasamin too) I told her I was a member of Wasamin's fan club. Since we had all this time, I started telling her about all the different events Wasamin has done for her fans. Kaotan was really amazed. I then asked her about the events she does. I told her that I read her twitter and I want to go to a Kaotan event. She then asked how to spell my name in English since she wanted to write it both ways, and I only wrote it in kana on the sheet. As I left she asked when she would see me again, and I told her at the next shamekai event I would ask her to sign a CD for me. She happily agreed. BTW, that one handshake ticket took about 3 minutes. And now I had around 3 minutes to queue up for my last ticket. Thankfully the other lane was very close.

Hidaka Yuzuki (Slot 7): I made it to the queue, checked in, and whaddya' know, I won another cheki, Yatta!!! The girl at the staff table was giggling at my reaction, so I blurted out "LUCKY!" which really got her to laugh. Anyway, Yuzuki's queue moved quickly. Yuzuki was like "Good to see you again...and you won the cheki!" I suggested a baseball pose, not really knowing what that would look like. But I know Yuzuki likes baseball, so she suggested this...



While I was taking the picture, I mentioned that I was the one batting left-handed, she was batting as a righty (we are both left-handed) But she didn't mind. As she was signing the photo we talked about the World Baseball Classic. She mentioned the fact that Japan was playing against the U.S., so I leaned forward and whispered to her that I would be rooting for Japan. She also noticed my Japanese writing, so I told her I had been studying Japanese. Anyway, I thanked her for the cheki, and with that my day was done.

In the meantime I resolved that I would be using my Mikitty ticket, and one of my CD signing tickets on Rikopi when I go to the next shamekai in April. She was actually one of the girls I was considering using the ticket I had today for too. I think her fishing of me on this day pretty much decided it. I also applied for Rikopi tickets for the HKT single when I got home after this event, but I ended up losing that lottery. Oh well.

One other thing. As I was leaving the venue, all of a sudden I hear a girl yelling my name "Kurisu Kurisu!" I started wondering, did one of the members break free? Who is this young girl calling out to me. I turned around to see one of the guards waving to me. It was my friend Suzuka-chan! And BTW, Suzuka could be an idol herself. She is really cute. It turned out she was working the event, specifically Lane #43 (Nakano and Yamada from Team 8) She said she was surprised to see me. I said "But you know I like idols, LOL!" After showing her my photos we parted ways. Oh, and I saw her today too and she immediately greeted me with "Hey, HKT!"