im actually considering going there but have no one to go with . I dont mind going alone but the problem is with the hotel fees itself . Geez . it's kinda expensive uh , the hotel
Someone I know, AKB Zine, visited Fukuoka and made this video. Fukuoka dome, HKT theater and the surrounding. Nice work! [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMkEv5rdJ3o&feature=player_detailpage[/yt] >
what are the hotels near the hawks mall ? are they expensive ? I don't mind staying in affordable hotels 20-30mins away , which are near the hakata station. Im planning to go there in june ( 3months later ) and HOPEFULLY i could find my way around . After reading the first post, i got pretty frightened because of the number calling process. I could understand but i may be in shock / nervous / excited at that point of time. So if the staffs calls me , i don't think i could respond appropriately. Besides, I'm applying for the super enpou seats , which are for tourists from other countries. i am from singapore, and hopefully i could get the seats there . Also , i went to google about the attractions in Hakata, wanted to go some of it but it looks complicated LOL. The map of Hakata is so huge but the timing stated for the bus journey to another place is only like 15-20minutes . Well , knowing the japanese language could be a good advantage there i guess ? The main attractions are like shrines / flowers . Anything else that i should go visit when i'm there ?
The only hotel near Hawks Town Mall that I know of is the Hilton Sea Hawk. However, it is a bit pricey. There really isn't a lot to do around that part of town anyway. You will have a much better time and find much more affordable accomodations around Hakata Station or in Tenjin. The ride to Tojinmachi Station (closest to Hawks Town) via the Kuko Line Subway is not far at all from either location. . As for things to do? Ohori Koen is nice. Tenjin has a lot to see, that underground shopping mall there is pretty cool. I would definitely head down to Nakasu as well. Eating at a Yatai is sort of unique, albeit somewhat expensive. If you have a railpass, you can always head out to other areas. I'm a big fan of Hiroshima, which isn't too far. Whether you win a show or not, I recommend going down to the theater before a show and watch how the entrance process works. A lot of the action, especially with cancel machi happens outside. They have a nice sized screen, and even a few seats for watching the show on the monitor.
whoa, nice reports there. thank you very much for the very detail informations. I hope someday I could go there also Spoiler actually I would go to Fukuoka on last January, but my boss didn't give me the vacation days permit [speechless]
Saturday 5 th April was the day of HKT concert at Saitama Super Arena. SKE concert went full force the day before and raised the bar very high. I couldn't hold my excitement for this day to come and i had stomach aches in the train (it took me 2 hours to get to Saitama, but when you love you don't count). Prologue : the other side of the fandom The Super Saitama Arena is quite huge on the outside. the weather was quite cold. Actually the first time i wore a scarf in japan. Fortunately the travel to Saitama went smoothly; the landscape were amazing with Sakura trees blooming everywhere. As expected from Japanese fans, there were a lot of people around the SSA to discuss, trade and queuing for the goods. The AKB staff doesn't joke when it comes to sell goods and everything was well organized. I was impressed, far away from the chaotic disorder we have in Europe. At first you are surprised on how small the queue is, but it was just tip of the iceberg; the queue was behind the store. Yep, it kind of broke all my hopes to get HKT goods. I had to give up on an eventual white glowstick or the best-seller towel of your favorite Oshimen. Because Fukuoka is far away from Tokyo, and AKB shop does have only few HKT item, this one-day store was the only way to get goods (to increase chance to get goodies, wake up ultra early or take the risk to miss a little bit of the concert so HKT fans quit the queue). Aside from the goodstore were the card/photo store, with less queue (still many people waiting). The trading corner, where HKT fans from every generation come to complete their picture set That was a very busy place. Mostly young male fans, but i noticed girls and senior taking part in trading too. Some of them had 100 layer folder full of picture, each different. No money during trading, the card are the currency. Most of the time it's a "one for one" trading, fans seek to complete a collection. That's why you usually proceed to meet as much fan as possible to increase your chance to get what you want. As expected, all Card doesn't have the same value as the most popular girls have their card "kept". As i said in a previous thread, NakoMiku and Kurihara Sae were hard to get because most fans "keep" the card and don't offer it for trading. Also, they are recent members so only a few "set" are released. I saw a Salaryman who was desperatly searching for his last Tanaka Miku. The story doesn't tell if he had succeeded or not. Fan wearing an handmade "Moriyasu Madoka" Bosozoku uniform. On his left was a Tani Marika uniform. The trading corner was a good opportunity to see what the "other" fandom looked like. Nothing special really, Japanese in casual clothes. But it was warm to see HKT wota meeting each other, training their mix and wotagei. Some of them had those "SUPER OSHI" badge (those things are freaking huge) or wearing the HKT black and white towel. And some of them came out of the basket, wearing handmade uniform of Sashihara Rino. Do you remember "Ouendan"? (male equivalent of cheerleader in japan) well a whole team of Sasshi's fans were actually gathering around the smoking area and it was a bliss to watch. Unfortunately i forgot to charge my battery the day before and my cellphone died from such awesomeness. (okay he died because he run out of energy) I couldn't take photos anymore, and it was really frustrating. Japanese are polite and to some extent, can look pretty rigid. (i was taking pictures here and here but someone stop me of "taking picture of him". What.) But shortly after i witnessed 2 Senior wearing Yellow and clear-blue outfit (mimic of Funasshi???), joking with girls because they were "hard in business" (Kyappu picture are high tier in trading). The mood was hearthwarming and if i wasn't a fan, i would find the two old men "creepy". But fans know, and those two were actually very cool. It convince me once again than AKB love is universal and reach any type of people. Actually they were very cute girls (i think they were from Shibuya) who hold HKT glowstick and it was kind of cool. Unfortunately at that time my cellphone already died so i hadn't the chance to take a picture of them. The Concert : Hakata idols on delivery, the real deal Finally, time has come to enter into the Arena. I met my japanese contact to get the precious ticket. What's good about Japanese discipline is you need less than 5 minute to check, recheck, meet security, enter the Arena and find your seat. The tension was high. My first concert, and everything looked so huge. First question would be "how i am supposed to see the girls? This place is too big!" but i didn't have myself this question. Despite being the youngest group, HKT was near the sold out. My seat was "A" category. Yeah me and my friend seats were kind of godlike. I was near the rear side were HKT members can walk during performance, and front row when it comes to the main stage. Couldn't ask for more. Keep in mind the lottery is fair, so even if you are member of the Fanclub or overseas like me, you have the same chance to get those seat. Me getting seat in the 4th floor was also possible. Japanese are also very ponctual, almost no delay to the concert (lol at the usual 30 min delay in Europe concert...) and the tension reached his peak for me. I tried breathe exercise to cool down, then a VTR appeared. You usually get a Kage-Hana to tell you to not use your cellphone to not disturb the show and to behave correctly with your neighbour. HKT gave an extra VTR to illustrate the instruction in a very funny way. While Sakura was sitting as a casual fan (her giggling was so cute), Yukachan appeared as a "living camera" moving weirdly in front of the scene. Sakura was eating popcorn when Meru appeared with a plate FULL of food and started eating (Meru is infamous among HKT member to be gluttoneous lol). In other words you can eat snacks but don't bring a whole bento. I really liked that reference, typical of Meru. Lichan, Pchan and Tomiyoshi asuka acted as casual member cheering for their oshimen with fan's placard. then Morippo wildly appeared in front of them and started wotagei, not caring to block Lichan views. They start quarelling and a big cross appeared. Don't fight during concert, lol. Chiyori was disguised as a typical japanese thief (with horrible yet funny make up) and start stealing bags in a seat. Obviously, don't steal during concert. Rikopi wore sexy dress and acted sexy (or unbelievably vulgar, but of course for humorous purpose) and i don't remember the reason why she did that, but it was funny. I really enjoyed those private joke that only HKT fans can understand. It made me forget my stomach-aches and then the "most sophisticated show on earth" started, with "Ouverture" 00. Overture : The atmosphere rising. The chills all over your body. The sparkle inside everyone's eyes. The call united as one. I will never forget. This song allow to lift people's spirit, and it has been like this for a whopping 7 years. The effect it does to fans tells me that it won't change for a while. But man, that is something else when it's the real deal. It was electrifying. Sasshi in glorious bloomer : could it be otherwise for the Empress of Hakata? 01. HKT48 / 02. Iiwake Maybe / 03. Only Today / 04. 10nen Zakura : Then Sasshi appeared in outstanding fashion : bloomers (lol). As usual, she interacted with fans to keep the tension high; calls and cheers were echo-ing inside the whole arena while all the members entered the main stage. To be honest it was very hard to suppress my habit to look at the big screen. The girls were real, and right in front of me. The portion of members i had on my side was Kojina Yui, Kurihara Sae, Tanaka Natsumi (tall group lol), Motomura Aoi and Anai captain. I think the song was the right choice to kick off the concert, and around me waving your glowstick was kind of mandatory. As a said earlier, girls take the sided path to spread all over the arena and continue performing. Therefore the one who was in front of me was none other than Kurihara Sae. She is not as tall as i thought, but her moves were smooth and she really gives a feeling of peacefulness. Even though she is third gen she looked to us with a bright smile, and was enjoying the show. She was focused on her moves so she didn't waved at my area, but that's for the best; i didn't wanted her to know that i was staring at her the whole time LOL. MC 01 / 05. Dear My Teacher (New Team H) / 06. Yobisute Fantasy (New Team KIV) : Nothing much to say, despite the fact that Sasshi is still the leader of all the MC in HKT48, and it is just mind blowing how she is able to turn everything members says into a funny anecdote. What i noticed is that members are now used to it and it became an "exchange". Before, a member says something, Sasshi turn it into a joke and everyone laugh. Now, HKT members use what Sasshi said to bounce on it and keep the fun. It looks like nothing but to me it is a huge step for HKT growth. Briefly before Yobisute Fantasy (i like this song, pure team B spirit), Kimoto Kanon was introduced. The call were loud and warm, and i think HKT fans managed to make her a proper welcome. Judging from her face, she felt reassured. Good job, HKT wota. Kimoto Kanon officially member of team KIV / HKT Top 5 singing an underrated song 08. Ashita wa Ashita no Kimi ga Umareru (Sashihara Rino, Kodama Haruka, Tomonaga Mio, Tashima Meru, Miyawaki Sakura) / 12. How Come? : this song sounded very nice in concert. It came from a very, very old sub unit of team K. Haruppi was particulary beautiful in this outfit. Like an Angel. you can hear the song here. Also, i was really impressed by HKT performance in "how come?". I always liked UZA-like songs and the girls made justice of the choregraphy. This time Sakura and her brand-new mature side really stand out . The two songs proved HKT is now ready to rock in fields different than cute. This is important to do so ; not to rush things, changing our style out of the blue, and to come up with news song little by little, for the greatest pleasure of the fans. team Sakura bringing the Sexy back / the smurfs strikes back 13. Body & Soul / Speed (Murashige Anna, Yabuki Nako, Motomura Aoi, Tanaka Miku) : Or rather "Nakomiku and their backdancers". At last, the new pairing monster of HKT make his move, and with none other than Speed emblematic song, "Body&Soul". The song is ultra catchy and revolutionary at that time. The two smurfs did a great job along with shige and Aoi with a very convincing performance. The song was performed in playback, but to pull a SPEED song i consider it pretty rewarding. Not bluffing of awesomeness but convincing for sure. Damn, those 2 kids are smaaaaaallllll. The wota next to me ( don't get mistaken he was super handsome) was almost doing the dance step too, it tells how the crowd was won over NakoMiku. The future looks bright. 15. Cats Eye / Anri (Miyawaki Sakura, Kojina Yui, Moriyasu Madoka, Anai Chihiro, Matsuoka Natsumi) : Ouch at team Sakura/ team Bijin/ team Nosebleed (in glorious leather, please.). If Nakomiku were convincing, Cats eye was Jaw-dropping, at least from my point of view. And i definitively approve Kojina Yui in this unit ; i noticed a surge of interest from HKT fandom (appearance in matome's article, members comments on G+, Yui's own G+ pictures reaching 1000 +1's), and i'm happy to have witnessed how Yui display this Adult feeling around her. Kurihara Sae could have fit the position as well, but i like how they give Yui the chance. Props to Anai as well, i know she is ponkotsu and has a overwhelming sweet heart, and how surprised/amazed i was when she managed to pull the sexy back. I was more convinced by Yui (it look less forced and more natural) but i like the risk-taking process. We shouldn't be afraid to appreciate idol's music. 18. Ah Mujou / Ann Lewis (Sashihara Rino, Guitarra – Martin Adam Friedman) : Pretty old song ( real version here). But having Martin Friedman rocking the guitar part was just so amazing. Basically this guy speaks fluently japanese and he's known in Japanese show for being a "japanese culture" lover. I know him because he's a fan of X-japan, and i made sure i screamed enough to "thank him" for coming at the concert. To be frankly honest he is not a big foreign superstar (and he never claimed it whatsoever), and Metal's fan would laugh at him because he's playing in an idol concert (yeah people actually did laugh), but really who care's of what people think. We enjoyed the show, and this is what is important. Thank you Marty for coming. Thank you Sasshi for bringing him. 20. Namaiki Lips (Yabuki Nako & Tanaka Miku) : Yep, even MeruMio didn't have their song. But those two have. It just tells the commitment HKT48 is putting on them. I am not afraid, but i don't know the future. I do like the two smurfs, but i am concerned how HKT may be "stuck" into Kawaii mode for too long, song wise. The song itself is forgettable ( body and soul made a bigger impact on me), but maybe an eventual PV can improve it. It is some kind of double edge sword. And if it looks invisible in short term, we can run out of breath in long term (SKE?) MC 05 / HKT48 Super Medley, in particulary / 27. River : After their performance of the B-sides of Minna de Tabeta, the girls have gathered for MC number 5. They were talking about what kind of resolution they wanted to achieve with the new year, and Tomonaga Mio asked to improve her singing skill ( how surprising). If i understood correctly, Lichan asked to lose weight. The funny things is that each member wrote their "wish" on blue Frisbee...and intented to throw those to the crowd. The girls then started walking around to tease the fans if they should send the frisbee on their side or not. The right side got Nako, Sasshi Haruppi and Maybe Sakura (im not sure) so it was pretty wild over there. It was kind of the ultimate unvaluable thing, right? People kept the special concert glowstick to sell those on Ebay (those bastards) but i don't think you would ever sell the glorious frisbee. (not going to verify, i refuse such a shameful act). During the whole concert , Mio was on the center stage so she never went to the left side of the stage. But somehow, to throw her frisbee, she did. Yes guys, Mio came to my side to eventually throw her frisbee. In my Area there was a fellow Mio oshi and we naturally started a screaming contest to "deserve" the frisbee. Omg...she did stop. Right in front of me. Not particulary looking at me, but she was going to throw. I unconsciously put one leg on my chair, ready to jump. Nothing else matter to grab it. But i forgot about another side of her...Sassy Mio!! Yeah in fact it was just a super uber fake ; she never intented to throw at our Area, and ended the supplice by an "Akanbe" (red eye), and start walking again. CAN YOU BE MORE CUTE/MEAN THAN THAT???? I nearly became bald, snatching all my hair of the missed opportunity. After coming back of my senses, i realize 90% of the girls tried to throw as far as possible ; so they all have chosen the outside tier of the arena, and not the inside (at least not my side). Mio's doing the killing "Akanbe" / Me after being killed by Mio Back to the performance, HKT48 gifted us a super medley that only them know the recipe : i recall their last big concert in Budokan (ranked 90/100 By Aki-p himself) and what impressed me was definitively the medley (and Natsumikan MC skill). HKT doesn't have as much songs as the other sister group, but that's also why they are granted to do what is best in AKB : the medley is only composed of A-side. The rythm of the concert rose again and the pace turned into a monstruous streak of good songs. Props to EVERYONE in HKT to have learned all the complicated dance move of EVERY sister group. How could it be more awesome than that? Actually there is something... Nakanishi Chiyori, introducing the medley by a beatbox solo / transcend the stage The day before HKT concert, i watched on live stream SKE solo SSA concert, and SKE48 gave a touching send-off to Kizaki Yuria. Then my friend and I wondered how HKT would send off Tani Marika and Nakanishi Chiyori, who are both Isseki (transfer). Chori's solo was one of those opportunity. That was incredibly good, and she was definitively live. The solo is nowhere a sad song or touching whatsoever, but i couldn't stop crying seeing Chori's showing what she got. She step up the game, and i was so proud of her. The guy next to me teared down a little bit too, because we both knew this same girl who is rocking our stage as HKT member will soon leave. I was sad, but so proud as well. I know Chori's strength, and moodmaker skill, and i know team A needs her. I didn't felt it was outrageous that AKB "steal" our best assets, but more "proud", like "Ah, Chori's strength is acknowledged, i'm glad". That's what Takamina said to Chiyori after Soukaku Matsuri, after all, to reconfort her. "Team A needs you. Are you ready?" "If i am needed, then i won't hold back!". Also, Sakura will be with her. It's not a complete break-up. Chiyori and Marika couldn't hold their tears, as well as everyone in the Arena. 41. Ima, Kimi wo Omou : I'm going directly to the last song before the encore, "Ima, Kimi wo omou" ( right now i'm thinking of you). The song sounded pretty nice and i'm looking forward to listen to it again. It was the saddest moment of the concert, when after all the fun and excitement, we realize it is kind of the end. I made sure to cheer the loudest possible when Chiyori and Marika (yeah even Uza Marika lol) ended thanking the fans. During the song, Mio and Sakura were crying. That was very touching. While it was usual for the cameraman to focus on the top girls of HKT, i didn't hesitate to check on my side of the stage. And wow Rikopi looked completely devastated, as well as Tomiyoshi Asuka. Something you can only know by being in front i guess. Inoue Yuriya/Naopon was smiling and Happy for Marika i think. Kurihara Sae is super new so it is reasonable for her to not really cry at the moment. Natsumikan/Kojina Yui looked down. I was really surprised that Nako and Miku cried during the song. I was expecting a reaction similar to Natsumikan. But they were both super sad to see their sempai leaving. I recall that with Himawari Gumi, the kenkyuusei are actually closer to the current team (because they mix) than in other group. So maybe that explain. Another surprising reaction was none other than Sasshi. She always look confident and strong. Always "leave it to me" attitude toward everyone in HKT. And when she read the script showed on the main screen, she didn't wavered; it was effortless, very professionnal. Nothing to be surprised about. But during the second part of the song, she completely broke down. I was so surprised (nothing could hint this reaction) to go from effortless/broke down that i checked back the main screen to see Sasshi's face. But too late. Let's say Sasshi still is human after all. (what i mean is that it didn't looked natural, but i give sasshi the benefits of the doubt/i should ask other people who attended the concert). The guys behind me was a Tani Marika fan (But he had a Mio's towel lol) and he literally broke down too, "à la Togasaki" (remember no flower without rain documentary) and seeing him so affected made me teary too. To meet people who share the same feelings made the concert really one of a kind. As a foreigner fan, i'm not in a propitious environnement to live my fandom. But here in japan i don't feel alone. Funny fact : Behind me was also a guy with a mask, and a big white cap. during the freakin' whole show he just stood here, with his arms crossed. While his neighbor was going wild with wotagei, he was almost "i don't give a f*ck". But as strong as he wanted to look like, i noticed him wiping his eyes for a split of a second after Marika's part . Ahahah, big bear on the outside, but HKT fan on the inside! Encore 01/02/03/04. Rock Dayou, Jinsei wa…/ Ogoe Diamond / Sakura, Minna de Tabeta / Melon Juice : After all these emotions, The break before the encore was more than welcome. Then the last songs were the last moment the girls came to the side to wave at the crowd. Props to Anai Captain and Motomura Aoi to have waved at me, i really appreciate. I came to realize that even though our Songs are not game breaker like KFC and Heavy Rotation, Melon Juice and Sakura minna de tabeta do really well in concert. To bring for last bright and cheerful songs was also right, as it hint HKT is moving forward. Then the show ended, in a full sakura's flower shower on the girls. Ahahah. Conclusion : Most sophisticated show on earth HKT concert coming to an end / the girl's last performance Woah, what can i say? First of all thanks to my japanese friend/contact for making this a reality. After such a concert i am, and will continue to be for sure an HKT48 fan. If i have to do it again, count me in. There's no scale to evaluate what i lived this day. But what's amazing is that the Journey as a fan is not over. I didn't step in Hakata theater stage , the core of the group, and still yet to meet the girls in Hakushukai (handshake) and Kyushu concert (less huge but more intimate i guess). The concert was amazing from minute one to last HKT call ; the setlist was nice and i had a great time. It's true it doesn't have the same excitement as the Request Hour 50-1 (which was amazing) but i believe those two event are very different. At least this concert, as well as Budokan, is another more than convincing proof that HKT shouldn't be underestimated in the near future. Brace yourself, HKT is coming (for the Sousenkyo!) PS : Picture come mostly from my Cellphone and G+ of HKT manager, Ozaki.
@gocchisama Thanks for taking the time to write this detailed report! I really enjoyed reading it, specially the part about the messages before the show. Like you said it's stuff that the fans would pick up, like Morippo's wotagei and Rikopi acting "sexy". It's a really nice touch. Oh and Goto Izumi's nickname is IICHAN with double i, not LICHAN. And I just noticed that I never thanked @ithebigc and @ふざけないで for writing about their experiences too. I'm sorry, and thank you both very much!
@gocchisama Wow you got an arena seat! I was at the Level 400 seat but nevertheless, I had fun watching it. It was my first time to watch an HKT solo concert and it was good. Songs were random but that added more excitement IMO. Akiyoshi-chan doing the eiga dorobou was the best. I was laughing so hard when I saw her. She was just the cutest! For everyone's reference, just like what @gocchisama said, instead of kageana, the do's and don'ts were showed via VTR. They were imitating eiga dorobou (this is usually shown in theaters before start of a movie) telling you should not record movies in theaters if the video does not show watch the video here
Thanks for the great writeup! I hope I have experiences (or just one experience) like that when I visit Japan. It sounds like you had a great time, especially the part with Mio and the frisbee xD The part about Rikopi being devastated at Marika and Chori's departure made me sad. Imagining Rikopi crying makes me really sad I'm a bit disappointed about Namaiki Lips being mediocre if it's as you say it is. I was expecting something like Tonari no Banana from it. I found the things you wrote about the fans interesting as well. One thing I envy about Japanese fans is the sense of community they have. I wish there were more 48 fans in my area lol. The emotional responses people can have to their oshi is touching, I can't imagine being really emotionally invested in a member and always going to handshakes and then not be able to see them as much because of a transfer. It sounds tough.
Saturday 26th April was the Akushukai (handshake events) for Suzukake Nanchara single. The event was held in Pacifico Yokohama, about 2h away from my home. It was my first handshake so i was really looking forward to it. The weather was really nice (big blue sky and sunny) and i had the opportunity to meet other foreign fans during the event. Unfortunately i only had a few tickets because i applied for Resales and not for the usual 5 round process. However, i managed to win 9/11 bid, loosing only Sasshi and Sakura. It was expected. "The place was wave-shaped and pretty "avant-garde" . Impressive from the outisde" Part 1 : Akushukai from a whole perspective Akushukai is a must-do event for any AKB48 fans, an event that makes the group unique. The excitement to see your favourites is something that can't be explained, but certainly "expressed". Of course it is only 10 seconds, but that's precisely what makes it exciting. And you can cumulate those 10 seconds to have extra time (did you see the marketing stragegy? yeah you did). The scale of this event made me realized that sold out didn't meant "unpopular" The first thing that striked me in handshake event was how everything looked immense. I was completely lost, and the heat of the place didn't help to feel comfortable at that time. I arrived at the venue before the slot 2 so i took time to gather landmarks. I also took the opportunity to evaluate lanes of various members that were here. There's undeniably a huge disparity in popularity between members. It kind of broke my previous perception i had of what's popular and what's not. For example, the usual member you regurlarly see on TV show, Music show, and senbatsu are indeed getting huge lane, making a fan wait around 15-20 min (Jurina, Sayanee, Yukirin). After the top tier...well you completely drop from huge lane to no lane. Even for ranked members! For example, Katayama Haruka who graduate+was ranked 34, had like 2-3 fans waiting only. Minegishi minami was 18th, but you just had to register and you could directly enter her booth. My point is that fans are very faithful and do their best when the time comes. But to appeal to a new fanbase, the old generation is really falling behind. The third type of members are the pushed-new generation. And damn, they're not playing around. when looking at Kojimako and Okada Nana lanes, i got chill all over my body. They are so popular! Each slot is full of people waiting. And those guys might have spent more than one ticket, i bet on it. AKB have more bullets on his sleeve, having hype Owada Nana and Mukaichi Miion having a more than decent lane for themselves. But sometime it doesn't work all the time. I think Kojimako lane were 3 times bigger than Miki, making me worried about her for the Sousenkyo. Don't give up, girl! "Lane from a popular pushed member compared to unpushed new gen member. Night and day." Of course, as an AKB event, it has an AKB shop and a trading corner. But pfff, and i thought the trading corner outside Super Saitama Arena was huge? B**tch please, during handshake the trading corner was 3 times bigger, with OJS48 watching over the proper conduct of tradings. The Shop was also bigger, but unfortunately was only selling AKB stuff. I was searching for HKT towel, but found none, just super expensive towel of a member in particulary (Sasshi and Sakura towel for 4000 yen omg). How the management handled such a big event is more than correct from what i've seen. From Black butler managing the time given to fans for handshake to Green staff using big speakers to regulate the flow of lines. Japanese are very strict and this time it is really in their favor. How to proceed was fast and clear, and even if at first you're lost, you quickly manage to land on your feet. For unpopular member, i had my 10 seconds, when you go to popular it's around 8 seconds and uber popular it go to 7-6 seconds (or the fact meeting your favourite stretch the time, i don't know). "The trading corner never fail to impress me. All the time." I wanted to slightly talk about an anecdote about the Akushukai. When i was out of Tashima Meru's booth, i had to cross over other booth to go back to the main hall. You can take this opportunity to catch a little bit of others member on your way (but not too much, or a staff will push you away). In slot 5 (15h30-17h00) i catched a little bit of Miyawaki Sakura's lane, who is indeniable the most popular member of HKT behind sasshi. What i've seen broke my heart. Sakura was waving at the remaining line, and when the butler put the curtain to cover the booth, Sakura completely fainted on her chair due to exhaustion. This girl has just shaked hands non stop for 3 slots straight (it means 4.5 hours standing without interruption). She covered her forehead with her hands, both elbow on the table, trying to catch breath. This scene just crucified me on the spot. I have no right to criticize this system since i contribute to it by buying ticket. But objectively speaking, the most popular girls are pushing themselves way too hard, for fan's sake. I wish management take their health into account and reduce all those time-consuming handshake event to free one or two week-end for the girls. It should also lead people to wonder if we have reached the limit of this system, stretching the schedule to no end and flooding fans from event that eventually won't even sold more than 1/3 of their capacity. Part 2 : My Akushukai experiences Slot 2 was early in the morning (10h30) I only had 2 ticket for this slot, and it was Kitagawa Ryoha from SKE48 and Akiyoshi Yuka from HKT48. It must sounds stupid, but i chose Ryoha first because i didn't found Yukachan booth lol. (Ryoha name has recognizable kanji so i found it rapidly). Knowing her push i was a little bit surprised to not see any lane for her. They were some fans coming from time to time but not enough to make a lane. "Ryoha was wearing a fluffy-white pull that suited her really well (not the current picture)" My very first handshake. My god. I was so tense. I hesitated a lot to go (20 min staring at Ryoha's booth like an idiot ), fearing that i might make a mistake. I tried to prepare a speech but due to the stress, nothing came in my mind. Time was running, and i finally crossed the flag to head to the staff table and hand over my ID. The staff were tidy and quickly gave back my french passport. But between the staff stand and her booth...i completely froze up, and stopped right away. Other fans crossed and ask if it was ok to go past me. I said yes to at least 10 people lol. Staff knew i was a foreigner and having my hand on my chest, they figured i was trying to retake my composure and let me be. A fan approached me and said "hey, are you ok? Is it your first handshake?" i agreed and added i was super tense. "Are u from taiwan? China?" (Japanese looked used to foreign asian fan now) and said i came from France. He was very surprised and brought me closer to Ryoha's booth. He went before me and casually said to her : "Hey, Ryoha chan! you're getting popular! there's a fan from France who came all the way just to see you!" "Oh, really? Where?" "he's behind me." He left and did the thumbs up sign at me while going off the booth. Now i had no choice but enter the booth. That bloody bastard lol. I was completely freaking out but i have to admit he unlocked my situation. And i saw Ryoha ; those beautiful eyes, silky hair and very feminine outfit. She took my hands and never stopped staring at me. Ryoha ( in French ) : hey, Bonjour! Me ( stutting for a good 1 second) : Ryoha chan, you...you...you speak french? (yeah that was really stupid to say, but i kind of lost control) Ryoha : oh, no i don't. *giggle* Me : Oh, ok. But you speak english? (epic fail number 2) Ryoha : no, i don't too, lol. Me : Please do your best with Tentoumouchou! i will cheer on you all! Ryoha : woah, thank you! See you! This little attention at the beginning was so sweet of her. Her handshake was soft and gentle, as expected of her character. She wasn't really enthusiastic per say, but she made an effort to interact according to my status and i'm so happy for that. She is known for being shy and sometime absent minded but this handshake proved me the contrary, and i would definitively come to see her again, and with something to say of course! She hadn't a lane so i got my plenty 10 seconds. When i got off the booth, i couldn't believed what happened and stared at my hands while walking away. BIG MISTAKE. I was such a noob. In fact even if u get pushed away by staff, the member can keep waving and looking at you while getting out. I didn't know that and stupidly looked at my hands. When i actually came back to my sense and turn my head back, it was at the same time she stopped looking at me ( i saw her turning-her-head-back movement) ! Therefore i just lost 2-3 extra seconds to say goodbye to her. I'm so stupid, completely a beginner mistake. I swore it would be the first and last time i make this mistake. Forgive me, Ryoha! (it was even grievous that her lane was empty so she wasn't busy at all. *sigh*) "Yukachan was with twintails and was very cute, while Gotoh Izumi looked very mature. She was tall!" After Ryoha, i spent a little bit of time trying to recover, wandering around the big venue. What's good about not so popular member is that you don't have to wait a lot, so getting one ticket for many not popular member might be a good strategy. I got a lot of confidence with Ryoha so i didn't hesitate to see Akiyoshi Yuka this time. Me : Hello Yukachan! I came from France! Yuka : Huh, France? Sugoi! Me : Twintail looks good on you. Really! Yuka : Oh, thank you! Me : Please, don't loose to Nakomiku! lol Bye Bye! Yuka : Ahah, thank you! Bye Bye! I remember not being particulary attracted to Yuka, and even thought she had face feature like Kintaro (not flattering). I don't like to think that way (judge on appearance), and since she grew on me after watching HKT no odekake! (variety show), i wanted to make her justice and give it a try. Not only her smile was genuine and bright, but i really felt she was happy to see me, and immediately made me feel at ease. When i said i was from France, she shaked my hands even harder, like a kid in front of a big surprise lol. The moment i said Nakomiku she squinted her eyes for 1 second, looking fierce. Wow, Yukachan with a serious face! But she instantly came back to her usual self and said me goodbye ( i made sure to say goodbye to the very end). I was really happy because i felt like i did lift her mood about that. Putting into context, in HKT promotion it's all about the monster pairing and Yukachan really got left behind (and her HS results are below average...) So supporting her was kind of mandatory. I regret nothing. For those who don't know HKT48, you probably never heard of Gotoh Izumi, nicknamed Iichan. My chance on resale were very low so i wanted someone that i would have 100% probability to meet. During MC in theater performance i always felt she had a natural leading talent and bet she would be captain of KKS (wrong lol). As well as Akiyoshi, she didn't have lane, so i went in pretty fast (i catched a glimpse of "pure energy" Tani Marika while walking to the booth. She is loud lol) Me : Hello Iichan. I came from France! Iichan : France? wow! Merci beaucoup! (in french) Me : Congratulation for "Kirei Goto djanai ka?" being 8 at Request Hour! Iichan : Oh thank you! I was so surprised! lol Me : I was very surprised too! See you! Iichan : Ok thank you! See you! I love you! (In English lol) I was satisfied with this handshake too. I had my decent 10 second, with no stuttering whatsoever. She was in high heels and was almost my height. But the purpose of this handshake was to discover a member i don't know very well, and if i have to do it again, i would use a ticket for someone else like Motomura Aoi and Kojina Yui. It's not that this handshake was disappointing, it's just fan don't have infinite money and sometime you have to choose. Today was Iichan, another time is another member. "Meru is in my top 3 favourite member. And her first seitensai is my favourite stage performance." Now things started to get serious. I didn't have the luxury to hesitate to go since Meru was the first popular member i had, therefore her lane was freaking huge. I only had her in slot 3 but since it was lunchbreak i nearly spent 30 min in her lane. Great, it will give me time to think about something to say. Or so i thought. there's 2 lanes. One from the flag to the staff checking. And one from to the staff to her booth. The second one zigzag into 3 lane, shaping up like a snake. When the lane stopped, i was super near the booth, but still in the end of the line. I believe Meru and Mio went to go eat together since they came back at the same time. The line moved very slowly because a guy just used 20 tickets for Meru. I was near the booth and Mio's curtain was wide open. It was my first time seeing Mio in real life, and i couldn't stop looking at her, blocking my lane because i phased out. After the Meru kami oshi fan time, i was forced to move along and forgot to think about something to say. The stress began to rise as i was reaching Meru. My heart was nearly exploding, i didnt know what to do. In the lane, people are pretty silent, you are on your own. Then i saw Meru, with her pretty dress. Her silhouette is elegant and she is tall (grr, please stop cheating with your high heels! lol). Along with Tani Marika, she is pure energy. Hyper enthusiastic and cheerful. Her handshake is firm. Me : hello, Meru-chan, i'm from France (sorry to use that all the time but i needed to say something i was comfortable with lol) Meru : France? Wow sugoi! I love France! Are you from Paris? Me : Yes. (she destabilized me asking me in japanese very fast) Meru : Oh, Paris! Eeeh! I love Paris too! We should go together! Me : Yes. Meru : Bye Bye! Me : Yes. Huh. What did just happened. I was entering the booth and...i just got out? lol. Meru just KO'ed me, giving me no chance to say my prepared speech. But i really felt her energy going through me, even though i had no clue what's going on. There were many topic i could start since i know her well, but she completely threw me into the sea. The stress of the beginner i guess. I felt i wasted my time with her but it was completely my fault. For the next ticket (different because another slot). I had everything prepared, and easy to say. Me : Hey, Meru, i'm back! Meru : Oh, thank you! Me : Congratulation for your team H center position! Meru : Oh, thank you! But what do you mean? (i guess i ate my words so she didn't understand) Me : oh sorry let me say it once again, Team H center position, congratulation! Meru : Oh, thank you! Bye bye! Me : I'm looking forward HKT next concert in Makurahi (being pushed away) Meru : Oh! See you Tuesday then! Much better. I felt proud to manage to say only a few words. After the metting i decided to catch a big breath of fresh air after such excitement to cool down. I was so happy to see Meru. That's indeed an enjoyable handshake, and you will definitively get a great response if you have interesting topic to talk about. But as a foreigner, the conversation was hard as it ended up one sided since i couldn't response to her ( ;_; ) . After this handshake, my feelings didn't change. Meru is awesome and is still growing into a beautiful idol. She totally has the attitude for. If people don't like her or are unsure...do an handshake! that's all i have say. "When i realized she was the first member i applied for handshake, i knew." Mio is the first member i followed closely since the very beginning. I'm naturally attracted to her frail character that makes me want to protect and support her (Paruru fan will understand). It's also the member i really enjoy see grow, despite sucking completely in singing, she started to open herself to a wider range of personnality and interact more with fellow members. When i was looking at her in Meru's lane, she was taller than i thought. She is 15 years old after all, almost 16? She really looked like a doll. Her movements were really slow and she was already tired of so many handshake (i had ticket for the 2 latest slot, 4 and 5). She remind me of Paruru because it looked like she was saving her energy as much as possible to survive lol. Completely different from Meru. Me : Mio-chan! I've come from France to see you! Mio : Oh really? that's amazing. Me : It is my first handshake in japan so i'm very tense. Mio : Oh, don't be, don't be! Me : Please do your best as Tentoumouchu member! Mio : uhn! Bye Bye. Well, it's not like i wasn't expecting this, but i hadn't that much of a reaction. Fortunately i had follow up sentence, but if i hadn't it could have been very awkward because she wasn't going to say anything. My little regret is to not witness what i like in her most, her cashew nuts eyes. And for that, i needed to make her laugh. Again due to no preparation, my conversation was boring and i was punished by no reaction. Handshake is a precious (and expensive) moment, even more true as a foreigner. I decided to prepare a joke for the next ticket with her. Me : Mio-chan! Kaete Kita! (i'm back!) Mio : Oh, thank you very much! Me : Can you do an "Akanbe" for me please? (reference here) Mio : huh? Akanbe? (she's getting confused) Me : you know, akanbe! ( me doing it) Mio : like this? (barely doing it, super confused) Me : Ahah, thank you very much ( dying from embarassement). I'm looking forward Makuhari HKT performance! See you! Mio : Ah? Well see you later then! Ok. THAT WAS THE BIGGEST FAIL OF MY LIFE. From previous Handshake report, i recall fans asking Yuko to make weird face or asking Mayu to do the Takarazuka pose. I just tried something alike with Mio to make her smile or laugh. I forgot that Mio might not know what an "akanbe" was, despite doing it in Saitama Super Arena. To add to the supplice, i used a very polite way to ask her, which is " Akanbe Suru ii desu ka?" (is it okay to do an Akanbe?) . The problem with that statement is that she was confused who i was talking too. It could have been more appropriate to say "Mio-chan Akanbe shite o kudasai!" (mio please do an akanbe for me!). She didn't know what it was, and me "akanbe" her to show an example add to the confusion. I realize how my attempt was an epic fail and try to talk about makuhari before it was too late. A great lesson of life. Handshake shouldn't be done half-assed. You have a big part of responsability to make this moment awesome. Mio is my number one so i won't give up that easily and certainly will come back fluent in japanese if i have too. Easier handshake is boring. I have to take the hard road. I want to apologize to Mio being nervous to the point to mess things up. But like any of my handshake, i will treasure this moment. Like the idol path, we have to take all the good and bad things to grow. "Haruppi. The one and only. Her beauty this day was out of this world. I loved her outfit. (but Saturday she was wearing something else)" Actually i handshaked with her in Slot 4 (she wasn't my last HS) but i decided to put my experience with her in last because...she was by far my best handshake. My slot 4 was pretty packed ( 3 HS) so i rushed to Haruppi lane. At that time it was very busy so i was happy to see her being popular. I've waited around 15 min before reaching her booth. The man behind me noticed i hadn't an usual passport and asked me where i came from. When i answered him i came from France, he was super surprised and wanted to shake my hands lol. We befriend and started to talk during our waiting time. We talked about many things, our prediction on Haruppi rank for Sousenkyo (fans aim at high UG), her health (she still have back pain), what i was going to say to Haruppi (fanbook). I had two tickets instead of one because i wanted to talk more with her but i was super tense to not fully use the 20 seconds. Thanks to him, i was able to retake confidence and cool down a little (it's very hot in waiting line, we are all packed up). This guy don't joke around : he's going to cast 100 vote for Haruppi, and even claimed that she knows him. (he got 6 ticket with her EACH slot so i kind of believe him lol). That, ladies and gentleman, is a Kami-oshi 100%! He doesn't handshake with anyone else. Even with the little preparation , i restarted to feel tense and asked him to go before me. he said "hey, don't stress out! Haruppi is kind, it will be fine!". Having his hand on my shoulder, i began to repeat my speech over and over again to keep calm. When it was his turn to use his 6 tickets, something unbelievable happened. Him : Hey Haruppi, do you know there's a Fan from France here? Haruppi : Oh really? i'm glad! Him : But he is super tense to meet you. Please be kind to him. (pointing his thumb at me) Haruppi : Of course! Who do you think i am? *giigle* After that he went to a complicated japanese with Haruppi, but at this point my mind went blank. Yeah it happened again. An Haruppi fan that was completely unknown to me 5 min ago just sacrificied 6 ticket for my sake. I couldn't believe how someone could be so kind and compassionate to me. I had no words to express my gratitude. My stress went to his peak and i almost thought of escaping the lane and run away (it's true). I made many cross sign to tell him (no! please don't do that, don't use your ticket for me) but it amused him more than anything. I was afraid that the haruppi fan put expectation to me, as well as Haruppi. I was afraid to mess things up. Then it was my time to enter the booth. Haruppi (in French) : Oh! Bonjour! Me : Huh...hello, Haruppi. I've come from France. Haruppi : Yes, "he" (the fan before me) told me! Me (stutting like crazy) : Hum, do you remember the foreigner fan project? Haruppi : You mean the book? Of course i do remember!! (she used her finger to draw a book) Me : The french message in it, it was me!!! Haruppi : Oh really? i'm so glad !!( She grasped my hands thightly) Me : Please, believe in your meroppi (Haruppi's fan). We will definitively send you very high in Sousenkyo! (i unconsciouscly got closer to her visage , clenching my left fist to show my determination) Haruppi : Yes, i believe in you. (she did the same, getting her visage closer too and clenching her right fist as well. She was so close. We stayed like this about 1 second. I didn't wanted to let go her other hand. As our 2 fists got closer and closer, we finally bumped our fists,naturally, like bros, like nakama). She smiled brightly. Me , being pushed out : We will definitively not loose!! Haruppi : bye bye! Oh, and your japanese is good! (doing lola's unfamous OK) When i got out of the booth, the Haruppi Kami-oshi was waiting for me and said "Otsukare-sama! (thanks for the hard work). Come with me, i want to introduce you to fellow HKT fans". It was hard to come back to Earth. Took me 10 minute i think. I thought i was going to freeze once again, but i took all my courage and roll the planned speech. But me clenching fist was out of the program, and her reacting so well to my improvisation wasn't also part of the plan. I felt so close to her while we bumped fists, like sharing something only her and her fans could understand. I felt connected. My mind went blank but i believe i've spoken with my heart. I really felt she trusted me. "After this, i believe the relationship between a fan and a member can't be fully complete without an Akushukai" While walking to the HKT fans spot, a lot of memories came back to me. My first thought went to my fellow Haruppi fan's companion on Stage48. I thought " Guys, did you see that? Our Haruppi remembered us. We did it. She knows she has support from many countries apart of Japan. Please look". I was so proud and so moved. From all the long way we went through, when Haruppi's thread had only 4 pages almost 2 years ago. I remembered people coming and leaving, for whatever reasons. But we still managed to keep the thread alive. I remembered making Banners for Haruppi's 2nd Sousenkyo with my poor photoshop ability. I remembered noticing her on Hakata Hyakatten episode 1 and said : "this girl is cute! She looked like Natalie portman with this haircut". I was overwhelmed by a feeling of Nostalgia. And as i said previously we did took all the good, but also all the bad. Haruppi went through difficult moments, and casual fans oftenly mistaken our support as coming from a sense of pity, and on how we were overly defensive toward her career. All of that just blew away after meeting her. All those controversies, bad jokes, whatever. I just saw Haruppi kindly looking at me, giving me her trust. It's unvaluable. But the journey is not over yet and the Sousenkyo is ahead of us. Haruppi, i won't disappoint you. Part 3 : The other side of the Fandom (bis) "Handmade Bosozoku uniform dedicated to ponkotsu captain of team H, Anai Chihiro. So nice, unbelievable". Handshake events are an opportunity to meet your oshis, but that's not all. I believe it's also a gathering where people who share the same passion interact, laugh and debate in a friendly environnment. I saw so many different kind of people. To the old salaryman in suits to the pretty girl in uniform coming right after her cram school. Usually, handshake is a meeting with friends. I often saw group of fans. Or group having the same oshi, or having the same love for the group. (it looks like fans from sister group don't mix into each other that much). Living the fandom in japan is not a lonely hobby. It is a time when you enjoy things. A matsuri! People came to handshake, proudly showing Super-Oshi badge, their mega towel or even their handmade outfit. It's a contest where you do everything you can to get noticed by other fans and your oshis, and always in a heartwarming mood. To express your love? Kind of. But never to arrogantly show off. It's just a fan's pride. "Birthday commitee of Kojima Mako and Tomonaga Mio. Those girls are our pride." When i had free time, i went out to drink something and came across the birthday commitee stands. They lined up before the entrance of the main hall and offered you the possibility to write a message for their oshimen. They were many and i was intrigued and curious. Of course, the first stand i stopped was the one of my own oshimen, Tomonaga Mio. I was really glad to meet people who have the same favourite, and they were happy to have a message in french (actually i already send Mio a big letter in french, so...) unfortunately none could speak english and i couldn't start a conversation (even though i really wanted too). But I want to take them for being very friendly with me and being so enthuastic. They wished me good luck for my upcoming tickets with mio. In general those who kept the stand were not pushy at all; and were willingly to give you information about their oshimen. That's really what i wanted, to interact with fans. When they talked about their oshimen, it's like their eyes were sparkling. One that particulary attracted me was the Kojimako stand, kept by 2 female wota (rare!). One of my friend is a Kojimako Oshi, so i wanted to tease Mako's birthday commitee and test them. Well it looked like one of them was completely fluent in english, and that really deserved a birthday message lol (japanese english is kind of low level, sorry...) We talked a lot how we view idols, and how much faith we put into the new generation. I really enjoyed the conversation that i almost forgot the beginning of my slot. Really, birthday commitee are the best! I ended up writing message to even member i didn't know, just to have an opportunity to talk with people lol. "Fellow HKT fans. I really felt i was part of the family" I mentioned before that the Haruppi Oshi wanted to introduce me to HKT fans. How surprised i was when i realized they were so many! Almost a 1/5 of the relaxation area. They were very surprised that i came all the way from France but i convinced them by quoting all HKT variety show! I tried my best to chat by asking them their oshimen. One of them was Maimai-oshi and when i said "Fuchigami Mai? Oh yeah i know her, a french fan is her oshi!" He was like "ureshiiiii, people know her full name (ToT)" that was very cute lol. Also i understood that Kami-oshi is a very strong notion in AKB48. There's hako-oshi (love for the group), Daremo daisuki (i love anyone). Since i had 5 ticket for different member they called me hako oshi but what striked me was the following question " but who is your number one?". In fact, they don't take DD seriously. For japanese, they know there will always be a member more precious than the other. Even if they all love HKT48, they all agreed that the oshimen must come first. It's an evidence. I came to the conclusion than power-voting might be less important than foreigner thinks. The fanbase is the prominous factor of a member win in Sousenkyo. They asked me if i've been to the trading corner. I said no because i had no picture whatsoever. They looked at me with big eyes, almost saying "wtf? You come without picture? But you're missing something really big!". And one of them brought me a sample of the magazine B.L.T featuring HKT48. While i was thanking him from the bottom of my heart, they started giving a lot of HKT photocard and picture. It just came from them, very spontaneously. I was really moved by their kindness, almost "is...is it okay?" Mio is my oshi, and her picture are pretty rare, but they didn't hesitate to gave me pictures of her. A Shimono Yuki gave me a DVD of her seitansai saying "please show Shimono Yuki's awesomeness to French people" Ahah it's a promise! I was surprised and happy. Of fan's selfless kindness. They just want to share their love for HKT with foreigners. Outside Saitama Arena, my first impression of fans was that they were cold, but after this meeting i completely changed my state of mind. You just have to meet the good person. from fans who keep birthday commitee to fans from a sister group. I have no words to express my gratitude for their kindness. precious presents from fellow HKT fans. Thank you so much! Conclusion : "Memories will always be Treasured." At the end, i had no legs anymore (by standing the whole day) and was completely beat by the storm of feelings and emotions that went through me since 9AM. But let me tell you something : That was beyond amazing. The girls were beautiful, the event well organized, and i managed to surpass my stress at the right time (well, partially lol). Akushukai is something that i would definitively do it again if i have the chance to come back to Japan. It is your moment. You are the one who choose if it's a wonderful event or not. Some fans are very used to handshake so sometime they just casually talk to the member. But from someone like me who came all the way from a very far away country, i treasured each split of second that was allowed. To be honest, while the experience with the girls are buried in my head forever, i have to admit to meet fellow fans and enjoying talking with them was a big factor of making this event unforgetable. I had 9 ticket for a whole day ( including 3 not popular yet) so i thought i would have lot of free time doing nothing. But in the end i was so busy running everywhere ; meeting HKT fans, doing all the birthday commitee, scolding Togasaki for Super Enpou (LOL), and of course meeting fellow foreigners fan. It was a busy, complete, awesome day. While i'm writing at the moment, the excitement hasn't cooled down yet. Writing my handshake report i still have shivers. I really want to meet so many AKB48 members now! And i don't mind having only 10 seconds since i don't talk japanese. Either way, if you think akushukai is a way for management to drain your money, if you think 10 second is not enough, if you think it's not worth it. Stop. Thinking. That. Now. It's up to you. But personally, i regret nothing. I will throw as much money on Aki-p's face as possible to live this once again. Because memories will always be treasured. Yokohama Pacifico at the end of the day. Thanks for reading!
Nice report there, @gocchisama. Sounds like you had a blast. I liked how you sort of blew it for your Oshimen, but scored a very nice Kami-Taiyo moment with my Oshimen. Spoiler: About Haruppi... DAMN YOU MAN!!!. Do you know how much money you just cost me? Got to get more votes for Haruppi now. Can't let her down. DAMN YOU!!!!! If we ever meet in person, drinks are on you. Also, if you run across any more of her oshi, give them a message from me. I need them to aim higher for SSK. High UG is nice and all. But dream BIGGER. And feel free to quote me on that.
Love the report, gocchisama! The fans really went above and beyond to make you feel welcomed and it was nice to read about that. And thanks for all those pics inside the hall...those are always interesting to those of us who've never been!
Thanks for the awesome report Gocchisama, I'm glad to hear you had a great time with all the girls...even your klutziness with Mio, I'm sure I'd mess up something too if I met Haruppi . Speaking of whom I'm glad (again) to hear she liked the book, we'll do better again this year!
Hi everyone! Thanks for the write-ups of the recent big concerts.. I guess it's my turn to recount my experience with HKT. Last year I had a chance to go study Japanese in Fukuoka so I turned it into the greatest HKT48 wota experiment: How many concerts can one hope to get in if he or she applies everyday? I stayed in Fukuoka from November until the beginning of May, going to the HKT theater an average of 4 days per week. I applied as a local (一般枠) to 80% of all the kouen available, and I managed to watch 16 live shows there. The rest of the time I would simply watch in the theater lobby. -Highlights: I managed to go to the Christmas Day show where Imada Mina gave me a pack of candy, to the Tani Marika birthday show, to the March 11 special show, and to the March 14 White Day show where Ito Raira gave me another bag of candy (huh lol). In 5/16 of the shows, I entered from waitlist (キャンセル待ち), including the March 11 and March 14. I made a spreadsheet of which members I saw in each of the shows I saw: If you have questions about my impression of a member, please feel free to message me. Unfortunately Sashihara was simply not at the theater on most days, and the competition was too tough on the ones that she performed, so saw her 0 times. Riko Sakaguchi, however, I saw 14/16 times. If a member performed as backup dancer or took part in the high-five only, they received 0.5 counts. Member Name + Number of times watched live: (ordered by 1st gen (team H)-> kenkyuusei -> 3rd gen Anai Chihiro穴井千尋 6 Ueki Nao植木南央 10 Ota Aika多田愛佳 2 Kumazawa Serina熊沢世莉奈 9 Kodama Haruka児玉遥 5 Sashihara Rino指原莉乃 0 Shimono Yuki下野由貴 9 Tanaka Natsumi田中菜津美 9 Nakanishi Chiyori中西智代梨 7 Matsuoka Natsumi松岡菜摘 7 Miyawaki Sakura宮脇咲良 6 Murashige Anna村重杏奈 8 Motomura Aoi本村碧唯 7 Moriyasu Madoka森保まどか 3 Wakatabe Haruka若田部遥 9 Yamamoto Mao山本茉央 1 Akiyoshi Yuka秋吉優花 7 Ito Raira伊藤来笑 8 Inoue Yuria井上由莉耶 3 Imada Mina今田美奈 9 Iwahana Shino岩花詩乃 7 Ui Mashiro宇井真白 7 Ueno Haruka上野遥 8 Umemoto Izumi梅本泉 13 Okada Kanna岡田栞奈 7 Okamoto Naoko岡本尚子 8 Kusama Manami草場愛 10.5 Kojina Yui神志那結衣 5 Goto Izumi後藤泉 9 Komada Hiroka駒田京伽 9 Sakaguchi Riko坂口理子 14 Tashima Meru田島芽瑠 5 Tanaka Yuka田中優香 7 Tani Marika谷真理佳 10 Tomiyoshi Asuka冨吉明日香 8 Tomonaga Mio朝長美桜 5 Fukagawa Mai深川舞子 5 Fuchigami Mai渕上舞 7 Yamada Marina山田麻莉奈 5 Aramaki Misaki荒巻美咲 4 Kurihara Sae栗原紗英 4 Sakamoto Erena坂本愛玲菜 4.5 Tanaka Miku田中美久 1 Tsutsui Riko筒井莉子 4 Hokazono Hazuki外薗葉月 5 Yabuki Nako矢吹奈子 1 Yamauchi Yuna山内祐奈 3.5 Yamashita Emiri山下エミリー 2.5
Counting my first time watching HKT in 2012, I've seen them 17 times inside the theater. HKT Kouen Log 08/06/2012 手をつなぎながら 19/11/2013 博多レジェンド 22/11/2013 パジャマドライブ 28/11/2013 博多レジェンド 02/12/2013 脳内パラダイス 13/12/2013 博多レジェンド 20/12/2013 博多レジェンド 25/12/2013 脳内パラダイス 06/01/2014 脳内パラダイス（谷生誕） 14/01/2014 パジャマドライブ 21/01/2014 パジャマドライブ 17/02/2014 脳内パラダイス 26/02/2014 脳内パラダイス 11/03/2014 東日本大震災特別公演 14/03/2014 脳内パラダイス 18/03/2014 博多レジェンド 24/03/2014 パジャマドライブ
@Tarooooo: Welcome to Stage48! Thanks for posting your list. You're really lucky to have watched so many HKT stages. You said you got into the show 16 times, but do you remember how many times you applied and didn't win the lottery? Honestly I'd like to read your opinion on all of them. But for now, may I ask your impressions of Umemoto Izumi? Looks like you watched her the most after Rikopi. Maybe you could share it over in her thread. PS: Happy to see a Hazuki oshi!
i want to know your thoughts on Tomonaga mio, Tashima Meru and Kodama Haruka if it's possible! And wow 4 times a week....it's awesome lol
@DreamingPebbles Thanks! That is a great question. I missed a LOT of shows too, but I ended with a winning percentage of 15.71% (Hello pennant race! lol) I just checked all the emails that I've received from AKB48 ticket center, and here are the dates that I've applied: November 2013 - 16, 17, 18, 19 (Waitlist #123), 20, 21, 22 (Ticket), 25, 26, 27, 28 (Ticket), 29 December 2013 - 2 (Ticket), 3, 4 (waitlist #137), 5, 13 (Ticket), 14, 15, 19, 20 (Ticket), 22, 24, 25 (Ticket), 26, 28, 30 January 2014 - 1, 5, 6 (Ticket), 7, 8, 9, 14 (Ticket), 18 (waitlist #68), 20, 21 (Ticket) February 2014 - 17 (Ticket), 18, 26 (Ticket), 27 March 2014 - 1 (waitlist #106), 5, 6, 7 (waitlist #73), 8, 10, 11 (Waitlist #57), 12, 13, 14 (Waitlist #61), 18 (Waitlist #59), 19, 23, 24 (Waitlist #58) April 2014 - 7, 9 (waitlist #136 - canceled), 10, 11, 12 (waitlist #68), 13, 14, 15, 16 (waitlist #75), 17, 21, 23, 24, 25 Total applied: 70 times Total won: 11 times Ratio: 15.71% Total waitlist: 12 times Ratio: 17.14% Total entered from waitlist: 5 times Ratio: 41.67% I did not apply to every single available day. The number of shows that I could have applied to was 86. I did not have HKT mobile, and I was only applying using the "Regular" (一般枠). On 16 dates, I either thought the line-up was not interesting or I chose to give other fans a chance. Hope these stats make it interesting for you!
