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Your Sakurazaka46 / Keyakizaka46 Experiences (HS, fan meeting, concerts, etc)

Discussion in 'General Sakurazaka46 Discussion' started by Tarooooo, Nov 24, 2015.

  1. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Kobayashi Yui is popular. In handshake event sales, she's currently #6 out of 21 members for the next series of events. She completely sold out all her available slots in the last lottery, and they added three more for the next, giving her as many as any other member. And she's popular with me: with her singing and musical instrument talent, her Nishino-like good looks, her new-found dancing ability, and her gentle self-assurance, I expect her to get more and more popular.
     
  2. cryspower

    cryspower Future Girls

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2015
    Oshimen:
    yamamotosayaka
    i got some tickets for the Aug 28th handshake at pacifico. so should be going unless something comes up. if i do, will post here of my experiences.
    btw , if anyone else is going too, would be happy to meet up fellow stage48ers .
     
  3. cryspower

    cryspower Future Girls

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2015
    Oshimen:
    yamamotosayaka
    Just handshaked miyu and had lunch. Waiting for the evening session while walking around. Will share my exp later . Anyone here want to hang out?



    I m resting at a cafe nearby now, time to kill so I guess I'll go ahead with my morning session. I only got one 12pm slot for suzumoto miyu .
    So I arrived a bit early, there was no mini live as announced by the website. Went to get myself some event goods at the area outdoor , just beside the handshake event hall. Didn't take long to get my stuffs even though there was a long line. Then I got myself a locker to keep some of the stuff I don't need for the day. I went thru the security check around 11.20am, then got in the general line soon after. Btw, those carrying water bottles are required to sip once in front of the security ppl. The 1st session was in the last phase , only 1 combined lane was still ongoing . After it finished, the 2 members that was in the lane(can't remember who) waved goodbye to the crowd. Then at about 11.45am the lanes for the 2nd session was opened. I got into line , was about the 10th-15th in line. About 12pm on time, it started. I got in, said my name and I m from Malaysia. She said Malaysia? Thanks for coming all the way. I said it was my 1st keyakizaka handshake, she said she was happy that I came. Then before leaving , I said ganbatte kudasai, she said mata kite ne (pls do come again). My impressions? She was pretty warm and smiled sweetly, maybe due to it being her 1st session for the day. Oh, the girls wore yukatas for this event
    Now for habu and yonetani.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 28, 2016
  4. Tarooooo

    Tarooooo Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    May 21, 2014
    Location:
    Canada
    Twitter:
    qc_bb
    Hey! Nice to see someone else using this thread! Hope you had a great time at the handshake with the rest of the girls :)
    Miyu is a cutie. Maybe a little too reserved when facing fans lol

    I'll be going to Kyoto for the Miyako Messe handshake event on September 22. I doubt anybody here is going but just in case, feel free to reach out to me so we can hang out at the venue!
     
  5. cryspower

    cryspower Future Girls

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2015
    Oshimen:
    yamamotosayaka
    yeah. i did. was a bit busy after that with Nogizaka concert the days after and then to Osaka for another event. after returning , needed time to recover, felt pretty exhausted after all the 'festivities' lol . Habu wore glasses and does seem tall for an Asian, helped me finished my words that i was a bit tired and also nervous before i could complete it lol . Yonetani was in a cheerful mood, probably shaked my hands with most energy among the girls that day.

    enjoy yourself in Miyako Messe.
     
  6. Atreyu

    Atreyu Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2016
    Countdown Japan 2016/17 Thu 2016/12/28 Report

    Dear fellow users,
    I hope you're enjoying your end of the year.

    On December 28th, I've been to the annual Countdown Japan music festival at Makuhari Messe in Chiba prefecture as well as possibly the only Keyakizaka Live of my entire life. I want to share my experiences here. It is intended as a personal report of the whole festival day one though (if anyone should have interest in going there as well in future), so if you're only interested in the Keyakizaka Live you can skip straight to #5 and #7 although the parts before contain also a bit of stuff relevant to this (especially #4). Take note that I have no pictures from the stages and acts because bootlegs are strictly prohibited.

    However, one extremely important thing in advance: This was an open stage festival act with no assigned seats, so anyone who had a ticket theoretically could watch the act, and as such it differed vastly from a typical live stage. Exactly this brings some remarkable difficulties with it, and I want you to remember this and thus will give you a massive spoiler beforehand.

    If you
    • Are below approx. 170cm,
    • Have weak physical condition or nerves,
    • Are easily unnverved by being clammed into extremely tight crowds and dislike being pushed around,
    • Hate loud Wota cries from behind or next to you,
    then avoid getting into the front lines of the crowd at a Keyakizaka Live without assigned seats at any cost. You will not have any fun, believe me. You're even more likely to get hurt, lose some of your belongings or being just washed away from your treasured front line spot you secured by coming hours in advance as it happened to many people around me at first. If this made you curious, keep reading because you'll find out why. Let's go.

    Making my way from Tokyo Station on the morning of Dec 28, I already got the sense something big was going on because of the impressive number of people in their HS age or 20's proceeding towards Keiyo Line (hardly surprising as with the winter break now, the area is full of students enjoying their free time). Just some 40 minutes later, I've arrived at Kaihin-Makuhari. The never-ending stream of people guided by festival staff from the station towards Makuhari Messe was going in remarkably slow and relaxed manner, and paired with perfectly clear weather I couldn't imagine a better way to start a day like this.
    The complex, famous for hosting a variety of events throughout the whole year, was about ten minutes away from the station (walking very slowly). I arrived before 11 o'clock so I was rather early.
    20161228_105435 - コピー.jpg
    I was prepared to spend ridiculous sums for a variety of K46 goods, so I skipped the official Countdown Japan goods queue first and went towards the artist goods. I was afraid that the huge queue I spotted was the Keyakizaka lane, but actually that was the one for The Oral Cigarettes. For Keyakizaka, there wasn't even a queue at all; I was served as soon as I went on. About five people were next to or behind me, and guess what - all girls. To my disappointment, there were no Oshimen Towels or Penlights being sold, only T-Shirts, a grey sweater, pins and a logo foil the staff also couldn't tell me what it's actually supposed to be used for (probably for outdoor camping).

    Buying the two T-Shirts, I went towards the queue for CDJ goods and lined up for about 45 minutes until finally reaching the vending area. Picked up a fancy sweater and towel and went back to the Keyaki shop because I had plenty of money left I was intending to spend. Pins were actually sold out, but the sweater and that logo foil did it for me. Loaded with luggage, I made my way to the wardrobe ticket sale (almost forgetting my bag somewhere in that process - watch your stuff!), got rid of my jacket and bag and changed into the CDJ sweater I bought, and proceeded towards the event halls. The whole process of queuing up for shopping and leaving my stuff took me a bit more than one hour. Before I even entered the main area, I got rid of about 150 dollars. #worthit

    20161228_223135 - コピー.jpg
    The two T-Shirts actually have identical design, their colours are just reversed. On the back of the grey sweater, "Keyaki Zaka Forty Six" is written in the same style as on the back of the shirts.

    20161228_121710 - コピー.jpg
    As I mentioned before, due to the winter break, there was an immense amount of High Shool and University Students, although generally all age groups were present. Gender distribution was probably completely balanced. Suiyobi no Campanella's MC shed more light on this, as she was calling out the audience by age. By this, I got an approximate estimation of the average age of the crowd: About 30 percent below their 20s, about 50 percent in their 20s, 10 percent in their 30s, and those above (40s, 50s, 60s) being a near-unnoticable minority.

    Among the participants wearing Keyaki goods, female part was clearly noticable if not even dominant at times (!). There was a very small number of open Wota with oshimen towels and all-around Keyakizaka outfits. The majority of K46 fans just wore a plain fanshirt though, had a group towel or was not openly recognizable at all, as I was.

    A very, very minor part of the audience was of visible foreign origin, but on the whole day, I didn't count more than five people (excluding myself because I'm mixed). What also caught my interest was that there were obvious and assumed couples in the audience who watched Keyakizaka together, boy and girl. A group that's able to catch such an audience is definitely more than an ordinary idol group.
    In order to get a decent spot close to the stage, I knew I had to come early and planned 2 acts. Getting to the stage halls, the air was burning with heat and the smell of food, and as I passed Galaxy stage amazarashi was performing. I thought I might stay for a bit, and although the crowd was small because it was early, the mood was good and the band put in all efforts in a remarkably loud performance. Noticing that the front lines were crowded, I knew that getting at good spot was going to be a struggle, however.

    I went for lunch to the non-stage side of the halls, and one shop selling delicious dishes was next to another, all the way along the building that was approximately one kilometer long if not even more.

    The next act was multi-instrumentalist Naoto Inti Raymi who put on a remarkable show, with the audience going all-out with his instructions, jumping and singing along. The moment his act ended, things started to get uncomfortable for the first time though. Supposed Keyakizaka fans immediately tried to fight their way towards the stage to get a good spot. It started all of a sudden like a riptide and more or less dragged me with it towards the front. Frankly, I was not even unhappy about that and let myself be carried along, but I had no luck because me and some pushers from the back ended up at some boundaries facing the center of the stage and a great view, but quite a bit away (approximately 25 meters). Behind me there were not even so many people, so I quickly fell back and made my way around these boundaries towards the left to land in a much better spot than before, about 20 meters away from the stage shifted somewhat to the left. I thought this might even be the perfect spot to see Fuu-chan (especially for SekAi or SaiMajo, but also for the rest) which later proved to be true although my size also helped me a bit. I settled with this to watch Suiyobi no Campanella, the act before Keyakizaka46.

    With powerful bass behind the minimalistic electronic music, solid singing, a great live show with artists in the background and many effects as well as an awesome MC performance, SNC was well received by the public although I got the sense that the front area was crowded almost exclusively with Keyakizaka wotagei which made me feel a bit bad for her. People around me already murmured about Keyakizaka stuff or said that probably most crowd people here are just waiting for them. Still, SNC called out to the audience and evoked enthusiastic reactions. Many sang and danced along to a completely new song, as I did. By the way, Komuai (the singer/MC) looks much, much better in real than on most pictures and has a really nice voice.

    When SNC’s performance was over, all hell broke loose. Wotagei started to push like crazy from the back rows trying to get to the front and heating things up, people around me fell over and I just ended up being “washed” towards the front, about 10 meters from the stage, and when the “wave” came back from the front I just used all of my strength to keep this actually extremely good spot – successfully. It was dangerous because people fell down and others still pushed from the back, I helped some of them getting up while some actually lost shoes, towels or their mobile phone in this process. The rush of adrenaline caught me, the nasty smell of sweat was all over the place and there wasn’t even any more space to get your hands up. When it calmed down a little bit, boys and girls pulled out their penlights (that are actually almost never used in the festival) and adjusted their color although there was no goddamn space at all. The whole atmosphere felt extremely tense and despite having secured a marvelous spot for watching the live with the best angle, it was quite some stress.

    What if I told you that this was still the comfortable part?
    Here we go. The overture sounded, people around me raised their (mostly green) penlights and leaned and pushed against each other, and to my surprise no one shouted the ‘oh oh ooooh’ parts of the overture but instead going with the rhythmic ‘hey! hey!’ chants.
    The group enters the stage through the smoke, with Yurina ahead, and lined up to start their live stage. I will divide this report in three segments.

    Setlist, Outfit and Equipment

    The setlist for the live stage was:
    Silent Majority
    Otona wa shinjitekurenai
    MC segment
    Kataru nara Mirai wo
    Kimi ga inai
    MC segment
    Te wo tsunaide kaerou ka
    Sekai ni wa Ai shika nai

    All songs were performed in full length and the group was wearing the Otona wa shinjitekurenai dress for the whole performance, giving it a somewhat darker feel. Silent Majority, the first song, was performed with headphone mics, which means that they performed the choreography as they do in the MV. This was extremely interesting to watch, seeing Hirate turning both hands when she starts singing or them having one hand at the back when doing the ‘zig-zag’ move.

    The atmosphere of the Live

    Right after the guitars of SaiMajo end, basically a war broke out in the audience. When the dancing started, the audience did another all-out push to the front while screaming ‘hey! hey!’ as you hear it in live recordings although there already was zero space to do so, it was practically a universal moshpit everyone participated in whether he/she wanted it or not. Small and weak viewers were just blown away, fell to the ground or were pressed against the boundaries at the front. Once again, I just used all strength I had to keep the spot I was in and tried to concentrate on the group’s dancing and chanting along with the audience. Thank god I did Muay Thai until some two years ago so my body was able to handle anything but the heaviest of crowd movements and I got amazing glances at Fuu-chan and any other member on the left side or center. Otona beat that audience anarchy (that was enough already) by one more margin though. Everybody including me was just washed around with such a drive that I had serious trouble focusing on the song and on the performance which was a shame because it was one of the numbers I was looking forward to the most. Generally, I didn’t know what to focus on, trying not to lose balance and keep the own place, aggressions starting to break out around me or just the performance. Right, lets go with the last one.

    With the short MC, fortunately things calmed down a bit. People were now in their spots whether they wanted them or not and I was more or less still where I was at the beginning. Wota appealed to their oshimen with penlights and towels (that obstruct other viewer’s sight, such as mine, fyi) and answered the calls by Sugai and Habu.

    During KataMira, there were still some strong crowd movements and I realized fights in the audience almost broke out at some point because some dudes next to me also started to get seriously mad at someone who just jumped around like crazy. Otherwise, less pushing. With Kimi ga Inai, my favorite song, things finally calmed down. Although there still was no space, the crowd finally came to a rest and just celebrated the performance from now on. Occasionally, it was quite a challenge to see the stage well or look at one particular member because people with penlights were before me, but from now on, the rest of the Live crowd-wise went smooth. Particularly TeWo evoked the highest of excitement from the crowd that worked together from now on to cheer on the group, and Futari Saison did too, although the seems to be no firm ‘meta’ on when to shout out one particular members’ name, for example. With SekAi, the last song, the majority of the penlight holders switched to blue and the live came to an end. These probably 45 minutes, looking back, felt like ten. The group lined up and thanked the crowd for participating, members looked for the fans with their penlight colors and waved at them, and with Nijika’s graceful bow as the last one to leave the stage it was over.

    The performance itself and observations

    Noticeable was that when microphones were used after SaiMajo, the voices of the members sounded somewhat higher pitched than usual, both in the MC and during the songs. The music was pretty loud and it was difficult to hear out particular voices, but I’m 100% sure that this was sung live because during Saison at some point, there seemed to be confusion about whether to sing ‘Futari Saison’ or ‘Kimi wa Saison’ among the members, resulting in a mixup. Dancing and singing generally was extremely on point but, with the increasingly complex choreographies (as well as the crowd movement putting you under extreme stress) you can lose the overview very fast. Otona was almost impossible to follow along, the only things I really have well in mind were Risa’s solo dance where she shakes her head and turns, and Yonesan in the front looking cool. KataMira was rather difficult to follow too but the opening dance is just mind-blowing in real motion and the row shuffling looked smooth. Because focusing on the whole stage was so difficult, I watched mainly on Miyu and Fuu-chan during the rather technical songs and compared them to others because I wanted to make sure they are the top dogs of the group after all. And boy, they are indeed; when you see how they move in front you you their movement looks much smoother and fluent than you get the impression from TV, it’s so real.

    During the first MC, my eyes met two times with Shida (I have no idea why though especially since she was standing on the right side), once with Aoi and Berika and possibly once with Fuu-chan (I had no penlights to draw her attention but I eagerly waved at her when she looked in my direction and I think I got her eyes for a very short moment). Since I was focusing so much on this I wasn’t really listening to the MC at all and almost can’t remember anything because I was still under stress. It was a pretty generic MC with something about this being the last real live stage of the year and people were called out whether it’s their first Keyaki live. There seemed to be quite a number of those who were, and I raised my voice too. However, I consider the fact that so many of those in the audience actually seemed to be hidden or open Keyakizaka maniacs on the other part was the more surprising thing.

    The heated up atmosphere didn’t quite let me enjoy Kimi ga inai how I wanted to, but I still calmed down when hearing the song and just let it flow into me. Not many shouts from the crowd, so it was a comparably relaxing time to just enjoy the music.

    During the 2nd MC I somehow cannot remember anything except for it having started with that ‘those were the coupling songs, Kataru Nara Mirai wo and Kimi ga Inai’ or so. My eyes met with Ozeki and Odanana and I waved at them, not sure if they noticed. It was pretty short.

    TeWo is quite a mood maker. Watching Akanen and Yuuka playing in the middle of the stage definitely makes you smile even when you’re jammed in a tight crowd. I think it might have been the most interesting song to watch, but it may also be because the crowd movement calmed. It doesn’t get you as excited as KataMira or SaiMajo though, that is for sure. The same can be said for SekAi, a lot of enthusiastic crowd participation but it just lacks the power the songs mentioned before.

    Now, some further observations I did during the Live:
    • Fuu-chan's and Miyu's dancing are a level above anyone else I saw, including Techi who’s not as amazing as I always thought. On the contrary, Techi’s solo dance in Saison is outstanding and doesn’t look awkward or out of place at all, your attention just gets drawn magically to her. Fuu-chan’s dancing doesn’t even look that wild and commital as it did a few months ago, a sign of improvement; she’s just as good as Miyu and does SaiMajo even better.
    • Zuumin’s dancing on the other hand is not as good as I thought, her SaiMajo performance was noticeably worse than that of any other front rower, not very accurate. This is strange because I’ve always had a different impression, but maybe it was just not her day.
    • Nanako eagerly looks for her fans and throws beautiful smiles at them, both during the MCs and when leaving the stage. It looks like she’s comfortable with not taking the Mic too often.
    • Berika left impact on me, with clean and elegant movement even in difficult songs like KataMira and SaiMajo, as well as a mysterious aura and beauty that doesn’t quite come out when you see her on TV. I’d definitely try her HS if I ever get the chance to, because it made me curious. There’s no one else I’d say who was noticeably different/better in reality than on pictures or TV.
    • Odanana’s dancing is nothing special, below the average of the group.
    • Habu is not bad but from the angle I had, she did not even look that much taller than the rest or stood out in particular. Probably had to do with the angle though.
    As a final comment, I could swear that I've seen Sasaki Mirei in the audience. When the live was over, pushing started again, but from the front. I resisted because I wanted to stay (it was a mistake but you’ll see) but eventually gave up and moved to the right to the boundaries, when my eyes met with a girl who wore the black Keyaki fanshirt and was just a 100% match, in face, hair and size. I know that in a homogenous country like Japan the doppelganger possibility is rather high, but it was just a too perfect match, I’m sure that it was her. She didn’t look that happy though. If it were so I could understand that, because I know how it is to be in the front of the crowd just to have masses of people repeatedly pressing you against the boundaries because some idiots don’t know their place.
    Exhausted and still a bit stressed after the Keyaki Live, I decided to keep my spot to cool down a bit after this heated act because I wasn’t expecting anything really big to happen from now on. The next act was Denpagumi.inc, something I had no idea about and couldn’t look up because I forgot my WiFi. Anyways, I waited some time and calmed my mind and from the sound checks, I was expecting some cool and classy jazz or rock artist. Guess what! Once it started, suddently everyone around me pulled out a penlight again and jumped like wild to a perky idol group with short skirts, fancy dresses and overly high pitched voices. The audience was not nearly as crazy as the one before but still probably one of the craziest present in the Festival. Yikes, what was I actually waiting for?

    Noticing that I’m totally in the wrong spot, I immediately turned over and used gestures to get out of the crowd which worked remarkably well. I had dinner and proceeded to the main (Earth) stage to watch a group probably everyone has already heard of: Perfume.

    In one sentence, Perfume was probably the most fun to watch act of that day because coupled with a fantastic performance, the crowd was just fun, friendly and not gimmicky at all, no penlights, no towels, just good mood among men and women alike. The first song was Party Maker, but actually the Live performance comes with ear-blasting Techno beats and massive bass sound that just makes you go wild together with everyone around you. They held a long, funny MC segment where they talked about this year, Pokemon Go and used the crowd, dividing it into team Pichu (right side), team Igglybuff (left side) and team Togepi (middle, where I was in), called them out and used their voices. Afterwards, they performed Flash and another song I didn’t know because I’m not particularly a fan, but to be honest, I actually enjoyed this more than Keyakizaka because there was no sign of a whole-crowd-moshpit at all.

    For me, Perfume are a borderline between an idol group and just an ordinary artistic music group. In the MC segment, they did typical ‘idol talk’ in cute and high-pitched voices, but like real pros who do this since years, although they’re possibly above or exactly about the average age of their crowd that night! I could imagine that many idols look up to them to become long-lived artists with fulfilled careers like they have.

    After Perfume, I went back to Galaxy stage to hear two songs performed by Mrs. Green Apple. It’s not that long since they are around and the crowd was very excited too, although I was quite in the back because I came quite a while after they started playing.

    The last act for me was The Oral Cigarettes. I realized that my legs were about to give up but I definitely wanted to see them because there were many fans around and the lane for their goods was huge when I came. The band is basically a textbook Alternative Rock act, and wanting to finish the day in high spirits, I jumped along with the crowd as I watched friendly moshpits breaking out right next to me, where nobody got hurt or thrown to the floor though. I myself was getting tired, but crowd mood might have been at the peak in this act although the stage (capacity of 15000 people) wasn’t even completely full. In his final announcement, the singer said that the crowd he experienced at this Live was the best he remembered in a long time, and promised that next year, they will perform at the main stage (Earth stage) and will do all their efforts to keep that promise.

    Content with everything I’ve seen and out of energy, I got my stuff and made my way back to Kaihin-Makuhari station and went back to Tokyo.
    The Keyakizaka Live I have been to is with no question absolutely different from Live stages with assigned seats and limited tickets. And I hereby give you my heartful recommendation to, if you have the choice, get one where there is order in the crowd (assigned seats). I remember that in summer –possibly Tokyo Idol Festival 2016, not sure- there was an incident where crowd went out of control and pushed the boundaries to the priority ticket zone ahead and proceeded towards the stage. Exactly the same would have occurred here, but since the boundaries were fixed tightly, the energy just spread among the crowd and blasted away small and weak viewers, and particularly the female part in the audience had an extremely rough time. I felt really sorry for them, because some lost their stuff in the process, and I wonder if somebody actually got hurt.

    Also interesting is whether this might have consequences for further participations or festival Live stages of groups like Keyakizaka because staff was observing everything that happened, although there was nothing they could do, of course. It should be pretty clear by now that the fandom of groups like these can be among extreme ones you can find anywhere. Let me tell you that years ago I’ve frequently been to concerts of Black Metal band Marduk and alike and the crowd force there was a joke compared to this. My size –average and slim for western standard, but above average and sufficiently strong for Japanese standard- definitely helped me out there, because otherwise the crowd movement would also just have washed me away and my sight would have been greatly obstructed. This was really something you needed strong nerves for.

    But let’s be straightforward about the performance, it was amazing. Maybe no comparison to the Christmas One Man Lives, but still an outstanding all-out live stage with many songs you would want to hear at a live. Finally, after having followed them for more than half a year all the time on the net, translating blogs, feeling all the momentum they have and seeing the stars rise, I could see them in reality, from so close, and even look them in the eyes. It was absolutely worth it.

    In the end, I have mixed feelings about the act: It was clearly the most interesting, but not the most fun one of the evening. I have now experienced firsthand that their ability and the impact they leave on you are reality, but for someone like me who is rather easy-going at things, it's pretty difficult to identify with a fandom that goes so far to see their favorite group that all common sense gets lost and safety of other people in the audience is neglected to such an extent. I'll keep my eyes open for chances to get a ticket for a concert with assigned spots, because when I see them again, I want to see only them and not people fighting or pushing around me or having to focus on not losing balance because hell is breaking loose in the crowd.
    Countdown Japan is said to be the most popular end of the year-festival in all of Japan is definitely worth a recommendation to anyone who is into Japanese rock and pop music. At this time of the year, it is rather easy to be free from work or school, so if anyone should be interested, do not hesitate to apply for a ticket on the official website (you will need a Japanese address though) because the chances of getting one are not even that low. After the round I applied for, the first day wasn’t even sold out yet although I’m pretty sure that it was later. Since I left a bit earlier than planned (last acts start at about 7:30pm) I had no trouble getting into the train and had a smooth ride back home, but it could get difficult if you stay until the very end. Who knows, perhaps Keyakizaka or some other act I’m into will participate next year too – I’ll definitely try to get there again.

    20161228_192110 - コピー.jpg
    I'd like to thank @jokoyamajui who indirectly encouraged me to try to get the ticket when I found out this event would take place at the time I would be in Tokyo. Thanks, mate - it would not have been possible without you.
    Also, I’d like to thank anyone who took his/her time to read parts or even the full report. It’s great to be part of this community and I think it would be cool to go to a Live as a community sometimes in the future, although this might be nothing but just wishful thinking.

    Edit (2017/01/10): On matome site toriizaka46, I found some pictures from the CDJ live that will give you one more impression about it. On the first picture, you will see that the penlight holders are all the way up the front, which shows that the die-hard fans were really serious about trying to force their way to the front between acts and also during the act. On the second picture, I've marked the spot where I approximately was, and by the extreme numbers of penlights in the front rows and statistically only every second (or even less) person in the audience having had a penlight, you get another sense of how inhumanly tight it was in the crowd.

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    Last edited: Jan 11, 2017
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  7. Tarooooo

    Tarooooo Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    May 21, 2014
    Location:
    Canada
    Twitter:
    qc_bb
    Thank you very much for the report! It was very comprehensive.

    I'm sorry that you had to endure the pushing and shoving of wotas lol... but it tends to be that way with national handshake event mini-lives and other events where spots are not guaranteed. While most Japanese people are well-mannered, when it comes to getting the tiniest advantages in life, they sometimes dash at it with abandon and totally make fools of themselves :/

    Are you living in Japan? I only attend events in regional venues like Kyoto and Osaka. If we happen to be in the same place at the same time please say Hi!
     
  8. gocchisama

    gocchisama Member Stage48 Donor

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2012
    Location:
    Paris,France
    Oshimen:
    hirateyurina
    Twitter:
    Gocchisama
    @Atreyu thank you very much for sharing your experience with us. It is very valuable as the group is pretty new and it is always hard to attend japanese event as a foreigner. To have a fan point of view of a concert is always very interesting to read.

    I hope it will inspire people to attend concert as well. It is a great experience.
     
  9. Blitzius

    Blitzius Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2016
    Oshimen:
    hashimotonanami
    @Atreyu, excellent right and thanks for going out of your way to type all of that. rest your fingers, they have done well lol.

    i am actually heading to the handshake event on the 22nd of January [meeting both nogi and keya since im fans of both and taking leave from work and flying twice in a mont is pretty hard] so heres hoping that goes well as well. I'll see if i can get a writeup for the keyagirls i meet [Nagasawa, Shida, Saitou Kyoko, Yonesan, and Berika]
     
  10. naruse

    naruse Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2009
    Location:
    USA
    Twitter:
    naruse48
    Random HS report out of nowhere!

    12/17 Keyakizaka Individual @ Port Messe Nagoya

    Sugai (20) Imaizumi (11) Suzumoto (3) Habu (3) Hirate (3) Kakizaki (1)

    Slot1

    Sugai Yuka
    Me: Hajimemashite
    Sugai: Hajimemashite
    Me: I'm a fan from NY
    Sugai: Wow really?
    Me: Have you ever been to USA?
    Sugai: Not yet, but I want to go to Hawaii
    Me: I thought Sugai-sama would have went to USA already, but yea Hawaii has nice weather (time) See you again
    Sugai: See you again

    Standing behind friend this time
    Sugai: Ah thanks for coming again
    Me: So what's your impression of NY?
    Sugai: I think everyone is oshare (fashionable) over there. Do you think so?
    Me: LoL (stuck thinking for a bit) Yea, maybe. (Time)
    Sugai: Bye bye

    Imaizumi Yui
    Me: Hajimemashite!
    Imaizumi: Hajimemashite
    Me: You are so cute IRL
    Imaizumi: Thank you
    Me: But I really like the Zuumin in [Otona Wa Shinjitekurenai] too, your facial expression was cool in that one
    Imaizumi: Suki? (Bends over to stare with big eyes while rubbing hand)
    Me: Yea, daisuki (;∀;)
    Imaizumi: Bye bye, come again

    Me: A few days ago I went to that restaurant [Fellows] that you went to in Keyakake
    Imazumi: You did?
    Me: Yea, but I had to stand on line for like 3 hours
    Imazumi: Haha, but was the food at least good?
    Me: Yea it was great, ordered the onion rings too
    Imazumi: Thanks, bye bye


    Slot 2

    Imaizumi Yui
    Me: Do you know any English?
    Imaizumi: "Hello my name is Yui"
    Me: Wow nice pronounciation!
    Imaizumi: Really? Thank you

    Hirate Yurina
    Me: Hajimemashite!
    Hirate: Hajimemashite (like zombie)
    Me: You have a really nice outfit on today, completely different from TV (it looked like some haute couture)
    Hirate: Thank you (end)

    Me: I really think Tecchi's solo dance part is cool in Futari Saizon
    Hirate: (Gives a smile, gets a little more energetic)
    Me: Also I won tickets to One Man Live, so...
    Hirate: Really? (Suddenly eyes lite up and crushes my hand)
    Me: Yea! So I'm really looking forward to that part in the concert
    Hirate: Please look forward to it

    Kakizaki Memi
    Me: Hajimemashite
    Kakizaki: Hajimemashite
    Me: I'm a fan from overseas, really like your hairstyle today
    Kakizaki: Thank you
    Me: Please work hard to catchup to your senpais
    Kakizaki: I will, bye bye


    Slot 3

    Imaizumi Yui
    Imaizumi: Ah! Thanks for coming again
    Me: Do you know the english lyrics in [Otona Wa Shinjitekurenai]?
    Imaizumi: No no, Zuumin doesn't understand. It's impossible for me.
    Me: Well, it's really kinda dark and (time)
    Imaizumi: [Says a bunch of things while I was walking out which I wasn't able to hear]

    Sugai Yuka
    Sugai changed to Santa outfit at this point

    Me: Hello again
    Sugai: Hello
    Me: Wow, so it's not Sugai-sama anymore, but now it's Sugai-santa
    Sugai: ww

    Me: Can I teach you an English word
    Sugai: Sure
    Me: Well this one you should know but "Horsepower"
    Sugai: ??? Ah, horsepower
    Me: [In English] Sugai-sama give me horse powerrrrr!
    Sugai: [Does cat like horse pose] Hyakumanbariki!
    Me: [I do the pose too] wwww bariki!


    Slot 4

    Sugai Yuka
    Me: [Walks up and sings We Wish You a Merry Christmas]
    Sugai: [ Pretends to enjoy it by closing eyes and swaying head left and right]

    Imaizumi Yui
    Me: These are my last tickets for today!
    Imaizumi: Please come again next time
    Me: I haven't told you today but I'm actually Zuumin oshi all this time
    Imaizumi: [Leans over and stares with big eyes] Wow really? I'm so happy
    Me: Yea so...how about a wink
    Imazumi: [Gives her infamously bad wink, then blowing some kisses] I rove you
    Me: Omg cute (;∀;) byebye
    Imazumi: [waves me goodbye]

    Habu Mizuho
    Me: Hajimemashite
    Habu: Hajimemashite
    Me: Ah, you are shorter than I imagined (I'm 193cm)
    Habu: [Waves hand infront of her face] Oh no no no no
    Me: Oh, just a joke... (atmosphere gets a bit awkward) anyways I'm a fan from overseas
    Habu: Ummm really? You're not Japanese?
    Me: Hahaha, nope
    Habu: I think you are one for sure
    (Time up, thank god)
    Me: Bye bye
    Habu: [Waves goodbye]


    Slot 5

    Suzumoto Miyu
    Me: Hajimemashite
    Suzumoto: Hello
    Me: Anyways, happy birthday to you! (It was her birthday ceremony right before this)
    Suzumoto: Thanks a lot
    Me: That choker you are wearing is very cute, lately I've been noticing chokers more
    Suzumoto: Is that so
    (A moment of silence)
    Me: Anyways I really like your personal PVs in all 3 singles, did you think of them yourse...
    (Time up)
    Me: See you next time
    Suzumoto: Bye bye

    Sugai Yuka
    Me: So about our convo earlier about NY being oshare
    Sugai: What is it?
    Me: I think Tokyo is definitely a lot more oshare. When I was studying abroad here, a lot of my classmates from New York were like " everyone here in Tokyo is so fashionable, I'm embarassed to wear this to class"
    Sugai: Haha you're kidding! I definitely thought New York is more oshare
    Me: Well, not just the people, but a lot of the buildings are old fashioned too
    (Time up)
    Me: My last ticket! See you in Hawaii
    Sugai: ww, bye bye


    Overall pretty refreshing to see a bunch of new girls that I REALLY like. Sugai and Imaizumi were definitely A+, so it's easy to see why they sell out so fast. Tecchi was probably tired but really fires up when you say the right things I guess. Lastly Suzumoto and Habu were still in their shells a bit and somewhat shy, so not sure if I can have the patience to open them up. For next one though would definitely like to see Nagasawa-kun (ultra fisher from what I saw, a complete 180 from her TV persona), Berika, and za koolru.
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2017
    • Like Like x 1
  11. Blitzius

    Blitzius Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2016
    Oshimen:
    hashimotonanami
    4 slot of sugai?
    you are one hell of a lucky dude. I failed my 2 bids for her on the 22 nd

    Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
     
  12. naruse

    naruse Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2009
    Location:
    USA
    Twitter:
    naruse48
    Well with so many entries in the first round it wasn't so bad, did you start with 2nd rd?
     
  13. Blitzius

    Blitzius Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2016
    Oshimen:
    hashimotonanami
    yea didnt have a choice. I had to pump into my 3 mains (yonesan manaka berika) for r1

    in the end i came out with yonesan7 manaka 4 nagasaw4 berika 3 and saitoukyoko2

    my time is split in 20 keyaki and 14 nogi so it was worth. but i wish i could stay long and slot more for the following sunday.

    Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
     
  14. Blitzius

    Blitzius Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2016
    Oshimen:
    hashimotonanami
    @naruse , did you meet any nogi girls? i wondering how was the security and transitioning. i meet one member from each group per session so im worried about travel time

    Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
     
  15. STS

    STS Future Girls

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2014
    Oshimen:
    山本望叶
    Only one question! They are really tall? Of course for average japanese girls, idols =)
     
  16. Blitzius

    Blitzius Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2016
    Oshimen:
    hashimotonanami
    did not see this till now, sorry.
    they are of average height. im 177, and generally taller than the populace.but in my view

    Nanako: small. probably shoulder or to neck
    Watanabe Rika: possibly the tallest i met. i didnt have to crane my neck down to see her. still shorter than me but she might have been in heels
    Manaka: medium. closer to berika's height

    Saitou Kyouko: small!. She seemed smaller that nanako to me. to be fair she wasnt standing too close to the table, like nanako did, but hey her features and frame were small.

    Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

    a friend of mine reported habu was tall. like.. tall tall. no surprise at 17x, i bet we could make eye contact.
     
  17. wahoho

    wahoho Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    May 8, 2013
    Location:
    Japan
    Oshimen:
    shiromamiru
    I've been going to keyakizaka events since before they debuted but this is the first time I will write my experience with them. I dont have really much time to write all my experiences so I will only write the memorable ones.

    April 9, 2017 Keyakizaka46 Futari Saison Special Event

    Posting my recent experience with Keyakizaka's special event

    Aside from the usual individual handshakes and national handshakes, Keyakizaka (as well as Nogizaka) has this "special event" where you can spend a lot more time with your specified member than regular handshakes. The time limit with the member depends on what the special event is (They did official goods sign event and your personal stuff's sign event for the first and second singles). The special event also was limited to a number of people. (for the past few singles, 20 people per member were chosen. For Futari Saison, they reduced it to 15 people per member) This time, the event was a face drawing event where members will draw the face of the fan for a limited time. Winning the event also wasn't really easy since you need to send entries (1 entry needs 3 national handshake tickets). I sent a number of entries. (will not mention how many)

    I waited for a month after sending my entries for the postcard that will be sent by management. The postcard is an invitation to the event, meaning you got chosen. It also included specific information like date and time, as well as your name and address for identity verification. They usually send the postcard a week before the event. Some wotas I follow on twitter were also waiting for the postcard. And the day they were expecting for it to arrive didn't arrive, some were getting worried, others also gave up. Honestly, I wasn't really confident winning the lottery since I always had bad luck with these kind of stuffs. Then Monday came (the same week with the special event), I was at the office I when I started reading tweets about wotas getting their postcards. I wanted to go home immediately but I got stuck at work til 10pm. I was prepared and kept telling to myself on my way home that there is no postcard and I lost. Arrived at my doorstep, I checked the mailbox and it was there: the postcard from management. I won the special event. I was so happy I was shouting and jumping for joy. Finally I can have a decent amount of time with Sugai Yuuka.

    Sunday came and an hour before the event, I already went to the venue. I saw other fans were there, already waiting. The members where grouped and given a specific time slot. Some members were 12-12:30pm, 3-3:30pm, etc. For Yuuka, she was scheduled at 6-6:30pm together with Nijika, Miichan, Satoshi, Aoi, Hiragana's Memi and Mei.

    When we entered the building, they checked our IDs and when everything is ok, everyone got a random number (from 1-15), indicating the order of the face drawing. I was 4th in line.

    Handshakes were alwaays busy, people lining, talking, staffs giving announcement, etc. But the special event had a very relaxed atmosphere, very different from handshakes. Even management was laxed, joking with the fans. There were tables separating the members and the fans. 1 table 1 member/fan. We waited for around 30mins then the members came with their managers and started the event. The management never mentioned the time limit per fan but I counted some fans' time and they had roughly 3mins.

    I was getting nervous since it was my first special event and I am not really good with long conversations with members. I had a script prepared in advanced and practiced it the whole time when I was waiting for the event to start. When they called my number, my mind completely went blank and forgot the things I wanted to say to her.

    This is how our conversation went

    Yuuka was busy signing the board with her sign, then I came to her

    Me: Good afternoon
    Yuuka: *Looks at me* Oh Jason, you're here!(my real name) You came! I'm so happy!
    Me: Yoroshiku!
    Yuuka: Yoroshiku~

    She then continued writing the date when suddenly...

    Yuuka: Wait! It's 2014, right?
    Me: *Puzzled* ??? It's 2017 (really laughing hard)
    Yuuka: Eeeeee! Im so sorry (She started panicking and rewrote 4 to 7)
    Yuuka: I'm really really sorry. I kinda time slipped (accompanying with her bright smile)
    Me: No, no it's ok. I dont mind at all (was still laughing)

    Then she was gonna start writing my name

    Yuuka: Is ジェイソン (Jason) ok?
    Me: Yes, please
    Yuuka: This is correct, right?
    Me: Yeah, you got it right!
    Yuuka: I'm really bad at drawing though so please forgive me (with a big smile)

    I've been sending a lot of fan letters to her ever since before debut so when she knew how to write my name in katakana, I felt really happy. I thought it was a sign that she actually reads my fan letters.

    She started drawing from my hair. After finishing the hair, I commented that it looks exactly like mine. She laugh and felt happy I was happy with her drawing.

    She then concentrated on drawing my face. I was still dumbfounded with the special event that I couldn't really talk much to her. I was looking at her drawing the whole time when suddenly she called me and told me to look at her so she could look at my face. She would glance back and forth at my face while smiling, making me more embarrassed. Whenever she would draw a line, she would make a "suuuu" sound, it was the most adorable and cutest thing I ever saw and heard.

    Yuuka: Since you're always smiling, I'll draw you with a smile showing your teeth!
    Me: That looks greaaat!

    She probably noticed I was too nervous to talk so she started conversing with me

    Yuuka: What did you do today??
    Me: I went to the office to finish some stuffs then prepared for the event.
    Yuuka: I see...
    Me: I also had my hair cut for today
    Yuuka: Yeah I noticed your hair was shorter than yesterday

    There was actually a handshake a day before the special event. I went to her and talked some stuffs but didn't mention I was coming to the special event.

    Continuing our conversation

    Me: I have a favor to ask
    Yuuka: Sure. What is it?
    Me: Could you also draw Tom beside me?
    Yuuka: Of course
    Me: Speaking of Tom, you haven't uploaded any pictures of him lately. How is he? (last post of her with Tom was March 17 iirc so it was close to 1month)
    Yuuka: He's fine as always.
    Me: That's good to hear
    Yuuka: I'll upload some photos of him soon

    Then a staff came and said it was already time

    Yuuka: Wait a moment. I'll just write some messages

    Since she was already in a hurry, she focused on writing the message. After writing the message, there were some blank spaces around my head so she drew some stars to fill it up

    Yuuka: Haiiiii (handed over the board to me)
    Me: Wow! This looks really good. Thank you! I'm going to Kyoto for next handshake
    Yuuka: OK! Ill be waiting! byebye

    I wasn't able to checked what time I started but since staff told her time was up, I probably had around 3mins and probably another minute waiting for the message and last conversation. In total, it was probably close to 4mins. Staff was also very lenient too with the time and never tried to hurry the members nor remove me from me seat lol.

    Here is the drawing. The message says

    ジェイソンへ (To Jason)

    いつも来てくれてありがとう! (Thank you for always coming)
    ジェイソン来てくれると元気でる!!! (It always cheers me up when you come)
    これからも大好き!! (From now own daisuki)

    Aside from the event being special, I also feel that this is a very unique experience I got from Yuuka. To be able to experience her "ponkotsu-ness" (clumsiness) is out of this world. Even at handshakes that's very rare to experience.

    Sorry for the long post.

    C8-lw6CU0AA4FV0.jpg
     
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  18. too much idea

    too much idea Next Girls

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2012
    Location:
    Indonesia
    Twitter:
    toomuchidea
    Thank you for the report and congratulations on winning the lottery!

    Lol you can see her bolding the 4 in attempt to change it to 7
     
  19. hmmero

    hmmero Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Dec 24, 2016
    Oshimen:
    Risa & KAWADA₍₍ (ง ˙▿˙)ว ⁾⁾
    Twitter:
    horimeiko
    @wahoho
    if you don't mind me asking, in the latest 体育会tv episode was that you holding that "YUKA SUGAI" name towel/banner during her horse riding competition?that person really looks like the drawing she drew for you! :p
     
  20. wahoho

    wahoho Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    May 8, 2013
    Location:
    Japan
    Oshimen:
    shiromamiru
    @hmmero Yes that was me lol

    I was there at Yuuka's tournament supporting her.
     
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