Going To Yokohama

"Someone told me there are girls out there with love in their eyes and flowers in their hair.
Took my chances on a big jet plane, never let them tell you that they're all the same." ~ Led Zep

This is my second ever blog attempt.  I am inspired by the many excellent writers over at International Wota.  My favorites are...

1. MiniMoniMania, aka Kawaiirrhea.  Everything MMM has done so far has been a masterpiece to me.  I like the style for the same reason I love Dennis Miller's "The Rants".  My favorite humor is material very few get, even I don't get a lot of it, but I'm still laughing.

2. True Life Seek.  Broomhead's Haromoni@ reviews...comedy.  For me, it's a total "buy".

3. Hello! Blog.  One of the first H!P blogs I ever read.  I love that Paul lets the reader into his life a lot more than many other J-pop bloggers.

This is a (not so) brief report on my trip to Japan.  One caveat, composition was never my strongest subject (I'm a math guy), so I will never compare to the writing abilities of the above mentioned people.  That being said, I am treating these posts as an audition of sorts.  I hope they are at the very least slightly enjoyable.

As stated in my previous post, I had decided that it was my life mission to attend a Hello! Project or Morning Musume concert last summer.  My first intention was to go to the Bonkyu Bomb concert in October, but my vacation schedule wasn't working out.  I love the H!P 2007 Winter Box, so the 2008 version was the next logical choice.  Here are some tips as a first time visitor of Japan.

Although I studied Japanese steadily for the 6 months leading up to the trip, I forgot most of it when I arrived.  This made the trip alot more challenging as I was by myself for the first three days I was there.  The more Japanese you know, the better off you'll be.  Either that, or hire a guide.  The Japanese I remembered was extremely helpful...Duh!

The JR line is very convenient, and easy to use.  It didn't take me long to figure it out.  The station agents are very helpful.  Just tell them the stop you want and they will get you on the correct train, even with very limited English.  I highly recommend downloading a JR line map.  I carried my local neighborhood maps and JR line map everywhere I went (all printed from the web).  Made things a lot easier.

Food was not nearly as expensive as I thought it would be.  Every ramen shop has a special, and most sushi was about half the price of what I pay in California.  The hardest part was ordering as you can't count on the waiter to know any English, so I stuck to restaurants with pictures.  BTW, the vending machines (located everywhere) were a godsend.

I highly recommend obtaining your show tickets before you get to Japan, just one less thing to worry about.  I did locate the ticket reseller on Takeshita Dori I had heard good things about.  It is upstairs in the LOVX building, with an H!P store nearby.

OK, now the review...

The doors opened about 45 minutes before the show, and most people jammed the entrance.  The seating is reserved, so there is no reason to rush in.  I went in with about 20 minutes to showtime each time.  I spent those 20 minutes entranced by the stage (sort of a Barbie Dream Castle theme), and frozen with anticipation that within minutes I will be within mere feet of these young ladies whom I've built up in my mind as legendary.

Lights do down, and there are Makoto and Yaguchi...OMG! YAGUCHI!  IN PERSON!  I am in awe, although I am surprised by the "cold" start to the show.  Don't they usually show up after the first couple of songs?  This is different.

The lights slowly come up on the stage as Love Machine begins, ofcourse it's the Eggs.  Now I know everyone is sick of the endless Love Machine performances, especially after Kouhaku.  But this is my first H!P concert ever.  Even if it was The Manpower (my least favorite Momusu single), I still would've been ecstatic.  Just get me to the second verse!  Second verse, here they come...Maid outfits?  AWESOME!!!!!!!!!  Second song: Aozora ga  Itsumademo.  They seem to do this song alot at the big shows as it has an "anthemy" quality to it.  Pretty song, standard big-scale H!P performance.

The format of the show was Haru Pro Award 2008.  Basically that meant they would introduce the next artists to come in each set, and some accomplishment they had recently achieved (i.e. C-ute best new artist award, Berryz the youngest to perform at Saitama).  Here is a rundown by group (I'm saving the best for last) 

Morning Musume: Best song, Bonkyu Bonkyu Bomb Girl...great live.  In fact all three songs they lead on were uptempo.  Love & Peace was great as well, two high energy songs in a row for them, cool!

H!P Kids: Renai Rider was great.  I was slightly disappointed by Seishun Love Lunch as it seemed to be slightly lacking in energy (and was lipsynced, I think)  I liked LALALA as the song is fun and energetic, and really got the crowd going early in the show.  Berryz recreated the Kataomoi video, and pleased the crowd with Special Generation.  But the winner here was Wonderful Hearts - Yuujou Kokoro no Busu, which I thought was even better than last year's performance of Berryz' "Oh Seishun", and I love that performance.

Elders: Yuko, Nacchi and Yuki did their "latest" songs, fine.  Gives the crowd a chance to rest.  Although Ai Ai Daiko is a beautiful song.  I was surprised most of the Wotas knew the lyrics.  Great song choice for Ayaka, Atsuko et.al.  "Renoir" is very sexy and very catchy.  The winner here was Kei-chan and Yaguchi's Otome no Shinrigaku.  It's one of those songs I had forgotten I liked.  Another sexy performance.  BTW, Nacchi's fans have got to be the most rabid in the arena!

Melon Kinenbi: Onegai Miwaku no Target, a real crowd-pleaser.  I thought it was great in 2007, and it was great here too.  I don't know why they seem to be so ignored.  They are a great group with a great catalogue, and the crowd seems to like them.  So what's the problem?

v-u-den: Jaja Uma Paradise was fine.  With the knowledge of their break-up coming, Koisuru Angel Heart was a fun and (for me) touching performance.  Even though they shared the singing with Morning Musume.  Charmy looked great, as usual!  BTW, on Sunday v-u-den's break up announcement came after Jaja Uma Paradise.  Only on Saturday night did they do it before the final number, All For One & One For All.  I guess they (correctly) felt that ending the show on a "downer" wasn't the best idea, so they switched it.

Gatas/Kirarin/Abe-Maimi: Gatas were fine, I love Noto Arisa.  Nacchi and Maimi were adorable on stage together, even if I don't love the song.  I wish Koharu was a better singer, I am always let down by her lip-synching.  She is cute up there on her own, and the costume change mid song was great!  (the same as the Bonkyu version)

Aya Matsuura:  I was so worried.  I love Ayaya so much, but don't care much for her recent stuff.  I figured I'd be hearing two songs from Double Rainbow.  I was so happy to hear "I Know" begin, it's my favorite song of hers.  I loved when the microphone fell apart in her hand on Saturday night.  I wish that made it to the DVD!  If that wasn't enough, Yeah! Meccha Holiday later on.  Two classics!  I'm in heaven.  Ayaya is amazing live (uh oh, my next quest, an Aya Matsuura concert).  To me, she was the highlight of the show!

This was an experience I'll treasure for the rest of my life.  I sat in different spots for each show.  My 14th row floor seats Sunday night were the best.  The energy down there is quite different from the energy further up.  Being that close, and being caucasian, I caught the eyes of alot of the girls.  What a feeling to know that for 30 seconds someone like Reina Tanaka knows I exist!  The show was absolutely amazing.  I cannot wait for the DVD.  If you are a fan, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?  GO!  SOON!  Before your favorites graduate!  I am making this a personal annual event.  Hope to see you there!

CK in California (Chris)

P.S.  My next challenge in the blogosphere is to learn how to add screencaps, wish me luck!