J Report
okay, here we go. XD
The ryokan Min found was at Takadanobaba, and we sort of got out from the wrong exit, so we had to get orientated, and urgh, Japan is still as complicated as it ever was. (whatever am i saying? it is complicated. period). anyway, so, we found the ryokan, and Eiko-san, the owner showed us around our room. she looked in so much difficulty speaking english but neither of us offered to ask her to speak in japanese because i think we would have just died. anyway, it's a good neighbourhood, with loads of eating places, and a supermarket and a shopping mall. XD She also has two incredibly cute cats, whose tummies i rub whenever i have the opportunity to. they own the place, seriously. sprawl themselves all over the center of the corridoor and the stairwells. and they're also very smart XD
anyway, we went to Ikebukuro where i went to Gift Gate to get some stuff for my friend. hello HUGE TATAMI CUSHION. it took up almost all of one side of my luggage. urgh. never again. i shall never buy Kitty goods for ANYONE again. then we went to Animate, bought gifts for some of the girls, controlled ourselves severely, and rested up for the next day.
Friday was the day of Min's Alice Nine, so we decided to go down to Harajuku to walk around and also to pick up the Summer Sonic tickets. it was F-KING HOT. it's terrible. i thought Anaheim was hot but... woah, this was something else. We headed to get Doll stuff at Shinjuku first... then we hit OiOne. There was this INCREDIBLY CUTE EMILY TEMPLE SKIRT that i CANNOT AFFORD and i still cry about it now it is so sad and i really wanted it. Min had to forcibly drag me away from the GL shoes. (the girl manning the shoe shop is VERY COOL looking. like, Amy Lee, you know?) Anyway, Min bought a BPN pair of pants, very cute, and a super cute usagi tee shirt for her boyfriend. XD.
We headed to Harajuku next. We did our Meiji Jingu pilgramage and got some charms, then i got myself a bit lost trying to find the place to pick up my tickets... Next to one of the Metro stations near JR Harajuku we saw a line of people queuing for something, and they were holding Johnny's Movie Festival uchiwas or something. Min and I got insanely curious about... what the hell they were queueing up for. until now, we still don't know.
After LaForet (where the lower levels were under renovation... so no Naoto for us!), we followed a whole gang of Alice Nine cosplayers for Min's concert! She was very very nervous, but there were so many girls there who were all very nervous as well. There's apparently this system of going into the hall by your fanclub number... Min was 593 so the two of us were straining our ears listening for her number as she got more and more nervous. lol. then i wished her luck, saw her go in, and headed to Shibuya to walk around. When i returned to the station at 8, i armed myself with two bottles of water and waited for Min. XD I know how she feels, i think, seeing these people she admires so much. XD I think she got pretty bruised though. Those fans are pretty rabid.
We went back to eat at this really good Udon place near the ryokan. then collapsed for the night.
Saturday Min had arranged to meet Shannon at Tokyo Big Sight for Comiket. We went to Asakusa for my REAL pilgrimage this time... i did my prayers, and we got our lots and i bought another charm, before we headed via Yurikamome line to Big Sight. It was Min's first time, and i think she liked it the way i liked it when i first took the line. It's very scenic, Tokyo Bay and all... Shannon couldn't make it to the event, so after waiting a bit we walked up to the hall.
Then the terrible thing happen. It started to rain. And it wasn't just rain. It was a... thunderstorm. The rain was practically beating against the walls of the buidings. So we couldn't take photos of anyone! (apparently, we saw Shuui's idols at the West Central Hall of the building?). We wandered around, following people into the merchandise halls (... god, Otakus, are so... scary sometimes. And a little, i'm sorry to say this, gross) and then got lost in the HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE doujinshi hall. In the end we parked ourselves alongside the escalators that would bring the cosplayers up to the changing rooms, and watched them as they walked past. After AX, i'm pretty prepared for an event of this scale, but there was really an awful lot of people and a lot of really really good cosplayers (there was this incredibly beautiful FF12 team, who i am so upset i cannot take pictures of). I just wished i could have taken pictures!!
A little ways from Tokyo Big Sight is TFT Hall. We tried to take pictures there only to have people tell us we have to pay 2,500 yen!!!! we were sooo broke, so Min just stealthily took pictures of the corridor from the opposite building and hope we can actually see something out of that. hahahahaha. After that we headed back to town for Min to add something more to what i dub her "Alice Nine Shrine", which at that time consists of a couple of pamplets and all her tour merchandise. The woman sleeps with her Alice Nine towel okay! *chuckles evily*
I believe we watched "My Boss, My Hero". Please don't ever mention, Nagase, Tegoshi, Maki and pudding in the same sentence to me, because i will break into a series of giggles and look extremely stupid. It's the funniest drama in the whole world. my GOD. It also introduced me to Te (does hand motion) goshi! HHAHAHAHA. Min has created a monster.
And Sunday, is Summer Sonic. God, the experience of a lifetime, one of the most beautiful moments of my life. If you'd like, do read on, i have loads to say about it.
We woke up at an ungodly hour of 7am for the event, after a quick McDonald's breakfast, we took the JR to Tokyo, then the Keiyo to the Chiba Marine Staduim station. It was quite funny, there were all these kids on the train, bound for Tokyo Disneyland; and everyone else, in their Converse or Vans shoes, band tee shirts and funky accessories bound for Summer Sonic. Once we got there, we followed the crowd, exchanged our tickets for wristbands, then headed for the merchandise tents. I bought a towel, the show program booklet (that nobody else bought), and a T-shirt. it's cool and has studs on it. XD all the ones i initially wanted had sold out though. T_____T By this time i was already sweating like a pig.
Anyway, after a moment of wondering where we should go we just decided to park ourself at the biggest stage, the Marine Stage. It was unfortunate because we had to miss Fort Minor (sad) but we could catch Linkin Park~ XD Anyway, we got there early, ate some food;, downed a bottle of Pocari Sweat and bypassed the tour/artist goods (i decided if i wanted MCR t shirts i could get them online). We wondered why the Ellegarden mechandise booth had such a long queue, but two minutes into their set we knew why. They were really awesome and the first band that we watched.
Then 1:10 pm slot was the All American Rejects, and CURSED THE HEAT! it was soooo soooo sooo hot. but such a great show.They opened with "Dirty Little Secrets", then er, i dun remember the order, but included "My Paper Heart", "Swing Swing", "It Ends Tonight." (more that i can't remember) Tyson sounded great! It was really funny because after a couple of songs he said, "Could we have some MIZU KUDASAI?" He had to say it a few times before the hoses started, but they didn't hit the centre portion of the crowd so he actually wanted to get the hose himself. Nick was going, "Just give the man the fucking hose already!" before, "No he doesn't want to be fucking hosed! Give him the hose!" it was hilarious. I laughed over 'mizu kudasai' for DAYS after that. But nobody really understood their jokes because... urgh, they can't understand! so sad. T___T Dirty (FOB's crew guy), actually did a superman stunt at one point, flying from one side of the stage to the other, then making a return trip. very funny! They closed with "Move Along", which sounded fantastic, and Tyson got down to walk into the crowd and it was frigging awesome.
2:20PM was Fall Out Boy! They have a fan base there! There were two boys that could sing "Where Is Your Boy" in perfect English! *very impressed*. Unfortunately, i felt their show... just something was lacking. Pete was a lot nicer than i imagined, saying his Thank Yous and unfortunately failing to impress the crowd with his "kuso yaro" joke. He wore a hoodie throughout the show; i shudder at his laundry. Joe had a bandana around his head ala sushi chef and Andy was in bike shorts. And only bike, shorts. His tattoos are impressive. Then Patrick... Patrick was just Patrick. Very cute Patrick. I want to make a shirt that says "I LOVE Patrick Martin Stump."
Anyway, yes, they opened with, "Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song", and continued with, not in this order, "Gin Joints" (i LOVED this song live), "Where is Your Boy", "Nobody Puts Baby", "Sophomore Slump", "A Little Less Sixteen Candles" (Oh, bitter bitter Pete. Not all girls are bloodsuckers, you know? Is that why you made yourself a vampire in the video?), "I Slept With Someone in FOB", then an incredible rendition of "Sugar, We're Goin Down", and "Dance Dance". they surprisingly closed with "Saturday"!
Dirty was throwing bottles of water into the crowd at random; aside from some other absolutely stupid stuff. I grabbed Min and made a quick dash OUT of the crowd when Pete said something about a circle pit, but it didn't happen. He did come down from the stage, got a security guard to lift him up and did his screamo bit for "Saturday" looking down at the crowd. it was... it was a truly beautiful sight, i think. He had this smile on his face. I think he's sweet. It's just sad people always think about his, erm... groin, whenever they talk about him. He really isn't a loser. Really!
After FOB we had to break... it was just tooo hot. There was a gazebo that dripped water onto you when you stood under it, and the water was cold and wonderful. We downed our third bottle of Pocari Sweat, before heading back in the middle of the Lost Prophets set. Lost Prophets are pretty cool too! The lead singer spits really often.
and then. 4:45 PM was My Chemical Romance. I cannot tell you... i don't think... it cannot be expressed into words, how much i feel for this band. Especially after this show. I shall try to express them.
Anyway, Gerard Way doesn't have blonde hair. He has friggin PLATINUM blonde hair! But he was... he is very cute. (note my LJ icon). I thought Mikey was Gerard? coz... with his hair black and short and without glasses, they suddenly look like brothers! (hahaha, i know they are but...) Bob had an aerodynamic fringe, it sort of would blow up with the wind. Ray just looked, so cute, and Frank was so utterly uncredibly cool. They were in all black. They must have been very hot. Gerard had on a vest with a shiny back. and a striped tie. *giggles*
The show kicked off with "I'm Not Okay", and fuck yea if this isn't the best song in the world to start a set! The crowd was literally jumping for them. Then, "Thank You for the Venom"... and i started to ask myself, "What the hell? When did Gerard Way get so good at working the crowd??" He had the crowd listening to him, following his every move (and mind you, they don't understand English okay?), cheering when he asks them to, jumping when he asks them too... oh God. I was just blown away. They continued with "Cemetary Drive", "Give Them Hell Kid", and he says this looong Timmy and God conversation story as a lead up to "You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison". Then Gerard got us to sway our hands to "The Ghost of You", but... the Japanese crowd isn't that on. Min and I had our hands our throughout the song though... we just didn't care. Frank and Ray's guitar were so... just so incredible live. The Ghost of You almost made me cry. They also debuted two fucking fantastic songs, one apparently called "Dead", and another jazzy thing I call "Take This To Your Grave" (which i realised is the name of FOB's first album, after a LONG while). They have a new album out in October! And two new MTVs! I am so honoured to have heard their new songs first, and... urgh, i can't wait for the album.
At one point, Gee talks about how it was coming to Japan that made him kick his drinking, and that he has been clean and sober for 2 years. i am so proud of him, it IS two years (to the day, on the 17th). but Min and I think it was just sad that the japanese crowd couldn't understand all of that... He's also much... oh my god, i think Gerard Way is actually sexy. He patted his butt at one point, then sang a verse dragging his hand down the side of his face... i think i nearly fainted when he put his leg on the amp. WTF Lynn??? He also says the name of the songs before he sings them, and keeps reminding us that they are "My Chemical Romance".
I was so sad when the set ended with "Helena". Min and I bounced for practically the entire set. I just feel... they are so inspiring. It was so sad that the set ended. God. I don't know if i can express this properly at all!
After MCR i was physically exhausted, and i think in shock. So we had to miss the beginning of the 6PM Muse set, because we just had to rest and change into our new tee shirts (because we were SOAKED by the hose lol) We went up to the grandstand for the Muse show, and i must say i was utterly blown away. They sound INCREDIBLE live, and not only so, they had the slot where the sun was just setting, and it became the most beautiful show i've ever seen. The sun was setting in the background behind the stage, and the lights on the stage were timed for the songs and in beautfiul purples, reds and blues... The lead singer also did a mean piano solo, with a lone spotlight on him... very romantic. The Muse fanbase in Japan is huge... the entire mosh pit was filled with people. It was like he had them hypnotised, with his voice and the songs that all interconnect with each other. I only recognised "Supermassive Black Hole", "Stockholm Syndrome" and "Apocolypse Now", but i have a deeper respect for the band now that i've seen them live. We missed you here, Peilin!
7:20PM was Linkin Park, and wow, this is another band that impressed me. I only remember the third song they played, which is "Numb" because it made me almost cry again. It's a really important song to me. Chester was in high form. The ending to the set with "Breaking the Habit" was incredible, acoustic, with Mike Shinoda on keyboard. I'm not exactly a LP fan, but they put on a great live show, and they have such a HUGE and CRAZY fan base in Japan... it's just incredible. I also remembered Min squealing whenever she saw Joe Hahn and pronouncing him as "fat". apparently they have a new album coming out! Min says Ko would be excited. XD
So, it ends. We sweated like pigs, collapsed in the sun too many times, experienced tightness in the chest (me), i am now peeling from sun burnt, ran up and down and up and down, lined up, etc.... This was an experience of a lifetime, and i cannot tell you how glad i am that it was
efira that i spent it with. i hope i can see all these bands again, i miss them already.
Monday we slept in. Apparently, we also slept through the massive power black out in Chiba and parts of Tokyo, which was caused by a crane on a boat hitting a set of pretty important power lines in Chiba. Eyewitnesses say that when the crane hit the lines there was a loud crash, like fireworks. We ended up going back to Harajuku, and, erm, Min bought some really expensive stuff, and i went around buying presents for anybody and everybody. (Why do i have so many 'friends'?) I brought a Banana Fish t shirt! It's the coolest thing in the world! I also picked up a load of L'Arc En Ciel/Hyde stuff for Vanessa, plus my Cosmode XD We also brought Peilin's umbrella in Harajuku. We were so scared we would loose it or something.... T____T Oh, and we also went to Kiddyland. Do you know Oden-kun? maybe you don't have to. Disney products in Japan are EVIL. they make you want to BUY AND BUY AND BUY. i bought a JiJi (the cat, from Kiki's Delivery Service), as well as a very super incredibly cute Alice Rabbit handphone strap. T______T
On Tuesday everytime we step out of the Ryokan we would buy something. I got my Mom her presents after a while, we watched some crappy Japanese TV.... I also can now point out Kat Tun, Yama P., er, maybe Kame when i see them outside!!! *dies inside* anyway, we talked to Brian, who is a 20 year old boy who works in the ryokan... he's been to so many places in the world and is so confused about his life! i feel for him, i hope he's doing fine now. XD he also helped with our luggage to the station.
urgh, Peilin your umbrella! We kept dropping it, picking it up. We actually used it because it kept raining every 10 minutes. it was like, rain, stop, rain stop, rain, stop. Absolutely crazy. When we got to the airport it was absolutely excruciating to go through the NWA check in process, and now i can't even bring toothpaste on board???! how? how to fly to America now if i can't brush my teeth when i feel like crap??? and i'd end up so dry without moisturizer!!!! And on the flight back, we put the umbrella in the overhead compartment... and when the lady behind me opened it the umbrella fell on my head!!!! T______T peilin, feel the pain and love your umbrella, please!
so yes, this trip... i think, i'm so glad i went. i am very happy now.