Nagoya concert 2009.01.16
A day to remember the experiences...Maybe(?) will write a proper report when I gather my thoughts and the biting cold goes away...
The morning
Day started not so well as I was running late...was to have met friends at 7am to hit the con goods stand but only managed to show my face before 7.30am...and I wasnt too interested in breakfast (or maybe was due to tension!) - As a result, left on an empty stomach... >___<'
I HAVE OFFICIALLY BROKEN MY PERSONAL GOODS RECORD YO!! => arrived 8.21am at the Dome; departed at 3.30pm!!!!!!!!!! o___O Which means I was there in freezing temperatures for > 7 hours and by the time I'd left, my fingers had lost their feeling...Heat pack only worked while I was waiting before I got to the good stands but no use to me when paying for goods / toggling merchandize from one hand to another to relieve the weight...
I swear, this is the LAST time I am going to take orders! Can I stick to it? We'll see...
Long story short, we had to walk half an hour and past 3 gigantic Mitsubishi factories in Ozone (pronounced Oh-zo-ne and not o-zone as you would...) to reach the end of the queue...I dont know how many km was that but a general idea is, half an hour..?!! Go figure that! (do people really start to queue at 6am??? Or better yet, 5am? >_<)
The afternoon
Thought I had finished at 3pm (yatta!) but then had to requeue as I'd forgotten friend's photo sets...!!! What held me up was also the stupid rules like I cant purchase > 5 straps or charms...requeueing was extremely time-consuming and troublesome... Plus everybody was giving me askance looks / hateful expressions as I was already carrying 3 bags full and people kept bumping into me orz!! (why do pple think I am so greedy by making Johnny-san rich?! ==> yes, I am a masochist who LOVE standing in line in low temp in the blustering wind which constantly bit my nose and cheeks...
Rushed to meet up friends again at 3.30pm who were done with their purchases 1 - 1.5 hour ago. How lucky you guys were! Which meant with the trip back to hotel to drop off our goods, there wasnt any time for lunch...taihen deshita...Made do with my mini cup noodle bought the night before. =/
The evening
We were at the Dome 6pm sharp after battling our way through the fans from the crowded trains...what a difference a day makes (empty everything).
Wow! Was I surprised my seat was Level 1 - at eye level with the moving floats!!! ==> cho tanoshii!! counted 16 rows from the base. Was told they did a complete remodel as the Dome's a baseball stadium, home of the G-Dragons.
Set list was the same as Sapporo but I loved the updated version of Arashi's history which included the 2009 4 Oricon records and minna's debut Kouhaku!!
The beginning
We didnt have the high wire this time around. For Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi, the guys were transported across the dome in elongated inflated white balloons emblazoned with a giant 5x10 logo. There was one huge blimp liked balloon and 4 smaller ones.
This being the first con of the year in 2010, the boys regaled us with jokes about their respective holidays. Sho-kun expressed his appreciation for getting the flowers from his fellow members for his recent Iitomo appearance. Ohno said he was at Atami (a resort area in Shizuoka prefecture) with his family while Aiba-chan went golfing in Thailand and Jun-kun spent his holidays in Okayama and Kagawa. Nino spent his time at home arranging receipts?!! (Psst! I am sure you earned lots in 2009, you miser you!)
I was VERY lucky to have such a great seat (thanks A-san!!!) because we had numerous direct eye contact with Jun-kun, Aiba-chan, Oh-chan and Sho-kun!!! ^___^ Oh gawd, we were literally pierced by Jun's gaze as we'd screamed his name real loud and kept waving the penlight (me) / Jun uchiwa in his direction!! (friend)
Had the feeling Nino-chan's back was giving him problems again as friend commented post-con he wasnt his genki self...anyways he was pretty chatty as co-MC with Sho-kun but I respected him for putting on a good show nonetheless.
#### Jun removed his costume when the MC started! *cue thousands of fangirls screaming in high pitch* Minna got an eyeful of his naked torso before Oh-chan draped the 5x10 towel to cover Jun's front to enable MJ to wear his Staff provided T-shirt demurely.
My Girl was sung for second encore but that's it. No Sora Takaku, Yurase ima Wo (had my heart set on this one) or Troublemaker... Nande nande?
Hehe got a souvenir from the seat behind me!! Usually its me losing things (AAA 2008) but let's hope this is a good way to round in 2010. ^__^
Observation: The fans in my corner were cho saikou - we stood and sang along throughout. Those one level down were just sitting there like watching TV orz...
In lieu of balloons after 5x10, *kira kira* gleaming gold confetti strips with 5x10 logos were showered in the arena area. Lucky fans rushed down to get it from the staff who picked them up. I could have but I think kids would enjoy it more.
Didnt want to chance taking pics as the eagle-eyed staff would be on me in a heartbeat. Oh yeah, the were 2 mini mic mishaps for Jun-kun and Oh-chan. (no audio)
Going back post con
I was damn annoyed by all those Taiwanese and mainland Chinese fans who kept pushing in our overcrowded trains on the way back when we changed trains heading for Nagoya station!
Grrrr! It was only 11pm! IF YOU CANT FREAKIN' GET ON, TAKE THE NEXT TRAIN FOR GAWD'S SAKE! *shows a fist sign*
Dinner
11pm Arrived at an izakaya near our hotel. We had *hot* sake to drive away the chill as well as pork nabe (finally!!!) for dinner. Only had white hot choc vanilla in midmorning then nothing till 4.30pm when I had to gobble down a cup noodle...
Conclusion: you're guaranteed to lose those pounds w/o proper sleep or food.
Note: Any inaccuracies, the mistakes are all mine.
The morning
Day started not so well as I was running late...was to have met friends at 7am to hit the con goods stand but only managed to show my face before 7.30am...and I wasnt too interested in breakfast (or maybe was due to tension!) - As a result, left on an empty stomach... >___<'
I HAVE OFFICIALLY BROKEN MY PERSONAL GOODS RECORD YO!! => arrived 8.21am at the Dome; departed at 3.30pm!!!!!!!!!! o___O Which means I was there in freezing temperatures for > 7 hours and by the time I'd left, my fingers had lost their feeling...Heat pack only worked while I was waiting before I got to the good stands but no use to me when paying for goods / toggling merchandize from one hand to another to relieve the weight...
I swear, this is the LAST time I am going to take orders! Can I stick to it? We'll see...
Long story short, we had to walk half an hour and past 3 gigantic Mitsubishi factories in Ozone (pronounced Oh-zo-ne and not o-zone as you would...) to reach the end of the queue...I dont know how many km was that but a general idea is, half an hour..?!! Go figure that! (do people really start to queue at 6am??? Or better yet, 5am? >_<)
The afternoon
Thought I had finished at 3pm (yatta!) but then had to requeue as I'd forgotten friend's photo sets...!!! What held me up was also the stupid rules like I cant purchase > 5 straps or charms...requeueing was extremely time-consuming and troublesome... Plus everybody was giving me askance looks / hateful expressions as I was already carrying 3 bags full and people kept bumping into me orz!! (why do pple think I am so greedy by making Johnny-san rich?! ==> yes, I am a masochist who LOVE standing in line in low temp in the blustering wind which constantly bit my nose and cheeks...
Rushed to meet up friends again at 3.30pm who were done with their purchases 1 - 1.5 hour ago. How lucky you guys were! Which meant with the trip back to hotel to drop off our goods, there wasnt any time for lunch...taihen deshita...Made do with my mini cup noodle bought the night before. =/
The evening
We were at the Dome 6pm sharp after battling our way through the fans from the crowded trains...what a difference a day makes (empty everything).
Wow! Was I surprised my seat was Level 1 - at eye level with the moving floats!!! ==> cho tanoshii!! counted 16 rows from the base. Was told they did a complete remodel as the Dome's a baseball stadium, home of the G-Dragons.
Set list was the same as Sapporo but I loved the updated version of Arashi's history which included the 2009 4 Oricon records and minna's debut Kouhaku!!
The beginning
We didnt have the high wire this time around. For Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi, the guys were transported across the dome in elongated inflated white balloons emblazoned with a giant 5x10 logo. There was one huge blimp liked balloon and 4 smaller ones.
This being the first con of the year in 2010, the boys regaled us with jokes about their respective holidays. Sho-kun expressed his appreciation for getting the flowers from his fellow members for his recent Iitomo appearance. Ohno said he was at Atami (a resort area in Shizuoka prefecture) with his family while Aiba-chan went golfing in Thailand and Jun-kun spent his holidays in Okayama and Kagawa. Nino spent his time at home arranging receipts?!! (Psst! I am sure you earned lots in 2009, you miser you!)
I was VERY lucky to have such a great seat (thanks A-san!!!) because we had numerous direct eye contact with Jun-kun, Aiba-chan, Oh-chan and Sho-kun!!! ^___^ Oh gawd, we were literally pierced by Jun's gaze as we'd screamed his name real loud and kept waving the penlight (me) / Jun uchiwa in his direction!! (friend)
Had the feeling Nino-chan's back was giving him problems again as friend commented post-con he wasnt his genki self...anyways he was pretty chatty as co-MC with Sho-kun but I respected him for putting on a good show nonetheless.
#### Jun removed his costume when the MC started! *cue thousands of fangirls screaming in high pitch* Minna got an eyeful of his naked torso before Oh-chan draped the 5x10 towel to cover Jun's front to enable MJ to wear his Staff provided T-shirt demurely.
My Girl was sung for second encore but that's it. No Sora Takaku, Yurase ima Wo (had my heart set on this one) or Troublemaker... Nande nande?
Hehe got a souvenir from the seat behind me!! Usually its me losing things (AAA 2008) but let's hope this is a good way to round in 2010. ^__^
Observation: The fans in my corner were cho saikou - we stood and sang along throughout. Those one level down were just sitting there like watching TV orz...
In lieu of balloons after 5x10, *kira kira* gleaming gold confetti strips with 5x10 logos were showered in the arena area. Lucky fans rushed down to get it from the staff who picked them up. I could have but I think kids would enjoy it more.
Didnt want to chance taking pics as the eagle-eyed staff would be on me in a heartbeat. Oh yeah, the were 2 mini mic mishaps for Jun-kun and Oh-chan. (no audio)
Going back post con
I was damn annoyed by all those Taiwanese and mainland Chinese fans who kept pushing in our overcrowded trains on the way back when we changed trains heading for Nagoya station!
Grrrr! It was only 11pm! IF YOU CANT FREAKIN' GET ON, TAKE THE NEXT TRAIN FOR GAWD'S SAKE! *shows a fist sign*
Dinner
11pm Arrived at an izakaya near our hotel. We had *hot* sake to drive away the chill as well as pork nabe (finally!!!) for dinner. Only had white hot choc vanilla in midmorning then nothing till 4.30pm when I had to gobble down a cup noodle...
Conclusion: you're guaranteed to lose those pounds w/o proper sleep or food.
Note: Any inaccuracies, the mistakes are all mine.