5 posts tagged “arashi”

I know most of you don't know who Arashi is, or even care, but I just spent 3 hours writing this so you're going to read it.  I'll edit out the concert details because... you don't care.  I don't know when I'll have anything of interest to post next so, enjoy! 

If you want to educate yourself on Arashi before reading: Wikipedia

I don't even know where to start... I got up at 5am and got on the train on time (unlike usual) and got to Shinjuku Station at 7:10am. The weather was not co-operative. It was rainy and pissy and cold. I wore a collared shirt and bright pink t-shirt, light hoodie and my jacket and I was just nice. Met Chelsea shortly after and we hit the bank and Starfucks and took the Subway one stop instead of walking to the meeting place for the bus because it was easier. One of the exits of the subway was right next to the meeting spot and I didn't really feel like tromping around in the rain. Made it on time (early!) and checked in, no problems.

There were a bunch of buses leaving from the same underground parking but ours was easy to find, being bright pink. Oh, the irony. We left on time but caught up in traffic on the way out of Tokyo. We stopped after an hour at a rest stop... I'm not sure why, after only an hour. It was pissing rain and even though I didn't have to go, I peed anyway. We stopped for 20 minutes which I thought was a bit excessive, but I guess if there happens to be a line up for the can, it gives everyone a chance to go. Go back on the bus and away we went.

The bus was pretty plush. I liked it. I would use them again. Apart from the heinous pink interior, the seats were comfy and reclined and even had this bonnet thing you could pull over your face for some "privacy" while sleeping. There were lights and airvents, and even blankets! And the staff was friendly, showing us where our assigned seats were on the chart even though I didn't need their help. If I fail at Japanese, I can at least read and write my name. The next stop was Hamanako, in Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka prefecture. I dozed for most of that leg. Stopped for another 20 minutes at a pretty plus rest stop. It was right on Hamana Lake so there were lots of restaurants and seating and stuff. The rain stopped but it was muggy. :/

We arrived in Nagoya around 1:40pm. We got stuck in some traffic coming into the city but nothing major. I navigated us on the transit to Nagoya Dome and we got there around 3pm. We could have just taken subway but I didn't remember how to do that so I just backtracked from the directions Yvonne gave me to get to her place from the Dome. It took about half an hour and when we got off at the station all we had to do was follow the crowd. There was a bunch of people buying tickets there - moms dropping of their kids for the concert. XD We saw a few people begging for tickets in the station, and a lot more later on.

We got there at 3pm the line for merch stretched all the way around the Dome but we were walking most of the time so I didn't think it would be a problem. We made it through the line to the actual line up for stuff in maybe twenty minutes? They had 6 booths set up on the ground level, with about 6 staff per booth selling goods. They had a booth selling CDs and the Time Con DVD as well. That's where we spent most of our time waiting. Of course, we picked the slowest line... the staff weren't slow but the people were buying so much! Someone in front of us spent 80,000 yen! That's more than 1 month's rent! I bought a bag, a pamphlet, and a group clear file. I was ho-huming about the strap and in the end forgot. I got Andrew's birthday present!

When we got our merch it was about 4:15pm. The doors opened at 4pm but we hadn't eaten since 7am and I was starving. There is an Aeon mall right beside Nagoya Dome luckily so we went and got food. The mall was packed with the weekend shoppers already, but add all the people milling around waiting for the concert... it was a zoo. We tried the food court but it was busy and hot. Japanese people need to learn that just because it's rainy and a bit chill outside it doesn't mean you need to turn on the heat. I wanted to go cheap so we went to the supermarket and got some riceballs and a sandwich and some energy drinks. Again, we had to pick the slowest line. This time it was the fucking staff woman in addition to people buying the week's groceries for a family of four. Every other person in line was going to the concert, if the amount of eco bags was anything to go by. After we got our food, we headed outside and tried to cool off. It was raining a bit when we got to Nagoya but it had stopped by the time we got to the Dome but it wasn't cool enough to cool us off. So, lack of sleep plus overheat plus hunger plus crowds made us quite crabby.

We headed into the Dome around 5pm and got in our seats and sat for an hour since we knew we'd be standing for the 3 hours of the concert. The stage was over home plate and we were sitting on the first base side. If we were watching baseball, it would have been a pretty good seat. We were in the first level of stands, but nearly at the back. Actually, the same seats as when I went to Koda Kumi in Tokyo Dome but closer to the stage. We had a good view of the right stage where they had a carnival tent in the set. There was a little hot air ballon on the top of the set that said "Arashi". I thought it would do something... but it was just for show. We actually could see right into backstage when the curtain was lifted near the end, but only saw crew running around. There was a screen on our side, and we could see the one at the back of the Dome, but not the one on the left. They weren't great seats, it would have been nice to be closer, but when they ran onto our side of the stage and road the floats around the Dome we could at least see their faces clearly. :D

I appologize, I took my camera (which they didn't take.. they had a desk set up at the door where you could hand it over voluntarily... as if anyone would) but didn't take any pictures. I knew from my Koda experience that my camera takes shit pictures with no flash and in a concert the flash doesn't do anything anyway. I was a bit scared to even try to take some video because I've heard that Japanese fans are nazi about that kind of stuff. But I took a little bit! :D This was our view of the stage from my shitty camera phone:

On the screens they had the album Dream Alive logo and played trailers for Kakushi Toride, Hanadan and Yatterman movies. They also did a teaser for 24Jikan Terebi which was cute. They asked each member "Who is the most likely to cry this time?"
Sho: That'll be Aiba-kun.
Nino: I think Aiba.
Jun: Aiba. (So blunt. XD)
Ohno: It'll be Aiba-kun, won't it?
Aiba: (AD: So everyone said it would be you...) Again? Ahh...
Then they all said something about the theme "Oath", Aiba made a pun which I didn't get but everyone else did. It was a laugh.

At 6pm people were still straggling in but the crowd started chanting "Arashi! Arashi!". The Japanese are nothing if not prompt. Soon the lights went off... and the music started up... it was an instrumental with a fast beat and then BAM some pyrotechnics and Aiba on stage! They all did a little solo dance before coming together in the middle of the main stage to open. It started off with such high energy and pyrotechnics!  They sang the first four songs and then did their "Hellos". Jun went first, "Hisashiburi! Iya... Hajimemashite~" "Long time no see! No... Nice to meet you~" because it was the first time playing at Nagoya Dome. Nino did his signature "Irashaimaseee" Welcome and Sho pumped up the crowd with several rounds of "Arashi" chanting.

After Sho ran backstage, the Juniors in hideous clown outfits came out and jumped around and the infamous female dancers (it was also a first time for female backup dancers) had ribbons entertained the crowd until the curtain of the tent open and you could see this giant fucking merry-go-round horse. I knew it was going to be a carnival theme after hearing the "theme" but I was hoping it would be closer to Janet's Velvet Rope tour. Jun was riding the horse, Aiba on a box (a present?) that had screens embedded in the side which gave close ups, Sho on a heart with balloons inside it floating around, Ohno was on thing that looked like bubble tea or an ice cream float that spewed out bubbles. I don't remember the order in the middle, but Nino brought up the rear on a giant sunflower. I can't even describe how awful the costumes were.  Just think: gay mutant clowns.  Luckily, they were the worst of the lot. They stopped at the back of the Dome and the horse and flower elevated when they were singing. They rode the floats around all around the dome and by the fourth song they'd made it back to the main stage.

Ohno and Sho did their solo songs and then the next costume change was classy blue (shiny) suits with dark shirts. They brought out a table and Jun and one of the girls did a bit of skit. He gave her a present but then one of the others grabbed him away? Or went off-stage with the girl? I can't remember now. Oh well. The boys did some pair dancing with the girls which was hot. Arashi in suits are my favourite kind of Arashi but then you have them being manly and leading? I'm sold. When they sang one of the new ballads (called Sirius) they turned on the blue lights and moved to part of the stage on hydraulics that moved them to all different levels. The girls were dancing around them in white, doing some kind of ballet routine which was really quite pretty. I would have thought it would be nice and appropriate to have the constellation on the screens but you can't have everything. And here's the 7 seconds of (shitty) video managed to take:

That blurry pixelated thing is Ohno... and you can kind of hear him singing?

Aiba did his solo next and then they all came back to sing a few more songs together before the MC.  Japanese singers don't do intermissions (in my experience) but they have a break in the middle for 20 or so minutes and talk to each other about random stuff or promote their latest project. I wish I had worked harder on studying Japanese because I think I missed a lot. :( They talked about baseball and couldn't figure out where home base was (Nagoya's team is fairly good and famous?). Aiba talked about some team he was on called "Colours" (gayest name ever) and how even though the season was over, he kept it going? Nino mentioned being pitcher (for the Johnny's team, I guess). It was a bit of crock because Ohno hardly said anything during the MC. Aiba was a little chatterbox, as usual. They walked back to the main stage and Ohno and Nino disappeared. They talked about Jun's movie Kakushi Toride and asked who's seen it and a large chorus of people said yes! Then he asked something else and something else and everyone said yes... but I was lost. They asked who's seen their newest TV show... Then they mentioned Ohno's Freestyle art exhibition and they prepared a special video. The lights go out and you see the gallery and some work and then Ohmiya SK pop out in front of the Ohmiya heads. I had a really hard time understanding it because they put on an accent (kind of like a gaijin? Haha). Yuji was taking the piss out of the guy who made the heads because it looks nothing like him. Then they come out on stage and sing a song about Mikoshi (portable shrines)...? I don't even know. It was just pure ridiculousness. At one point in the skit Ohno is trying so hard not to laugh... Which made it even funnier. XD The other three came back out and talked about the character they created for the tour (a caterpiller) and showed a cute little animation with the caterpiller that turns into 5 butterflies. Aw. Kawaii.

After the video, the next song started and I could see faces on the screens but no bodies on the stage. Then this giant balloon comes out over the stage with the five of them suspended off of it on wires. Aiba and Jun were flipping around and looking down at the crowd, Nino and Ohno were mucking around and Sho looked like he was hanging on for dear life. LOL  They floated across the Dome to the back stage and started singing Fight Song and Nino fucked up.  It was like he forgot to start singing as he was getting lowered. They sang and riled up the crowd, doing flips and mucking around. I think the most I saw from Sho was him kicking his legs a bit. I'm surprised he didn't drop his mic. When Nino got down he looked up and said, "Sho, you haven't done anything!!" and Sho just made a face back. Haha.

Nino and Jun did their solos and then Ohno came out onto our side of the stage carrying the eco bag (one of the merchendise) and gave a speech about it... something about the environment, do your part, blah blah, blah. The next song was called Green and they made it specially for this tour to go along with the bag. They are trying to be more "adult" I've heard (although how much more childish can you get with a carnival theme?) and they're being good idols and sending out a good message. It was a really sweet song. I actually understood some of the lyrics but I can't remember them now. :/ As they sang, they had VTR footage of greenery behind them.

They sang the song Once Again and danced together on the main stage, it was a really good!  They sequeyed into the theme and did member introductions: Aiba did some back flips, Ohno made some really creepy faces, Nino did a "card trick". Then Jun introduced the juniors and dancers and I want to say he was speaking English but I couldn't tell. The first half of the show was actually quiet for a concert. I mean, I could still hear myself as I sang along but after the MC they turned it up a notch.  The last song they did was called Your Song and to be honest, I didn't really like the song that much before I heard it live. I didn't even get around to translating the lyrics. But... to hear the entire room of nearly 50,000 people singing together... it was pretty amazing. I wonder what they felt like on stage, hearing that.

They go off, and the girls next to us start screaming "Arashi! Arashi! Arashi!" for the encore. It was miles better than Koda Kumi but the entire Dome couldn't get in sync. I want to know what that sounds like. For the second Encore, they came out and Jun gave some shpiel about not singing A-RA-SHI and everyone went "Eehhhhh?" He looked a bit sheepish but introduced their new single One Love (theme song for his new movie Hana Yori Dango Final) and they sang that standing on the main stage. It's a really pretty song. Very mature. I am a bit sad they didn't do A-RA-SHI because it isn't often that you see a group still performing their debut song. If they were trying to go for the more "adult" image, I could see them not wanting to do it. But it's classic! Then again, maybe after 9 years, they secretly hate it. XD

Third encore, they came out to sing Pikanchi Double which is probably my favourite song so I was happy that they ended with that. :D We had Sho and Ohno on our side of the stage and as Sho ran past Ohno he totally tried to cop a feel. In a huge way and we totally caught it. YES. That was the best way to end the show. The fangirls around us tried calling for another encore but I knew that was the end so we booked it out of there. Luckily our aisle was right near the door so we were one of the first ones out. We hit a convenience store and rehydrated and waited for the crowds to disapate from the subway before heading to Yvonne's to crash for the night.

It was such a good show and they did a really good job but... I can't help but feel a little bit disappointed. Whether it was the audience being only so-so (better than Koda by MILES but nothing like last year's Time Concert DVD audience) or that we were tired and grouchy, I don't know. Even the guys on stage... they were energetic but I don't know. There were lots of families and kids.  Apparently, you don't cheer for ballads? You politely applaud. At the very end and after each encore, the crowd waved back and clapped politely but that's about it. What?? So I totally cheered, all by myself. In a crowd of nearly 50,000. And I would like to think that they heard me.

Great show and so happy that I got a chance to see them and be in the same room as them and all that mushy stuff but... I would love to go to Tokyo Dome. I've heard that those are the best shows and if the Time DVD is anything to go by, I'm sure it's true. Maaaybe I'll try again next year because you know they are going to do something big for their 10th anniversary but I don't know who I would go with. Maybe I'll go alone.  If I even get tickets. Maybe this show was only kind of meh because they want to do something extreme next year? Who knows.

Arashi~

Here's a taste of what I'll be getting to see in May.  I don't know what my seats are until I get the tickets which won't be here until 2-3 weeks before the show.  Fingers crossed for decent seats but I'd take anything gladly.

GArh I've been trying to upload a video for like 2 hours but my connection sucks balls so I had to grab one off YouTube.  YouTube has been deleting videos like crazy lately so hopefully this one sticks for a while.

Today was more productive than I thought or intended it to be.  I taught all the 2nd year classes with Mr Nakamura and helped him mark tests.  I felt important.  I was only supposed to have 4 lessons but he moved the 5th from tomorrow to today to get all their tests done and handed back to them in the same period.  Whatever, it just means I have only 2 tomorrow.  Woo. 

Mr Kaneko hasn't finished writing his final exam yet.  He was supposed to get it to me for checking today, but didn't.  Am I surprised?  Not in the slightest.  I saw the monstrosity he uses to type up his hand-outs.  I wondered how he got them to look like they came off a typewriter.  It's because they did.  This thing is a dinosaur.  I don't know how its still working.  But he doesn't have any room on his desk for even a laptop computer, and given how he runs around like a chicken with his head chopped off most of the time, I'm not sure he could handle a real computer.  Anyway, he said he'll get it to me tomorrow.  My two classes are both with him so hopefully he'll have it done. 

Right now, it's Aisatsu Week at school.  Aisatsu can be translated as "greeting" but its more than a greeting.  Every morning (and actually at the start and end of every lesson) the kids have to do aisatsu.  They have to say 起立、気をつけ、礼 kiritsu, ki wo tsuke, rei.  "Stand up, pay attention, bow."  It's very militaristic and regimented.  The kids though, are so fucking half-assed about it.  There's one person assigned to lead the class in aisatsu and they will stand up and it basically stops there.  They'll get quiet for a while, and maybe nod their heads at you instead of a bow.  It's cute though in elementary school when they do aisatsu.  They all snap to attention when the teacher says ki wo tsuke. 

Aisatsu is pretty much anything used in greeting, anything in response... and a lot of ass kissing.  Yvonne told me they are "set phrases to make social interactions go smoothly, from when you go to buy things to making business phone calls". 

おはようございます Ohayo gozaimasu.  Good morning.
すみません Sumimasen.  Excuse me.
いらっしゃいませ Irasshaimase. Welcome.
失礼します Shitsurei shimasu. Excuse me for interrupting.
よろしくお願いしますYoroshiku onegashimasu.  Please take care of it for me.

Everything anyone says to anyone at school is usually followed by yoroshiku onegaishimasu.  I have even started to throw it around to cover my ass and make myself look polite. 

This clip is from the Making Of the Video for Step and Go, Arashi's new single.  I just had to clip this part of the video because that's exactly how the kids act, especially first thing in the morning.   I'm not even joking.

It was good listening practice, but I couldn't catch everything they said (marked with [?]).  (Thanks for helping Yvonne~) But I got the gist and the meaning by myself.  But seriously, that's what I get every morning.

I got my unpaid wages papers from Nova in the mail today!  Happy birthday to me, indeed.  I'm owed almost ￥350,000 but the Labour and Welfare Board is only paying 80%.  So I'm getting ￥278,00 which isn't anything sneeze at.  At today's rates, that's about $2600 CDN.  I just need to copy some documents and get that off in the mail tomorrow because who knows how long it will actually take to get the money into my account.  It might be another six weeks before that happens.  I know I should remit it directly back home and not touch the money, but I will take a chunk of it for traveling.  Andrew and I are going to Nagoya in April to visit Yvonne and she suggested that we all take a trip together somewhere.  I want to go to Kyoto and Osaka, and Nagoya is half way so what's a little bit further?  I don't know if Andy is down for it, since he's going to be paying out big money pretty soon to move into his own place.  But we're definitely going to Nagoya. 

Ohno Satoshi's Freestyle art exhibition opens today.  I'm so excited to go, I just don't know when.  It's only from today until the 29th.  I am more inclined to go on a weekday after work, since I figure it won't be as busy as the weekend when everyone has the day off.  I have this stupid feeling that if I don't go right away, I'm going to miss something.  His art book went on sale on the 8th and sold out everywhere immediately.  I wonder if they will have copies at the show for sale.  Justin said he'd go with me, but his friend from Canada is coming on Saturday for a week and I don't know if she'll want go come or if he'll ditch her cuz he made plans with me first.  We could go tomorrow, but I bet he has to work.  He hasn't replied to my email so I don't know what's going on with him.  Andrew hates art and museums so he won't go with me.  I don't have any problems going solo, I might prefer it actually.  Then I can take as much time as I want soaking in the genius and nerding out at the gallery. 

I really don't know how they do it.  I have been doing elementary lessons for a week and I'm exhausted.  All I want to do when I get home is sleep.  And after I wake up in the morning, I want to sleep.  After lunch, I want to nap (although that might be due to the super homo 3.5% milk we have to drink).  Mad props to those elementary folks.  Holler.

Now that my wigga moment is over, let's get on with other things.  I've been getting mail (e- and otherwise) from people over the last few days, and I say thank you!  I got a belated X'mas card from Grandma in the mail today.  It made my day.  When I was doing my Christmas Lesson at Junior High, I talked about how Canada is so PC that we don't even say Merry Christmas anymore.  Haha.  How right you are, Grandma!  The postmark is all blurred so I can't see when she sent it.  I'm still waiting for JC's package that he sent a couple weeks before X'mas.  It's probably sitting half destroyed at the port in Kawasaki. 

Yesterday was Seijin no Hi (Coming of Age Day), when people who have turned 20 celebrate becoming an adult.  Girls get all decked out in kimono and go to the shrine (guys just wear a suit) and then they have a big party at night, since they are now legal.  I didn't see that many girls walking around in kimono as I thought I would.  There were a few, but for some reason I thought it would be something like Arts County Fair or everyone's 19th birthday where you're just stupid and drunk all day and celebrating.  It was rather subdued.  I went to the shrine in Kashiwa, which is a lot bigger than I thought it was.  It wasn't busy at all.  I bet most people went downtown to Meiji Shrine in Harajuku.

For lack of anything better to do, I met up with Dan and Masato (friends through Andrew) and we went to Hibiya Park.  It was kind of a dumb thing to do, since it was dark by the time we met up and it was freezing cold.  It finally feels like winter.  The last couple days have been bitingly cold.  It's really starting to grate on my nerves how everyone says "ああ、カナダ人！寒くないでしょう? Aa, Kanada-jin!  Samukunai deshou?" Ah, Canadian!  You're not cold right?  FUCK YOU!  Canada and Japan aren't that different latitude-wise.  Vancouver and Tokyo have the same climate.  The reason people complain its so cold here is that they don't know how to dress properly for winter.  I was waiting for the train to Ueno and these two school girls walked past me.  One of them complained that it was cho samui, sooo cold but she was wearing a skirt, converse sneakers and a hoodie.  OF course you're going to be cold, moron!  (end of gaijin rant)

After our jaunt through Hibiya Park (which I have to make a note of returning to in the daylight) we wandered through Minato-ku, detouring through Starbucks for a warm-up, to Tokyo Tower.  I had scoffed off going as some kind of over-priced tourist trap, which it is, but we didn't have anything better to do.  Being in the middle of the business district there wasn't a whole lot else to do.  We scored discounted tickets at 7-11 and went up, and actually it was worth it.  Since we went at night, we could actually SEE stuff.  The Tokyo skyline looks much nicer at night, if you ask me. 

080114 - Tokyo Tower

080114 - Tokyo Tower View