What a day in history!!!  They've come through so much to get here.  Let's celebrate with them^^

１0周年おめでとうございます！！

これからも頑張ってください。

This is my trip to see and meet my second favorite Japanese band ever, Lead, in Kawasaki, Kanagawa (just south of Tokyo).

Ahhh....so, I got to Kawasaki Station around 10:45, and I expected to see a ton of fangirls flocking, but I saw about....zero. I followed the signs to the Lazona Plaza, and found the gathering. There were maybe 150 girls there, tops. I wasn't sure if the sign they had on the left side of the stage was for the ticket sales or not, because the girl handing them out still had a lot in her hand!! I asked her, and she said that they were, so I took one. My number was somewhere around 684, which surprised me because I wondered where all the people were. I saw later that some girls took three and four tickets at a time, which explained it. The tickets were for a CD, which meant some people were buying three and four at a time. My number wasn't going to be called until about 11:30, so I did my best to stay out of the sun. Something that made me a little sad was that people would walk by, see the poster for the event, and say, "Lead? Who are they?" Although, I suppose if more people knew them, I wouldn't have gotten the place I did in the crowd. Bittersweet.

Here's a pic of the venue, taken before they put up the "no photography/recording" signs:

Day 68 011

And he're a pic from Akira's blog with myself circled:

And an hour after tear down, as viewed from the top balcony:

Yes, it was outside, and YES it was hot. My number was finally called, and I queued to buy an Akira version. After I bought the CD, they gave me another ticket for the handshake. It was 871. I wonder if someone screwed up, or if they let people buy more than one at a time.... Anyway, I sat to the right side this time. At about 12:45, everyone started standing up, so I moved from the bench I was on to the stage. I was only four rows back, which was really awesome. They had queue strings set up near the escalator near the right side, which is where I expected Lead would make their appearance from, since there were also police there, so everyone would look there, and look back at the stage. There were also strings in front of the stage (duh).

Right at 1:00pm, the boys appeared with the MC's introduction and to the screams of basically the whole crowd. It was so amazing to actually see them in person. Akira was first, followed by Shinya, Keita, and finally Hiroki. They were all wearing white tops with jeans, Shinya one layer and the other three had two layers.. Akira is just as hot as on TV/video or even more, Keita is so much cuter in real life, Hiroki is better looking, and Shinya is way better looking than I ever gave him credit for. At this point, I was freaking out because they were literally 6 meters in front of my face. Everyone was screaming and waving, and of course I joined in too. I'm pretty sure Akira caught a glance at me at this point, and no lie, he kept looking my way the entire event. *doki doki* I guess it's to be expected, since I was the only Western-looking girl there. Anyway, they introduced themselves and welcomed everyone, and said a few words thanking us for being there in the heat. Then, the first chords for "Night Deluxe" started, which made the whole crowd scream. We sang along, and I learned the moves, and finally we got to hear everyone sing. Akira is really good, no question. Shinya is okay, and suprisingly Hiroki and Keita are about the same, a little shaky. Not as good as Akira, but not so bad. Next they played "Show Me the Way," and we did the moves and sung along again. 

Afterwards, they did an MC, where they introduced themselves again, and just mentioned about the Osaka release event. Akira started talking about "the day before the day before today....that would be ototoi*, ne?" And the crowd laughed. But he said that they all had yakiniku together. He said something about the sauce and how it was really good and they had a good time. When he got home, he saw that he had a spot near his belly button and the middle of his chest. He decided he should probably put his shirt in the washing machine, so he put some stain remover on and started the washer. He accidentally fell asleep, and when he woke up, he realized he had over slept. He got the shirt out of the washer, and realized, "I over did it," since there were now spots from the stain remover on his shirt. It was funny at the time, sorry if it doesn't make sense. Akira also talked about how hot it was. He said about Shinya, "You're really soaked, aren't you?" and he was!! He was wearing a long-sleeve shirt, and maybe from shoulders down to mid-stomach was wet with sweat.   I was just as hot, and I was just standing there, not dancing (though not I was not soaked).

Then they announced that they would be bringing the mini-live to a close, which brought lots of "Ehhh???" from the crowd. They apologized, and said that it was hot and time was short. Of course, the last song was "Gira Gira Romantic". The dance is just as good as in the video, and some people in the crowd could already do it. I just fumbled along and sang the words, since I hadn't practiced the moves. I must say Shinya's rap is far better live...and I already like it recorded!! Anyway, they finished the song and said good-bye, and the MC said that they would be preparing for a press conference. The mini-con was all of 25 minutes, but it was worth it. Lead left the stage and ducked into a break tent to the right of the stage. As he was leaving, Akira fanned himself with both hands, looked in my direction (though not at me) and mouthed "Atsui, na*?!" The press made ready on the stage, and Lead came back. Girls kept screaming their names individually, and they sort of turned around and waved. The MC told us to be quiet for a minute at one point, as they must have been doing the real thing. There was one time that Keita put his arm around Hiroki, and Hiroki quickly pushed it off and looked at him like, "what are you doing??" The crowd laughed, and so did Shinya and Akira. I think the staff asked Lead to do the first moves to the new song, because they did them really exaggerated. At one point, a staff did the "c'mon, scream!" gesture, but very few people did anything. Then, Keita gestured with his arm behind him without turning around (they were doing the group arms around each other thing), and nearly the entire crowd screamed.  Last, they all said, "Lead-o desu!!" and everyone screamed to the staff's direction, and people in line of the camera peace-signed (I was off to the side, so I didn't bother). 

They left the stage, and the MC announced that they would be making preparations for the handshake event. I really hoped they would give Shinya a new shirt, but he came out in the exact same one, not as soaked, but wrinkly, haha. Poor thing. Akira had shed his over-shirt and only had on a tank-top, and Hiroki and Keita had on the same. I was at such an angle that I could only see Akira well, and Shinya and Hiroki if I tried. There was a table between Lead and the fans (very effective barrier, even for the mostly docile Japanese fans), and of course they started queuing at one. I was able to move right up to the queue ropes, and just watched Akira's (and sometimes Shinya's) reactions to the fans. Sometimes, girls asked Akira to pat their hair along with a handshake. I have no idea what the motivation for that was. However, Akira was always smiles, showing his teeth a lot and looking like he was really enjoying himself. Everytime they started playing "Gira Gira Romantic" overhead, he would do a little dance, and then shake the next girl's hand. I hope it's not my imagination, but he really kept looking in my direction when he wasn't shaking hands.

At about 700, they gave Lead a break. I about died, because I thought I missed hearing my number because I was so taken in by Akira's smile and watching his reactions. Thankfully, they came back and finally, they called up to 800, so I made my way to the left to get ready to queue again. It seemed like the longest wait between up to 870 and up to 900. It was like a dream went they called up to 900 and I showed my ticket so they let me in. Then it hit me, oh my, what am I going to say!?! What is everyone else saying? "Otsukare-sama*"? I almost asked someone, but decided not to. When I was ready to get on stage, I started freaking out inside, and the only thing that would come to mind was to say, "I'm an American." *doki doki doki doki doki* FINALLY, Akira reached for my hand, looked at me, and turned his head to hear as I said my line. He turned back to look at me, and said "Oh, thank you!!" I was literally pushed by staff to Shinya, said my line again, to which he responded, "Arigato gozaimasu," and smiled. I was pushed to Hiroki, who said, "Oh, Hi!" ROTFLOL. Last, I was pushed to Keita, who said the same thing as Akira. I actually skipped off the stage, and the staff asked me if I had another ticket (I didn't), so I went back to stand near the middle of the crowd. Ahhhh. Akira was just adorable as imagined up close and VERY charismatic, Shinya was very shy and barely looked at me but also really adorable, Hiroki was really bubbly (can you say that about a man??) and very smiley, and Keita was almost like Hiroki, only a tad smaller and with more energy.

I waited around to see if they would say a bit more after everyone was through. The MC kept saying, "If you haven't been through, please go through. Time is short, we're very sorry!" At 2:45 they were calling up to 1110, and the last girl went through and actually, she had five tickets (which meant she bought five singles T^T). At first, she went through normally, then when she went through again, the crowd went, "EHHH?!?" And then she went through twice more, to laughter of the crowd. At the fifth time, she started to go through, and Akira stood stiff with his hands at his sides and grinned like a little boy as if he wasn't going to give her a handshake. The crowd went "EHH?!?" again, and finally he offered his hand with a smile. She went through, and staff cleared the stage. They only gave Lead one mike between the four of them to start speaking. They began with Keita. He gave the thanks, and handed the mike to quiet Shinya. He said his thanks, and handed the mike to Hiroki. After his first five or so words, Akira said something to him. He turned to him, and said, "What?" Akira said it again, and Hiroki said, "Oh, you want to talk?" which elicited a laugh from the crowd.   Such a brat, Akira. Hiroki finished, and handed the mike to Akira. He said his good-bye, and they all started waving. I of course started waving, and it was awesome, because I know for sure I caught each of their eyes. The girls around me screamed when one looked our way, but I know for sure they looked at me. *doki doki* There was one point where only Keita and Hiroki were left on the stage, and girls were calling their names.  I decided to call Keita's (he was near the left/back and Hiroki was to the front), so I did, and Hiroki looked right at me with a half-confused half-surprised face.  Either he was surprised I knew Keita's name, or he thought I got his name wrong (hides in the shadows).  I know your name, Hiroki, and I love you just as much, Keita's name just came to mind first!!! orz 
Last of all last, they waved for the last time and started toward the hall they appeared from in the beginning. Girls ran toward the stairs where Lead was disappearing, and that was it.

Well, I think that's it. It was a long 5 hours, but it was really doki doki and really worth the 1890 yen, expensive train ticket, and minor sunburn.  I think they climbed a good number of rungs closer on the ladder closer to Arashi as favorite band.  And Hiroki climbed closer to my favorite Akira, because he gave the most fan service, with Akira in second place (Keita and Shinya were not so much, although they did wave).

*doki doki=literally the sound of a heartbeat. It is usually used in situations when you're excitedly nervous, like I was when Lead smiled and waved at me.

*ototoi=literally "one night and today" and is used to mean two days ago. No idea why Akira forgot this word, other than his tounge got ahead of his brain, lol.

*atsui=hot. And it was HOT.

*otsukare-sama=this one is really hard to explain. You usually say it after someone comes home from work, and it kind of has the meaning of, "You did a good job today." Although, the person will usually respond to you with an "otsukare-sama", even if you were apart all day. You can say it after a concert or something, though I've no idea if anyone actually said it to Lead.

Edit:

Here is the uchiwa I bought for 500 yen:

68.2 001

68.3 003

If any Arashi fans are reading this, sorry for flailing about something other than Arashi.  I wish Arashi could do these things, but there is no way that only 300 fans would gather for such a thing.  That's the pain of being an extremely popular group and the joy of being someone so not well known.

It's still the 17th in the US (even though I'm in Japan), so I'm posting this.  I have pics on my Vox entry, so please go see them since I'm to lazy to post again xD

Well, I've been on a semi-hiatus, and of all reasons, BECAUSE I'VE BEEN IN JAPAN!!!  I actually have another blog that I keep for my family to chronicle my adventures, and that takes more time than I thought.  And then I have to DO things to write about them, it's just too much.  However, I had to come out for this one event.  It's funny to be on the same side of the earth, not but 3 hours away by bullet train from where the birthday boy lives.  I hope he has a wonderful day.

Anyway, on to the normal.
お誕生日おめでとう二宮和也！！

Keep being the brat of Arashi.  Only you could do it.
Keep up your witty remarks.  It makes even the most boring Shukudai-kun talk fun.
Keep acting so well in dramas that make us laugh and ones that make us cry.  They've become some of my favorites.
Keep looking younger every year.  Please tell me your secret.
Keep learning English and not telling anyone until Blonde Sensei-type shows come around so you can surprise us.  I love surprises.
Keep being a softy and playing the tough guy.  It's really cute.
Get yourself another role in an American film so America can get to know you more, and through you, Arashi.  Arashi needs more American love.
Keep loving your band mates, even though you didn't cry a tear at 24 TV.  I know it was just your excellent acting control, and inside you were really crying rivers.
Keep loving Riida and hanging on him.
Keep loving Sho and being stolen away by him.
Keep loving Aiba so much that you'll play any of his games.
Keep loving Jun and being the brat pair.

And keep being yourself.  Arashi wouldn't be the same without the brat that is you.

Oh, and this completes my first year of celebrating Arashi birthdays on LJ.  Woo me.

Gomenne, I've been lazy for a while.  So much school work and stuff to get ready to go to Japan, it's no wonder.  Anyway, I came up with a list of things I want to watch after I graduate and before I leave.  If worse comes to worst, I'll watch it at the airports and on the planes XD  Okay, so here it is:

Drama:
Yamada Tarou
Maou

Concerts:
AAA+ in Dome
Time
Kokuritsu

Anime:
Empty for now, but perhaps a few Rurouni Kenshin, since they're very short shows.

Movies:
Letters from Iwo Jima
Howl's Moving Castle
Kiiroi Namida
Tekkon Kinkreet

Also, watch as many regular Arashi shows as I have time for, and finish Love Shuffle (though, I'll probably do that at school).  I thought I had more time than I do, but that's fine.  A drama usually takes me 7 to 10 days, so I should still be good.  This is just a few things I want to watch before I get there.  I just realized the other day that I'm going to be there in time for the rain and really hot seasons.  Although I would not want to spend my everyday inside, I may have a day or two.  I also learned that my friend and I are probably going to Yokohama for a few weeks, which means I can probably go to Tokyo.  Sweeeeeet.
 

Anyway, the AAA 2008 concert forgive me for rambling. WAS IT NOT PURE AMAZINGNESS?!??!?  Everything, from the awesome waterworks at the begining to the awesome waterworks at the end, every second was packed with kyaaaable material!!  I even liked the songs that I don't normally like because they were live!!  I was really proud of the outfits, too.  There was nothing overly flashy and shiny.  It all seemed to fit them well.  They aren't kids anymore save that for Hey-Say-Jump! which is a totally good thing.  The first 10 songs (thru Subarashiki Sekai) got me really tension up, so I'll say great choice of songs.  The solos were really good, except I was expecting Nino to do Gimmick Game because I really wanted to see it live.  However, I am glad Jun did Tell me What You Wanna be, because I can stand that more than most of his solos (tho it's still kind of iffy and he was live the whole time).  Aiba's solo was really the best (I'm only biased a little, but he did so well not lip syncing AGAIN and his little hand gesture at "hello goodbye" was so adorable, I couldn't help not following along), Sho's was second (I so love that song and the live is so much better...and his "say 'ooo, ahh, ooo ooo, ahh, say!'" parts were super cute), and Riida's was also up there.  I just wish he had sung live.  I REALLY loved Subarashiki Sekai because it was 100% live, no one was terribly bad (Jun still sings through his nose, but he was never off-key), and the live band in the bg just added a special something to the song.  The Re(mark)able/Truth/Step and Go/A Day in Our Life set was so genius, and so INCREDIBLE.  I know I kyaaed when I realized Re(mark)able's chords were being played.  Truth was so perfect with the red and all, just as I had imagined it from all the fan reports.  Step and Go was so cute with everyone skipping after Sho, and so was Riida's "ryou te ni" while Nino was jumping about behind him giving the double peace sign.  And A Day in our Live always gets my tension up with the "WAY!! UE!!! NE!! SOME DAY!!" call and return part.  I think the fire also added a lot to that entire section.  Asu ni Mukatte Hoero was the only song I had never heard in the whole concert, so I was glad to get to learn about it.  I also found Ashita ni Mukatte through it, which they didn't do, but the kanji are so similar I thought it was the same song: (明日に向かって and 明日に向かって吠えろ).  I realized during the end of One Love that it isn't about Makino and Tsukasa outside of the movie.  It's purely about Arashi.  I was going crazy (mistakenly) over the whole 'put your hands in' thing, because I though it was Sakuraiba who held hands at the end, but it was really Riida and Aiba (I was wondering how Sho's mike was in the opposite hand so fast).  XD Oh well, still cute.  And then Sakuraiba walked with their arms around each other, so it was okay.  Fight Song was great as always, with the whole "MAO~U!  MAO~U!" thing when Riida had to jump in the tank, and then when Jun gave him an extra towel when he came out.  Juntoshi's not my favorite pair by a long shot, but kyaa~~!!  And when Riida started singing into his mike on Kotoba yori Taisetsu Mono and realized it didn't work, so Jun handed him his then continued to try to steal it from him.....So cute!!  The very last song, Gori Muchuu, with the sliding around was so funny and looked like fun!!  I swear, I probably made my roommate think I was crazy laughing my head off at how cute they were XD
Overall, a wonderful concert.  We can only hope they keep getting better and better.  And I can hope they perform in Osaka while I'm there XD  Seriously though, I'll be there in time for Kat-tun's concerts, which kind of upsets me (Although, I think I'll walk past the dome on one of those days if I've nothing else to do and see what I can hear and see....).  And I'm missing Lead's concerts as I type.  Oh well, I'll content myself with magazines, CDs, DVDs, a visit to the Osaka Johnny's store if nothing else.
 

Today, I decided to watch Tekkon Kinkreet, the one that Nino does the voice of the main character.  I must say, I really enjoyed it.  While it was a bit bloody and had some risque scenes, I liked the battle (or was it more of one can't live without the other?) between light and darkness which just happens to relate to the names of the main characters.  Nino's character was named クロ (Black) and he takes care of a little guy named シロ(White) while they live on the streets, who I'm not sure if it's his brother or not.  At first, the animation seems really strange, but then you come to respect how beautiful it really is, especially during White's dream sequences.  Nino did a superb job of voice acting.  I've heard that seiyuus usually go through long training periods, but Nino doesn't seem to need that.  Overall, a very good movie.  I plan to buy it the next time I'm back home.

I also liked the theme song, "Aru machi no gunjou" by Asian Kung-Fu Generation.  I only like a like a few select songs from AKFG (also, the lead singer's voice is a bit too slurry for me), but this one is a little different then their normal ones, so I'm not sure how to explain why I like it.  The vocal's voice is good this time around, though.

I've been watching Love Shuffle because I saw that Matsuda Shota(Nishikado Sojiro from HYD) was in it, and since I like his acting, I decided to try it.  The girl who played Asuka in "Bambi~no!", the girl who played Hinata Sara in HYD, and Daigo are also among the main cast.  The story is about 4 floormates in an apartment who are having sucky love lives, so they decide to switch partners every week and see how it goes based on what card (boys are jacks, girls are queens) they get, hence the name Love Shuffle.  Suits determine who you are with for that week.  I only watched the first two episodes, but I already like it.  There are random moments of humor that make it funny, all of the actors are good (Daigo is a little 'eh', but still good), and the story is interesting, so I really like it.

I'm also reading a Japanese book called "Five Minutes to Tomorrow" by Honda Takayoshi.  It's only in Japanese (sorry), but the story revolves around an unnamed (or was he named and I missed it?) and his love life.  He works for a photography company and likes to swim a lot.  I'm only 91 pages into it, but I really like it.  I'm really glad to be reading again, because reading is one of my favorite hobbies.  I took some time off from reading because I'm on a program where I only read Japanese (unless I have to read English, like my Shakespeare plays) to improve my Japanese (imagine that!).  It's taken me almost a year to be able to read at the speed and skill I can now (about a page in 4 minutes [half of my English speed] and only a few kanji on a page I can't read correctly or at all), so it's been a long journey.  Anyway, I recommend it if you can read Japanese!

Oh yeah, and any time I see subs advertised in LJ comms of a certain Arashi program, I automatically go out and dl the raw.  Recently: G no Arashi 12 (air band), 45 (A no Arashi [sorry, I wanted this one, it may not be out there]), 48 (Haiku), 49 (Aiba's dice game), 50 (in pajamas [this is another I just wanted]).  SO, I think you should too (or the sub).  Seeing as you're just as much of an Arashi fan as me.
OH, and the Sho cut scans..................... I......really, just wow.  Actually, I really like the one with the phone, because it looks like he's looking at the phone, going "phone?"  Sorry, I just really like how he can be cute in a really sexy photo shoot.

And that's all for now.  じゃね！