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パク・ヨンハのコンサート
Hai, sou desu! As the title says, today is fangirling day! Neighbours please don't repost the pictures in this post ne!
For a certain friend who reads this blog, please don't read any further so as to preserve the little sanity I have in your eyes. LOL You know who you are!
So, let's continue!! First, let m share a picture! 
This is what I see from my hotel room window!! I got quite excited, for my Kenichi-kun, but I didn't know what's coming
You'll get what I mean later... XP Aniwaes, I woke up really today, despite having slept at past midnight and having travelled a lot the previous day, at 7.15am. Why so? Because today I had a lot of places to go to!! My plan was:
9-12 Jshop @ Harajuku
12-1 HMV @ Shibuya to get some cds for my friend
1-1:30 Travel to Shin-Yokohama
1:30-3 Buy con goods (lol I had no experience so erm, better go early, in case of the Arashi con goods situation)
3 Meet Yamaki-san + Okaasan!
Demo, I reach Harajuku at 9:30...I was really shocked to see the queue there because it was a weekday! I mean, do people take leave to go there? There were loads of young people, not just obaasans! Lucky for me, I got the 10am ticket so it was pretty ok. =) But still, I spent like 2 hours in the shop getting pictures for me and my friends as omiyage. This time round, I had like 5 pieces of paper - NEWS, Countdown, Arashi, Hey!Say!Jump, Kanjani 8. Supposedly for friends but the more I see the more I want to keep thm for myself lol...nah, shall make them Christmas presents ne! bought a TOKIO and an Arashi photo album too. Had wanted to get two Arashi ones but I thought it'd be silly to get two of the same kind. But oh well, I am silly. And so I left a 12:15 with 230 photos and 2 photo albums. No pictures because I don't want my family to see them =P
Shibuya was next ne. Throughout my train ride, from Roppongi to Ebisu to Shibuya, I was greeted with tons of pictures of Kenichi. So, there were many photo-taking moments but for me, I did most of them at night where there was less people who would stare at me with strange looks. So, here you go, the tens of faces of Kenichi all around the train lines! 
Lol...I took this while walking out of the subway station.......and my attention was only on him such that I didn't see the guy just diagonally above him. So embarrassing!!!!! You'll see why one picture later.......... 
I managed to capture this picture just before rushing into the train bound for Shin-Yokohama. There were a lot of Arashi pictures around but it was hard to take photos without being too obvious so I skipped them. 
And so, do you get what I meant just now? 
Shibuya at 10pm 
A closer look at Jun!
I remember someone in my neighbourhood asked about Sho at Shibuya,
but I didn't see him (his poster) anywhere so I guess Jun's replaced his? 
And so, I mustered up my courage to take these pictures while going up the stairs! Nino and Ohno's (didn't spot Aiba's, somehow) were by the escalator so I didn't get to take pictures of them. 
And lastly, the Sho New Year Card set!
I've spotted them right in the morning and made a mental note to take pictures when I return.
The last picture was really funny.
I was trying hard not to be too obvious because the posters overlooked the escalators where many people were riding on. So basically, I aimed aimlessly at the posters, hoping to get a good shot. I wanted to take a close up of that last poster but couldn't get a good shot. Then, Sho's CM came on the screen just below the poster and I tried to take pictures of that. But,somehow I managed to take pictures of the poster instead. =.=
Last!
And now, more about the concert. I'm really deadbeat from standing and walking and rushing today...but I'll just type this out before I forget everything.
As mentioned before, a really nice lady offered me one ticket because her friend couldn't make it. So it was me, her and her mother. I reached the Shin-Yokohama Price hotel at a few minutes past 3 and found them in the hotel lobby! Her mother was a really nice lady and was introducing me to her friends, who were equally friendly. I was expressing that my Japanese is really poor but they kept going "daijyoubu" and when I showed signs of not understanding what they meant, they would rephrase their sentences to simpler ones. Really cute!
But what came next was really.......SUGOI.
Yamaki-san's mother ("Y-mom") asked if I bought his latest album LOVE and I said that I did, just today (yes I bought so many of his albums and had to force myself to put the singles back onto the shelves). It turned out that she had bought me a copy!! But since I had one, I didn't take the one she bought. And then, she took out 4 discs and gave them to me. Two of them contained this 'program' called YONGHA's Diary, which is exclusive or sth...almost every single episode is inside. The other two discs contained his concert(s?). Y-mom said that she hopes I'll like them since I'm a new fan and haven't seen Yongha in the past. The discs were from her and her friends. My gosh, how nice can someone get?!! I mean, I've never even met her before!!! I was choooooh touched at that moment!
And then after a while, I went to the Arena with Yamaki-san. She sold me the tix for 3,000 yen. We had settled on 3,000 ~5,000 yen in the email and so I gave her 5,000 yen but se said 3,000 yen was alright. The original price was 10,000 yen. @.@ And so we went in. It was C-block, but Row 6 so it wasn't too far. =) Later, she left for the toilet and to find her mom. I went to the toilet and to walk around. And I foundddddddddd the official goods stand, by chance! Because most people were inside the hall already, there wasn't any queue and I was able to make my purchase rather quickly. I bought the penlight, the pamphlet and a calendar! =) The poster was beautiful but there's no way I can bring it back to Singapore.
The concert hall's about the same size, or maybe just a bit smaller than the Singapore Indoor Stadium. But the feeling inside was completely different. The moment the lights dim...everything becomes wow-ing.
The moment the lights went off, the penlights came on. Blue. A sea of blue. And as the music starts, everyone started to wave in the same direction unamimously. It's amazing and really makes you feel like everyone's in it together. Almost everyone (except those on the third level Stand seats) had at least one penlight (many had two or three). Back in Singapore, you barely see that much penlights. It was really kira-kira beautiful.
Yongha's concert is nothing like Arashi's concerts. It really concert instead of a show. Singing is the main component with some elements of dancing here and there. There was only one or two changes of costumes. At one point Yongha played the guitar. Oh, he threw his sunglasses and his towel into the crowd XP. It was quite funny because right before he threw his towel, he made a final wipe against his forehead. LOL Purposely deshou.
There were short periods of MC here and there and I'm glad for them. He's not really very good in Japanese so most of what he said were in simpler phrases which I would understand. There was once where he wanted to say "Okakesamada" and he ended up saying "Okokusamada". But he quickly corrected himself the second later. XP It was really cute and everyone started laughing. Well, he surprised me with a really cute side mixed with some degree of lameness.
Like this part where he asked the audience if anyone's birthday was today. Like so many people went "hai!" and he was like "majide???" Because his next song was Happy Birthday. And he wanted to dedicate the song to those celebrating their birthday today. But well,......The interaction between him and the fans was amazing, for me.
There were points where he forgot his lyrics lol...Once, he was singing the song to the kdrama All In, and he forgot his lyrics, which the fans caught and so he went "gomen ne" halfway the song LOL. And there was this segment where he made us all do a dance for the song. He asked if we could help him out with it but then dismissed us saying we might not be able to do it. When we said that we wanted to do it, he started teaching us...but halfway he himself forgot the moves!!! dot dot dot. Demo after a few rounds of practices, we got it and then, the real thing came up!!! "Kimi ga saikou". That made the song really fun and memorable. EVERYONE was doing it, with their penlights in their hands...
There was only one encore. And FINALLY I get to see a real encore. In every Singapore concert I went to, the encore wasn't exactly an encore. I believe an encore is when the concert is supposed to end, but the audience demands for more, making the artiste go onstage again deshou. But most of the concerts I've been to have pre-arranged encores that take place regardless of the audience's response. So, we don't really see/hear people shouting for more or at least do something of that sort. Today, many people were clapping, shouting and wanting more. Finally, after almost 5 minutes, Yongha came back up and sang one of my favourite songs "Say Goodbye". Choooh happy!
I'd recorded the concert audio using the voice record I bought for my lectures lol. The recording's pretty good (proof that the money was well-spent) and I've been listening to it since I reached home. Such fond memories of today!
Oh, I was chatting (or rather, just nodding an saying "hai") with Y-mom before the concert and she was explaining to me why there were so many middle-age fans. She said that many of them became his fans back when Winter Sonata aired in Japan. There were two groups of fans back then, the Bae Yong Joon and the Park Yong Ha fans, but the former led, of course. So these mddle-aged fans, many housewives, had the time and spare cash to fangirl a bit. XP It's quite true because half of the people I see there were at least 35, I believe. In fact, the lady in front of me was one, I think 40 ++?, and she surprised me by standing almost every minute of the concert. Her legs are strong!! Sugoi! She even brought an uchiwa yo! And then for the younger fans, usually they became fans because of his songs. Demo because DBSK's becoming so popular in Japan, some Yongha fans switched over and the Yongha fanbase shrunk a bit. She attributed it to the fact that DBSK was good in Japanese and so their MCs in cons were really engaging as compared to Yongha's. I didn't know that! I had always thought that only one or two DBSK member knew Japanese. Oh well, I like some DBSK songs too but yappari Yongha's songs, their medody, their lyrics, suit my taste better. And his voice is really good, as proven by his live concert. I'm going to listen to his cds when I get back to Singapore! YAY! I'm really happy that I managed to get his cds at hmv because I can't get any in Singapore! The only other option would be to buy online. =/
Aniwaes, I bought some unofficial goods too and when I reached home, I checked and was suprised to find a Hyun Bin board in my bag. =.= Nope it wasn't a mistake on the storeowner's side. It was my mistake. I had mistaken that guy on the board (Hyun Bin) for Yongha!!!!!!! I've already noticed their resemblance since I took notice of Yongha, that he and Hyun Bin really look alike. But I can't believe that I had actually mistaken one for another. Maybe it was because I was in a rush to make the purchase and leave...but anyways, have a look and tell me if they resemble each other!
I'm not really botheed by this mistake since I like Hyun Bin too...hmm maybe I have a fetish for this kind of face/hair!!!
These are the official goods I bought, and the ticket. Oh, the penlight in the middle's not official. Yamaki and her mom bought them for me!!!!!! It was simple and disposable but very bright. Oh, Yamaki-san's was reusable and had Yongha's name engraved in the glass part XP...Y-mom was like "Oh dear, actually we brought it for you" when I returned to the seat with my penlight in hand. I was really touched by their friendly gestures. They had wanted to give it to someone who doesn't have a penlight, but couldn't find someone to give it to so I took it in the end. =) It has sentimental meaings! First of all, it symbolises the kindness extended by Yamaki-san and her mom. Second, it marks my route to independence! I mean, I had to contact people to find tickets, find my way to the venue, talk to strangers (which I am very afraid to. I prefer being a hermit). Third, it is from the very first and perhaps very last concert I attended in Japan! Fourth, I missed Arashi @ FNS for this concert =(
Look at the penlight. It has those words engraved in it...and since it's blue, I can use it for Leehom's concert next time! The pamphlet has really beautiful pictures too and is not as thick as Arashi's. No interview/words, just pictures. =) Ah~~~ I want to go to an Arashi concert next. NEXT YEAR!!!!!!!! 10th anniversary deshou ne! I'll pray hard!
I've got loads of pictures from other places too, but I'm too tired and so I guess those can wait till next time? Ja ne minna!
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Comments transfered from vox
Dec 4, 2008
Sigh I want to go to Johnny's Shop so badly!!!!
Anyway thank you for sharing with us yr trip! I hope to be able to see some Arashi posters or magazines or DVDs/CDs when I get there, at least !!!