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Your Sakurazaka46 / Keyakizaka46 Experiences (HS, fan meeting, concerts, etc)

Discussion in 'General Sakurazaka46 Discussion' started by Tarooooo, Nov 24, 2015.

  1. Tarooooo

    Tarooooo Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    May 21, 2014
    Location:
    Canada
    Twitter:
    qc_bb
    Since it might be a bother for new forum visitors to dig through the general discussions thread, I've decided to make a new thread for everyone to post their experiences of meeting Keyakizaka46 members. Yoroshiku!


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    Keyakizaka46 Omitatekai (First official fan meeting event in Zepp DiverCity, Odaiba, Tokyo)
    November 15, 2015 Noon Session (3rd event out of 4)

    The following is a summary of my trip and what my personal impression of the members are.

    -- Before event --

    I applied for the ticket through a new "e-plus" web ticket account, and found out that I won on Nov. 6. Since Nov. 15 is also my birthday, I thought to use the chance to go to Tokyo again, party with friends, and attend this event.

    I used Twitter to connect with Keyakizaka fans who were also attending the event, and made promises with a couple of them that we would meet at the venue. My oshimen in the group is Aoi Harada. Before I boarded the plane to Japan, I made a uchiwa (decorated fan) with her name on it.

    Zepp DiverCity is usually standing only, but on that day they laid seats on the floor, so instead of the normal 2500 people, it only had a capacity of around 1100. My seat was the far right end of the first row on the 2nd floor balcony, which gave me a great view of the entire hall. Next to me is one of the cameramen who was documenting the event.

    We filed into our seats with little noise, and everyone for the most part was quiet. Sometimes, when the girls forget what to say, 2-3 people would shout, "ganbare~" to encourage them, but that's it. No loud laughter, no heckling or sneering of any kind, which made the atmosphere slightly tense and awkward. I feel it's both because everyone is seeing the girls for the first time and being shy, as well as people being pressured by the aura of the 46-group, who have a dignified and elegant image, to act proper (therefore a little numb in response)


    -- Main event --

    The event started. Each of the 20 girls did a self-introduction and most of them performed a little talent show-and-tell. This portion of the event took exactly 1 hour. In the event that I attended, the girls were ordered by height, instead of by last name. (The day before, everyone was lined up by name)

    Impressions of each girl in self-introduction segment (I will write more about girls who have left stronger impression on me):

    Rina Uemura: Brings a trumpet to play as part of her talent. Like everyone expected, she made a horrible sound, just like on TV. Not sure how effective it was to have her lead the group, but Rina seems like a good girl who's just a little clumsy.

    Yui Imaizumi: Yui did her usual introduction and asked fans to create a nickname for her since she doesn't have one. (She did in fact have an idol name called Yuifuru, but doesn't seem to want use it again) She sang an original song acapella as her show-and-tell. She has strong vocals, and seemed fearless on stage, and made a deep impression on everyone. As a reference, here is the song she sang:
    『明日への歌』(Ashita e no uta)
    ついつい口ずさむ明日への歌
    伝えたい気持ちと言葉がたまっていく
    高鳴る鼓動が隠せない
    出逢えた夢が叶いますように
    そう信じて生きていくの
    明日の私は強くなれるかな

    Rika Ozeki: Wrote a slogan for Keyakizaka using ink calligraphy. Good writing style. Does not appear to be strange at all. Also seems to look better than on TV, namely, she got thinner.

    Miyu Suzumoto: Talks about chestnuts being her favorite food. Also says she can make omelet rice. Nothing for show-and-tell.

    Aoi Harada: Says she was born in 2000 and is a "Millennium Baby," which is a very unusual phrase to say in Japan and caught a lot of people's attention. (Most people don't know what the word millennium means) Nothing for show and tell, but she felt mature for her age.

    Nanami Yonetani: The first girl to try to engage the audience. She told everyone to say "Yonemin" after her catch phrase. We did it, but it felt a bit forced, mainly because she seems to not believe in having the nickname Yonemin herself. Her show-and-tell was a buddhist chant on a cushion.

    Nanako Nagasawa: Shows audience her Nogizaka46 towel that she got in Sendai concert. Says she loves Erika Ikuta and then played "Anata no Tameni Hikitai" using violin. Messes up on the final line because she forgets how the song converted the minor chord to a major one. Audience was supportive.

    Minami Koike: Ridiculously pretty in person (front-on camera view). Says she's very clumsy and once got her shirt caught in the train doors and rode all the way to the final stop. Appeals to fans to come shake her hands by saying the ball of her palm feels like a soft paw. Nickname Miichan. Says she likes Anzen Chitai (1980s Japan pop band), which got my attention because I like to sing Anzen Chitai in karaoke. She seems just non-menacing enough that I consider her appeal tactics charming.

    Yui Kobayashi: Brings on a guitar, but doesn't play it at first. Says she is not actually a "bocchi" (lonely) girl in the group like what was shown on TV. Says she likes to play Animal Crossing games on 3DS, but since she joined the group she hasn't had time for games. Plays guitar and sings same time. Not bad, nothing special though.

    Yurina Hirate: Says she became an idol not to be pampered by people. Says she wants to be recognized for her talents. Youngest girl but seems to have a strong will.

    Nana Oda: Forgets how to begin her introduction for around 20 seconds. Silent and frustrated. Fans shout "ganbare!" Says she's been called "mother of three children" by members. Asks audience to say Haha after she says the "sou de are!" oneshot gag. Nothing for show-and-tell.

    Shiori Sato: Brings on stage an abstract painting reminiscent of futurist painters (80cm x 1.2m) with 3 Japanese soccer players as motifs. Shows an ink calligraphy phrase: 凡事徹底. Finally, performs a couple of ballet moves. A little too greedy for the spotlight, I thought.

    Nijika Ishimori: Nijika seems to have talked about wanting to bring joy and happiness to her birthplace of Miyagi, which was badly hit by the 2011 Tsunami, on the first day. However, she changed her introduction on Sunday to dogs. She owns a chihuahua called Lily. Shows off a large dog encyclopedia book and asks fans to come to her to talk anything related to dogs.

    Akane Moriya: Sharp, glittering eyes. Says even though her name is Akane (red), she likes the color pink. Does half of her introduction running from left and right on stage, air rallying an invisible tennis ball. Seems very energetic.

    Risa Watanabe: Small voice. Says she's shy, but tends to talk a lot after getting to know a person first. Shows off the two-hands janken trick (right hand: scissors, rock, paper. left hand: paper, scissors, rock, repeat). Even though I had it figured out, it was still cute to watch. Risa looks better in person, especially after she let her hair down.

    Yuuka Sugai: Goes on stage and talks in very formal and refined Japanese. (Mina-sama gokigenyou~), and continues for around 30 seconds. Then stops, smiles and says that's not actually who she is, and that she's just a normal girl who rides horses. Reveals she cannot ride a bicycle, and has torn 3 ligaments on her ankle while trying to ride a bicycle when she was in elementary school. Overall a very well-prepared introduction segment and gave everyone a nice impression.

    Manaka Shida: Eyes look like she hasn't woken up from a nap yet... not as pretty as on TV. However, she brought a volleyball, and unlike on TV, actually hit it once. The ball went up, over the row of girls, bounced on the stage, and then bounced over the background prop. Everyone laughed. Maybe she planned it, but the fact that she showed off volleyball was very new to us (she didnt do it on Saturday).

    Rika Watanabe: Talks slowly, but doesnt bite her lower lip as much as she did on TV. Says even though she's the oldest, members treat her like she's the youngest. Has a cat named Peh-chan. Does not look like HKT48's Sae Kurihara. Face is slightly wider than Kurihara but prettier overall.

    Mizuho Habu: Fairly regular introduction. Nearly the same as on TV. Says she has been tall pretty much all her life, and that she likes to eat chocolate, not people. Says she likes vocaloid.


    -- Hand shake portion of event --

    The girls were divided by last name into three groups: A, B and C. On Saturday, Group C went first, but on Sunday, it was the regular A, B, C order, which meant my girl, Aoi Harada was going with the last group. While I waited, I could watch the stage from the balcony and see how each girl reacted to fans. Here are my impressions:

    Group A: Ishimori, Imaizumi, Uemura, Ozeki, Oda, Koike, Kobayashi
    Imaizumi and Koike's lines immediately filled up. Kobayashi was third popular. Ishimori, Ozeki and Oda had the fewest visitors. Imaizumi does a little hop over to the fans when they get close to her table, just like the old Nao Furuhata. My wota friend and I could only sigh and nod: She's a pro.

    Group B: Saito, Sato, Shida, Sugai, Suzumoto, Nagasawa, Habu
    This group was pretty crazy. Shida, Sugai and Habu all had a lot of fans. Other fans' reports on Saturday also told of how surprisingly popular Sugai is. I think people are drawn by her overall refined aura and smile. Habu is prettier in person. Shida by comparison is the weakest of the three top girls in the group. Suzumoto and Saito had near zero visitors. Every time a person actually goes to shake their hands, the camera crew, which filmed the whole thing, zoomed in on them to capture their smiles.

    Group C: Harada, Hirate, Moriya, Yonetani, Watanabe Rika, Watanabe Risa
    Moriya and Watanabe Rika had the most fans, but Watanabe Risa was in third. People were probably drawn by her relaxed aura. Hirate is right in the middle. Harada and Yonetani were the bottom in this group. I counted that including me and my friend, only 15 people (out of 1100 in Zepp) went to shake Aoi's hands. She even waved at fans who seemed undecided to come to her. She seems very young and frail but never stopped smiling at me. When I showed her the uchiwa I made, she pointed at it with both hands and smiled with her mouth open. I told her I'll continue to support her, and she thanked me and waved at me while smiling until I left the stage. Overall, by any of the 48G standards, Aoi would be called kami-taiou. It's really too bad that her talents of cooking pound cakes and her young age don't help her achieve instant popularity like Yuifuru, who sings acapella and hops around. lol

    So that's the event! I hope you stayed with me all the way until the end. There's a chance that my face might be one day be shown in the Keyakizaka documentary, although I have my fingers crossed that that won't be the case.

    I have attached a photo of my seat position and view of the stage, flower stand outside the hall, and a printout given to each attendee of the members' profiles.

    Looking forward to hearing your experiences with Keyakizaka46 in the upcoming months!!
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Nov 25, 2015
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  2. rust

    rust Kenkyuusei Retired Staff

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    Rusted_Van
    @Tarooooo thanks for writing the report! ^ ^
    it's good to see risa kobayashi & rika doing well, as they are my top three atm lol. it's interesting to see that some of the members that mngmnt seems intent to push aren't the most popular as of this event tho. in lieu of this I do wonder will they adjust accordingly or stick to their current arrangement.
     
  3. Kuura

    Kuura Future Girls Retired Staff

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    Oshimen:
    Yamauchi Mizuki
    @Tarooooo Thanks for the report! I'm also glad to see my two current favourites (Akane and Manaka) doing well. Maybe the members will be more relaxed by the time they hold their next event, since at least in the Keyakitte studio they seem to be more at ease by every episode.
     
  4. haryo48

    haryo48 Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2014
    Oshimen:
    ikutaerika
    Wow shida,habu,moriya my top three has a lot of fans, thaank for your report.
     
  5. piyochama

    piyochama Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2009
    Oshimen:
    matsuijurina
    @Tarooooo thanks for the report!!!

    I completely laughed at the fact that Shida was really bad at HS events. She's really like nnnManatsu in every sense, so I'm happy that my two oshi in the group (Imaizumi and Shida) are doing well in every regard.

    Hopefully there's an event announced in March, maybe we'll even meet each other in person!
     
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  6. too much idea

    too much idea Next Girls

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    Jun 7, 2012
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    Indonesia
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    toomuchidea
    Thank you for the report!

    Kinda glad that she dropped the princess chara that kind of offered/ready made for her in the show.
     
  7. SMZ48

    SMZ48 Kenkyuusei

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    Jul 4, 2014
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    Yokohama, Japan
    Oshimen:
    itomarika
    @Tarooooo thank you for the report! I enjoyed it so much.

    I went to the Omitate-kai too, but on Saturday. Unfortunately I had a business appointment, I arrived at around 18:00 and I couldn't see the self-introductions but I could shake hands with Uemura Rina. She was so cute.
    While I was on the stage for hand-shaking, Ozeki Rika and Koike Minami greeted with a smile. I felt all the girls were very friendly, too.
     
  8. Dante

    Dante Member

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    Jul 24, 2013
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    Unkoland
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    CurlyUdon
    That's just so much her lol.

    Anyways, thank you very much for your wonderful report, @Tarooooo!
     
  9. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Yes, thanks so much for your report. Personally, I'm drawn to the apparently serious and controlled Suzumoto Miyu. Her lack of popularity (so far) just makes me feel more strongly about that. These girls have to be so resilient, to live under such constant judgment.
     
  10. Tarooooo

    Tarooooo Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    May 21, 2014
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    Canada
    Twitter:
    qc_bb
    Hello everyone! Just a heads up that I will be in Japan later this month to attend the Keyakizaka first national handshake event in Makuhari Messe. If anyone is at Makuhari Messe on April 17 let's meet up. Contact me on twitter!
     
  11. Tarooooo

    Tarooooo Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    May 21, 2014
    Location:
    Canada
    Twitter:
    qc_bb
    Hello, everyone. I am still in Tokyo this week. Today I attended Keyakizaka46's first national handshake event in Makuhari Messe (April 17). I would like to share the experience here:

    Before event:
    The debut single, Silent Majority, sold 260,000+ in its first week and broke the record for most CDs sold by a female group in Japan. All the fans can sense that the Tokyo-based handshakes will be very crowded, but we also hoped that the Nogizaka46 handshake event on the same date would split the fans and make the Keyakizaka venue less crowded. So the result: everyone went anyway.

    Start of event:
    Some of my friends went to Makuhari at 5:30am on the first train. They wanted to get in line for the mini-live show before the handshake event, and some are preparing to buy venue-limited products. I decided that it's not worth waiting 3 extra hours for a chance at a good standing spot for only 30 minutes, so I went to Makuhari at 9:30am.

    1/4 of the people on my train got off at Maihama (also known as the station closest to Tokyo Disneyland), while almost everyone else got off at Makuhari. You can see an almost endless line of people slowly walking towards the big exhibition halls. I met a friend at the train station and walked together. It was very gusty throughout the day, and sometimes rained, so we tried to go inside as quickly as possible.

    We both received tickets to the mini-live at the door by handing in one handshake ticket (The mini-live ticket can be used for one handshake afterwards) and by luck, both of us were assigned to block C, which is about 80m from the stage. Block A is the closest, and block E is the farthest. The tickets were assigned randomly.

    Keyakizaka46 got on stage amid loud cheers. 70% of the audience had at least one penlight, which made it hard to see anyone's face once the lights were turned off. They danced every song from the debut single, including Hirate Yurina's solo, "Yamanote-sen." It was really hard to see the stage from almost anywhere behind block B, so most people watched the big screen like we were watching TV.
    Between each song, the members talked in pairs regarding how excited they were for the handshake later in the day, but everything was short.
    After the mini-live, the fans took around 30 minutes just to exit the hall. It was still windy and raining outside.

    As I waited for a couple of friends to come out of the hall, a new line was beginning to form outside: the line to the handshake at 2:30pm (It was only 12:35). My friend and I said NO WAY are we waiting outside in the wind for 2 hours, let's go eat. And we headed toward a nearby mall. Another friend from Twitter got in touch with me and we met him at the mall (Plena Makuhari), where we ate beef tongue together. When we finished eating, another Twitter friend came to meet me, and we headed back to the exhibition halls.

    This is when the wind really picked up. I was wearing a hat and at every moment of the way, the wind threatened to rip it off my head. My shirt was being blown upwards where I had to adjust it once every 4-5 seconds. My friend is very skinny and he was blown left and right by the wind. When we got back to the venue, it was already around 2:15pm. I had to go pick up some photo cards that I ordered in advance online, and my friends went to line-up for the handshake. I came out with my photo cards and found myself staring at a line of people that went from the main hall to its neighboring hall, and then out to the parking lot, and then around the greenery zone on the side of the street to extend to 150m outside of the exhibition hall grounds. Luckily, my friends were there to welcome me back into the line, which saved me around 5 minutes of waiting.

    And so the longest and most tedious part of the day began. We waited for nearly 2 hours to enter the main hall, where the idols were. The line had more than 5000 people of all ages and gender. The male to female ratio was around 71-29, which is pretty good compared to a lot of other idol events. The line curved a total of 9 times, going in a counter clockwise circle at first, and then changes direction and exits at the front of the second hall to enter the main hall. After entering the main hall, you cannot use a restroom anymore, and must exit and line up on the sidewalk all over again.

    Handshake:
    After entering the main hall, you can pick one of the 10 lanes available. Each lane has two members, with the exception being lane 10 that had three. On average, fans wait around 35 minutes per lane to meet the idol. Since we can only use one ticket per loop, that would mean nobody had enough time for more than 3 tickets before the event ends. The management realized that fans would be very unhappy if they missed the chance to meet the girls, and extended the ending time of the handshake event from 5:30 to 7:30. Poor girls.

    I was only interested in Lane No. 3, where my favorite member Aoi Harada and Risa Watanabe were. After waiting more than two hours just to enter the hall, I decided that even though I had 10 tickets, I would only use one this day just to greet Aoi (3-4 seconds). I lined up by myself as my friends were in other lanes. Three girls lined up behind me. Since Aoi is from Tokyo, there's a chance that the girls know her in real life. (This is important sometimes because it would mean the idol would be distracted by her real-life friends and focus less on you). The order of the handshake was Aoi first, Risa second.

    It was my turn. I walk up to Aoi and said, "Yo, Aoi. Michael dayo."

    I chose to use a mixture of English and Japanese to remain casual but also remind her that I'm not a native Japanese speaker. I was seeing her for the first time since the Omitatekai event last November, and I've sent her fan mail over the winter with my name, so I knew I had to say it to see if she could match my face to my name. As I waited in the lanes, I contemplated about telling her that I've been tweeting about her a lot since the Omitatekai event, or to congratulate her on entering high school (she is the second-youngest member after all) But all those thoughts disappeared from my mind when words just exploded out of her mouth:

    "Oh! Michael-san! Of course I remember you! Thanks for the letters, and thanks for the postcard! I treasure them a lot...(she also said something else but I was being pushed out the lane by the guard and didnt catch)

    Risa Watanabe, who stood next to her, watched as Aoi turned her body from facing right to almost due left to greet me. She was confused, as was I, about the reaction Aoi gave me. I was going to ask Aoi any of a variety of things, but she seemed to want to say so much more to me without any prompt. I saw something in her eyes, it wasn't happiness, or excitement, or even appreciation. It was more akin to respect, like toward a teacher or sempai. I didn't know how to respond to it, so I just smiled. Risa held out her hand, and I felt sorry that I didn't have time to talk to her at all. I shrugged and gently held her hand for less than a second, saying "hajimemashita" and then left the lane. I also felt bad for the girl behind me, who was already standing in front of Aoi when she turned toward the left to wave goodbye to me. I probably wasted a second or so off her time. You probably will never read this, random lady, but I didn't intend to waste your time! Really.

    I spent the rest of the time standing in the main hall and sorting my photo album, while trading with nearby fans who were doing the same thing. A couple of my Twitter friends contacted me while they stood in the 40-min wait lanes, saying that they wanted to meet me after they were done with the handshakes, but I missed the chance to message them because I was preoccupied with trading photos, and they ended up staying longer in the lanes, so I didn't get to see them.

    After about 5:45pm, the guards in the main hall started to herd fans loitering toward the exit, saying "if you don't have a ticket, please exit the hall." I still had the rest of my tickets, but the lanes were still full of people, and I didn't want to contribute to the madness. I thought about the girls having to stand for 4+ hours already, and decided that it was time to leave.

    I heard afterwards that some fans stayed until almost 8pm, where the management finally allowed fans to use multiple tickets at the same time (also known as "matome"). I could have stayed longer too, but it would be going against my number one rule about seeing idols: Put in only enough effort to receive the amount of enjoyment that you get. I wasn't going to top Aoi's reaction with consecutive visits, and my body would hate standing in that bathroom-less atmosphere for another 2 hours. I always tell idol fan friends: Don't push yourself. This is a hobby that only gives you what you are willing to put in in return, but sometimes the return is so little that it's not worth it.

    So that was Keyakizaka's first national handshake event. More than 10,000 fans ended up attending the event, rivaling the most crowded Nogizaka events ever got. You can check the Keyakizaka member blog to see the members' reactions to it. They all seem happy but the blogs were short, which probably means they were tired.

    Until next time!
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2016
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  12. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Many thanks for the great report. What a wonderful reaction from Aoi!
     
  13. kanjo

    kanjo Stage48 Moderator Staff Member Stage48 Moderator

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    Ireland->Shimane
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    Nishino Nanase
    Question for you, did Watanabe Rika perform in Noriokureta bus?
     
  14. Tarooooo

    Tarooooo Kenkyuusei

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    No, she was not on stage. Other than neru there were only 4 girls, just like in the debut live.
     
  15. kanjo

    kanjo Stage48 Moderator Staff Member Stage48 Moderator

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    Thanks.
     
  16. minaeshi

    minaeshi Next Girls

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    Feb 13, 2014
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    United Kingdom
    Oshimen:
    Morita Hikaru
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    minaeshit
    Whoa you got a great reaction from her, thats probably the best i've ever seen for ANY idol, lucky you!
    Thanks for the report, i somehow feel like i've learnt more about Keyakizaka through this~
     
  17. ChipsDelight

    ChipsDelight Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2016
    Oshimen:
    kizakiyuria
    I'm planning to go to the individual handshake on August 28th but I have no idea how the event works. Is it the same as Nogizaka's? Lol
    I totally have no idea about these kind of events and I've never thought of researching about it until now since I thought I'll never get a chance to go to one.
    Could someone share their knowledge with me? Haha.

    (Is it okay if I ask here? If not, I'll just transfer to another thread or post a new one.)
     
  18. Tarooooo

    Tarooooo Kenkyuusei

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    Canada
    Twitter:
    qc_bb
    I think there are more people watching the general discussions thread but this thread is fine for asking HS related questions!

    Yes, the keyakizaka HS experience is similar to Nogizaka's. The big differences are in which members are popular, how much effort the girls give (mostly due to that they are new to being idols), and the birthday committee culture.

    In Nogizaka HS you will also see a large area with banners and blue sheets on the ground where fans trade members' goods. it isnt like that in keyaki atm.

    popular girls lanes will definite require a 20-30min wait though.
     
  19. ChipsDelight

    ChipsDelight Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
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    kizakiyuria
    Thanks for the reply!
    I have a question about forTUNE. According to what I've read, they don't send the CDs outside Japan. (If ever you win the lottery) Is there a way to get the CDs shipped to an address outside Japan?
    (I haven't made an account yet, since I think they'll require an address. ._.)
     
  20. ダレン

    ダレン Kenkyuusei

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    Jun 25, 2016
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    nishinonanase
    I was just wondering if kobayashi yui out of all the members is considered popular? Or is she average?
     

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