Your AKB48 Experiences

Sora is 152 cm tall.

 

Here's my write up for the October handshake. I'm writing on my phone so apologies for any errors and the time it's taken. I spoke in Japanese the whole time. When I had more than 1 ticket I generally practiced what I was going to say beforehand.

Spoiler

Okabe Rin (Saturday)
The first person I went to see was of course Rin-chan. I was quite early so ended up being third in line. I was quite nervous the first time so only had time to say my name and that I was from England before moved on. I used the same self introduction with everyone else and had time to say more so I definitely think I was rushed out slightly early. As she said herself she was the first in line besides the partition so it was a good position to see everyone else.

The second time I finished my introduction, which was to say I became a fan after watching Baccikoi. I said I liked Rin-chan's creativity and she laughed.

Like metallion I was also going to Ibaraki so I had a chat about that. I asked if she knew some of the places where I was going and she said of course since it was her neighbourhood.

Finally for the day I said I always read her messages on Weverse, but because of the time difference I often reply and then go back to sleep. She apologised in a jokey way and I finished for the day.

I also met other fans of Rin-chan's while I was there. I had spoken with some of them online before but it was nice to meet in person. They gave me some of her goods which I thought was very kind.

Kurano Narumi
The first person I met apart from Rin-chan was Naru.

For members I wanted to meet but didn't particularly have anything to say, I only had a single ticket.

I told Naru that I like watching her YouTube channel and that I am going to go and see girls drive as well. She seemed nice.

Omori Maho
Maho-pyon is probably my second favourite after Rin-chan, but since Sayonara Mouri-san ended I haven't had the chance to see her as much.

I've met Maho before online but it was a while ago so she'd have no chance of remembering.

I said I'd become a fan of hers after watching SMS, and I liked her yaruki genki (motivation energy). She pumped her fists towards the separator when I was leaving.

Maho-pyon seemed nice as well, she was very loud compared to everyone else I met. I originally had another ticket for Sunday but I decided to swap it to Rin-chan.

Oda Erina
While I was wandering around at one point during the day I heard a girl's shout and saw Oda and Yamada Kyoka being teased by the man from the Turkish Kebab Stand. She posted the video on twitter and it is pretty funny.

When I met her I said her singing voice was good and I became her fan after watching Baccikoi.

While I waited for other members I often saw her walking past. She's very elegant in real life and was friendly when we talked.

Takahashi Ayane
The last member I planned to speak with on Saturday was Ayane-chan. Both her slots were late in the day.

I said that I became her fan after watching Baccikoi and that I think she's smart. She seemed to find this a little funny.

By this time I was pretty exhausted so I just said that her outfit was cute. She said it was violet and I said it looked more purple. Looking back on the pictures she was right and I was wrong lol.

My conversation with her sort of fizzled out, but I think it was me being really tired at this point.

Originally, I had two more tickets for Ayane-chan on Saturday evening but by midday I realised I was already flagging so decided to transfer the tickets to someone else. Also I'd overestimated the time that the queues would take so I had about two and a half hours till I saw Rin-chan again.

Muto Orin
The first person I used my spare ticket for was Orin-chan.

She was wearing a cute Pikachu onesie so I said I was a fan of Pokémon as well. She asked me for my favourite so I said Gengar. I didn't know the Japanese name but luckily it is just ゲンガー.

Macharin
Before I arrived I considered buying a ticket for Macharin as she's the only member I've met previously irl who's still not graduated. I used to watch her showroom quite regularly when she first became a member as her Japanese was easy to follow at the time.

I told her that we'd met many years ago and she seemed surprised. I can't really remember much else.

Okabe Rin (Sunday)
I started a bit later in the second slot today. I originally had three tickets but added another from Maho-pyon.

I used the first ticket to basically say Hello again and show her the badge I was given by one of her other fans.

The next conversation I had was about Natto. Ibaraki is famous for its Natto but Rin-chan is also famous for not liking it at all. I asked if I should try Natto when I go to Ibaraki even though she doesn't like it. She said she wasn't sure since foreigners have a different kind of taste palate. One of my friends is from Kansai and loves Natto, which is strange as Kansai people are supposed to dislike it. Rin-chan said that was strange as well.

We then had a talk about the latest Game Kingdom that's been on. One of the games I've played with my friends so I was going to ask her how she found it. However she asked me how I found it instead lol.

My last slots were basically saying I was sorry I wasn't going to make her Birthday Event and that I'd be back next time. She emerged for the last slot wearing a hat.

After I'd finished, another one of Rin-chan's very enthusiastic fans tracked me down and let me pick two of her pictures from a massive album of table coaster type things.



Hashimoto Haruna
Haru-pyon was the only other member I saw on the Sunday.

I told her I always watch her Pyon Movie and I watch Yatte Mitcha. She told me to keep supporting Haru-pyon.

Thoughts
I think looking back on the tickets, with most members it seemed like a single ticket was enough but with Rin-chan it kinda stops the conversation just as it's beginning. I was going to go just on the final Saturday slot and Sunday in November. But with that in mind I decided to buy a bunch of more tickets.

The electronic ticketing system worked really well, and the exit and entry was very quick.

I think my only critical thought would be that the seating area is pretty bad. Mainly in the comfort aspect. Though once I realised how easy it was to come and go it wasn't as much of a problem.

I did stumble with my Japanese at times but overall I thought I did alright. Practicing what I was going to say beforehand definitely provides a solid base for the actual conversation.

 

I'm in Shibuya now and just finished watching Seichan's radio show with Onishi as the guest host. I've always been watching it from home or from my phone while I'm in the office, so watching it at the studio was something I always wanted to do, so I stretched my vacation by a couple of days to be able to watch it in person.

Prior to the programme starting, I was watching the previous programme, mainly to secure a good spot for the actual one I wanted to watch. Bunch of fans of the previous idol group were busy snapping photos, so I snapped along as well, and thought I could do the same later. While they were prepping for Seichan's show, the staff slapped a no photography sign on the window. Welp, there goes any hope I had of taking photos up close, but why did I expect any different anyway? Either way, I booked a front row seat. I knew I'd be squatting or kneeling down, but I didn't take into account how much of a pain it would be to do so for 1 whole hour. If you watched the stream, you'd probably see me on Momochan's side fidgeting non-stop during the song breaks. The veterans on the other hand all came prepared with foldable stools, which I could only look at in envy

I was extremely excited when they announced Momochan as the guest this month, since she hosts her own radio show on the same station as well, so it's like a showdown between fellow MCs of sorts (wonder if she'll host Seichan this month in return though). As expected, she did not disappoint, and I think among all the guests Seichan has had, I feel like Momochan is one of the best she's had courtesy of her own experience as a radio show host. As expected, Seichan looks super darn cute up close, and getting to watch her talk up close in person for the better part of an hour is a dream come true. As for Momochan, I admit I don't follow her much, but she was extremely charming and I now get why she has so many fans, and there were quite a lot present at the studio. If I'm not wrong she brought in one of her segments from her own show, which is a nice shakeup from the stuff that Seichan usually does, so it's quite a unique experience from what I expected.

I'll do it again in the future if I have the chance, since getting to see my kami oshi is something I'll never pass up on, but side note to myself to stand behind the seating row next time instead of torturing my ankles and knees

Edit: Seichan just posted the post show group photo, and my head is almost completely blocked by Momochan, only my hair and eyes are visible

 

I've been quite busy since I got back but here's my write up for the November handshake.

The morning of the event, I attended the TV Tokyo 60th Anniversary Festival in Yokohama. I had the chance to take a photo with Berin, Maho-pyon, YuiYui, Mion, and Zucky.

Spoiler

Or at least in alternate reality. It’s not perfect but it does look pretty real at first.

I originally planned to just go to the last slot on the Saturday, but after the first event I decided to buy a few more tickets. Rin-chan was supposed to have her birthday celebration this day, but it was cancelled/postponed due to a sudden schedule change. I just spoke in Japanese again.

Spoiler

Okabe Rin (Saturday)

Before I went to Rin-chan’s Lane I stopped by her fan stand and filled out some notes for her birthday and graduation.

I only had two tickets for the first time, so just wished her a happy birthday and a wished her congratulations about her graduation. She was wearing her hair in a similar style to her appearances on Ginza cassette. I asked her how the birthday event had gone, and she said it was fun. I said that the dress she wore was cute, and she said it was nice and pink.

I’d said last time out that I was going to try Natto when I was in Ibaraki and I ended up doing so. I told her that it was just as she had said. To be honest, I didn’t hate the flavour, but the texture was too sticky and strange for me. Rin-chan said that we are a pair together and fist bumped me as I left.

I had two tickets for the final slot, but when I downloaded my tickets, I discovered I had four. It turns out I’d meant to book two tickets for the final slot on Sunday but accidentally booked them for Saturday instead. In Ibaraki I went to the Hitachi Seaside Park, which is basically a huge park and garden. I said I’d turned into the Official Tourism Ambassador since I told everyone I’d met to go and visit. She seemed to find this funny.

Afterwards I waited to wave goodbye, but the penultimate person in her lane had 400 tickets, which was about forty minutes of straight talking…

Takahashi Ayane (Sunday)

I originally had four tickets for Ayane, but swapped three of them to Rin-chan when she had an open slot.

She seemed to remember me from last time but I still introduced myself as being from the UK. I talked a bit about one of the videos was posted on the alligator channel about her visit to a photobooth. I also said that her new hairstyle was cute.

When I first started watching Bacchikoi, I wasn’t a big fan of Ayane, but grew to like her more as I watched along. Her handshake seemed to have the same feeling. Even though it was hard to think of things to talk about, I wish I had a few more tickets for her. It was just a bit difficult as all of her slots were either the first or last of the day.

Omori Maho (Sunday)

I’d enjoyed meeting Maho-pyon last time so decided to do so again. Her line was quite full from the previous slot still, so it was a bit of a wait until it started.

She remembered me from last time, so I didn’t bother with my introduction. I told her about the virtual reality photo I had taken with her the day before in Yokohama, and she seemed genuinely intrigued.

I was going to talk about the Jenga video with Erii and Zun-chan that I’d watched that morning, but I ran out of time. Maho-pyon’s handshakes are quite exciting, so I think I’ll try and meet her again online for the next single.

Okabe Rin (Sunday)

For the first slot in a similar way to Maho-pyon, I told Rin-chan about the virtual reality photo I’d taken the day before in Yokohama. From her reaction I don’t think she really knew what I was talking about lol. We talked briefly about her hair, since she'd mentioned putting handkerchiefs in it lately. Her lane was right next to YuiYui’s, so I got to see a lot of her while I was waiting, even though we didn’t actually meet.

The next slot I went in with the plan to talk about something or other. But when I went in Rin-chan said “Ah it’s myname-kun”, so I was too excited to really remember what we talked about.

For this penultimate slot I’d managed to get together ten tickets, which is about one minute forty all together. I did consider dividing them but decided to just go all in. For the final slot I only had a single ticket, so this was our last chance to properly talk. I started off by saying that I was heading back home the next day, and said thanks for talking with me over the last month. She asked if that meant I wasn’t going to the Fan Meet in Sendai. If I’d realised it was only a few days after I left, I may have stayed for a few more days. Since it was quite a long time, I’d especially practiced what I was going to say beforehand. I was going to say to Rin-chan that I think she’ll be successful after she graduates, since she is funny, smart, creative, has a cute smile, and is true to herself. However, when I was halfway through speaking, I realised that this is probably the last time I’ll get to talk with her in person, so my voice and thoughts vanished from my head. I managed to get back on track and said that until that day please continue to wake me up on weverse early in the morning. Since it was ten tickets there was still a lot of time left, so Rin-chan started asking me about what else I’d been up to. I feel like the length was a bit beyond my Japanese ability, but it was still nice to talk for that amount of time.

I waited until the very end for the final slot, so I was the third to last person in line. I said that I had a few tickets online in January, but I’m glad we were able to meet in person. When I was leaving Rin-chan sent me a heart which I sent back.

It was a very bittersweet ending in all honesty, but I had a really great time and Rin-chan is just as nice as I thought. Before the announcement that this was the final single, I had planned to buy a lot of online tickets. I wish I’d bought a few more tickets for the January talks and these talks, but it’s easy to say in hindsight.

I had a nice time meeting with all of Rin-chan’s fans as well. I think Japanese people generally assume that you can’t speak Japanese at all, since the only people who talked to me unprompted were people who could speak English somewhat or people I had already talked with online. It was only when I was chatting in Japanese with the people I’d met that others starting talking with me.

 

2023/12/10 online hanashikai

it was a very exhausting day of talks. i somehow booked nogi (ikeda) and nmb (mako) talks on the same day as akb so I did them all back to back to back

my day started with Sae. I started off by telling her I watched her little drama .5 episode. I said I was jealous of the other actor (she got a good laugh here) I went on to compliment her acting ability which seems she cultivated in the past before (she was in some acting show predebut?)
Me: Do you want to act more in the future?
Sae: Yeah maybe... I hope that...
Me: (oh no she has actress disease !)
Sae: I want... I want to be.. in dramas more!
I said I will support her more in the future with her acting but if it's those roles I will cover my eyes
Finished up our talks talking a bit about the senbatsu announcement.. We will get the next one! Very fun talk and this conversation was kinda the same as our first one where it was half in japanese and half in english

I quickly met up with Azu during the same slot. Our talk began with her excitedly welcoming me back. I was a little surprised asking if she really remembered me! She quickly said she does and its been a while since we last talk (about 2 months). I complemented her cute sailor uniform and she naturally does a cute pose. The slot was winding down through our loud and excited gushing but I quickly gave her some congrats for making senbatsu (she somehow turned it up another notch and got even more excited). I'm kinda sad that I didn't get to mention her budokan performance because we had so much else going on so perhaps I will in the future

After a short break, I queued up to Sora. I was a little apprehensive on how to approach this since the senbatsu news just came out two days prior. Our talk began with the usual greetings. I slowly began to mention the next single... She quickly shut me down saying it was okay. REALLY REALLY okay. She said that we will work harder together for the next single. With renewed vigor, I said of course and we will power on!

Finally, I ended my day with two slots with Yui. Thanks to the online talks, I got to see Yui for Christmas and her birthday for the last two years. However this year, the Christmas slots are for the in person events. Since I wasn't going to see her closer to her birthday this year I gave her some honest words (a little embarrassing to repeat here but just a little recap of our year and my feelings). I finished up our day asking if she was close with any of the 18ki. She mentioned Hina who she worked with on Girl's Drive and talked to her alot during it! And also with Sae through oof48. We agreed that all of 18ki was cute... but of course I had to throw in that I love Yui the most

and then it was 1am at night and I passed out

 

I had my very 1st real expeience with a member this 01/14.
I say real because although it's not my 1st online meeting, it was the 1st time i had enough time to say anything.
for my true 1st, I only had 1 ticket, and I was completly caught by surprise, only could wave hello and that was it

the 2 tickets I had won today were worth it, it begins to be enough to have a few words with a member.
so here we go for this short but great meeting with Manaka

Manaka poped on my screen and with a luminous smile, she looked a bit surprised to meet a foreigner.
i introduced myself, told my country and she welcomed me with a wide smile.
In a very broken japanese, I asked her if she wanted a cofee and then showed her a crochet crafted cofee cup, she found it really nice.
After she noticed my clothing, and asked if it's not too cold for me, (which somewhat is currently)
Then she waved goodbye to me and that was it.

it was 6h30~7h am, it made my day, nothing can happen until tonight i guess.

I'll have more tickets for the next event for the 63rd single.

 

2024/1/14 online hanashikai

First online talk of the new year and the last for yui's center single. It was a fun couple months even though I only did online.

Started my day with Azu. She excitedly welcomed me back After new years greetings, I commented on her stylish outfit. She mentioned in mail she bought the outfit recently for a cool image . I finally got to compliment her solo performance at the concert last year. We both agreed it made both of us cry fun talk, high tension, Azu is a delight as always

Next was Sae. Won a sign so I put my name in English.. I don't know if it was because of that but she talked like it was our first ever meeting she even asked me to talk in Japanese (when I tried some English) A little awkward but... we move on

Next was with my lovely Sora. After our usual greetings, we talked about the sign I won. She asked what I wanted and I said... Please write how you feel about me .. fun times as always

To finish my day, two slots with Yui. My luck continued and I won a sign AND a 1shot . She wished me some new years greetings and to look forward to this year together (always). I told her to hold a solo event and I'll come to Japan I also gave her a late birthday present. I ended up playing and singing happy birthday to her on a mini piano. It somehow turned out okay . After a bunch of more embarrassing exchange of words, we ended the single on a high note
The 1 shot. (Guess what I asked her to pose )


then it was 2am and I went to bed

 

Anyone attending the fan meet today? Ive always wanted to visit Tokyo bigsight Eager to hear an aar.

 

I've just been to the send-off/hand waving event at Tower Records Shibuya. Since Tsutaya is currently under renovation, this one's the only senbatsu event on the single's release day.

This seems to be more organized than the one from Tsutata before, since there are shorter waiting time and line. They really broke down the tickets into more time slots.

Also, there's no panel boards that blocks your view of the members while in line. So you have a much longer chance to see their faces.

Major downside, though, Yuki is absent today. And if I were to be honest, she's the main reason I've been attending these events since Doushitemo Kimiga Sukida. I don't think I'll be attending the one for the next single if ever

 

2024.03.23 and 03.24 ColorKon wink online talks.
I've been a fan for many years but still a newb when it comes to in-person meetings. I never had the means or language skills to meet my original oshi, lovetan, in-person. When I did start to participate, I was basically a loathsome DD buying multiples tickets for a few seconds with a dozen different members. Never really build a rapport with any one member. But since my last trip to Japan, I made a concerted effort to change all that. Yesterday and today were the first online meetings with Arai Sae since our first in-person meetings back in October 2023 for the Idol Jyanakattara Release meetings.

Sae claims to remember me from last time and maybe she does. She was still a little shy. But I want to give her a chance to feel more comfortable. By the second online talk we were both more relaxed and able to conduct actual convo. Still have another talk coming up in a few hours and then we’ll meet online again in April.

I told her that I want to speak Japanese better, so our talks are almost all in Japanese but it’s nice to be able to have an English “safety net” with a member.

 

2024/3/24 online hanashikai

First talk of the single and it was a fun day! Started my day with Azu. When the slot first start, I was immediately stuttering. She welcomed me back warmly but she was wearing a cute rabbit headband that got me she seemed quite embarrassed here, not as much as me! I won a sign from the lotto so this will be my first from her! I gave her a birthday present of a rose which she loved. She thanked me with some simple english "i love you" . Always a great time with her!
I quickly hopped over to Sae! I complimented her amazing piano performance from Harucon. She was really really nervous (so nervous she said it in english and japanese! )
Next was with Eriko. I planned for quite some time to finally meet her. After some introductions and her curiosity about America, I brought up that I went to the 17ki concert last year. I followed that up by showing her the bonus sign card I got from the event which was signed by her! Our meeting was fate!
Finally was with Yui of course! Talked to her about Girls Drive... and her zipper performance at the grad con. Note to self, never mention zukky ever again
My last slot of the night (at 12:30am ) was with Sora. After some warm greetings, I quickly congratulated her on the promotion. A big focus was on all the 17ki getting promoted . I also complimented her acting on Girl's Drive saying that her daughter was cute

and then it was 2am and I went to bed

 

Please share Yui’s reaction to Zucky? I have my tea.

I’ll share also. My third talk with Sae, i asked if Sae could be my Oshi Member? Big smile “of course! “ afterward she slyly asked me about Sako and Azu. she did first by referring to her Saturday outfit. it matched with Sako's. I knew about it because they both posted on twitter/x SAFE. On Sunday she had a rhinestone headband and wanted to know if I had seen Azu's ( I did not, azu had bunny ears posted later on SNS) SAFE, but then a fatal error, I referred to Azu with the familiar Yagi-CHAN. Sae paused and nodded, ahhh yagi-chan. I should have said Yagi-San, to create a sense of distance. Unfortunately, my true feelings betrayed. Yagi is the g.o.a.t. member.

 

so the conversation was about the zipper perf with zukky and yukirin. after saying it was YABAI, I said I was only looking at her! she got really close to the screen and said.. "really?! Not zukky!?" I quickly went "REALLY REALLY REALLY!" Yui narrowed her eyes saying "that's a lie!" and I had to finish with "I love you the most so..." and she agreed there
On a related note, 2 years ago when we had an online talk and I had the new yui zukky bomb poster on my wall behind me during my talk. During our talk, I froze at a point and she pointed out the poster behind me saying she was happy about the poster. I said of course I got it because yui is there! Then she went "zukky too ehh"

 

I had four different Online Talks this morning.

The first was with Takashi Ayane-chan. Her slots are all at awkward times for me, with the earliest being 1:30am and the latest 6:30am, but I decided to go with the 6:30 one. I talked with her about this week's HADO, since her Pokkemuri Team were the winners. She was a lot more cheerful than when I met her at the handshake event last year.

The second person I was supposed to meet with was Zukki, but there were some technical issues sadly. After passing through the ID check I was 3rd in the queue to talk, when suddenly I was sent back to the check screen. I was 30th in the queue now but after refreshing the screen a few times the "enter ID check" button was replaced with "end". I sent them an email to see what could be done.

After this I had two slots at the same time with Maho-pyon and Masai Mayuu-chan.

I talked with Maho-pyon about the Up-Ti CM Announcement event from the other day. She was happy I watched then was cut off in the middle of explaining something.

It was my first time meeting with Mayuu-chan, so I just started with saying I was from England. Then I congratulated her on her promotion. As I was saying bye she said "Have a good day" in English and did a big heart with her hands. I'll try and talk with her again I think.

While I had already started to write this post, I got an email back from withlive, who said they'd added me to Zukki for slot 8. They blamed connection issues on my end??

I had to scramble slightly as there was only five minutes left till entry to the slot, and I'd put away all of the stuff I sit my phone on. Zukki was nice if a little shy (tbf it was the very end of a later slot). I said I'd watched Girls Drive and that I thought she was really good in it which she seemed to appreciate.

Technical issues aside, I had an enjoyable time. I've never won any of the photos/signs so hopefully next time I'm in luck.

 

2024/4/14 online hanashikai

started the night with Azu. She popped up on my screen in pajamas! I complimented the cuteness and said it was actually night in America. She said she will go sleep then I quickly woke her back up!! So I had my name in english for this slot because I won a sign... she had mega trouble reading my name always a fun time with azu though!
quickly went to Sae. she had cute half twin hair! she said aren't you surprised! since it was her first time doing this hair I congratulated her on hs graduation. I also asked her if she was planning on going to university... she actually said that she wasn't sure yet (I had a feeling she didn't want to publicly say that she is going yet ) just something I was still curious about! She said to wait for her sign to come in! (I think this is my third one from her)
a while later, hopped into Eriko's line. after welcoming me back warmly, I quickly told her happy birthday with a little blue rose! She really loved that. Soon after that.... she commented and pointed out my yui calendar that I had on my wall ..... I tried to brush it aside ofc.... finished up the slot with saying I love Eri-chan as much as she loves AKB
lastly Yui of course! I won two signs in my first slot . while she was busying signing, we discussed her APRIL FOOL'S JOKE. She asked did I get fooled!! Naturally, I said I almost died she reassured me that she won't do it (unless its for a job)... ended the slot with some embarrassing exchange of words as usual during our second slot... yui immediately began the slot with "you got it AGAIN?!" yeah, I won a sign in this slot too today was a lucky day for lottos. the slot was mainly discussing how I didn't need glasses anymore... and some other embarrassing exchanges of words...
I went to 19ki relay a bit later... I posted my thoughts in the 19ki thread

and then it was 3am and I went to bed

 

2024.04.14 I had 2 talk sessions (1 and 4) with Arai Sae. I was able to win a 1-shot in the 4th round. I also asked her about university but she said she is focused on doing her best in AKB48 and UNLAME This time, Sae had a lot of questions for me, I was happy to answer her in Japanese and English. This was good because I don't want to seem like i'm trying to get personal info from her or things she can't talk about. That's why I didn't immediately share when she told me she has been to Los Angeles and San Francisco already. Add this to other members that have spoken to her it seems she is quite the world traveler.

 

The first day of my latest trip to Japan and straight down to business.

Shinozaki Ayana PB handover at Book 1st Shinjuku

The event was held in the second level of the bookstore in an area which was very much partitioned off from other customers. Ayanan was wearing a very pretty white dress which can be seen in her short message video from the event on X:

https://twitter.com/ayana_irodori/status/1781916583033712873

When it was my turn I introduced myself from England and I told her that I had an online talk with her two years ago which not suprisingly she didn't remember lol. I then congratulated her on her graduation from AKB, thanked her for the book and waved goodbye. She was very friendly and definitely very pretty, even more so than in photos and videos. Here's my copy of the book and a souvenir card which everyone received:



Then I headed for Shimbashi for the second event of the day:

Taniguchi Megu 10th Anniversary Fan Meeting

This event was for her FC members only and was held in a small venue called Zeal Theater which I'd guess held about 100 people in the audience. On entry everyone was given a souvenir card and a chance to take a picture of her 10th Anniversary bouquet in the foyer:



The event itself was really a one-man Theater show which mostly consisted of Megu performing songs such as Shonichi, Namida no Hyomen Choryoku and Heart Gata Virus as well as Oogoe Diamond. She announced that she'd started to learn the guitar and although she'd only been learning it for a month she was able to accompany herself on an acoustic performance of Give Me Five (photo from her X at https://twitter.com/o_megu1112/status/1782013368758649044):



There was an MC in which she talked about her career and then later on she walked through the audience so we could take photos - here's mine (these are Imgur thumbnails which are clickable for full-sized versions):



As can be seen I attracted quite a lot of attention from her (I appeared to be the only foreigner there) and I got more attention at the end as everyone filed past her at her send-off! Although it was supposed to be just a quick wave she said to me in English "Have a nice day!" and I replied that I'd see her next weekend at the in-person talks which made her wave at me even more while staff-san tried to push me on but I wasn't going anywhere while I was getting this from her lol. Anyway after a couple more seconds I relented and moved on.

So that was huge fun and a great start to my trip!

 

63rd Single Offline Talk/HS Event - Pacifico Yokohama 4/27

This is a report of the first of two long days this weekend so I'll try and keep it as brief as possible. Just to say that all booths still had clear partitions separating members from fans but this time it was possible to shake hands through a gap at the bottom, however all members wore disposable gloves.

Akiyama Yuna
First up was Yunachan who was wearing cute pink bunny ears and she was very happy for me to congratulate her on her first A-side senbatsu.

Omori Maho
Last year when I met Maho she seemed quiet but this time she was much livelier and asked me about travelling from the UK.

Komiyama Haruka
My oshimen called out my name as I entered her booth and held both my hands. I congratulated her on starring in the Snow White drama and as usual she was very lovely and pretty.

Sato Airi
As with last year when I met Aichan she was very sweet and wore a pretty white ribbon in her hair.

Mizushima Miyuu
Mizumin was also very sweet and held tightly onto my hand when it was time to finish.

Taguchi Manaka
Manaka is very easy to talk with and I'm sure that's helped her popularity. I also complimented her on being chosen for 'Colorcon Wink'.

Yamane Suzuha
Zunchan was very happy to see a foreign fan and that I could name some of her B-sides! I wished her Good Luck with KLP48.

Shitao Miu
Miu was very friendly and welcoming. Seeing as she caught the bouquet from Yukirin on TV I said I hoped she would center the next single and very interestingly she gave me a big smile.

Muto Orin
Last year Orin wanted to speak English with me but for some reason not this time, however instead we had a strange but fun conversation with random English and Japanese words.

Arai Sae
Saechan was wearing a business suit which together with her gloves made her look like a croupier! I told her that I had a ticket for HADO Day 10 on Friday and that I'd support her team if she pushed the ball net in my direction.

Hirata Yuki
Yukinee really is stunningly beautiful when you're close up to her but as with last time I met her she seemed rather quiet and not the best talker, however she did have a very long line of fans.

Oguri Yui
OMG YuiYui remembered me from previous online talks! I was surprised but so was she when I told her I'd seen Girl's Drive and I enjoyed the movie!

Hashimoto Eriko
Erichan was wearing a school uniform type costume. I suddenly remembered that I hadn't prepared anything to say to her and instead we had a rather random but funny chat about Harry Potter.

Kashiwagi Yuki
Time for my last-ever talk with Yukirin who was looking very elegant. I congratulated her on her graduation, I said that she'd been an amazing member of the group and wished her very Good Luck for the future.

I was then about to leave but I suddenly realised I had one more slot with two ex-Eitos!

Kuranoo Narumi
Naru as always looked very pretty and cute. I congratulated her on becoming Soukantoku and she congratulated me on pronouncing it correctly!

Hashimoto Haruna
My liveliest meeting with a member came at the end of today! I told her that I always watched her Pyonmovies and we had a great chat which meant I could finish the day on a very high note.

(Just to add that I also met the five 19ki members together as I reported briefly in their thread.)

So a very long and tiring day but amazing fun which was helped by a few promotion ceremonies for 17ki members but also by the presence in the main hall of a food truck selling large cone waffle ice creams which various members visited by walking past fans. Now I'll do it all again tomorrow, but with different members this time (apart from the 19ki again and also Komi once more ).

 

63rd Single Offline Talk/HS Event - Pacifico Yokohama 4/28

My second day at the event:

Kohama Kokone
So beautiful but so quiet, yet she was sweet and friendly.

Nagatomo Ayami
Ayamin couldn't have been more different than Kokko! Very lively and very interested in my coming from the UK.

Fukuoka Seina
Seichan was indeed very beautiful to admire and certainly pleasant but we had a fairly ordinary chat.

Komiyama Haruka
More talk with my oshimen who was waving at me before I'd even entered her booth! I asked her about buying gifts at her sister's cafe and then I told her that I'd be at her FC meeting on Saturday which resulted in a lovely big smile from her.

Iwatate Saho
Sahho greeted me with 'yahho' so I think she's very used to people greeting her like that! Another fairly ordinary chat, mostly about her past B-sides.

Taniguchi Megu
The last of seven HS meetings I've had with her since 2016. Of course she remembered me from last week's FC meeting and I complimented her on her guitar playing there which she's learning. As she did at that event she said to me "Have a nice day" as I was leaving which is something I'll always remember.

Narita Kohina
Kohi is not only very pretty to see close-up but we had a very nice talk, she was very friendly and keen to ask about me.

Mukaichi Mion
Sadly my least good meeting of the day, she seemed be unhappy about something and somehow I found myself struggling with speaking Japanese with her.

Suzuki Kurumi
I wondered if I should talk about her gravure? But when I said I liked her photos in 'Shupure' she gave me a very happy reaction and we had a very nice end to the talk.

Chiba Erii
My past online and offline talks hadn't gone so well with Erii so this time I thought I'd talk about her center A-side 'Hisashiburi no Lip Gloss' and she was definitely very happy that I liked it.

Takahashi Ayane
As expected I found Ayane to be very sweet and pretty and definitely looking much younger than 26!

Murayama Yuiri
Yuiri asked how I pronounce my name but we spent a little too much time talking about that and not enough about her new stage but I told her I enjoyed watching it online.

Sakagawa Hiyuka
Hiyuka was looking very pretty with a high ponytail. I told her that I watched her Shinkansen videos from her home prefecture of Fukui and we did her train dispatch salute together.

Yamauchi Mizuki
I've also had some mixed results with talks in the past with Zukkii but this time I talked with her about 'Girl's Drive'. She was very pleased that I'd seen it and we finished by doing gunshot gestures together.

Hotei Moka
Definitely the cutest member of 17ki and so lovely to talk to.

So to today's final slot and I found myself with two strong fishers!

Masai Mayuu
She held both my hands as I entered her booth and while I was telling her that I was a fan of 17ki I found that she was rubbing my hands and giving me very strong eye-contact! Also she's very surprisingly pretty when seen close up.

Tokunaga Remi
And finally to Remi who also gave me very strong eye-contact while saying "ah you're English" in a very nice voice.

(Also just to mention that I met the five 19ki members again which I've posted about in their thread.)

That wasn't quite the end of the day as I stayed on for Yukirin's HS graduation ceremony. After her final slot finished she reappeared holding a bouquet and while some of the other members who were at today's final session looked on she made a short speech and then there was a series of photos as she moved along the crowd of fans with her manager taking photos and Miion taking a video. The other members then took photos of her, then they all gathered with her for more pics. Finally she left the event hall to chants of her name.

So ended two long but very happy days for me - and just to add that that for me there was the very rare event that everyone who I had tickets for were present and I didn't have to 'oshimashi'.

 

The senbatsu was announced. :x

Deibido.