Album [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [Tsugi no Ashiato] 14/01/22

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

Applied for Shiichan, Hirari, and HKT KKS Okada Kanna (Okapan). If I get this, looks like my April Japan trip will be done in May instead.

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

As I guest, I think you can still cancel it, create an account and then apply again, afterall, there is time

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

How is he supposed to cancel it if he doesn't have any way of logging onto the site to access his data / the application he submitted?

The only thing he could do is to directly contact Chara-ani (by phone/contact form) referencing his order ID and ask them to cancel it.

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

I did send them a message about an hour ago at https://akb48.chara-ani.com/inquiry.aspx asking if I could cancel it because I made a mistake, so hopefully it is ok, and then I will just reapply under my account.

I thought it might be associated with your email address, because you have to provide your name and email to send an inquiry. I didn't see anything about guests being unable to cancel in the info page, only that you can't cancel after you've already won/paid or something. Maybe you are right though and I can't cancel

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

Someone should make a screencast

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

That's only going to help that much. It's not the navigating of the site that's the tricky part. It's more about what the choices you make on the site are going to make your schedule look like.

Most of what goes into the planning has to do with the nature of the actual event. I can make as fancy an instructional video as I want, but that still isn't going to keep people from not understanding what it looks like in practice.
If you don't know that, for example, lanes are closed after about sixty minutes... or if you don't have some vague sense for how long the average waiting time for different types of members at different times in the day is gonna be, you won't really be able to determine how much you can actually do in ninety minutes in that venue, so you're likely to cram more and more into the same time frame - not knowing that it might be impossible to actually make use of the tickets. That's the trap. You can order yourself stupid on Chara-ani... and then you notice it's actually not realistically pull-off-able.

Some concise thread on handshake events is long overdue. Maybe I'm going to take the current open applications as an opportunity to finally get something written. Usually the people that make the trip are pretty good at figuring things out themselves eventually, but not everyone's first is a successful experience.

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

I'm quoting this to emphasize it. Everyone, I know you're all very excited about this event because I feel the exact same way, but don't rush into it without knowing what you're getting yourself into. It's a complicated process, and if you do it wrong, either you don't get the tickets or you're stuck paying for tickets that you can't use. Take the time to read the instructions and rules carefully, you do still have time and there's no need to rush the process. If you can't read the Japanese, try a translator or something (although, Japanese is kind of essential to talking to your idol). Read this thread thoroughly too, a good number of questions were answered. If it wasn't already covered and you still think it's important, then ask. The staff are here to help, and probably other experienced people like Tensai or Cristafari who've done this stuff would be happy to help too if you ask them politely. If you're truly passionate enough to fly all the way to Japan to meet your oshimen, you can spare a few hours to research [nod]

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

I for one is worried about the queue too, so I separate my 3 application(Yuko/Kawaei and takamina) into different slots.

A quick question, saying if one has 3 tickets for a member in the same slot, will the person gets 3 photos or only one photo and longer time with the member?

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

That's three pictures... which is automatically going to take longer.

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

well for the fullwidth roman characters thing, i tried entering my full name but apparently the number of characters for my given name exceeded the limit (my given name is 13 characters long, excluding 2 spaces) and i can't enter my full name. so i can't apply for tickets since the name has to be identical to the one on my ID?

just wanna confirm that I'm really left with no choice before i give up on the whole process. to prevent any regrets which can be painful thanks.

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

I'm sure there's a shorter way of writing your name. And if your name is Srinivasaraghavan, then just lose a few letters. It doesn't have to be that identical. If you can't fill it in, you can't fill it in. Doesn't mean they won't let you apply.

Japanese don't have middle names (or double surnames), so don't think of filling that in just because you think it has to be identical. As long as it fits in some way with the ID that you got and it's an ID with a photo - no issues. It's not like they're gonna kick you out because you're just a Fifi and not a Fifi Trixibelle.

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

Best option is to skip romaji and just enter your name in katakana for both the kanji and katakana fields. Keep in mind this is not designed for non-Japanese fans.

I've never had a problem with my passport with my English name and my tickets in katakana. They figure it out quickly enough, and there are people to consult with if they aren't certain.

But I'm going to re-emphasize what HRP and ithebigc said. If you don't know what you are doing, or aren't confident in your Japanese skills, stop before you get in over your head. Ordering the tickets is complex, but that is nothing compared to the event itself. Especially if you can't at least understand or speak some Japanese.

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

My passport has a longer name cause my chinese name is my legal first name, whereas my western name can be considered my middle name. In chari-ana, my account is simply under my western name.

FYI, I have not encountered any problems at the HS events, they see my passport and the receipt and it's fine.

So as long as your last name matches, and a variation of your first name is close. I doubt you will encounter a problem. Enter your names in Katakana. If you have a long string of Katakana, they aren't going to check very very closely.


And I'm going to quote this again to emphasize the point

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

I would say it is not THAT difficult, I just measured to have 1 sennbatsu + 1 non-senbatsu per slot and I was fine. Although, speaking Japanese (to a certain level) made it easier for me.

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

Yay another album is coming out!! I hope Mayuyu gets another catchy song like Avocado Janeshi!

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

So I applied for the 1st round as guest, but have opened an account since and will apply for 2nd round onwards with the account ... Will this create any problems for me?

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

I'm not trying to discourage folks. Just hoping that they'll ask for help if they are getting confused or unsure of what they are doing. Because I want to keep people from making mistakes like ordering too many tickets, or not being able to pay because they used a guest account and it's COD, or getting too many tickets or overbooking a time slot.

The guide will be a big help.

Being able to navigate the event is what is tricky, especially if you have tickets for members who are notorious for being late, taking a lot of breaks, or in some cases not even making it through the entire day. It's easy to get trapped in a line longer than intended, and end up missing out on other members you have for that same time slot. The staff is aware of this too, so if it's really bad they will start telling people "go to another lane" or "you need to try again in next slot, your ticket will still be honored". Of course they post this all on huge displays, but I find it a lot easier to understand the staff than it is to read the screens

And granted, this will be a lot more hectic than a normal handshake event, because they tack on a bunch of extra rules/regulations. Like where to put your stuff, where to stand, what poses you can make, camera check, retakes (which they don't do for the most part), etc. Here's an example of the rules for 1830m.
http://ameblo.jp/akihabara48/entry-11342386032.html

Once you do a couple of these it gets a bit easier. But the first time always ends up being a learning curve in my experience - so sometimes it's safer to be conservative with a few 'must-see' members, rather than reaching for the stars and trying for 15+ 2-shots.

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

When I got a two-shot with a member of LinQ, the staff took the photo with a polaroid camera he had. Is that what they do here? Or do I provide staff with my camera device to take the photo on (or is there an option between the two)? Do they allow digital cameras or just phone cameras? Planning, planning, planning..... Thanks for all the help everyone is giving! I picked my three members and completely split them apart into their own slots, just to make sure I can make them all if won.