SKE48 Handshake Event Report May 17, 2015 Port Messe Nagoya I woke up bright and early to catch the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagoya. This was my first handshake event, so I ended up not getting much sleep the night before. Getting to the venue was very easy. I was staying in Shinagawa, so I headed right to my reserved seat on the Hikari (I had a JR pass) and transferred to the Aonami line at Nagoya Station with no issues. The Aonami line really goes nowhere important, so it was easy to identify my fellow wota on the train. I arrived at Port Messe at 10:00 , as Block 2 was winding down. After an intrusive search at security, I immediately got my tickets stamped (there was no line at Information). Compared to other idol events I've been to, it frankly was not too crowded the entire day. I considered buying some more CDs, as they were selling same day tickets for the 7th Generation, but I decided to head to the goods booth instead, as the line was already very long. I bought a too big T-Shirt, the max number of pictures (didn't get any of the members I saw that day), and a ticket holder. When I was done, Block 3 was about to start. (All conversation was in Japanese unless otherwise stated) Spoiler: This report is very long Block 3 Miyazawa Sae (3 tickets) I lined up a few minutes early at Sae's lane, and was happy to meet up with SunnySK42, who also had tickets for Sae this slot. It was very nice talking to her about idols and life in Japan in general, and definitely helped pass time in line that I would have otherwise spent freaking out with nervousness. When the lane opened, and I saw Sae walk out, I was frankly starstruck. I've been super-hesitant about becoming involved in idol fandom in the last year and a half, as there are a lot of aspects about the phenomenon that I am very uncomfortable with, but this washed away a lot of my doubt. There really is something special about idols, an “aura,” if you will, and my oshi has it. My amazement was also met with a rush of adrenaline, but I didn't have time to panic, as only a couple of minutes passed before my turn was up. Sae: Hello! (English) Me: (in Japanese) Nice to meet you! My name is ____. Sae: Oh, ____? Nice to meet you, where did you come from today? Me: I came from New York. Sae: Wow, amazing! How old are you? Me: 20 Sae: Your Japanese is really good. Me: Oh, not at all. (JIKAN DESU) Gentle hands on my back told me it was time to go. It's weird, this conversation went exactly the same as every first conversation I have ever had with a Japanese person, and yet, I still didn't notice the “mamonaku.” Sae demands your full attention ^_^ I also didn't say any of the things I had planned, but as we'll see, maybe that was for the best... As I used all my tickets in one go, that was the end for that Block, which left me with a ton of time to wait. Block 4 Tani Marika (1 ticket) I had been very excited to meet Tani, as I really like her guigui kyara. I lined up a bit early for Tani, and she came out a little late, so while waiting I watched Dasu's line to the left, which had already doubled around 20 minutes before the block started. Her line was run like an assembly line: I saw some people hustled through in five seconds, but they seemed happy. Then Tani came out, clutching and jokinh with Kanon, and swaggered (that's how I would describe it) into the lane. I wasn't nervous waiting in line, but when Tani came out I was surprised to be struck by her prettiness and idol aura, which doesn't really come across in her variety appearances. This led to me being less than composed, as I was very early in the line: Tani: Oh, wow, hello! (english) Where did you come from? Me: I came from New York. Tani (English): Oh, wow, thank you! (mamonaku) Me: Let's aim for rank-in. Tani (English): Yes! Thank you! (jikan desu) Oba Mina(2 tickets) I still had lots of time, so I waited a while before getting in line for Minarun, whose line was pretty short. I glimpsed Ishida Anna two lanes down, and admired her outfit, which included a straw hat that suited her very well, although the summer feeling was kind of out of place in mid-May ;^^ Sarina was also nearby and seemed to have a great rapport with fans. I was happy but only a little surprised to see both of them rank in the preliminaries this year. As I approached, I noticed Minarun was projecting a very grown up aura, despite her small size. Then, before I could think about it, I was ushered in, while Minarun was still saying goodbye to the wota before me. Minarun: Oh, hello! (Wow, a foreigner! Surprise eyes) Me: Hello, nice to meet you! Minarun: Oh, you understand Japanese? Me: I do. Minarun: Wow! Do you live here (in Japan). Me: No, I'm just traveling now, but I'll be studying here starting in September: Minarun: Your Japanese is really good! (meccha umai) Me: Not at all. (my teachers drummed this response into me, so it's a reflex at this point) (mamonaku) Me: Let's work hard in sousenkyo! (Jikan desu) Minarun: Let's work hard! Bye, bye! Minarun has a great technique where after the staff calls time, she keeps holding on until the staff starts pulling, and then continues to wave as you walk away, even after the next person is sent in. It's pretty fisher-y, but it was still nice. I also felt pretty good about my end of the conversation, so all in all it was a positive experience. I had a lot of time because of the scheduled break after this, so I went outside and ate the lunch I'd brought, then checked out the Shinkansen museum which is right next to Port Messe. It was fine, but as I didn't have time to try out the simulator, it really wasn't worth the 1000 yen admission price. Block 5 As the break was winding down, I headed back to Port Messe and met up with SunnySK42 again before we both lined up again for Sae. I decided to split the three tickets I had this round. Miyazawa Sae (2 tickets) This handshake is probably the biggest regret I have for the day: Me: Tadaima~ Sae: Oh, thank you! Me: Is it alright if I tell you the reason you're my oshi? Sae: Ooh, what is it? Sae has this way of leaning in to listen when you're talking that is really wonderful. So easy to talk to. Me: It's because I think Sae is both cute and eminent/admirable (可愛くもあり、偉くもある) Sae: Huh? Eminent? (偉いis kind of a hard word to translate but I think it describes my level of respect for Sae alright) Me: Yeah, I think you're an amazing person, the reason is: JIKAN DESU Agh. Again, I forgot to listen for mamonaku. I must have made a dismayed face here, because as I left, Sae called after me “Don't worry, there's a next time (次はあるから)” And there was Miyazawa Sae (1 ticket) Me: Tadaima~ This is the last time, so can I ask you for something? Sae: (makes a lonely face) What is it? Me: I'm coming back in September, so please don't graduate until then! Sae: (guts pose) It's OK, don't worry! JIKAN DESU And that was it. This was definitely a highlight of my trip. There's a quality to idols that it's impossible to get from TV, or even live concerts when you're so far away. Just a shining aspect of their presence. Meeting Sae, even if it's only one day, is something I will never forget. When you're with her, you forget all the waiting and nervousness and exhaustion. It's almost religious; I guess they're called idols for a reason. One lesson for the future is not to go in with a shpiel memorized. You won't get a chance to say it. Especially as I speak Japanese, I now am going to go in with a topic instead of trying to give a speech. It also makes it more of a conversation. That said, I don't know if I will make going to handshake events a regular thing when I'm living in Japan. The transactional nature of them makes me kind of uncomfortable, and I also don't like buying piles of CDs. I have a bunch of national handshake tickets from the summer single, so I'll use those, but I don't know what my further plans are. If only concerts weren't so hard to get into (I failed every application I put in during my two-week trip).
Glad you had a great experience. I had my first HS and 2-shot not long ago too. I see you fell into the foreigner trick where you spend all your time introducing yourself and telling them where you're from. I also did that for the first half of my Nogizaka HS lol. It's an easy discussion to go to when you're anxious and the girls will ask you right away so it's easy to fall for it. I found a trick where I just did the 'hajimemashite' and then quickly told them what I wanted to say without mentioning my country or anything. The girl will ask you herself when you're beginning to get ushered so you can get extra time that way cause they won't let you until you answer lol!
Alright so I'm back from Japan and finally recovered from the jet-lag and caught up in most of the things i missed, and obviously if i was planning a trip to Japan, one thing i made sure to plan was make sure i could find event meet the girls and thanks to some help from Cristafari i was able to find one that was happening in the time i was going to Japan. Anyway i went to my first ever event to meet any of the girls in me being a fan for nearly 6 years so this was so long overdue for me and the place where it became due was at Port Messe Nagoya on May 17th. Spoiler: This is going to be a pretty long report so Spoilers are a must So i get up two hours before the event not entirely sure what to expect and only managed to arrive about 10 minutes before it started still not sure where to go and did i have to show all my tickets to get them exchanged or can i just walk up the line and then use it turned out to the latter. Now i bought tickets to several members, but i wasn't able to remember who i bought for each slot so when asking someone for some direction seems the person saw my ticket for Goto Risako and told me to go check the board for where her line is and i could atleast recognize the kanji on my tickets and the board so i knew which lines to wait as they the lines were also numbered so i headed for the one labeled number 3. Round 1: So waiting in line excited to meet the members for the first time i also got to find out about the hidden gem that fans get to enjoy at these events and that is getting to see the other members form the lines next to yours. This gem is significant for me cause it marked who the first SKE member i ever got to lay eyes in real life which was Kumazaki Haruka and than to the right was Tsuzuki Rika and by did that get me pumped up. So I had four tickets for round 1 for 3 members only i could not recall who i bought tickets for each round so when i asked for help earlier from a stranger i thought i was waiting in line for Goto Risako, so i was surprised when i when the staff let me in and the first member i saw was: Takeuchi Mai - Now i wasn't too thrown off and i knew i had only a precious few seconds to speak with her and fortunately i already thought in advance to tell her i was a big fan of hers, but unfortunately two other things threw me off. she was very pretty and she seemed excited to see me probably the first foreigner that day that she was going to see and i stuck out my hand to greet her, now this was the first thing that took half a second away see honestly i never really cared if i got to shake any members hand i just wanted to meet them so i never gave that part any thought, but when she grabbed my hand i was a little surprised of how warm they were, still it only slowed me down half a second so i got to say hi, nice to meet you! (in english) unfortunately what she said to me really tampered with my thought process because she said to me "teach me some English" (in Japanese) suddenly me telling her i was a huge fan of hers and was cheering for went out the window and suddenly i was trying to think of some kind of unique word in English that she can learn i was racking my head in what to tell her so than i said "how about i teach you some polish instead" (in english) of course i think she didn't catch that i and i told her the word dziękuję, but i don't think she knew it or heard and soon enough i was told my time was up. So all i could think walking down the line was ""damn it" next time i'll think of something better". So i tried to think oh well i'll make the next one work and headed for the next girl which was right next to Takeuchi Mai (man did i feel awkward) but yeah that's right i was heading toward: Tsuzuki Rika - Just like Mai's line Rika's line was short so i didn't get too good a look at who was next to her on the right, but i was determined to say what i wanted. Now appearance-wise Rika dressed casually she even had towel on her neck but she still looked cute and i think she was thrown off by seeing a foreigner so early. So when i got to her i made sure not be thrown off by the handshake again and told her that i've been a fan i had intended to vote for her this year in the election, but since she announced that she won't participate i wanted her to decide who i should vote for instead. However i said that in english she didn't get a word of it, she was thrown off when i mentioned sousenkyo and i couldn't quite explain it in Japanese. So i got pulled before i could say anymore and i think she just had one encounter she couldn't understand at all, so once again i was walking back down the line thinking "damn it". So with two encounters that went opposite of what i was hoping for i was honestly worried about how the 3rd one was gonna go, cause i had two tickets for her (meaning twice the time) and i had no idea what to say to her at all as this girl was also the only draft girl i bought tickets for the entire HS. Which actually surprised me to see that her line was much longer than the other two lines i had been too. So i got a bit more time to think through what to say to her also getting a good look at the lines around me seeing Koishi Kumiko have a rather almost empty line for her which seriously bummed me out cause i feel she is a really interesting member and is actually really pretty. I also got to see Yamada Juna's line being pretty long and felt a bit of regret that i didn't buy a ticket to see her because seeing Juna out there she had to have one of the cutest brightest smiles beaming ahead and i realized that must of been a bigger fan of her than i realized (seriously did you see the ske preliminarily announcements i get the feeling she was really hoping to rank in with that hopeful smile of hers cause i think the excitement of seeing so many other members rank in is what kept, but it almost soul crushing when you she gets to that point she she doesn't think she'll rank in anymore) but i'm trailing off, i kept thinking to the very last moment of what i was going to say and than once i finally got to see her i just said to myself (f**k it, i'll just say something she can understand) so i went to greet: Fukushi Nao - Honestly i thought Nao was interesting but seeing her dressed up i realized she was also very pretty up close and for some reason there was a guy with film camera on her, so i walked up to her said "nice to me you" she greeted me back and i told i was a fan of her and that she was really pretty and that she is very interesting, she smiled when i told her she was pretty and that i was rooting for her in sousenkyo and for once got leave while seeing the member have smile on her face rather than confusion and that lifted my own spirits up that i can still make these encounters work. Cause while i was done the first round i still had 10 more girls to see and 12 more tickets to use. While i finished my tickets for the round i couldn't help, but realize that that was longest and shortest 10 minutes in my life and that i still had 50 min till round 2. Round 2: Having waited for 40 min already for the next round to start i made sure to look up the board to see which lanes i was still going to, not knowing which member i was going to member i was going to see yet. To my luck I got to wait in advance for the next round to start so i was early in line also to my luck a father-daughter combo was in front of me so i knew i was going to see the members spoil the child in front of me, and i was right for as soon as the 2nd round was getting started and the members were getting to their post Takeuchi Mai spotted the kid was already waving at her and the child was happily waving back. Also since handshake hadn't started yet she Mai even started telling the kid that she loved her and the child got embarrassed and than Mai even blew her kisses her to which in turn the little girl using both hands started blowing kisses back to her all giddily, honestly it was just adorable to see. However soon enough the round did start and the members were greeting their fans and i decided this time to take a peak as the member i was lining up was going to meet the father-daughter combo. So i watch as they met: Goto Risako - Frankly i was amazed that it was Risako who was i was lining up for i figured with a kid they'd line up for a more top tier member like Akari or Aya or Nao or Jurina. She wore a rather checkered pattern outfit and was wearing pigtails as always and i did see her greet the kid happily grabbing her little hands and shake them around like she was doing double dutch with jump-ropes (although obviously more gently). Soon afterwards i went up and Risako once again she gave a look of surprise to see a foreigner, but she composed herself and when we greeted she gave me a hand hug (handshake!) and took the lead on the conversation, where she was saying she was actually really impressed with the shape and size of my nose calling it rather distinguished, which surprised me since i've been made fun of as kid by classmates for the size of my nose and it's rather bumped ridge. Still i was proud of it so i said yeah it's a trait all the men in my family have (which is true from my male cousins from my moms side and grandfathers and uncles and even younger brother all have this kind of nose) than i told her thanks and that i was rooting for her in the election and that i was going to vote for her (which btw i did), and than i left happily wondering who my mystery number 2 girl was gonna be. So I didn't get a good look at the at the lines beside me because the line was unfortunately short, so i had to gather my wits as i went to meet: Sakai Mei - Now Mei i know has grown into a beauty from since she joined, and it rather shows up close, but what also show is her dimples they really stand out when you see them in person. Now Mei was one of the few that didn't show surprise from seeing a foreigner instead she even greeted me with a hello and i replied back and than told her that i'm a big fan of hers and that i'm going to root for her for the sousenkyo and that i was definitely going to vote for her (which i did) and she actually showed surprise and perked up a little and happily told me thank you (in english). So i than learned that telling members that you were going to vote for them in the would get a reaction from them which was good for me because most of the girls i was going to see now (with the exception of the next one) i actually was going to (and actually did) vote for. Lastly I used my final ticket to meet one of the few 6th gens that i gained interest in, i went to see: Aoki Shiori - My experience with Shiori was definitely on a different field, not because i wanted to tell her that i was fan of hers or that i was rooting for her, but rather because i wanted to tell her that everything that i've seen her in i thought she was interesting. Also those were some of the few phrases i actually knew how to say in Japanese. So when i first got to her i was surprised by her appearance, not because she was over-overwhelmingly pretty or such she's just as cute in person as she is on tv. I was actually thrown off by her flower crown, it really gave off that eccentric feel to her, and than as i approached i tried to start of with hajimemashite, but she started off greeting me with the Oshirin pose (which i had completely forgotten about) so i gave a rather late response in doing the oshirin pose, but i had to get back on track so while squeezing (lightly) her hand i quickly tried to list all the shows i had seen her in (Calcio, Zero position and Gakuen) stammering a bit since time was sort i was able to tell she was "mechakcha omoshiroi" in all those programs that i had seen her in and she actually squalled in a really happy and loud "Hontoni!" and than i nodded and got put away. So leaving like that i was really satisfied with how that handshake turned out and than tried heading for the goods shop cause once again only 10 minutes had gone by and i had a 80 min to kill. Being there i wasn't too interested in getting anything but, i just had time to kill i actually was more interested in signing birthday messages for the members who's birthdays were nearing, which ended up being for Juna and Miki. Round 3 - The dreaded round 3 for me, not because i didn't want to meet these members, but rather because i being tired at the time of purchasing tickets didn't realize that i had bought tickets for members who all sold out a good number of their slots and i had them all in the same round so i was sure that i wasn't going to be able to use all my tickets and thus shooting myself in the foot. Although i really didn't want that to happen so to make sure i would be able to use all my tickets i made sure to place myself at the very front of one line at the start of it. So while I was waiting I was watching as fans were using up their last tickets for round two and found myself quite surprised to find out how busy Ichino Narumi's line was the entire round, up to the very last minute fans were waiting to meet her and they really stand out to the rest of fans with their Kappa towels. Actually in hindsight if i had to state one surprise about the elections preliminaries it was Narumi didn't place at all, i mean she clearly had plenty of fans and her lane was the busiest i had seen up to that point. Anyway soon round two was ending and round 3 was starting and to my poor luck the member i was waiting for was late so i was just standing in line until she came but with this i really got a good view of members to my side and also got see how popular Souda Sarina was, well actually i got to see how cute she was. I'm mean i had seen vids and pictures of her and thought she was at most alright, but seeing her in person she has this fragile-like appearance with that big smile that just makes you think you'd really want to fight for her (fan-wise or maybe even potential partner-wise). Since all i could do was wait i did count my blessings that line i was in was the closest to the door where all the members go in and out of when finishing their slot, meaning i got to see Nao, Aya, Kaori, Kanon, Akari, Haruka, Jurina, Yume, Juna, Rion, Saki, Masana, Sana, Natsuki, Mina, Reona, Yukari, Mikoto, Yuna, Suzuran, Chikako and even Marika (Tani) all go through and head to their respective lanes. Still even with such a sight i was getting anxious i really need to finish this line soon and i was even considering just leaving and going to my next line, but eventually she did come and only 8 minutes was lost. So i tried to gather my wits as i went to see: Takayanagi Akane - Akane looked cute in what seemed to be pigtails and a numbered sweater. I knew what i wanted to say to her, just i didn't quite know how to say it. Japanese limitation was really becoming a crutch when i had more winded things to say, still i was a lot more excited meeting her than i realized and knowing i was the first foreigner she was seeing that day (maybe even only one), she greeted me with a "hello" and i greeted her back and than i proceeded to tell her that i've been a fan of her for nearly 6 years of Ske since nearly the time of her debut and that i was so happy about how things were turning out for her and how i was so happy to finally meet her. Than she replied to me in english "I don't know what you are saying" however that didn't deter me at all and actually put a smirk on my face and i simply told her "That's Okay" and than i told i would vote for her to rank in Sembatsu this election (which i did) and than said bye. I should probably mention i two tickets for her which is why i was able to say to her as much as i did. So feeling rather cheerful about this encounter i rushed to my priority #2 (which is the order of members i was planning to visit in case i didn't have enough time to see them all, no playing guess the member this round). So i honestly have somethings i want to kick myself about this encounter more than the one with Mai or Rika, but a more context needs to be given; See during my stay in Nagoya my Hotel was actually incredibly close to the SKE Theater (12 min walk away) and in all the planning my friends made for Japan i didn't figure i would have anytime to split off and go to an SKE show if i happened to win one during my time in Japan (and in hindsight i really didn't, not unless it was the day before the HS Event). Still you want to take a look at theater if you could and i happily say that the lobby to the theater packed while a show was going on. While I was there i also went to the SKE shop and cafe and bought myself one of the members T-Shirts and a Towel of the member i was going to see, which sucks when i got to Nagoya Port i realized i forgot to bring the towel with me. Anyway i proceeded through the line to meet: Yamashita Yukari - She reacted the most happily out of all the members that had seen me and went out to start with a "Hello, where are you from?" to which i told i was from Canada to which she reacted happily again, than i went to tell her that out of all the most members she was my favorite (in 4th gen and most atleast) to which she happily reacted to the word favorite; "favorite, Yukari is your favourite?!" which i want to say the reaction was a cute squeal, but honestly it was actually shrill, which actually threw me off cause of the volume in her voice that i just started backing when the security told me my time was up, but Yukari held on to my hand for extra time and asked if i visit her again to which i replied i would and that i would vote for her in the election (which i did), but i wondered if i was causing trouble in the line for how long Yukari was holding on to me (and i was worried that i wouldn't see the other members in time). Only to which i regretted letting go after walking back cause Yukari whether her reaction was loud and shrill, she was still being the Yukari i was a fan of and gave one of the most interesting experiences i had this entire HS. Still i had to go on so i resolved that next time i would definitely see Yukari again and talk to happily with her with a real conversation. So than i went to the members line that i was actually a little worried about, see as i was waiting back in Akane's line and i saw her come through the open door and grabbing her arm with a rather worn out expression it looked like she might have been in pain, but i tried to put my head out of it as i looked at all the other fans in her line, because she had a lot and they many were wearing the same shirt of her's that i had bought at the SKE shop the day before but had decided not to wear at the event and wondering would have it had not been better if i wore it just for this line. But pondering never really lasted long for me so i decided to look at Jurina's which right to the side, it was kind of underwhelming to see Jurina in person. I thought i'd be a bit star-struck with SKE's number member so close by, but i just couldn't get over how the dress she wore to the event was just kind of ...orange, it didn't bring out her features all too well. I couldn't just keep focusing on that so i tried to prepare what i would say as i was about to meet: Futamura Haruka - While i was worried, when i saw her in person with a smile on her face it just made me forget (she did give a surprise reaction to seeing a foreigner), i walked up to her i told her i was fan of hers and that she was really really Beautiful (in english also she really was, she wore this purely white outfit that really radiated on her) she seems to have been caught off guard by that and reacted surprised and tried to humbly deny it, but than i added that she was a "knock out" she probably wasn't familiar with that phrase so she didn't give much response, so i was being pulled away so i tried to tell her i was going to vote for in the election (which i did) and than i was heading back down the line feel proud for myself only remembering as i passed by her fans wearing her t-shirt that it was her Birthday only 3 days earlier and i should have taken a moment to wish her a Happy Belated Birthday. However i realized from Haruka's line that despite the next few lines will be just as long that i could probably make use of the rest of my HS tickets and not need to prioritize. I had a rather good amount of time waiting in line to observe Nao and Kaori while the were meeting their fans you can really see that even with Kaori's bold declarations online she hasn't much steam from fans and is giddy when speaking with fans and Nao while she doesn't seem to have the deepest conversations with her fans you can really see that she has some technique to put fans in world of pure dreams. But more on the that later as i was i finally getting to meet possibly the most popular of the 6th gens: Kamata Natsuki - Natsuki had a certain air to her, but i wasn't sure what to expect. She was cute in appearance not overwhelmingly though, i had bought a ticket for her originally cause i always heard that she built up her fan base from giving good HS experiences, good blog posts and just good stage presence. I was intrigued by her television appearance. So when i greeted she had a rather daze look on her face, i told her the same thing i told Shiori that i seen her in many different programs (listing them and all), but she cut me off and told me she didn't know what i was saying (also in english) so i just told her that i was big fan intrigued by her and that i would vote for her in the election, No reaction though. I walked back thing that knowing limited japanese was really becoming a burden cause as i realized later on Natsuki HS appeal is that you can genuinely have a good talk with her and get good reactions from her you just got to say more than that you're rooting for her. Heading to the next line is where i found out about Natsuki's appeal in HS as she conversed well giving off many expressions talking to different kinds of fans. I also took a look to my right side was a little surprised to see how packed Tani Marika's (although i guess it isn't too surprising if you consider how well she ranked in the preliminaries) watching her line go through as i was nearing the end of my line Marika spotted me and tried to get my attention yelling "hello" and trying to get me to come to her line next all Marika like. But first before i could consider something like that first i had to go greet: Shibata Aya - All i can say about Aya is that she really has gained some self-confidence since her ranking in sembatsu, no surprise seeing me she just happily took my hand and greeted me just as happily, i told her i was rooting for her and that she was one of my favorite of all the sembatsu members and she happily told me thank you and i was done. At this point i really wished i had something different to say to the girls other than i was a fan because it just seemed to have to low response rate. Fortunately the last member for the round was coming up and she was quite known to be great at handshakes so i figured i'd be able to leave most of the talking to her, so while waiting in her long line i do have one afterthought and have to say i'm actually surprised at how long Mina's line was during the event she had plenty of fans visiting her so it kind of surprises me that she didn't rank in the preliminaries, but i guess fans will get into gear get her to rank in the end (unless this other theory i have is coming to fruition) anyway i got excited as i went to see: Furuhata Nao - Nao wore a white blouse with a blue skirt and had her usual trademark hairstyle and while she looked like she always does, she suddenly turned on her charm. As soon as i greeted her she didn't say anything rather grabs the tips of my fingers like a queens fingertips handshake than pulls my hand closer to her other hand and use the other grab my hand and give a complete and gentle handhug all the while she looks at me with smile and a dreamy expression on her face the entire time. This all really impressed me and while i didn't really fall for her charms i did admire the technique and combination she did with this all so i broke out of the usual words and simply told her "That look is Deadly"(trust me it really is) of course she didn't understand what i said so i changed it around and told her she was "beautiful" and wished good luck for the sousenkyo to which she replied "arigatou". So there it was the last girl i had for round 3 and it turned to quite an experience, but i was still eager to use my last two tickets on the final girl who is known as one of the top fishers in the entire group so i headed to her line because even though there was 30 min to go till round 4 huge line had already formed up for her as the were fans were waiting for round 4 and i was impressed because she had the largest line out of all the members in the entire HS. Round 4 - It was a long line down but i wasn't really bored since one of the japanese fans waiting in line asked me where i was from, and i got into a broken English conversation of how this was my first event and i had been a fan for nearly 6 years and i was just so excited to meet them, another fan joined the conversation and as soon as they heard how many members i visited they pegged me as DD while i still told Yukari was my favorite i was fan of most fans. I managed to ask for some advice as to what i could say to the member i was about to visit, but they told she tends to take over the conversation as soon as you say hajimemashite, so i figured at most i would tell the member the one phrase i thought that i should have told Mai when she asked me to teach her English which was "Totally worth it" which i know sounds like a lame expression to some, but with all the challenges that come with trying to get to one of these events with plane tickets, and buying CD's and waking up early and even hoping that i took the right train and even just having enough luck that atleast one Event was happening in the time i was going to be in Japan and even all the years spent waiting for the chance for me to travel there. I could only say "Totally worth it". Anyway the fan in front told her in advance that foreign fan was excited to meet her, so i lost the element of surprise as i went to meet: Suda Akari - So i greet her with a HajimeMaeshite and that i was fan of hers since third gen debuted and that being a fan since has been "Totally Worth it" unfortunately she didn't understand so i tried repeating it and somehow she seemed to have heard the "Koi" and than said "Akari Koi?, ahhh arigatou Akari daisuki" and then she waves my hand a bit, to lighten the mood, but i couldn't really appreciate any of that because i was bit bummed out of how she misunderstood me. Than my turn ended rather quickly despite the two tickets and i got to go. In a sense i could see why Akari is told to be a really good Fisher, but deep down i just don't seem to susceptible to such styles. [/QUOTE] Anyway so that was first Handshake Event and i really glad i got to come and meet so many members it also made me resolve to come back to Japan one day come to more of these event because i absolutely don't want it to be my last. I definitely will meet Yukari again and Juna for the first time as well as many other members. I would reccommend anyone coming to Japan to come to one of these events cause it is sooo worth it.
It's nice reading your experience especially cause most of the girls that you visited are the not so popular members. Did you already planned it before that you are not going meet those popular ones? You avoiding the long queue? And it is really a big problem that these girls don't know much english cause they don't understand what you're saying.
Well I'm a big fan of the whole group so honestly i kind of want to meet all the members once, this time around i met the members i just figured i wanted to meet the most if there wasn't going to be a second time, there wasn't anything strategic about it. Though if i get to go to another one i probably meet a completely different set of girls in SKE (with Yukari being the one i revisit, actually Mai and Rika too, just so that i could properly convey my thoughts to them this time around.) I scanned around the place it was pretty big so it's not exactly easy to find someone unless you actually plan to meet in advance, i think i saw a foreign fan or two while i was waiting in line for Akari, but i didn't want to lose my place in line to go over and greet them.
Yeah it's a shame, i read your report wondered about the Cd sales had i met you and found out i could buy tickets for some more members, i would have done it i'm would love to have met Nojima Kano and chat about ske with some other fans.
Bit of a late post but judging from the above, looks like I wasn't the only foreigner (from Stage*) that went to the 31/5 HS event at Big Sight... *I met up with someone else that went for a bit, but isn't active on S48, and also saw more than my fair share of HK/China fans floating around....
I love events at Point Messe, even if it is sort of out of the way. Glad you had such a nice first experience @mieniem . And glad I could be of assistance.
I went to my first SKE48 handshake on 5/31 at Tokyo Big Sight! It was my first 48g event . My BF and I had to choose later rounds because we got our tickets at short notice, but I have no regrets. In fact, the only downside to the day was that we got there too early and had to wait forever for our round to start. Because of that I was able to (by chance) sit by another foreigner! Her and her BF were really sweet and were big fans. Before the handshake I decided to buy some goodies. I ended up getting a photo pack and a pink Coquettish bag and it wasn't too pricey. They had an area to make birthday notes for the girls and so I did one, but I forgot who it was for, which kind of makes me feel bad. In my defense most of them were girls I didn't know! Now, for the handshake! Three of them. 1st: Azuma Rion I was very nervous waiting in line to see Azumarion for a few reasons. The first being that I have never met an idol I truly love at a handshake, and the second was that I was terrified that my Japanese would be horrible and she wouldn't be able to understand me! I managed to calm down a bit by talking to an older fellow in front of me. He was very sweet and we talked about baseball as we waited. As the line started moving, I noticed that Ryoha was in the next lane. She happened to glance over just as I was looking so I started to wave and she excitedly waved back. Having her give me attention instead of the person who just moved up in the line was kind of cool. Anyways, by the time I got to Azumarion I was much less anxious. We shook hands and I was taken back by how normal she seems. No she's not as attractive as some of the others, but she is cute. Super cute. Like, I wish she was my friend because she was so cute. I told her that I play the piano too and she was surprised. I told her that she was fantastic, but that ended up with her saying how she isn't good. By the time I had to go I was still insisting she was! The guards were telling me that I had to go and they were nudging me out, so before I left I told her "daisuki". Her eyes widened and she went "I love you! I love you!" as I turned the corner. The coolest thing about that whole exchange? She would not let go of my hands. Even when I had to go she kept clinging on, what a wonderful feeling. It really made me appreciate her more knowing that she cares enough to give a good handshake. The next handshake was kind of a underwhelming and forgettable experience to say the least. 2nd: Sato Sumire ...and now I know why her line was so short. When I shook her hand it was like she barely wanted to touch me, limp wrists make for bad handshakes. Her complete disinterest in what I had to say was kind of a put off too, but I guess that's her princess attitude? I still like her, but I'm just mad I wasted a slot. I managed to save the best for last! 3rd: Tani Marika The line for Tani was quite long, but this time I was standing with my bf so I got to talk off my nerves. We saw Ayachan in the row next to Tani and I was shocked by how big her eyes are in real life. She is an expert at handshakes and doesn't look away from her fans for an instant, a big smile on her face. Aya kept batting her eyelashes too, I guess that's the way she fishes? It works! I wish I could have shaken hands with her too because she is perfection. When I finally met Tani I was super excited. I told her that I'm really her fan and I like that she is always so "genki". She squeezed my hands tightly and somehow we ended up bouncing up and down. I am not exaggerating, as we talked we were jumping up and down. And squealing. She asked where I came from and got excited that I'm from California. She looks just like she does on TV, except maybe even cuter if that's possible. In between handshakes I managed to catch Ishida Anna walking out of the HS event. That girl is absolutely drop dead gorgeous, her photos and TV appearances do not do her justice. All in all it was a successful and FUN experience that I would love to do again one day. Being in a place where everyone likes what I like is refreshing!
Continues from here. SKE48 Coquettish Juutaichu HS @ Tokyo Big Sight - 31 May 2015 Spoiler: length After the tiring hell that was 2-shots yesterday, today was a comparatively easier affair. Got there nice and early again. Instead of being greeted with giant queues at 8am, there were only around five of us waiting to get in. Not even a giant placard was set up at the time. Eventually we were shown the way to our actual hall where they were still setting up. Needless to say, by the time they opened the doors, there was no one from mu-mo at the info desk to validate my tickets until around 15-20mins later. Wasn't a big deal anyway, given my first slot wasn't until 11:30am. Only two other foreigners were there - passports looked like they were of Thai or PRC origin? Couldn't tell properly. Eventually got my tickets validated and, after brunch nearby, went back for my actual handshakes. Slot 3: Suda Akari (x1) Unfortunately, this ended up to be one of my worst handshake slots with Dasu ever. Not her fault - partly down to my nerves in the morning and partly because she just looked way too cute with that floral dress, blue top jacket and hair ribbon. As soon as it was my turn, we both exchanged hellos (in English) and suffice to say, I cocked up my lines, ending up with only a mere "yesterday('s 2 shot event) was really fun!" before the staff tried to shove me out. At least she said "thank you!" in English. Note to self: next time, get more than 1 ticket per slot just to be safe. Slot 4: Takayanagi Akane (x3) Felt a little dejected after that experience. No worries though, I thought, as I might as well use the longer time I have with Churi to "practice" before reattempting another Dasu handshake later in the day. On the flipside though, when you have 3 tickets with Churi when she's not your oshimen, thinking about what conversation topics becomes really difficult unless you enjoy awkward silences. Churi's known to be a little mixed at times - sometimes she's a bit salty, other times she's alive and chatty. I was thankful, then, for yesterday evening's AKB48 Tabi Shojo episode (with Churi and her DSLR-toting crew) as it gave me some ideas. This being Churi implies some strange fashion choices - red happi, anyone? Japanese (with English summary) convo went as follows: me: hello ちゅり～ 高柳: hello me: 昨日楽しかったです！(*as per Dasu above*) 高柳: ありがとうございます me: 旅少女見たよ (I watched Tabi Shojo [last night]) 高柳: あ！カメラ？！<with camera pose> me: はい！大好き！ me: ライカカメラのする方 ... *paused as my mind went blank for a sec* ...のどうでしたか？ (asked her about the Leica camera that she used) 高柳: 楽しいです (yeah it was fun) 「まだ時間です！」 me: ... あいりちゃんフォローするよ！ツイータで (told her to follow Airin on Twitter) 「時間終わり」 高柳: はい！ Thankfully wasn't shambolic - I still had battle scars from 2 years ago when Churi was actually a little bit salty so this was an improvement. Three tickets definitely helped given my less-than-perfect Japanese conversational abilities. Lunch followed, but it was a long break as I finished my Churi handshake by 1:30 and wasn't due for my next slot until at least 3. Whilst yesterday was hell for my feet, this time I was a bit bored sitting down doing nothing. Slot 5: Suda Akari (x2) Some of my confidence from the Churi experience returned so i felt a bit more prepared going into my next slot with Dasu. During the break, she posted up a video on Google+ of her drinking the ramune from yesterday's 2-shot event... and failing at it when the fizz got to her So I went with that topic. But first: me: あかりちゃん！(my name)です 須田: :O (I think she got the message or finally realised by this point) me: 前回オロオロすぎるけど (told her I was a bit nervous the previous slot) 須田: 大丈夫！ me: ソフトドリンク飲むのが苦手のに… (あ: ?) … ググタスのビデオ… (told her about that video) 須田: 可愛いでしょ〜 ^^ me: .... (speechless from her cuteness) 「時間終わり」 me: 総選挙<発表>するよ！(supposed to be 投票 but my mind went blank a bit) 須田: <waved goodbye> Slightly better than slot 3 but still not at my game. Two slots gave me a bit more room to move in terms of margin for error. Then again, I think she might have known my spoken Japanese wasn't the best (I did give her fair warning though in previous fan mail) so resorted to more simplistic phrases with me. Possibly. Not overly fussed at the cock ups though, as I still had my post-election handshake event, where I would have more time with her than I had that day. Slot 6: Tani Marika (x1) With the important ones (i.e. ones that I actually needed to prep topics for) out of the way, time to chill a bit with some Tani. Except she was late returning to her lane. Why? Too busy harassing and hugging poor Non. Manager nearby didn't care though - he was laughing his ass off. A far more simple affair, I told her that I had fun at yesterday's 2-shots. She, being Tani, was definitely alive and kicking - she followed up with a よかっただよ and proceeded to hi-5 me (again ), said our byes and that was that. Will close off with a few miscellaneous observations: Today began the forceful drilling in of Coquettish Juutaichuu and all its couplings into my head. They set up the AKB48 Camera booth here, the same as yesterday at the 2-shot event. During the breaks, members do occasionally pop over and take a photo with one of four predefined sousenkyo poster designs. First saw Mikitty and Rumi take their photos. Mikitty was being a bit goofy as usual Next break, it was Kaotan and Annya's turn to visit. Was literally quite close to those two, despite the barrier (I'd say less than a metre or so). In real life, Kaotan's not actually that tall - Annya dwarfed her, not helped by her stilettos. Pretty hilarious though, as Kaotan hid her bangs ('cos it exposed her baldness a bit) whilst Annya died laughing at Kaotan. For the next photo, they tried finding and asked whether any of us had any Kaotan or Annya fan goods, of which a few nearby lent their stuff to those two. Which made for another silly photo. (They're up on Facebook by the way - search for the AKB48 Camera page in their second photo album). Recognised a few part timers from yesterday's 2-shot event. Must've been a two day part time contract service. (Hidaka) Yuzuki have some very dedicated wota. Lanes almost always go overtime (not as bad as Soda's though) and, in standard handshake event tradition, zerg rush at the very last minute immediately before the lanes close for the slot's end. Rena wore specs in the morning but took them off slot 4 onwards. Didn't know Azumarion did too. I think Ayachan overdid her makeup. More events mean more photo packs and more yen down the drain. This time, I bought a change of clothes. Wasn't going to risk the slight awkwardness of wearing a 3rd-gen (SKE48) T-shirt walking into Churi's (2nd-gen) or Tani's (ex-HKT) lane. Overall, considered this a practice run before the next SKE48 handshake event two weeks later. Whilst I would have preferred it to be a bit smoother conversation wise, I think I let my nerves get the better of me. Plenty of time to fix myself up before 14 June though, what with the election aftermath and all. Lessons learnt. SKE48 Coquettish Juutaichu HS @ Intex Osaka - 14 June 2015 Spoiler: length This was going to be my final handshake event for a while so unlike two weeks ago, I couldn't really afford to stuff up. Compound that with what happened during the election the week prior and therefore I prepped my topics early at the airport the previous day. First time at Intex, and immediately the venue struck me as older, a little bit more worn out than Big Sight. Again, I arrived at the venue early to get my tickets validated with no issues (apart from a minor inconvenience of having no mu-mo staff around at the info desk until 8:50-9am). With that and brunch done, it was time. Slot 3: Suda Akari (x2) The problem with Dasu's handshakes is that I need time to digest what she was wearing - more often than not, it's always something rather cute-looking so I end up being thrown out of whack. Gingham dress with twin tails today and nails painted white. This time, I took my conversations at a bit slower pace so I have less chance of screwing up: me: 二週間前久しぶり！ 須田: 久しぶり！ me: 先週のコンサート会場であかりんの笑顔見て、安心したと嬉しい〜 (was relieved that she was smiling quite a lot at last week's concert) 須田: ありがとう！ me: 人間須田のことはどうやって変わりますか？(in short, in her blog posts following the election, Dasu determined that she was going to do a bit of a "reset" and change, so I asked how...) 須田: うん… これから笑顔を見てね〜！(...which, frankly, didn't quite answer the question but I'll accept that) You could clearly tell she still wanted to make us fans happy despite all the emotional s***storm from last week. The last thing she wanted to hear from us was about how sad and apologetic we were at the election result, so the least we could do was avoid those topics. Going into this slot, I was honestly a little worried whether her handshakes would be impacted by her determination to "change" and become more "human". Glad to say she's still as warm and bubbly as old times. Slot 4: Takayanagi Akane (x3) With Dasu out of the way for the time being, it was time for another trip to good ol' Churi's lane. Today, she looked a bit more normal. Also a little bit more chatty, too, because as soon as it was my turn...: 高柳: <points at my shirt> あ！コアラ！(...yes, I wore that Australia T-shirt again) me: 二週間前久しぶり！ 高柳: 久しぶり！ me: 総選挙選抜ランクインおめでとう！(congrat'd her election result) 高柳: あ！ありがとうございます！ me: 最近愛李さんと合いましたか？(whether she managed to catch up with Airin recently) 高柳: ないです、仕事から忙しいですけど、(ちゅり)名古屋に来ないですよ (unfortunately not as she has been rather busy with various work commitments and hasn't been back to Nagoya for a while) me: そうですね〜 me: 来週後オーストラリアに帰ります。(told her I'm returning back to AUS after next week) 高柳: <points at shirt again> あ！ オーストラリア！ 高柳: 気をつけてね！またね〜！ Surprisingly a bit more chatty this time. Preparation did help, though, as well as having chosen a more interesting topic closer to her heart (Airin). More than satisfied with the result, another long break followed before slot 5. Slot 5: Tani Marika (x1) An easy handshake. I personally don't bother with preparing for Tani's handshakes; spontaneity works best here. After lunch, she came out with a towel on her forehead. At first, I thought she might have been unwell, but her very random (but so very Tani) acts over the rest of the day put to rest that idea somewhat. me: 谷！ 谷: おお！元気ですか？ me: 元気です！ 総選挙初ランクインおめでとう！(congrat'd her election result) 谷: ありがとう！！！<another hi-5> yeaaaaaa me: じゃ、またね〜！ 谷: またね! thank you~ Tani's lanes are usually quite empty after the first 10 minutes or so. This made for some interesting... entertainment, for lack of a better word, as I will explain later. Slot 5: Suda Akari (x2) The rest of the day was all dedicated to Dasu. This time, I went with the topic of her studying Mandarin Chinese (as seen on Zero Position). me: また来たよ〜！ 須田: ありがとう！ me 中国語の勉強することはどうですか？ 須田: 難しいですね〜 でも、話すこと楽しみですよ! (it's hard, but I'm enjoying it) <I think I mumbled something here but it came out a bit garbled> 「時間です！」 me: 我愛你！ 須田: 我愛你！ Dasu is a bit like an emoticon at times. And at times, she had that look of listening to me intently and waiting patiently trying to wait for me to finish composing my sentence despite my crap Japanese. Slot 48: Yuasa Hiroshi (x5 minutes) This wasn't planned. Yuasa came out for a bit and observed us from afar for a while. He initially tried beckoning us to come over, but most of us weren't keen on jumping a few barriers to get to his lane booth. Later, the staff and security decided to open up a dedicated "handshake" lane for him, complete with his own lane sign. "Lane 23 (there were 22 lanes for the regular girls). Slot 48, ゆあたん. No allocated time limit". Oh, and the official photographer came over to his lane and took some happy snaps, just like he would for the rest of the other regular members Suuchan's lane was right next to his one, so when she had some spare time (of which she had plenty given her lanes were somewhat empty at times) she came over and joined in the conversations. Because there was no time limit, not only were the queues fairly long for a 53yo theater manager bloke but it took a while before it was my turn. Few bonuses though: he offered drinks for us (iced tea) during the conversations and we also could take 2-shots with him. Few points from my conversation: Yuasa used to live in Sydney (Manly) before SKE48. As such, he was the only one who asked which city I came from. He's also been to Hamilton Island. Noticed my shirt, immediately figured out why I was wearing it. Chatted about Dasu - why I liked her, her election result, etc. Complimented me on my IRL occupation (surprisingly). Raised the point that many (foreign) fans are waiting for new stages. Unfortunately, he, like every one else, wishes Aki-P would hurry up and find time to finish them They actually still check for Super Enpou applications, believe it or not. Because it took me a while to finish with Yuasa (given I was delayed by the previous people), I had to rush over to Dasu's lane. Slot 6: Suda Akari (x3) This was one of my more important slots, and given the topic at hand I absolutely needed all three tickets worth of it. 須田: おかえり！ me: 実は、来週後オーストラリアに帰りますので、今回は最終回に会えます。次回の会える時分からない 悔し… どうしよう…？(told her I'm leaving AUS after next week and I don't know when I'll be able to come back so this will be my last time seeing her) 須田: (seeing Dasu's saddened face killed me) 須田: <squeezes my hands very tightly> ちゃんとギューとしてですよ (...as if she didnt' want to let me go) me: ........ 「時間です！」 me: もう1枚ですよ 須田: ok!! This is why she's my oshimen. She values her fans quite a lot. Of course, many other members say that too but only a few actually carry it out through in action. Definitely will not be forgetting my moment in this slot for months or years to come. Light dinner followed during the 30min break. There's only so much you can buy at an exhibition center that isn't as well equipped as Big Sight. Slot 7: Suda Akari (x1) Final slot of the day. This time, given I only had a single ticket I decided to wait it out until close to the end of the slot time. me: 最終です。最後のメッセージ教えてください！(tl: any last words?) 須田: 今日? (me: うん) <whispers> 大好き！ me: ...... (smitten) me: またね〜！ 須田: bye bye! Short but oh so sweet. Ultimately, I did what I needed to do and I was happy with the results overall. As an added measure, I stayed until the very end and bid farewell to her (the Japanese wota term it おみおくりする as I later found out) along with all the fellow Dasu wota who were around. We were not expecting anyone to slip through just before her lane gate closed for the day, but this strange fellow wearing what appears to be temple garments and a giant duck hat took the line honours of being the last person Dasu met for the day. It was quite funny - some of the Dasu wota around me were also contemplating when exactly to use their final tickets, and noticed mine as well. At the end, this being Dasu, she appeared to be very grateful that we came to see her and thanked us and all, particularly given the events of last week. A few of the wota commented that during their handshakes, she popped in a few dirty jokes. Which was probably evidence of how she was going to change to become more "human" Later, some of the wota tried to chat with me, asking me where I was from etc. They were very surprised and impressed when I told them I was from Australia and came all the way to see Dasu (and yes, they did notice my shirt). Foreign Dasu wota going to these events must be quite rare - Stage members, step up your game! (Few days later, I got a message on Twitter and suddenly realised that one of them that I met at the end I was actually following on Twitter for quite some time. Small world!) Other tidbits: About Tani. Her lane was right next to Dasu's so I was able to observe all her antics whilst waiting for the end. Let's just say she makes for some great waiting entertainment: Compared to Dasu's, her lane does become empty for some time. What does she do? Wanders off to adjacent members' lanes (particularly Non's. Again.) and starts harassing them. Only now does someone walks into her own lane, and yet she hasn't returned. When she does realise it though, she quickly rushes back in an "oh shi-!" manner. Got worse when she walked over to Yuasa's lane (which was much further away), and the sprinted back when she noticed someone came into her own lane. I think I saw one of the managers noted this to her, but don't think she quite got the message... Tani wota are a funny lot. If I didn't manage to pick up one of her antics, they certainly will, and will most certainly troll her. There was still around 10-20 minutes before the lanes technically finished for the day, yet she climbed up to the platform and acted as if it was the end. Everyone was like "too early! too early!", supported by the fact someone rocked up into her lane moments later. The aforementioned towel. Clearly not "unwell" when she was putting it over her eyes and randomly playing with it. After most of the breaks, Dasu and Rena walk out and chat together to go to their lanes. (Sorry JR shippers ) Saw Masana getting overly excited when someone's little few years old daughter comes to see her. In stark contrast to Tani, Uha clearly looked bored and tsun as when her lane starts emptying close to the end. Ayachan's makeup still looked overdone. Buck-toothed Soda with slippers does look kinda cute. Also explains the immense lines, as expected. Kaotan advertised her NHK radio show outside her lane with a sign, and also didn't want to talk about (something related to) the election - couldn't quite make out what it was exactly though. Minor trivia point, but the overhead announcements are not pre-recorded - there's a lady that comes out with a mic behind the scenes that does all the lane and slot announcements. Saw the famous Yagi-san (one of the beloved SKE48 managers) popping up here and there. By now, I must have heard Coquettish and all its couplings more than dozen over times. Ingrained in my head like flies to a web, particularly the DIRTY brainwashing. At least its better than two years ago with Eien Pressure. Overall, a tinge of sadness but I have no regrets. I would later eventually follow it up with a more comprehensive letter to Dasu the following week but I conveyed what I needed to convey to her and I think she got the message. Eight Dasu tickets in a day was definitely invaluable. Of course, Churi and Tani rounded up the rest of the day's entertainment neatly. Those two will prove to be mainstays for the foreseeable future. Consider it a job accomplished.
Hey were you by any chance the Australian guy I helped out at the SKE theatre a few weeks ago? I'm staff for SKE48 (the only white girl, heh) and also from Australia!! Well, even if it wasn't you, glad you enjoyed the HS events! Nice to have fans from Australia visit!
Thanks for all the reports, chewybacca. Sounds like you had a great few weeks. I laughed out loud when you described your airplane encounter. Is it weird that I'd rather have an untimed conversation with Yuatan than a handshake with any member except for my oshi?
I did visit the SKE48 theater a few times this trip, actually (not my first time - went there 2 years ago when I actually won something). Except the first time I went this time round was when the lobby was free to enter (during the sousenkyo period) and the other time was a theatre show but I didn't win so I just watched it on the monitor. Didn't see any non-Asian looking staff though unfortunately. That also probably explained why I suddenly saw notices in (admittedly grammatically incorrect) English posted around the theater lobby
Ah ok! Yeah that's a shame.I only worked a couple days during that week before the SSK. I told the managers about the bad grammar by the way! I fixed one of them into perfect English (the one about recording ) but the others that were up about the SSK poster photography got left alone (despite my insistences on the contrary, heh). I don't know why they didn't just ask me to begin with. Oh well. Shame you didn't get to see a show. Maybe next time!
On August 11th I attended the Mae Nomeri Individual Handshake Event at Port Messe Nagoya. This was my 2nd SKE HS, my 3rd 48G HS and 4th event. Overall, it was a great time, I met a lot of members and had a very relaxed day. After the harrowing time I had at the Halloween Night sign event last month, this redeemed handshakes for me – I think I much prefer sister group events. Where even looping once or seeing two members was practically impossible at Makuhari, seeing four members was easily doable here. I arrived during Block 1 and got my tickets stamped with no delay. The crowd was very thin. My first handshake was during Block 2, so after getting my ticket stamped, I headed to Shibata Aya's lane, ending up around the 4th or 5th in line. (All conversation was in Japanese unless otherwise specified) Spoiler: block2 Block 2 Shibata Aya: I've wondered what it would be like to look into Aya's eyes for a while. However, I was surprised to notice that it's less terrifying than I thought it would be. Her eyes look much more normal (though still big) in person. E: Good morning! It's nice to meet you! A:Nice to meet you. E: I came from New York. A: New York! (pondering) Your Japanese is good, isn't it. E: Not at all. (jikan desu) Honestly, the conversation was the standard foreign fan contents. I've learned not to expect more from a first meeting, especially on one ticket. As I walked away, Aya-chan made a heart sign with her hands and extended it out toward me. I don't consider myself a gachi-koi kind of fan, but I will admit, I may have skipped a beat there. I proceeded directly to Sae's line after meeting with Aya, but I didn't need to have hurried. Her line was shockingly empty. So empty that she was sometimes having to wait in between fans. I knew that Sae was more popular in Tokyo than in Nagoya (her line was short last time as well), but this was pretty disheartening. So I walked right up, not really knowing what I was going to say. E: Hisashiburi! S: Hisashiburi! How have you been? E: Good! I really wanted to go to Adrenaline no Yoru, but it was on a weekday How was it? S: I messed up my lines. E: Did you read the script beforehand? S: Who? Whoops. I guess she heard me wrong. I tried the same thing again.... S: Huh? (jikan desu) Damn. And to think I'm in an advanced language institute that trains diplomats and professors. That said, perhaps I'd be just as hard to understand in English. Spoiler: block3 Block 3 I finished early in Block 2 and had ample to time to grab some goods. After that, I pre-queued into my ni-oshi Minarun's line. Oba Mina E: Hisashiburi O: Thank you! E: How was the special stage? O: Which one? E: Both. O: The 7th anniversary? It was so much fun. Everyone cried. E: Weren't you tired doing the midnight stage as well? O: The midnight one was also fun! (flexes her bicep) I find HS with Minarun very enjoyable because she's a very calm presence. Just steady eye contact and easy conversation. Uchiyama Mikoto After the leader of KII, I went to see the vice-leader! I really like Mikotti and wish she would get a fair shake from management. She clearly has a decent following in Nagoya, as her lane was pretty crowded for her one slot. Like Sae, she's an ikemen idol with a ton of female fans. E: Hisashiburi M: Oh, you came before, right! E: Yes, to the sign event. M: Thank you! E: You're going to be on the radio tonight? M: That's right E: What time? M: 9:00! E: I'll be listening. (jikan desu) M: Thank you! Send in a comment! Bye bye! I really like Mikotti's Kansai dialect and very casual way of speaking. It makes you feel at ease. Miyazawa Sae I was pretty down after screwing up during the last Sae HS, so I came with a line prepared. S: Welcome again, thank you! E: Actually, I've been worried lately. S: Oh no, what is it? E: Whenever Sae is in front of me, I lose all my Japanese skill! S:Oh, you speak very well. (in English) Good job (jikan desu) Holding back laughter, I was ushered away. Spoiler: break After this I had a lunch break, as I didn't manage to get tickets for the Kenkyuusei I had wanted to meet. Sitting outside for lunch, I just happened to run into a fellow Sae-oshi (and also Minarun ni-oshi) I had met at Toyota Stadium and some of his friends. We sat together and actually ended up talking for about two hours. A great thing about these events is how easy it is to talk to people – a rare treat in Japan. In my case, the only difficulty is that most people assume I can't speak Japanese until I start speaking to them. My new friend offered me some advice about issues I'd been having with the Ticket Center (suggesting I delete my account and create a new one in case there was something wrong with the registered info). He also talked about his family (surprised to learn that he was married with two daughters, one my age) and things to do in Nagoya. The time flew until it was time to go back in for Block 4. Spoiler: block 4 and 5 Block 4 Miyamae Ami I love to watch Ami in theater stages, but I wasn't sure what to say to her. Especially given her drop from Senbatsu recently, I felt a little awkward walking in. E: Hi! It's nice to meet you. A: Thank you... (jikan desu) E: I watched your seitansai. A: Thank you... So this is shio-taiou... I really don't blame Ami, as I'm sure she was nervous to meet a foreigner and I have no idea what kind of day she was having. I'm coming to realize that first meetings will probably always suck if the member is unaware that I can speak Japanese. (the wotas suggested I make a 日本語ＯＫ badge) Tani Marika: I'd had two underwhelming handshakes with Tani in a row, so I'm not sure why I bought this ticket, but away I went... When I walked into the lane, Tani lit up and started pointing at me and shouting. E: Hisashiburi! T: When did you come (to Japan)? E: (confused) I was here the whole time... T: Then come to see me more!!!!!!!!! E: OK, OK! ^_^ Now this was the Tani I had been expecting. I think to have a good HS with Tani, you have to match her pace. In this one, she was the tsukkomi, so I had an easy time of it. I stepped out of the venue and got a drink and a rest, and headed back in for my last handshake. Block 5 Matsumura Kaori I like Kaotan. She does a great job of smashing the idol image and except for Sae and Minarun's rank, I was happiest about her entry into Senbatsu this election. But... K: Ohayou!! E: Ohayou?? K: It means good morning E: That's not the issue, it's 4:30! K: Oh you're right, it is the afternoon! Do you have today off? E: It's Sunday... I don't have classes on Sunday? K: Really? I didn't know! So yeah... that was kind of weird. Very Kaotan. I was confused enough that I didn't stick around for Kaotan's famous move where she grabs on to your hands and gets pulled along with you at the end. After this I met up with the wota from before again, who told me they had mentioned me to Sae, and told her that I could speak Japanese really well. Apparently she responded that I had told her I couldn't speak it at all... I guess my meaning didn't get across so well. This was a pretty good relaxing day. I made a trip of it and saw a Team Syachihoko (recommended by the way) concert in Hamamatsu, but I really should curtail my trips to Nagoya as the Shinkansen is very expensive. That said, I have decided to limit my attendance at AKB big handshakes, as I don't find them very fun, and I would prefer to save my time and money. I do like many AKB members, but I am taking 2-shots with them in March. Maybe I'll try a Zenkoku for AKB.
If you'd like to read the reports in the original, look on my twitter! I have all the conversations written down there.
Really surprised that you had a bad experience with Anmi. She was awesome when I saw her for shamekai (one of my best) and my friend put her as his best interaction when he saw her at HS a month ago...
I think it was probably just an off day combined with me not making it clear that I could understand her. After all she is still injured and was left out of senbatsu again.
