Summer Trip 2024: June 22 – July 8
It’s been five years since I’ve gone to a summer J-Pop festival and I really wanted to go to one this year. I know the negatives of these events: the extreme heat and sun exposure, the annoyance of overlapping timetables, and the diminishing returns of spending an entire day going from stage to stage and then repeating that the following day. Despite the negatives, the experience is unique and can’t be replicated by normal concerts.
There are several options for idol festivals in July: NATSUZOME in early July, SPARK in mid July, and Sekigahara Idol Wars near the end of July. I chose NATSUZOME because it’s earlier in the month when the weather is a little milder. I also wanted my trip to end in early July so I could return home several weeks before the school year begins.
| June 21 Friday | My ANA flight was very early morning (1:20) and I would arrive at Haneda Airport at 5:00 the next morning. |
| June 22 Saturday | My first day was busy and I spent a long time going over things beforehand to make sure my schedule was realistic. I had to pick up my sim card at Tokyo Station, register my Japanese phone number with Ticket Dive, purchase several concert tickets, purchase a shinkansen ticket to Osaka, check into my hotel in Roppongi, go to JamsCollections Pop-Up store in Shibuya, and attend two concerts, one in Saitama and the other in Shinjuku. A direct flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo is 12 hours and is made worse by the flights always being completely full. I watched two good Japanese movies (All the Long Nights and SILENT LOVE, and some of the black and white version of Godzilla Minus One. I had already watched the color version in the theater, so I just watched a little out of curiosity). I tried to sleep the rest of the time, but sleeping on a plane is difficult. After landing, getting through the airport, and withdrawing money, I went to Tokyo Station to collect my sim card. Lately, I have been using an esim through Ubigi, but this trip I needed a physical sim with a Japanese phone number to fully unlock my Ticket Dive and Rakuten accounts. Ticket Dive is particularly important since Heroines uses them for their tickets and most concerts require a registered Japanese phone number. I used Mobal since they provide Japanese numbers. I could have collected the sim at Haneda and kept things simple, but the reception counter didn’t open until 10:00. The reception at Tokyo Station opened at 8:30, so I chose that location since I wanted to set up my Ticket Dive account as soon as possible. It turned out to not even matter, since I had to wait until 10:00 for Mobal to even begin sim activations. I was naive to think my account would be immediately activated once I picked up the sim card. While waiting for activation, I purchased a shinkansen ticket to Osaka at the JR ticket center, which I would use the following day for an iLiFE! sponsored show. Next, I went to my hotel in Roppongi to check my luggage (it was only 11:00 and check-in wasn’t until 15:00). While at my hotel, my sim was activated and I registered my Japanese phone number with my Ticket Dive account. This process was all new to me, so I went slowly in order to not mess anything up. Once set up, I purchased a Heroines Fes ticket, which I had been concerned would sell out. Day tickets were available for Paradeeq Paradise and I purchased a ticket for that as well. That concert began at 13:00, but I didn’t need to arrive until 14:30, since I wasn’t interested in the early performances. At this point, I should have registered my phone number with Rakuten to purchase a ticket to QUEENS final tour, but I completely forgot because I neglected to write this on my schedule. I ended up purchasing a ticket several days later. Next, I went to Shibuya 109 for JamsCollection‘s Pop-Up store. The store opened the week before and was closing the next day (Sunday). Since I was going to Osaka on Sunday, today was my only chance and I had to go immediately because the rest of my day was full. Last year, I went to their Pop-Up store in Osaka and was annoyed/devastated that the Koto cushions had sold out. This year’s product lineup wasn’t as interesting, and I only wanted the Jams tote bag and something Koto-related. Upon arrival the menu board displayed practically everything had sold out. It was the second-to-last day, so I should have anticipated this. Jams management did apologize for the sell out situation though. Paradeeq Paradise: nonfic, iLiFE!, Yakousei Amuse, Task have Fun, Masshiro na Canvas, chuLa, Paradeeq, Akishibu Project @Japan Pavilion Hall 12:30/13 (SA2 Ticket Dive) After leaving Shibuya 109, I ate lunch at Kua Aina and researched the venue for Paradeeq Paradise. I was surprised it was in Saitama and would take an hour by train. Japan Pavilion Hall is located in a new shopping area called Sakura Town. When I arrived, it was striking how different Saitama feels compared to Tokyo, being a lot more residential and mellow. When I arrived at the venue, I went to the priority area which had rows of chairs set up. I sat in the third row on the aisle, which is my preference since I can slide into the aisle during performances for more space. It was a typical Heroines show and I was mainly interested in seeing nonfic and iLiFE. In particular, I was really excited to see Noa of iLiFE, since I became a huge fan of hers during my winter trip. The show was called Paradeeq Paradise because it was the pre-debut of Paradeeq, a previously-existing group that disbanded this year and was then acquired by Heroines and completely relaunched (similar to how Heroines acquired Akishibu Project, chuLa, and Ladybaby, and relaunched them with completely new lineups). Out of these four groups, I like Paradeeq the most, because I was an actual fan of Akishibu Project and chuLa, but I have completely moved on from both groups. Since I was never a fan of Paradeeq, they just seem like a new group to me and I already like several members, especially Roa. The concert was fun, but I continually experienced something extremely painful the entire time. It must have been a result of sitting for a 12-hour flight, followed by a lot of walking (through the airport, train stations, and Shibuya) and then the excessive jumping for nonfic and iLiFE, that my legs experienced extreme muscle spasms throughout the show. It was paralyzing pain. For several groups, I remained sitting, but then would get up for others. When I would sit down, my muscles spasmed violently and it was really painful. During a few performances, I was completely preoccupied trying to massage my leg muscles. I play a lot of sports and work out, so I am familiar with muscle cramping, but I had never experienced something like this before, especially not in a public place where I had to endure extreme pain without making a sound while being surrounded by strangers. The second concert that day was a 2-man with AngeReve and 2o to Sweet Bullet. It was in Shinjuku and was scheduled for 19:30/20:00 start. Paradeeq Paradise ended at 18:15 and I arrived in Shinjuku Station at 19:20. The venue was Shinjuku Holiday, a very small live house that I had never been to before. It’s near Shinjuku Blaze, but I always have a difficult time navigating Shinjuku. When I arrived, it was opening time and the place was really underground. It was literally underground (2F basement) but the vibe was also really underground. The venue was surrounded by host clubs and similar establishments and I didn’t feel comfortable being there. I descended to the 2F basement and there were several indie idol groups packing up their luggage as there had been a day show at the venue, and the buppan was still finishing with a small group of remaining fans and idols. I couldn’t find the event space for Ange Reve/2o, and there wasn’t a queue or staff present. I wanted to see AngeReve, but it felt way to underground for me and I decided to leave because the more I ventured into the place the more uncomfortable I felt and this had already been a long day. QUEENS also had concerts in Nagoya today as part of their final tour. They used Rakuten smartphone tickets though, which are impossible to purchase without a Japanese phone number. Had they used LivePocket like they do for their teiki koens or a Rakuten paper ticket, I would have gone and my first day schedule would have been completely different. |
| June 23 Sunday | NAMBA LiFE!: iLIFE!, nonfic, iLiFE! Kohosei, Yakousei Amuse, Antherium, Babababambi, others @Zepp Namba 10:30/11:15 (S176 Ticket Dive) Looking back, this concert wasn’t completely necessary to attend. It was basically a Heroines Fes, which of course is a good thing, but going all the way to Osaka for a taiban is excessive. The main reason I purchased a ticket was because of the issue with Ticket Dive requiring Japanese phone numbers for most Heroine concerts. This ticket didn’t have the requirement, so I immediately made the purchase because I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to buy most tickets for anything Heroines related (nonfic, iLiFE, and Gagapiero). Strangely, a few days after I purchased a ticket, they updated the ticket and now required a registered phone number. I think it was a website error that the ticket didn’t have the requirement from the start. Initially, I thought I was really lucky to purchase the ticket before the update, but then I started wondering if they would cancel the tickets that were purchased by accounts without phone numbers. Fortunately this never happened. I booked a shinkansen for 8:30 and it arrived at Shin-Osaka at 11:00. I then had to take another train to get to Zepp Namba. I had been at Zepp Namba the year before for a JamsCollection concert and recognized the area. It was raining when I arrived and I purchased an umbrella at Family Mart. I didn’t need to get to the concert until 12:30 for iLiFE Kohosei (the trainee group with members competing to join iLiFE!) so I had time to waste. I am a fan of Mai, Onpu, and Belle, and I was really excited to see them. I wanted to see them just as much as nonfic and iLiFE. After watching them perform, it became clear to me that my favorite is Belle. Unfortunately, she is currently ranked last out of the six members and therefore unlikely to win. The new member(s) will be revealed at a concert on July 31. It is an almost certainty that Mai will rejoin the group, since pretty much all iLiFE fans want her back. Onpu reminds me of Misa, the miracle member who should have joined PASSPO back when they were auditioning new members. Yes, I still think about this. And it still bothers me that Misa didn’t get added to the group and she ended up joining Stereo Tokyo, a group that went nowhere. Her career would have been completely different had she joined PASSPO. After Makoto graduated, they needed someone like Misa. I can’t believe I am still ranting about this 12 years later. |
| June 24 Monday | Idol Content Expo 12th Anniversary: JamsCollection, Qumali Depart, iLiFE! Kohosei, Gagapiero, Merry Poppin, My Dear Darlin, Task have Fun, Shissou Crayon @O-East, O-West, duo, Ring, others 13/14:00 (S30 LivePocket) Nonfic teiki kouen Vol 2 @Veats 18/18:30 (A29 Ticket Dive) Time conflict: QUEENS Hikaru birthday @Ebisu CreAto 18/18:30 This was a complicated day and I am fortunate that everything worked out. There were three shows I wanted to go to involving JamsCollection, nonfic, and QUEENS. Jams and nonfic were in Shibuya while QUEENS was in Ebisu. Their show was also a birthday concert for Hikaru, which are my least favorite type, so logically that was out. Nonfic had a teiki kouen at 18:30 and Jams was performing at Idol Content Expo at 19:50 about five minutes away. Seeing Jams is my number one priority and I wasn’t 100% sure that nonfic’s show would be over in time. Most likely it would be an hour long, but it was possible it could go 90 minutes. I researched Vol 1 of their show and they performed 10 songs. That’s an hour show, but sometimes groups add filler and if it went long, I would have been trapped because you can’t just leave a show before it’s over, especially if you are in the priority area. I’ve also never gone to a solo nonfic show (it’s always been a Heroines Fes or taiban), so I really wanted to go (I also had a great ticket number since Ticket Dive didn’t require a registered phone number for this concert). Unfortunately, there was no way I could 100% guarantee that their show would finish before Jam’s timeslot. For this reason, I actually decided to skip nonfic’s concert. I am lucky there was nothing at Idol Content that I was interested in during that period, because the day of the concert, I spontaneously changed my mind and went to nonfic’s show. The lineup for Idol Content Expo was pretty weak considering they had booked the entire Shibuya circuit for the event. I started at Shibuya Ring for the duo Merry Poppin. I’ve been a fan since their debut last year, simply because I like the two members. Because they are an unknown group, they usually perform at very underground shows, the type I wouldn’t go to. Seeing super-indie groups is only possible for me when they appear at shows like this. Which is why I was hoping Arakashi would get added to the lineup, so I could finally see Mirua, a former member of JamsCollection who was my co-favorite along with Koto. I went to O-West next for iLiFE Kohosei and Gagapiero. Afterwards I left Idol Content to go to nonfic‘s concert at Veats, which was down the street. Leading up to the concert, Nonfic members had been using their SNS accounts to hype the new song they would be performing in order to get fans to attend. Upon entering Veats, staff asked our favorite member. I said Haruka several times but the girl either couldn’t hear me or understand, so I said Touka, since it is easier to say her name loudly. I’m not sure if she was listening for last names, unfortunately I don’t know their last names. I’ve been in this situation before where I am asked for my oshimen and I will only say the first name. At a Jams Collection concert last year, I was asked for my favorite and I said “Koto.” The girl looked at me confused and said “Sayaka?” I said Koto again and finally it made sense to her. Thinking back, am I supposed to say “Koto-san” or “Kagura-san”? I had priority ticket #29 which turned out to be second row. I purposely chose the left area because it would make exiting the floor easier when it was over. The entire show, the timing of my exit was on my mind. The show was extremely fun and easily my all time favorite nonfic experience. They performed 12 songs, including the new song Love Getchu. The show ended around 19:35, and I had ~15 minutes to get back to O-East. It took five minutes for the floor area to clear and it was really awkward when it became apparent I was the only person in the entire audience who was leaving and not staying for the after party. Once I finally got out of Veats, I had less than 10 minutes to get to O-East. I ran most of the way and made my way to the Priority Area as Task have Fun was finishing their last song and only a few minutes before Jams took the stage. I got to the 2nd row, but on the side, because the front area was packed. This was my first time seeing Jams in their mint outfits and hearing their new SE. The new SE is great, but the original was iconic, so I have mixed feelings about it. The mint outfits look much better in person than in photos. In photos the length of the dresses seemed too long, but in person they show a lot of their legs and the dresses are designed beautifully. Koto looked radiant and I gave her a lot of love and in return she healed my soul. They performed only four songs, Natsu Sora which is a new song and Ready -> Now, Blue Pedicure, and Summer Pop, which are all good songs, but they perform them way too often. Qumali Depart performed next and this was the first time seeing their 7 member lineup. My favorite member Mei graduated a few months ago and two new members were added. I was surprised how the floor cleared out after Jams and I was able to watch from the middle area. The last group I saw was My Dear Darlin at O-West. They were super hot as usual and their set was great. The only group I wanted to see but couldn’t was Shissou Crayon and unfortunately I wasn’t able to see them at all during this trip. |
| June 25 Tuesday | Orchestra Tokyo Country Road Tour Finale @WWWX 18/19:00 (S201 Rakuten) I entered the lottery for Orchestra Tokyo‘s tour finale on May 8 and didn’t find out my ticket number until June 23 when I collected my ticket at 7-11. It was really disappointing getting #201. There weren’t many more S tickets called after me, so my ticket was probably in the bottom 10% of lottery tickets. This was my first time at WWWX and you had to climb a flight of stairs to the fourth floor to get to the lobby. Then you walk down a different flight of stairs to the stage area on the second floor. A photobook of the groups new outfits was supposed to be given to S ticket holders at the entrance, but they changed this to the end of the show because they didn’t want to reveal the new outfits before the concert. I guess that made sense, but there was also an hour wait from the opening to the start time and the photobook would have been something to pass the time. The concert was fun and the new outfits were nice, especially Meicha‘s since her outfits always show off her legs. I don’t know the choreography to most of their songs so I didn’t interact too much. After the concert, I completely forgot to go to the merchandise booth to pick up the photobook. I was eating dinner at Yakiniku Like across from WWWX, when I suddenly remembered the photobook. |
| June 26 Wednesday | QUEENS, #2i2, Antherium, #Yo-yo-yo– 4-man @Womb 18/18:45 (A24 Rakuten) In contrast with my disappointing Orchestra Tokyo ticket, I got #24 for the 4-man sponsored by 2i2. I got front row on the left side of the floor for the entire show. I was pushing off the railing so much for jumps that I actually got several cuts on my hands. Seeing QUEENS and 2i2 from the front row was so much fun. This was a Top 5 QUEENS moment of all time. |
| June 27 Thursday | Heroines Fes: nonfic, iLiFE!, Gagapiero, TENRIN, iLiFE! Kohosei, My original plan was to arrive at the opening and see GILTY x GILTY at 11:00 and then Gagapiero at 12. I was just too tired to get up though; ever since I arrived earlier in the week I was going to concerts every night and going to sleep extremely late. It also turned out that Haruka didn’t perform with GILTY x GILTY because she wasn’t feeling well. She confirmed that she would still perform with nonfic though. So I ended up arriving at 13:00 for iLiFE Kohosei. I spent most of the day at O-East, never went to O-West, and finished at duo. In retrospect, at the end of the show, I should have gone to O-West for Yakousei Amuse and then i-Col at duo. I’ve never committed to Yakousei Amuse despite liking their lineup and music, mainly because they are nonfic’s closest rivals as the #2 Heroines group. I’ve finally started to like them though, but I didn’t realize this until later in the week. I actually had front row at O-East when they were about to perform and I left to go to the restroom (!) Speaking of front row at O-East, when I first arrived the Priority Area was mostly filled–at least it appeared that way from my vantage point. It turned out that the entrance of the Priority Area was just bottlenecked and when I watched iLiFE Kohosei, it was from this bottlenecked area. After they performed I went to the restroom, which is on the second floor. From the second floor I looked down at the floor area and saw that most of the right side of the Priority Area was empty because everyone was bunched up at the entrance. I realized I just needed to get past that initial blockade and the floor area completely opened up. When I returned to the Priority Area, I made my way through the bunched up entrance area and had front row at about the 3/4 segment of the stage for Gagapiero, AdamLilith, and TENRIN. I had been in the front row for about two hours at this point and I started thinking I could possibly have front row for iLiFE! and nonfic, who were closing. Front row for either of those groups at an event like this is not something I would have ever thought possible. I needed to go to the restroom again though, lol. (I really need to rethink chugging entire water bottles at concerts). So I missed Yakousei Amuse from the front row, but I caught some of their set when I returned and this is when it slowly started sinking into my mind that I could be a fan of theirs. When they finished, the area cleared out just a little, and I was able to get past the blockade again and got the exact same front row section I had previously. I had front row for iLiFE, Paradeeq, and nonfic!! I was giddy AF when iLiFE came on stage and I realized I was lucky on multiple levels. When the group lined up during their SE only six members came on stage. Ena and Luna had gone home earlier in the day due to illness. If I had achieved front row for iLiFE and Noa and Ice were absent, that would have been so cruel. So I was extra appreciative. They performed seven songs, and despite not performing my favorite song Love Code, it was magical. Nonfic performed eight songs including Love Getchu, which they debuted at their teiki kouen. It was so epically fun and I’m still shocked I got front row for both groups. I made a mistake by not leaving immediately after nonfic’s set ended though. I didn’t realize they were going to do a “Grand Finale” with all the Heroines groups on stage. But all the groups came on stage almost immediately and it was no longer possible to leave. So I missed most of My Dear Darlin at duo. I-Col closed the concert and this was the most fun I’ve had watching them perform. Looking at the timetable, I had made a second mistake though. I could have seen My Dear Darlin at duo and then switched to O-West for Yakousei Amuse and then returned to duo for i-Col. Instead, I stayed at duo and watched Nanimono after My Dear Darlin. That was kind of trivial though, iLiFE and nonfic had just healed my soul from the front row. |
| June 28 Friday | QUEENS Thankyou! The LAST TOUR @Space Odd (Shibuya) 18:30/19 (B100 Rakuten) Idol Koushien: Orchestra Tokyo, Gagapiero, Superbabys, others @Shinjuku Blaze 11:45/12 (A65 LivePocket) I ended up not going to Idol Koushien. Initially I was planning on just going in the morning for Gagapiero and Superbabys, but I would see Gagapiero the next day, so I scrapped it and slept in. Orchestra Tokyo performed at night, but I would be at the QUEENS concert. QUEENS used Rakuten digital tickets for their tour and tickets went on sale in May. Without a Japanese phone number, I couldn’t purchase a ticket until I arrived in Japan and activated my sim. And even then, I forgot to purchase a ticket immediately. It probably wouldn’t have made much difference being 45 days late or 40 days late, but my ticket number predictably sucked. Priority tickets had long ago sold out and I could only purchase a general ticket. Space Odd is a very small live house and in an area of Shibuya I had never been. It was raining that day and I got lost several times trying to locate the venue. During the concert, I was in the complete back area near the drink bar, but I enjoyed the concert as much as I could. They are a legendary group and they are disbanding, I had to keep that in mind. I was also going to see them at Idol Koushien the next day. They performed twenty songs, but there was no encore since the next morning they would be at Idol Koushien and then afterwards travel to Fukuoka for two shows. |
| June 29 Saturday | Idol Koushien: QUEENS, Gagapiero, 2i2, Orchestra Tokyo, Yakousei Amuse, Yoloz, others @Shinjuku Blaze 9/9:15 (A73 LivePocket) Ring Super Idol: Kankitsu Couverture, Charm Poche, others @Shibuya Ring 13:35/13:55 (A67 LivePocket) Idol Generation vol. 64 Early Summer SP: AngeReve, Hana Iroha, Say-La, others @Zepp Shinjuku (A74 Ticket Dive) Saturday was a busy and fun day with concerts at Shinjuku Blaze, Shibuya Ring, and Zepp Shinjuku. I also found out that Shinjuku Blaze is closing down at the end of July, after they lost their lease. That entire area of Shinjuku had been renovated so I wouldn’t be surprised if the building that Blaze and the next-door Family Mart occupies is demolished and rebuilt. My favorite memories of Blaze are the very first SUPER GiRLS concerts I went to in 2012, a lot of nostalgia from those concerts. I arrived at Blaze early for QUEENS and Gagapiero. My priority ticket was #73 and I was able to get 2nd row at the middle of the stage. QUEENS was originally scheduled for 11:30, but changed to 10:15, likely because they were headed to Fukuoka afterwards and needed more travel time. Yumemiru Adolescence was the opening act and they are completely different than the YumeAdo I used to be a huge fan of, but the members seemed nice and hard-working. Gagapiero performed second and I loved their set. I jumped around a lot for Miru and I declare this a Top 5 Gaga-P moment. QUEENS had two shows at Fukuoka later that day, had a concert the night before, and absolutely did not need to be here. They explained they wanted to do Idol Koushien in order to show their appreciation (they’ve performed at IK a lot over the years). They performed six songs and the floor space was packed. This would normally not be the case for a taiban this early in the morning. The atmosphere was electric and everyone fed off the energy. Afterwards, they received a really long ovation and it was obvious the group was touched and it was emotional for fans too. QUEENS gave love to Idol Koushien and Idol Koushien gaveth loveth to QUEENS. (Wait, what? Please delete that.) I can’t, I don’t know where the delete button is. This was definitely a Top 5 QUEENS moment! (How many Top 5 QUEENS moments do you have?) A lot. At least ten. I ended up staying for the next group Blacknazarene because they are kind of hot, and I appreciated their sexy outfits. I left Shinjuku and went to Shibuya for something relatively underground. This event was a late addition; I purchased the ticket the day before. I recently became a huge fan of an idol named Rima Hori from indie group Kankitsu Couverture. I only discovered her after randomly reading that she went to QUEENS Zepp concert and she raved about the group. I thought that was cute and browsed her posts and quickly realized she had a cool personality and was very sexy in a wholesome way. She is one of those idols who is way better than the group they are in. I also wanted to see a group called Charm Poche because of Hanna, who I only knew from Young Jump‘s Youtube channel. She is a halfie (I think British) and resembles Noa from iLiFE and I became an immediate fan. Fortunately for me, Charm Poche was the opening act at 13:55 and Kankitsu Couverture performed a few groups later, so I would be able to quickly see both and leave. Although it was an underground show, I really like Shibuya Ring and didn’t feel that uncomfortable being there. I got a front row spot on the first terrace (Ring has a floor area, and two or three terraces in a “ring” shape). Charm Poche was okay and Hanna was cute. Kankitsu was better and had decent songs. The group is “citrus” themed and has a lemon and lime team. Unfortunately, this meant that Rima was only on stage for half of their set, since each team gets equal performance time. She is beautiful and a great performer, and would benefit greatly from being in a higher profile group. Before going back to Shinjuku, I had lunch again at Yakiniku Like (the 2nd Shibuya location). It was busy and I was there longer than I planned, because I arrived at Shinjuku much later than I meant to. AngeReve was performing at 17:40 and I arrived at Shinjuku at 17:25, so I had to rush. And Zepp Shinjuku has a strange layout, so it took me a while to figure out where the stage was. Even though the venue is almost brand new (opened in 2023), it’s the worst Zepp in my opinion, tacky interior design and I am pretty sure it has the smallest floor space of any Zepp. I arrived a few minutes before AngeReve took the stage and they were great, but I wasn’t satisfied with my position on the floor. Attendance was a lot higher than I had anticipated. AngeReve is now a 4-member group, two long-time members recently graduated and a new member joined. The group is much hotter now, all four members are babes. The other groups I was interested in were Say-La, because I am a casual fan of one of the members, and Hana Iroha. I am still a fan of Rinka and Maina, but I liked both more last year when Rinka had blonde hair and Maina now has a bob cut, the enemy of mankind. (I thought leggings were the enemy of mankind.) After leaving Zepp, I considered returning to Blaze for #2i2, but decided to call it a day since I would see them a few days later. |
| June 30 Sunday | 4-man: nonfic, Yakousei Amuse, Merry Bad Tune, Nanimono @Veats Sigh, this could have been a great day. JamsCollection‘s Jam Drive Tour was in Nagoya today. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to purchase a ticket. I’ve had problems with tiget in the past and had more trouble. Earlier this year they started requiring a registered phone number; fortunately they allowed international numbers and actually had all the international presets (like “1-” for the United States). Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to receive the SMS confirmation code in order to register my phone. I would enter my phone number, but the code would never arrive. I went so far as to ask friends and family members to use their phone numbers for the SMS since there are multiple phone providers in the U.S. and maybe it was just an issue with my service. Nothing worked though and the first ticket lottery expired. A couple days later, I randomly tried again, but this time using my iPad. And of course, immediately I got the SMS! All of my previous attempts were through my PC and iphone. I was really happy that my account was registered and I could now buy tickets, but I was also annoyed because I missed the lottery over a tech glitch. A week later, there were a few S tickets remaining and I made an attempt the moment they went on sale. My attempt timed-out though and when I refreshed, the tickets had sold out. It was basically an instant sell out. |
| July 1 Monday | After nine days of concerts, I was very happy to have a day of nothing. |
| July 2 Tuesday | I went to Mori Tower Observatory at Roppongi Hills which was down the street from my hotel. I’ve been here before, but sadly, the outdoor observation deck is now permanently closed. The outdoor deck had the best view of Tokyo. |
| July 3 Wednesday | JamsCollection had a yukata mini-live and photo session. I considered purchasing a ticket, but yukatas don’t appeal to me at all. Does that make me weird? (No, that doesn’t make you weird. Having 20 Top 5 QUEENS moments does though.) The live was also only scheduled for 15 minutes. (That’s 15 minutes of Koto!) I wanted to go to Shibuya Sky, but tickets for every day of the rest of my trip had sold out. I should have purchased a ticket first thing when I arrived earlier in the week. After four days of no concerts, I was very not happy to have a day of nothing. |
| July 4 Thursday | QUEENS THE FRIENDS: PRSMIN, #2i2, Merry BAD TUNE., and Kolokol @Womb 17:30/18 (A111) Time conflict: iLiFE! Noa Birthday Live @Kanda Square Hall 16/17:00 After four days of nothing, I had to choose between iLiFE‘s birthday concert for Noa and QUEENS Friends concert. Even though I dislike birthday concerts, Noa is one of my favorite idols and objectively this was the superior concert. However, this was the VERY LAST TIME I WOULD EVER SEE QUEENS. Outside of JamsCollection performing in micro bikinis, nothing could compete with that. Despite entering the lottery, my ticket #111 wasn’t great. Every lottery I entered was disappointing: #201 for Orchestra Tokyo, #114 for Jams Sakaya birthday, and now this concert. In contrast, whenever I purchased a ticket that relied on buying the moment it became available, I got tickets like #29 for nonfic, #24 for 2i2/QUEENS, and #5 for AngeReve/2o. QUEENS FRIENDS concert was a collaboration with groups they consider friends (they used the Friends TV show font; I didn’t know there was awareness of that show in Japan). I’m sure they have a lot of other friend groups, but there could have been issues with timing. During the concert, QUEENS watched from the 2nd floor. I don’t know if the show sold out, but the place was packed and there wasn’t a lot of free space. I was in the 4th row for the entire show, near the middle. PRSMIN opened, followed by 2i2, and then Merry BAD TUNE. I’ve seen all three many times over the years. This is the first time I really liked Merry Bad Tune though. I’ve been a fan of Rito since her debut in Palet (PASSPO sister group) and then Worl’s End, but this was the first time I noticed Azusa. She is super cute and has perfect legs. Their material is just okay, but now that I like two members, that is enough for me to consider myself a fan of the group. Kolokol performed next and only two of the four members were present; two members were sick and couldn’t attend. QUEENS of course headlined and performed six songs. I was surprised they only performed six, but the concert was already over by 10 minutes (PRSMIN performed longer than scheduled, which pushed everything back.) Positives were “GET UP” which is somewhat rare and “Strelitzia,” but I was really hoping for “Wave” and “Palira,” since they didn’t perform those songs at any concert this trip. Slight negatives were “Orz” and “Dis;tortion” since neither are favorites of mine. Since it was so packed, I couldn’t jump that much for Emiry or Rina. Regardless, I was fortunate that I was able to see them four times this trip. They are a top group of all time and there are no current idol groups like them. |
| July 5 Friday | JamsCollection Sayaka Birthday Concert @O-East 17:45/18:45 (S114 Tiget) My priority ticket was #114 and there were only 120 total (the seats were numbered so it was easy to figure out). That meant my lottery ticket was in the bottom 5%! Numbered chairs are frustrating for several reasons: it reduces the floor space for moving around and every concert has no-shows. It’s dangerous to jump surrounded by chairs; I’m not going to risk an ankle injury, and this impacts the fun of the concert. My area also had rowdy fans who were all friends and had switched their seats. I followed their lead and moved my chair aside in order to create space, but when you’ve been to as many concerts as I have, it’s better to avoid fans like these since young people act worse when they are in groups. As a middle school teacher I see this all the time, and these fans changed the vibe of the concert for me. During the concert, Koto smiled at me several times. I don’t recall her ever making eye contact with me before and each time was special. They performed 22 songs [19 Jams songs (six were medley versions) including rare original-gen songs like “Koi to test to canned juice” and “smile x smile” plus two birthday unit songs and a solo by Sayaka]. For the entire concert, I had one penlight for Koto and one for Sayaka, since she is my second favorite. I should mention that my second penlight sucks and doesn’t have a functioning red light, so I couldn’t set both to red even if I wanted. Yellow glowsticks were handed out with instructions to activate during “LOVE desu” but few fans did. Maybe because most already had yellow penlights out for her. Although they performed 22 songs, I wasn’t satisfied. I needed more Jams. |
| July 6 Saturday | NATSUZOME Day 1: JamsCollection, iLiFE!, Takane no Nadeshiko, Orchestra Tokyo, Gagapiero, Devil ANTHEM., #2i2, My Dear Darlin’ @Kaihin Makuhari Koen (Chiba) (VIP 2 Day Ticket Rakuten) I didn’t have a lot of time to organize a perfect timetable for NATSUZOME because I was doing something every day (and even on off days I was busy taking multiple naps), but there were only four stages, so that simplified things. Touka also reminded fans that your health comes first. I already knew this though. I’m smart. I planned on arriving when the festival opened at 10:00, but I didn’t arrive until 10:30. There was a large crowd at the entrance that I had to make my way through to the VIP entrance. When entering, VIP holders received a token for the Main Stage contest and an ugly VIP shirt that had to be worn. I didn’t like this requirement and the shirt was also size XL, and I wear size S or XS. I started at one of the smaller stages called Somari in order to see Cinderella Sengen, Devil Anthem, and iLiFE. Even though it was the morning and a little cloudy, it was already hot. And I felt myself getting sick! Ugh, I hate that feeling because I can often predict when I’m getting sick. It starts with a sore throat every time. Being in the sun often makes me sick, which is why I told myself to avoid it as much as possible. And I did for most of the day, but the direction I faced at this particular stage was facing the sun so it was impossible. The only way to avoid the sun would have been to skip this stage, and I just couldn’t do that. This was my first time seeing Devil Anthem this entire trip and they were wearing cute, lime-green outfits that actually showed their legs for once. I jumped a little for my favorite member Kaede. I have been a fan of hers since she joined the group in 2017. Next was iLiFE and Luna was again absent due to illness. I noticed members of groups were absent often this trip, and I think a main reason is they are overworked with too many concerts every week. Nonfic and iLiFE perform five or six days in a row sometimes. (Although as a teacher I work work more than 80 days in a row sometimes, but it’s a different kind of work.) I jumped quite a bit for Noa and she smiled at me a few times. After they finished, I left the stage in order to see Gagapiero at a different small stage. One thing I noticed at Somori Stage, the VIP area had a lot more people than I had anticipated. From watching NATSUZOME footage from past years, the VIP sections had been practically empty, but it also depends on which group is performing. And that was the case when I saw Gagapiero at Natsu Stage. The VIP area had maybe 15 people. I jumped a lot for Miru since there was so much free space. I was only at that stage to see them and I changed stages again to Zome Stage for JamsCollection. Zome was the jankiest stage and Jams was part of a medley where groups only performed one song and then a new group took the stage and performed one song. The area was packed, including the VIP section. They performed Dokusen on Stage which is one of my least favorite Jams songs. Anything Jams related is fun though. At 12:10 I went to the main stage called Cho Stage for Orchestra Tokyo. The VIP section was mainly empty and I was in the 2nd row. I wanted to jump for Meicha, but it was too hot and it was becoming more obvious that I was getting sick, because my throat was feeling worse. After their performance, I purchased drinks at the drink booth. For both days, there were always long queues to buy a drink. And they sold out of water both days. Something like that should never happen, especially after they kept reminding attendees to stay hydrated. There had also been a warning not to bring in outside drinks, but a lot of people were. So, for Day 2, I brought two bottles of water. And I still ended up buying several more later. From 12:35 to 14:50, I relaxed in the tent area. This meant missing an iLiFE performance, but I was still able to see them because it was possible to see Natsu stage and the main stage from the tent. There wasn’t anything else high priority during this time period, so I just stayed in the tent area, watched the two stages, and drank a bottle of water and then a refreshing Aquarius, since they sold out of water. The tent area was ridiculously small though, basically five connected tents, with each tent being maybe 5×5 meters and it was completely filled with people eating, sitting, or sleeping. For the crowd size at NATSUZOME they needed at least two or three of these. The entire time I was in the tent area, in addition to watching the stages, I was shocked by the number of fans dancing and doing wotagei in the sun for hours on end. That is crazy to me, the heat was intense, not to mention the health risks of being in the sun for that long. At 14:50, I headed to Somari stage to see JamsCollection. After two hours of relaxing, it was time to have fun. The VIP area was packed, like it always was for popular groups, but I got to the 3rd row in the middle of the stage. Koto had twin-tails and looked gorgeous. They performed three songs including one of my favorite songs Ai ni. Koto has several solos and I jumped continually for her. She smiled at me multiple times, which healed, soothed, pampered, caressed, and nourished my soul like only she can. (Did she heal your cold?) No, she actually made things worse because my temperature kept rising and rising as I was watching her. (Alternatively, I could have written that she gave me a fever because she was so hot). This was the hottest part of the day, so after watching Jams, I went back to the tent area for more than an hour, from 15:20-16:30. Orchestra Tokyo, 2i2, and Charm Poche were performing at this time, but it just wasn’t worth it. As Touka mentioned, your health must come first! I may have overdosed on the tent area though. I was there a lot. Before going to the main stage, I saw My Dear Darlin at Zome stage at 16:30. Then I skedaddled to the main stage at 16:45 for Task have Fun. It started raining really lightly during their set and after they finished there was an announcement that because of possible lightning, all of the stages would be paused. I stayed at the main stage and it gradually started raining harder, but it was never that bad. I’ve seen footage of festivals continuing with much harder rain. The concern was lightning striking the metal frames of the stages and not so much the rain. It was really bad timing because JamsCollection, Takane no Nadeshiko, and Peel the Apple were still going to perform and there was a possibility that all the stages would be cancelled. Everything was on hold for about an hour. Finally, their was an announcement that all stages would resume, however if there were additional lightning or thunderstorm warnings, stages could be paused again or cancelled. The entire time during the delay, I just stayed in my 2nd row position at the middle of the stage. Because some fans had decided to go home, I probably could have gotten front row somewhere, but the entire day I was trying a new strategy of always watching from the middle. Front row from the side is better than 2nd or 3rd row in the middle though. I regretted not taking advantage of the rain delay to get a better spot. Peel the Apple were the first performers when things resumed and the stage was clearly wet, so I was worried that someone would fall. Although I dislike their music, I’m a huge fan of Kokone. Antherium performed next, followed by JamsCollection. This would be the last time I would see them this trip, so it was bittersweet. Initially, Jams was going to perform both days, but they ended up dropping out of Day 2. Koto had changed her hair to a ponytail, so adorable twin-tails Koto was replaced by sexy Koto. They performed four songs, but because of the delay and the setlist being mostly songs I didn’t prefer, it felt anticlimactic and my energy was completely opposite to how it was when I saw them a few hours earlier. Masshiro na Canvas performed next and when they finished, one of their members had fainted and needed to be carried off the stage. It looked bad, but the following day the group mentioned she was okay. Takane no Nadeshiko closed Day 1. Their set was fantastic and I jumped a lot for Erisa. Unfortunately, while leaving the main stage I somehow lost my JamsCollection penlight. I had it during Takane’s set since I was using it for Erisa, but when I exited the venue, I realized it was gone. So, I turned around and went back through the entrance, even though I wasn’t supposed to. I backtracked to the main stage using my iphone’s flashlight since it was night and the field was completely dark. It must have been when I was voting for the main stage competition that it fell out of my bag. I had taken the voting token out of my bag and that probably resulted in the penlight falling out, and since it was dark I didn’t notice. Jams no longer sells the penlight, so I will try to purchase a replacement on Mercari. Getting to the venue is an hour by train, and because of the rain delay, I got back to Roppongi around 22:00 completely exhausted. And a little sick. |
| July 7 Sunday | NATSUZOME Day 2: nonfic, iLiFE!, Takane no Nadeshiko, UNLAME, The weather for Day 2 was hotter and since I was a little sick, I scaled back my plans and skipped the entire morning. I arrived at 13:00 and VIP ticket holders were given a new shirt, also ugly and also size XL. Day 1 was black and Day 2 was white. Day 3 was going to be neon brown. (Editor’s note: there is no Day 3.) I wonder if Natsuzome is aware that a lot of money and resources could be saved by just handing out VIP wristbands instead of shirts. Before going to a stage, I went to the information booth to ask if there was a lost and found and whether my Jams penlight had been turned in. Unfortunately it hadn’t. I had shared so many sacred moments with Koto with that penlight. Irreplaceable moments. At concerts it was me, Koto, and the Jams penlight. Nothing else existed. And now the penlight had returned to the birthplace of idol. It was one with mother Earth. And even right now… somewhere it is resting. Unless a hobo is currently playing the drums with it. Because it was hot, I went back to my special place: the tent area. From the tent, I watched Devil Anthem and Yakousei Amuse on the main stage. How effing lame is that? At 14:15, I left the tent and went to the main stage for nonfic. It was time to jump around for Haruka, Touka, Nami, Marin, and maybe Colne. (What about Riho and Pichan?) No, do you know how hot it was? Remember Touka mentioned to take care of our health. Our health comes first. Always. That is what she told us. And I will never forget. Except when I was jumping nonstop for her during the hottest time of the day and I was sick. Their set was extremely fun, one of the most funnest ever, and I would see them again an hour later. I purchased several drinks and went to Natsu Stage for Hano Iroha, nonfic, and Rough Laugh. The VIP area was practically empty for Hano Iroha sadly. A lot more people gathered for nonfic and I was so close to getting front row, but it wasn’t meant to be. Their performance was great, but this stage was directly in the path of the sun, and that was a continual annoyance. Rough Laugh followed and I was shocked how few fans there were; most had left after nonfic. I left Natsu Stage at 16:00 and went to Somari Stage to see Takane no Nadeshiko. I arrived early and a group called SWEET STEADY was performing. I never heard of them, but immediately fell in love with the light-blue member. She was short, energetic, and super cute. Later, I did research and she was Yui, an idol I use to follow when she was in notall. I saw her in notall last year before she graduated and I assumed she retired. She is still super-long kawaaaiiiiii and good for her for being in a higher profile group now. Takane no Nadeshiko was great and Erisa not only continued to smile at me, she pointed at me multiple times. My theory for her behavior is since Takene doesn’t do meet and greets, this is the main way she can interact with her fans. I took a break and unintentionally missed half of Qumali Depart at the main stage. I’ve entered the casual fan era for them though, so I prioritized my health, like Touka told me to. It was 17:00 and I didn’t have anything planned until iLiFE at 18:00, so I took another break. I bought a drink and aimlessly wandered around, only vaguely conscious of the group that was on the main stage. There was very little crowd enthusiasm, and they were engaged in a long and cringy MC segment, clearly filling time, but I started to become drawn to them. They were a five-member group and were wearing casual yet sassy school-girl outfits. And there was a really cute meganeko in the group, which is one of my weaknesses, so I went back to the VIP area. Their style is dance-pop and they really stood out, because although there are hundreds of J-Pop groups, the scene is too concentrated in the same few types. Their name is UNLAME and I assumed it was a Japanese word pronounced un-la-me, but it’s actually the English words, un-lame, meaning not lame. Natsuzome didn’t even have them listed on the artist lineup, but they have a YouTube channel and their main stage performance was uploaded by multiple fan channels, allowing me to rewatch it. I really hope this group sticks around and continues to improve, because I need a replacement for the huge void left by QUEENS. Since debuting in 2023, the group has gone from seven members to six, and now to five, so I have to force myself not to become obsessed with them just yet. I really like them at the moment though. Candy Tune and Appare performed next and I am not a fan of either. I don’t want to write “hate” but it’s pretty much hate. During Candy Tune’s set, they performed the same song two times, because they forgot to tell the crowd to film the performance and share it online. It was so amateurish. Day 2 ended with iLiFE, and they were great, but I was mentally and physically checked-out at that point. Their performance overlapped with Yakousei Amuse at another stage, but the timing would allow me to catch the last five minutes of Yakousei’s stage. Well, that was the plan. Because Candy Tune performed the same horrible song two times, it pushed everything back five minutes, so seeing Yakousei’s last song was no longer possible. There was a Grand Finale at the main stage, but I decided to leave to beat the crowd and get back to Roppongi before restaurants started closing. While reflecting on the experience as the festival was still ongoing, my initial feelings were never again. Never again would I do a summer festival. There are too many negatives. Two weeks later though, despite getting sick, losing my Jams penlight, cutting a lot of performances because of the weather, and seemingly spending half the time in the tent area, I have mostly positive feelings about Natsuzome. Maybe not next year, but at some point, I would do this again. |
| July 8 Monday | When I booked my departure flight for 21:00, the intention was to go to a final show before going to the airport. Nonfic and iLiFE had placeholders on their online schedules for Monday, but as the days and weeks passed, this never amounted to anything, and eventually the listings disappeared from both of their websites. It was okay though, I wasn’t feeling well and I actually like spending time at Haneda airport, there are several good souvenir stores and restaurants. Maybe I had too much free time though because I clearly wasn’t as focused as I should have been because after printing my plane ticket at ANA’s kiosk, I walked away with my passport still on the reader (!) An hour later, as I was buying something, I realized my passport wasn’t in my bag. I looked in all my pockets, emptied my bag, and then searched my luggage. I retraced my steps to the kiosk and spoke with several ANA staff without luck. Afterwards, I went to the Information booth and I was so fortunate that someone had turned it in. That experience shook me for a long time. Being an idiot, I actually contemplated which was worse: losing my JamsCollection penlight or losing my passport. |
Koto Memories™ (This was initially going to be called KotoCollection™)
Movies Recommendations
NATSUZOME Timetables
Concerts
Front Row
Not Front Row
UNLAME photos I took at NATSUZOME
Miscellaneous
SUPER GiRL Talk 