Fall 2011 November 5-6: 9期 Bus Tour in Yamanashi
Above you can see my tour pass and the front of the pamphlet we were given at the start of the tour. In fact we were given a whole pile of materials as you can see. Among them, slips for voting for the best art project, a questionnaire sheet and a goods order form.
But I am getting ahead of myself. Before boarding the bus, I took a picture of myself ready to have a fun weekend with the Kyukkies.
For the duration of the tour, I was on Bus 2. We had a very cute, very young bus guide who at first glance picked out Riho as her favorite. As a demonstration of the kindness (not creepiness) of wotas, on Sunday it happened to be that bus guide's birthday, so on our way to events on the second day, the "captain" wota (seems to be known by most, I have never talked to him but have seen him around a lot) led us all in singing Happy Birthday. It was really sweet and made me feel really connected to everyone around me.
Back to the bus. Precisely at 8am we started on our way. Highways were of course crowded because it was a weekend, so traffic was stop and go for a while, but eventually we got moving at a steady pace. The first rest area we stopped at was too crowded to really get everything we needed done; along with toilet and buying lunch we were also told that 5-shots would be taken as soon as we got to Yamanashi so we needed to get ready for them there. I opted to put contacts in at the rest stop then grab out makeup pouch from my luggage and do makeup on the bus. It worked out well, mostly because I don't wear very much make up so "doing makeup" consists of nothing more than putting on concealer and eyeshadow. For girls who do much more than that, well they wouldn't dare leave the house without make up on so it seemed like all the other girls on the tour were already dolled up when they got to the bus meet up at 7:30. How they are able to get up and put make up on in the early morning is something I will never understand about most women here. And I do mean most, I wish I saw more women without make up , since most of them probably look just as beautiful. But I digress.
Since we had very little relax time at the first rest stop, we did end up stopping about 30 minutes later just after we had entered Yamanashi prefecture.
Saturday, November 5
Only 20 minutes later we were off the highway and headed to the location where the 5-shot was to be done, a nice Japanese style-inn. Which coincidentally is also the lodging we stayed at. I was nervous, but nowhere near as nervous as I was in Hawaii. After the picture in Hawaii, and the 5-shot with Smileage, I was able to approach this picture calmly with a clear idea in my head of the pose I wanted to do. Outside the room (and after a very cute and ditzy VTR shown on the bus) we were presented with a board showing each girl's suggested pose. I am really not sure what Fuku-chan was thinking with her Fuji-san pose, but I am sure some people did choose to use it.
I decided to go with a pose of my own, which I described to the staff member as (one of the same young guys who was in Hawaii, we both recognized each other) "Holding your hands out as if you are accepting the fans' love" 3 out of 4 of the girls understood what I meant. Riho looks like she is presenting a product.
They were so cute! I mean I am a sucker for school uniforms, but I don't think anyone could pull it off better than these four. Staff member who put up the suggestion for the tour to be like a middle-school field trip, I salute you ^^
After the 5-shot (we were given the picture on the bus ride back to Tokyo the next day) we were shipped off to do grape picking while the bus group from Nagoya took their turn at the 5-shot. A good way to kill time without leaving us bored, but the girls weren't there at all so it was kinda pointless. OK, the girls were there in spirit. They were there in the sense that the artwork they made out of clay as their image of Yamanashi grapes was there. I didn't get a picture of it myself, but there are pictures floating around. Three of the pieces actually looked like real grapes, and one looked like a weird character styled grape, we think that one was Kanon. The voting slips we were given were for voting for what we thought was the best piece. Of course most people debated who made what and then tried to vote for their oshi, but I actually voted for the one I thought looked the best, though I am pretty sure the weird wtf-is-that character was my beloved Zukki's.
Conveniently they finally uploaded the voting results, and here they are.
1位 D作品 譜久村 聖 Mizuki
2位 A作品 鈴木 香音 Kanon
3位 B作品 鞘師 里保 Riho
4位 Ｃ作品 生田 衣梨奈 Erina
2位 A作品 鈴木 香音 Kanon
3位 B作品 鞘師 里保 Riho
4位 Ｃ作品 生田 衣梨奈 Erina
As we thought, the weird one was Zukki, it was cute, but I voted for what did turn out to be Mizuki's and the winner, D. I liked the way she formed her grapes. Riho's and Erina's kinda just looked like lumps, so I can see why it was between A and D.
So yeah, the grape picking was really just to have us kill time, and yeah we had the clay artwork to look at, besides for eating slightly sour but yummy grapes (why the Japanese PEEL grapes I will never understand, I just eat them whole). But yeah, it would have been nice to have been doing something slightly more related to the girls we were there to see.
After we finished picking our grapes, we were instructed to go into one of the other areas of the building to do one piece of calligraphy each. You could do any single character that you liked, and although you might think people would only choose characters from the 9ki members' names, you would be wrong.
As for me, I choose a character dear to my heart (and one of the few I can write that doesn't look like it is written by a 5-year old. Can read kanji just fine, cannot write them to save my life)
A tribute to my Junjun. I was so happy to see her on the Chinese contest show ^^.
After everyone was finished at the grape-picking farm, we were bussed back to our hotel and allowed to check in. My room was six girls. We all started chatting right away, and one of the girls had brought a portable DVD player so we sat down and watched the Single V of the latest Musume single, complete with lots of "Kawaii"s just as you would expect from a bunch of girls. We had about two hours to kill before dinner, so after watching that we all just kind of relaxed and showed off the items we had brought on the tour. One girl (who I need to chase down at the Yomiuri Land Event) had even made clothes for a miniature bear to match Reina's concert outfit from Fantasy DX.
Or I think the bear was Reina. Of the Kyukkies, Eripon is her favorite and I don't remember Eripon having a bow like that. The bear was so adorable that it was an instant photo favorite. Another one of my roommates was wearing Zukki's shiny green-trim outfit from the Fantasy DX which her mom had hand-sewn for her. Makes me seriously want to learn to sew so I can make my own outfits whenever I feel like it.
Finally, at 4:50, we headed down to the dining hall, took our seats and dove into a delicious Japanese-styled feast. There were so many different dishes, including yummy sashimi and flame-boiled rice with mushrooms, that at the end of the meal we were all full to bursting. Unfortunately I forgot my camera when we went downstairs, because the meal really was that huge and gourmet, and even included a couple of slices of boar roast. Yum, boar meat.
After a huge dinner, it was back upstairs to grab what we needed for the Mini-Live and Talk Event and then back on our buses. Two of my roommates were on the same bus, so we all went together and settled in with our full stomachs to watch another random 9ki VTR for the hour-long bus ride to the venue. The talk and Mini-Live were at a small concert hall in Yamanashi, and when I say small I mean it. Even though I had pulled the 12th row (the entire hall maybe had 20) and was in the last row of the tour group, I still had a great view and with my pen-light in hand and my Fantasy DX t-shirt on I was ready to cheer.
The first half of the event was just the Kyukkies talking about a variety of subjects, including answering how an idol would respond in certain situations. A comedian acted as the "Heaven's Voice" in order to make sure the girls didn't go too off topic. It was amusing but a week later not that memorable because everyone was waiting for the live.
And the live did not disappoint. It was short, but full of high power songs that highlighted all of the girls strengths. First was Go Girl, a trying song for even veteran members but all four were able to pull off the dance and song brilliantly. A great high power number to start off the night. Next was Mikan, another song that came out way before they joined but captures the spirit of their youth.
After the opening they moved into the solo corner (seems to be a trend that FC tours have solo corners) with Riho picking KoiING (because she didn't get to sing it during the summer), Fuku-chan picked Tokutouseki (a Gomaki song that while at first I couldn't place, by the chorus I was humming along to it. A great song to highlight Fuku-chan's strong voice), Zukki (Yeah! Meccha Holiday. A perfect choice for Zukki. Keeps with her fun-loving nature, as well as highlights her deeper-toned voice. Plus she just exudes the young genki idol vibe) and finally Eripon with Koi no Boogie Train (a great song, though again a fast number which just like Hawaii Eripon had a little trouble keeping up with. However, this time she didn't lose her breath at all and was able to perform the whole song and dance without missing a beat. Still, Eripon... you don't need to push yourself, those are hard songs to sing solo).
After the solos it was again back to high powered group numbers, starting with Ikimasshoi. As one of my favorite Musume songs it was great to see performed, even if having only four members made it seem slightly lacking. The girls are all high-energy though so were able to pull it off well. Tired me out with how much I jumped and flailed with love during the verses. And next came the song we had all been waiting for (when hearing they were going to perform a song by that legendary 4-person group, well what else do you think came to mind?) Melon Kinenbi's "This is Unmei" Sure the girls are too young to understand the lyrics (just like Smileage) but still this is a song you cannot lose with. It is high energy, the girls did the opening head turning completely in sync and the power and energy it unleashed upon the audience was unbelievable. It.. it really made me miss Melon. (Poor Sexy Saitou) Still, I had been secretly hoping this was the song they were referring to and was not disappointed in the least. If anything, the only strange part was not having the stage go red when they said "Is this hell?" like it does for any performance of this song in an actual fully-staged concert. And once again I felt that This is Unmei is not a song you can listen to on CD after hearing it live several times. It just isn't the same without the wota-calls. And I was shouting just as loud as everyone else there.
Lastly they performed Maji Desu Ka, an expected choice to show off how much they have grown since it was first recorded several months ago. They left the stage, and we all thought it was over, but then they showed the previews for the Sharehouse movie. (Which no I didn't go see... it just really didn't seem that interesting, though after seeing a longer preview it does seem like something nice to sit at home on the couch and watch, just not something to pay to see in theaters. Plus the 9kis only have a small part in it, and it has D-boys x_x) And suddenly... the girls were back on stage doing a comedy skit with the title of... wait for it... Ramen Ranger! And yes, three out of four of them were rangers, with Zukki playing the ramen customer who is angry and surprised at the ridiculous-ness she is subjected to. Finally after a hilarious skit they did one more section where they had the girls do rock-paper-scissors with the audience, I lasted three times before having to sit down. The last few people (as long as it was under 10) got bags that had the strange hippo drawings printed onto them (hippo drawings that were showcased during one of the many in-bus VTRs.
The Ramenja- segment reminded me that they also did two short comedy routines before the live began, split into pairs. Both were very funny, with the one highlighting Fuku-chan's sheltered home life and acting as if she is a princess with several servants and it had everyone rolling with laughter. Course her partner was Zukki, who of course is brilliant at tsukkomi. Ikuta and Riho did a doctor's appointment setting where Eripon was the ditzy and overreacting doctor. Very amusing, all four girls have gotten quite good at acting. Another corner of the night was a gesture game corner, some of the questions were really hard and you felt bad for the girls getting them but ah well was amusing for the audience ^^ Tokyo Sky Tree included Eripon jumping higher and higher to show that it was taller than Tokyo Tower.
At the end of the night we were given out the cap and badges below. And... I feel so bad. I thought the lady who handed me the cap looked familiar... it was Inaba Atsuko!!! But... but then I saw on her twitter that she was on the 9ki tour and totally didn't realize it was her and wondered if she was ever going to appear and do anything and she didn't and... and I had my chance to say hi and I didn't. Granted her appearing was the worst timing ever, coming off of the high of being sent off with a wave and a smile by the 9ki members in pajamas made it very hard to really focus on what was going on as I was handed the cap. Gomen ne.... and I really liked T&C Bomber too. Maybe Atsuko just isn't recognizable without her afro ^^
Sunday, November 6
With breakfast starting at 6:45 and the bus leaving at 7:50, it was an early morning. Felt even earlier for me because I had some weird stomach problem that made me have cold chills and keep waking up the night before. Really sucked because the night before I had gone to the public bath in the hotel with two of my roommates and had such a good time chatting with them in the outdoor bath. I rarely get to use public baths because I have a tattoo on my stomach, and as you might know, apparently everyone who has a tattoo is a Yakuza. My roommates told me to try coming in anyways and when I looked after we got it, it seemed like the rules for the bath at this hotel didn't mention anything about tattoos, so I felt very lucky and relaxed. And then my stomach bothered me. I was probably over tired from a long, eventful day. Ah well, a new day had begun.
Breakfast was delicious, I really love Japanese-style dishes but they are too much work to make at home. The only thing I didn't touch was the natto packet, I can eat it but I really don't like it enough to want to eat it.
After returning to our rooms and getting all of our belongings ready, we were back on the bus and headed off to what was called the Morning Event. Well, it wasn't really an event. It was more like we were lined up in the order we would be taking the group pictures in, put into a very tiny room, and then the girls were on a platform at the front of the room. Except it was so crowded that anyone off to the side couldn't see at all, even after asking the staff to make people in the front sit down, and all it really was was morning greetings from the girls. The school style greetings were nice, but it really wasn't a good event unless you were in the front and center I think.
Afterwards we were led in our lines to another room in the hotel we had been brought to and they proceeded to take the group pictures. This time, 10 of us were sitting in front of the Kyukkies standing behind us. And they were dressed in sports tracksuits, wearing different colors for their grade. A cute idea, but kind of plain and unfitting for an idol to be wandering around in all day.
Photos finished, we headed out to the bus once again, this time for just a short trip to another location where we would be making the traditional miso soup that had been advertised in our pamphlets. There were two groups, the noodles and the soup. I was in the noodles group so I headed to the gymnasium and took a seat at my designated place. This was to be my first time making pasta from scratch
I am wearing the apron and head cloth that were sold as goods the day before. They actually ended up selling out of them quite quickly I heard. Apparently the staff didn't take into account the fact that they announced on the website that the apron was a must have item during the tour and that that would mean that almost everyone would want to buy one. As for the rest of my outfit, don't be fooled by the purple, I am a Zukki fan. I just happened to have a purple sweater and dress, and my luggage is purple. So everyone was teasing me about how my mind was telling me I am an Eripon fan, but no I swear Zukki is my oshi.
After a short wait, in came Zukki and Riho to make noodles with us. Or rather, altogether we watched the workers from the hotel show us how to make the noodles (or rather everyone tried to look up towards the Year 1 pair instead of watch what was going on) and then Riho and Zukki stayed up on their platform at the front (I was the second row of mats back) and we all set to work on the noodles. The one girl in our group didn't really help much, but the other four of us worked hard on the noodles, looking up at the girls when we traded off duties. We figured that we had been told that the quickest ones to finish would be able to go over to where the soup was being made and see the girls more there. So we put our hearts into finishing our noodles, and after stepping on them and endlessly rolling them out like was required, we were finished. Usually during FC tours, the girls will come and walk around the room at events like this. They will make comments and perhaps even directly help you out, yet this time they never left their platform. It was really disappointing, but was a theme throughout the whole tour, that the staff apparently did not think the four Kyukkies were ready to interact with the fans on their own. *Sigh* The cutest point during Riho/Zukki making noodles was when Zukki held Riho on her back and danced around on the dough, damn is that girl strong.
Noodles finished, we headed over to the cafeteria (or rather a tent set up as a cafeteria outside) and took our places at the designated table (half the group had been noodles, half soup) my table being 3 tables back from where the girls were cooking but at least in the center. Unfortunately the front two tables kept standing up and getting in the way so it was at times hard to see Eripon and Fuku-chan continue to cut up vegetables. I wonder if this was their second time, as all the fans had already finished making the soup, so it seems like if they were still working through cutting their first time, then they were really slow. We learned something, do not let Eripon cook. She is really not good at it. After tasting and cooking for a while longer, all of our noodles had finally cooked through and the miso soup had been served up. As if we were in a school, together we all said "Itadakimasu" and dove in.
And once again a 30 minute or so bus ride, and one stop at an ice cave for 20 minutes to kill time, we were parked at a shopping center outside of the small hall the last event was to be held out. The inside of the hall was set up just like a school auditorium, with various posters of rules and class schedules for the "School" we were at posted around the room. Our pieces of calligraphy, as well as the girls' were also hung up.
The set up, the idea, everything about the posters was nice. I was sleepy, so I took my seat quickly (third row, right) and struggled throughout the event not to fall asleep. Why, you may ask. Because I had almost no sleep the night before as mentioned. But I was determined not to fall asleep. It was really hard though, as to be honest, the event was quite disappointing. Past Fan Meetings I have been to have always involved a lot more interaction (games and questions in Hawaii with Musume, a cooperative relay game with Smileage) and this one had well none. Oh sure they started off with really cute and hilarious excuses as to why they were late to "school" and that had everyone laughing. Then they had us do formal greetings, because Fuku-chan was the Class President. Then the sports leader (eripon) led us in simple morning exercises that were amusing because Eripon didn't seem to be quite sure of what she was doing beforehand so there was a bit of confusing when she tried to get us to do this weird pose representing the 9ki mascot (see the pamphlet below) but she didn't really have a clear image in her mind of what she wanted to do. That was funny. Zukki had already fulfilled her role as Lunch Girl and Riho had already been cameraman when we were eating the soup.
After the opening talk though, I was really struggling to keep my eyes open. So when they did the question box, I eagerly listened for my question to be asked, but it wasn't. And then after that, to be honest I wonder if I did actually sleep for part of the event, because while I remember them talking a bit more, it seemed like it was suddenly over. I feel really bad x_x I didn't want to sleep, and I wouldn't have if I hadn't been sick and unable to sleep the night before. But I also feel like just having to sit for the hour did me in. If it had been more interactive, or active like the warmups, then it wouldn't have allowed me to sleep. I am sad that I missed seeing all I could of my Zukki and hope that they didn't notice me nodding off x_x I would feel really bad if they did. Apparently I wasn't the only one, as I overheard other guys talking after, saying they had nodded off a bit, but they were tired from staying up drinking all night, I wasn't! My body just hated me x_x.
Ah well, nothing I could do. After the meeting was the much awaited handshake. They started from the back, so i was almost last and was getting more and more nervous by the second. I knew what I wanted to say to Zukki and that's what counts. This is how our conversation went,and since she was first in line I was able to say all I wanted to.
Z: Thank you very much.
A: It was a lot of fun!
Z: Thank you so much for coming again! (could it be, she remembers me from Hawaii)
A: NO problem, the soup was good wasn't it?
Z: Yeah, it was so delicious.
A: Hope to see you again soon.
Z: I'll be waiting
and then I was asked to move on. To Riho, I mentioned how amusing I had found their skit the night before and wished her good luck. To Eripon I mentioned how much she had matured and congratulated her on doing so well on OhaStar, wishing her luck. To Fuku-chan (who still has the grip of death though it has loosened a little) I told her to keep doing her best and that she was always so down to earth. She seemed really happy to see me again and I once again commented that her singing was great and I hoped she would continue to do her best with the 10th gen.
And then it was over. It was a relatively slow handshake, not to the level of Hawaii (where you ran out of things to say) but to the point where you could really make contact with the girls, and Zukki's smile is such an amazing thing that it made me forget at once how sleepy I had been only moments before and I left the hall on a high.
Back on the bus, we were all waiting with the windows open, knowing that there would be a sendoff. However, after driving a minute we were told to close the windows because yes there would be a sendoff like there always was but it was a bit further on and the bus was wasting heat. A ten minute drive later, we pulled into the parking lot of Fuji Q Highland (I want to ride the new coaster so bad!) and proceeded to do a slow drive past the girls, able to open the window and wave down at them (they were right next to the bus) then to drive past once again with the girls standing on the other side of the bus. And then we were off, headed on back roads (the highways were backed up) on the road back to Tokyo.
Two days went by so fast. And while there were a lot of disappointments, the girls themselves did not disappoint in the least. They have really grown up, all four of them, in the past few months. It is hard to picture those four standing on the stage nervously at Nakano in January as being the same girls. They have both matured and filled out into four girls with differing personalities who are able to hold their own in conversation. I am sure they will continue to grow and change as sempai to the 10th gen members. And even if she may be a little chubby I want my Zukki to continue to eat her fill and enjoy what she loves. (It certainly was amusing to see her gobble down more soup when they were told they had to move on to the next area to get ready for the last event.)
After a short wait, in came Zukki and Riho to make noodles with us. Or rather, altogether we watched the workers from the hotel show us how to make the noodles (or rather everyone tried to look up towards the Year 1 pair instead of watch what was going on) and then Riho and Zukki stayed up on their platform at the front (I was the second row of mats back) and we all set to work on the noodles. The one girl in our group didn't really help much, but the other four of us worked hard on the noodles, looking up at the girls when we traded off duties. We figured that we had been told that the quickest ones to finish would be able to go over to where the soup was being made and see the girls more there. So we put our hearts into finishing our noodles, and after stepping on them and endlessly rolling them out like was required, we were finished. Usually during FC tours, the girls will come and walk around the room at events like this. They will make comments and perhaps even directly help you out, yet this time they never left their platform. It was really disappointing, but was a theme throughout the whole tour, that the staff apparently did not think the four Kyukkies were ready to interact with the fans on their own. *Sigh* The cutest point during Riho/Zukki making noodles was when Zukki held Riho on her back and danced around on the dough, damn is that girl strong.
Noodles finished, we headed over to the cafeteria (or rather a tent set up as a cafeteria outside) and took our places at the designated table (half the group had been noodles, half soup) my table being 3 tables back from where the girls were cooking but at least in the center. Unfortunately the front two tables kept standing up and getting in the way so it was at times hard to see Eripon and Fuku-chan continue to cut up vegetables. I wonder if this was their second time, as all the fans had already finished making the soup, so it seems like if they were still working through cutting their first time, then they were really slow. We learned something, do not let Eripon cook. She is really not good at it. After tasting and cooking for a while longer, all of our noodles had finally cooked through and the miso soup had been served up. As if we were in a school, together we all said "Itadakimasu" and dove in.
Very good lunch, yet the girls left us too soon and we finished off on our own. Afterward, there was a rush to the bathroom. Before going, I stopped to snap a picture of the board the girls had drawn to announce that days event.
After the opening talk though, I was really struggling to keep my eyes open. So when they did the question box, I eagerly listened for my question to be asked, but it wasn't. And then after that, to be honest I wonder if I did actually sleep for part of the event, because while I remember them talking a bit more, it seemed like it was suddenly over. I feel really bad x_x I didn't want to sleep, and I wouldn't have if I hadn't been sick and unable to sleep the night before. But I also feel like just having to sit for the hour did me in. If it had been more interactive, or active like the warmups, then it wouldn't have allowed me to sleep. I am sad that I missed seeing all I could of my Zukki and hope that they didn't notice me nodding off x_x I would feel really bad if they did. Apparently I wasn't the only one, as I overheard other guys talking after, saying they had nodded off a bit, but they were tired from staying up drinking all night, I wasn't! My body just hated me x_x.
Ah well, nothing I could do. After the meeting was the much awaited handshake. They started from the back, so i was almost last and was getting more and more nervous by the second. I knew what I wanted to say to Zukki and that's what counts. This is how our conversation went,and since she was first in line I was able to say all I wanted to.
Z: Thank you very much.
A: It was a lot of fun!
Z: Thank you so much for coming again! (could it be, she remembers me from Hawaii)
A: NO problem, the soup was good wasn't it?
Z: Yeah, it was so delicious.
A: Hope to see you again soon.
Z: I'll be waiting
and then I was asked to move on. To Riho, I mentioned how amusing I had found their skit the night before and wished her good luck. To Eripon I mentioned how much she had matured and congratulated her on doing so well on OhaStar, wishing her luck. To Fuku-chan (who still has the grip of death though it has loosened a little) I told her to keep doing her best and that she was always so down to earth. She seemed really happy to see me again and I once again commented that her singing was great and I hoped she would continue to do her best with the 10th gen.
And then it was over. It was a relatively slow handshake, not to the level of Hawaii (where you ran out of things to say) but to the point where you could really make contact with the girls, and Zukki's smile is such an amazing thing that it made me forget at once how sleepy I had been only moments before and I left the hall on a high.
Back on the bus, we were all waiting with the windows open, knowing that there would be a sendoff. However, after driving a minute we were told to close the windows because yes there would be a sendoff like there always was but it was a bit further on and the bus was wasting heat. A ten minute drive later, we pulled into the parking lot of Fuji Q Highland (I want to ride the new coaster so bad!) and proceeded to do a slow drive past the girls, able to open the window and wave down at them (they were right next to the bus) then to drive past once again with the girls standing on the other side of the bus. And then we were off, headed on back roads (the highways were backed up) on the road back to Tokyo.
Two days went by so fast. And while there were a lot of disappointments, the girls themselves did not disappoint in the least. They have really grown up, all four of them, in the past few months. It is hard to picture those four standing on the stage nervously at Nakano in January as being the same girls. They have both matured and filled out into four girls with differing personalities who are able to hold their own in conversation. I am sure they will continue to grow and change as sempai to the 10th gen members. And even if she may be a little chubby I want my Zukki to continue to eat her fill and enjoy what she loves. (It certainly was amusing to see her gobble down more soup when they were told they had to move on to the next area to get ready for the last event.)
I leave you with photos of all the pictures of the hand written tour pamphlet we were given at the start of the tour.
