Japan 25-29 Oct 2014 Day 3

Day 3

On this day I try to squeeze a little sight-seeing in between my Wota Adventures. Sendai is just 25min away from Matsushima. Said to be one of the 3 most Beautiful Scenarios in Japan. The train ride is only 400yen so I thought, why not? Turns out, my train journey there ended up being 1 hour because the 25min is only for express trains. Just my luck that on that Lazy Monday Morning, there were no express trains.

My impression of Matsushima is that it is a small but extremely touristy seaside village. Lot of people from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Westerners (I can't tell the difference between Westerners) and also many Local Tourist.

A gorgrous day

 Upon reaching, I felt a little lost because there was too many things to see. Due to limited time, I opted for a 50min Ferry Ride(1500yen) to see the Landforms around the Bay Area. I would actually recommend this to people with a little more time, like maybe a whole day at Matsushima. So this was not the best choice I could have made. 

 Anyhow, I do enjoy the Ferry Ride. There are 2 Levels on the Sight-Seeing Boat "Ninomaru". The first level is for normal ticket holders and the 2nd level is for Green Ticket Holders. When I bought the ticket, there no indication that there was to be a first class "Cabin", but upon stepping on the boat, I realize that first level of the boat is so packed that it would be impossible to see anything. So I immediately bought the Green Ticket(600yen) and went to the upper floor where it is much roomier. No regrets there.

The whole area reminded me greatly of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam which I had just visited. This is more submerged than Ha Long Bay though. And Ha Long bay has more Greenery on the Islets as well which made for nice stops. 

This is the Guardian of Matsushima Bay. When Godzilla comes to wreck havoc on Japan, he will rise up and defeat the beast with Lasers shooting from this eyes

 There are names and explanations of all the little islands around the Bay Area in English and Japanese. Matsushima was the strong hold of Warlord Date Masamune, if you are a Japanese History buff, you might get many of the significant events. The only Date Masamune I know is from the anime "Sengoku Basara", so once again as the saying goes, "In one ear, Out the other". 

It is very windy and slightly chilly on the boat. But the weather is really perfect. I think its because Maimi has left Sendai

There is still a little time for me to explore when I disembark from "Ninomaru" I visit a nearby Island, peek at a busy looking Shrine and walk the shops.

 A bridge linking one of the islets to the Shore 

Mission Accomplished: Selfie at Matsushima Bay

I have to catch my highway bus back to Tokyo at around 12 so I regretfully leave the place. I wish I had a little more time here, but I won't be coming back. It is a little too touristy for my liking.

The bus journey is supposed to take 5.5hours. However, there is a jam on the highway (AGAIN!) and it is delayed by 1 hour. I reach Tokyo at 6.30pm instead of 5.30pm. My event at Shibuya has already started. I previously had a bad experience trying to find live houses in Shibuya so I was all prepared to get lost. Surprisingly, I find the Live House (Shibuya Glad) without incident. Thanks to the very well down Map on their Website.

Managed to google up a Picture Reference of the Live House from the Stage point of View. A very effective layout. Why can't more live houses be like this?

The layout of this live house is very friendly. The floor area can fit about 100 people. Then there are 2/3 Step Terrace standing area for the not-so-brave, This terraces are very tall so if you stand there it is very easy to see the performer. I love this place instantly.

18:55～19:20 椎名ぴかりん

When I enter Pikarin is already performing. She sings live and dances so awkwardly. She is very very cute though, so I will forgive her. At least she tries unlike some other idols.

There is a group of young girls (JK) standing right in front of the stage wearing very Fashionable clothing and cute hair. I suppose they are fans of her Modelling

Before she starts Toroamachu, everyone on ground level kneels down. This is very comical

19:20～19:45 寺嶋由芙 

Terashima Yufu. I did some research on her before coming so I thought I knew what to expect. Her songs have a little country style pop in it. In real life it is not as boring as I thought it would be, and she has her own mix. She has a good voice too.

She mentioned that Mainya, Kikka and her have a Line Group chat (Which they rarely use anyway).

Googled out a picture of her wearing Fuasshi Theme. FTS I WANT THAT TOO!

19:45～20:10 小桃音まい

I was very keen on seeing Mainya in real life for the first time. When I watched her videos on youtube, I was kind of skeptical that she sings live because it sounds a little too good to be true. She really does sing live, but with a soft backing vocal track. Her voice is very thin though so I think that even if she goes off key it is not very noticeable. Her songs are completely IDOL-like songs. She is so comfortable on stage and it is really a pleasure to watch her perform.

I love her songs. Her live is also very interactive as she gets the Wota to participate during the Marching Parts. Many of the Kikka fans around also actively participate in her performance.

I am very impressed. I would love to see her again.

After the whole thing I take a cheki with her. The first thing she said to me was "Hajimemashite" Its 

such a simple thing to say yet only less popular idols can say this because they probably can remember every single person they handshake with. Even such its nice to hear such a thing, and is really one of those words I hear that make me wan to take to her more.

I tell her Im from Singapore and I like her songs. 

My Gosh she is so tiny in real life. She doesn't look small at all on stage  

20:10～20:35吉川友(※握手会＝20:35～) 

When Mainya leaves the stage all the Kikka wota rush to the front. Im standing in 2nd row wearing my Kikka T shirt. But the Ojisan in front of me insists for me to stand in front. I'm not too sure whether its because I am a girl or because he wasn't wearing Kikka T. Probably both.

I am real happy to stand in front. Because its a live house, she is SO NEAR. Such an awesome live from Kikka. She didn't have any problems with her mic this time so her singing is great. As she is already the 2nd last performer and having to perform AFTER Mainya is very good for her too. The audience is so pumped up. She sings my All Time FAV Kikka song "Zutto Zutto Zutto Kimi ga Suki da"

I am right in front so we make eye contact at least 10 times. Lol!

She tells us that she will get busy with her Stage plays in the coming months so she won't be having lives during that period. She also speaks about why she likes being a soloist (Since this is a Soloist event)

After her live, there is supposed to be a handshake session, but since all the performances ran late, she had to rush off for her SHOWROOM streaming at 10pm. I was sad that I couldn't speak to her to tell her what a good job she did. I am sure she gained some new fans from this event. This is the kind of event that Kikka really shines and outdo her competitors. 

20:35～21:00 小池美由

This is a crazy idol. I generally don't like to diss idols because I like being diplomatic. But this idol is really not my type. 

When she says "OK! The next song is gonna be my last song!" NORMALLY the audience gots "EEEEEH" but for Koike Miyu, the wota are well trained and all say "YAYYYYY" Best part ever.

I love Soloist idols, and I have come up with a couple of reasons why they are superior to other idols

Reasons Why Soloist are the best Idosl 

1. Their fans are the nicest people ever. No rivalry within the fanbase
2. Their MC is great. They have to entertain all by themselves
3. They are very "Strong" people. They have no one to rely on but themselves
4. Their Dancing and Singing skills have to be a notch higher than others. Having the stage all to themselves, there is no chance for other members to "distract" you from their lacking in abilities

The very purpose of having a Idol Group is to have diversity. Some members can be good at a certain thing and bad in certain things. It makes things interesting. Because Soloists don't have this, they have to be good at everything. If they make a mistake, there is no one else to cover it up. All the attention is focused on them

They are very attuned to the wota because their MC is very dependent on it. Whereas Idol Groups tend to talk among themselves during MC and ignore the Wota. Soloists can't do this, thus their MC skills and ability to think on the spot and react to the Wota is at a different level than most Idols in Groups.

For these reasons, Soloists have my greatest respect. Well, Kikka that is. She is the best Soloist in the industry at this point.

My Dinner at Royal Host. At 11pm, you can hardly call it dinner.

By the time the live ends, it is about 11pm. In Shibuya at that timing, it feels really dodgy. I go to Royal Host to have my dinner and then head to Ikebukuro to look for my hotel.