Three months later...
Already that long since I came back from Japan ! ^^'
Though, 6/3 seems the perfect day to post something about that trip...
I'm still making totally fun of myself thinking I decided on that trip in a few minutes after reading The Boys were parting, back in November... teenage was not over after all ! I was NOT supposed at all to go on such a trip this year, but my runny nose, teary eyes, and chatting with sweet Sutafairu made me get rid of any sensible ideas. Boys will be boys. ;3
(Bon, chère Madame Niea999, vous êtes quant à vous coupable de m'avoir soutenue au-delà du raisonnable dans ce coup de sang post boutonneux... soyez en bénie pour les siècles des siècles, on ne le dira jamais assez !! <3)
And that's how I spent 3 weeks running after Kagrra, all around Japan... hem ! ^^'
Like in every good story, things started in Maebashi. ;3
( ooooh souvenir ému de cet après-midi passé aux bains publics où nous offrimes à moultes vieilles dames le spectacle réjouissant de nos chairs flasques et rougissantes comme de grasses écrevisses dans une marmitte !)
My best sento afternoon ever, and got the best advice on what I should eat all through the travel :
Sendai = Hagi no Tsuki and gyutan
Sapporo = ouni, ikura and gengiskan
Osaka = okonomiyaki and takoyaki
Fukuoka = Hakata Mootsu (my only gourmet failure)
Nagoya = hitsumaboshi and tebasaki
... and started right there, of course ! ^^
(mmh, ça me rappelle un peu moi au sento : gras et luisant !)
Then, Sendai...
Strange to mention that town after what happened... Anyway, it was the first step of that very last Kagrra, tour, where I met dear Sutafairu, awesome Megaraptor and sweet Yoki !
That evening was mesmerizing (and so would be all the following ones, of couuurse ! ;3). Tense and exciting. Everything was new to me, I hadn't listened at all to their new album. New too, that feeling of "communion" with our fellow gurakos. I like to consider myself like a real man with guts and all, but... ach, that sobbing everywhere and Nao crying his eyes out, that was weird and too much, even for a macho woman ! ;>
Sapporo.
Lots of snow, green-grey ocean, turkish blue houses. And the wonderful feeling of the deep sea intensely stroking your palate when you eat urchin... mmmh ! ;D
Rika chan is so typical....
So is weirdness~
and Hokkaido fans were... boys and wild girls ! ,3 maybe their best performance to me during that tour... Roller-coastering from sumptuous ogress smile to devastated faces, but anyway, so intense !
From there, I crossed the country to Nara.
No Kagrra there... or was there some in a way ? ^^
Osaka !
Back to big city and social life ^^ I met again Sutafairu and Megaraptor, plus cute Kazzeh, we waited together in the stairs to Heav.. eeer, to Shinsaibashi concert .
In that livehouse, for the first time, during the waiting, we noticed that song : "kyaaaa !!! 8D that's Isshi singing, isn't it ?! is it a solo we don't know ? is it a solo project ??!" ... and indeed, it was what we'd discover later as Shiki Isshi's Shirakuen !
On that day, I also decided to believe that the fact that "Poupée de Cire Poupée de Son" (60s French song) was part of the waiting soundtrack was a message directly addressed to me . Yes ! (please, be kind to me, pretend you don't know I'm stupid..)
There was also that insane handshake event with that Tshirt nasty business.... I wonder if they will remember how 4 foreigners asked them to stare at their tits to read dumb Tshirt messages... hope they will ! ;3
Mmh, I think it's at Shangri-la that I realized Kagrra really was over, and what a stupid waste it was. I mean, I knew it, but seeing how pretty their performance, all together, was, I realized it. Does it make sense ? It was an overwhelming feeling. I felt tired.
(but maybe that was also because I had spent 5 hours at a kabuki show on the same day ! ;>).
Osaka was great. People there speak loud, buy a lot, eat a lot, and girls are pretty with big eyes and big smiles. Ok, that's a cliché. But maybe Osaka is a cliché itself ?
Then, south to Fukuoka !
Blooming plum trees, crafts, dolls and a slightly quiet concert... maybe not quiet, but so respectful. We recognized lots of girls we had seen before in previous concerts. Feeling at home !
On the way up to Nagoya, we stopped by Okayama, that shelters an impressive feudal castle. And Momotaro. Everywhere.
Nagoya. Last step of that livehouse tour...
Meeting Surreal and her friends, staying at Yuri's, buying second hand kimonos, discovering how Japanese people can become wild for a Van Gogh exhibition, staring at Tokugawa family collection of Noh outfits... that was a nice stay !
,
Finally, Tokyo.
I was alone for some days, before Niea999 (que ton nom soit sanctifié ! 83) joined me, so I travelled a bit, to Kamakura (which is outstanding and has a Noh museum, but the museum was closed on that day and I ran out of battery some minutes after leaving the JR station, so no pics... ach, failure !), and to Nikko (which is dreamy under the snow. But cold ^^').
And then, the most unforgettable last 3 days in Tokyo. <3
I had such perfect memories from my first trip to Japan I was a bit afraid this one wouldn't get the "gold star".
But.
Although it was very different and couldn't have that "first time" taste, it was wonderful indeed. Now I'm pretty sure of it, I like that country ! ;3 And I feel so privileged of having met and hung around with so many awesome, enthusiastic, cool and genuinely good people. Long time friends, new ones... Of course, there was Kagrra, but it turned out to be much much more ! n_n
Now, again, Sutafairu : THANK YOU ! we prepared that trip together, you baby-sitted me, you let me shake hands with the boys, get closer to the Divine Goddess Isshi during many lives, it was so good being 2 nuts gaijin "band-gya" and still feeling almost normal because we were together ! ;3
Ma douce Niea999, si tu lis ceci, sache que si ta religion autorise la polygamie, je souhaite officiellement être ta deuxième épouse ! j'ai du potentiel : je suis plus jeune, plus grasse et un peu moins barbue que la première ! Dis OUI !
Brynn, Kazzeh, Yoki, Kouri, Surreal : first time meeting after reading you on LJ ! Who said you're often disappointed when you meet people you know from the Net ? Definitely NOT gurakos like you !
oh, and Wingsinacage : I hope we'll meet properly someday, that was too swift in front of CC Lemon~
To you all : let's do it again someday !!! <3
Though, 6/3 seems the perfect day to post something about that trip...
I'm still making totally fun of myself thinking I decided on that trip in a few minutes after reading The Boys were parting, back in November... teenage was not over after all ! I was NOT supposed at all to go on such a trip this year, but my runny nose, teary eyes, and chatting with sweet Sutafairu made me get rid of any sensible ideas. Boys will be boys. ;3
(Bon, chère Madame Niea999, vous êtes quant à vous coupable de m'avoir soutenue au-delà du raisonnable dans ce coup de sang post boutonneux... soyez en bénie pour les siècles des siècles, on ne le dira jamais assez !! <3)
And that's how I spent 3 weeks running after Kagrra, all around Japan... hem ! ^^'
Like in every good story, things started in Maebashi. ;3
( ooooh souvenir ému de cet après-midi passé aux bains publics où nous offrimes à moultes vieilles dames le spectacle réjouissant de nos chairs flasques et rougissantes comme de grasses écrevisses dans une marmitte !)
My best sento afternoon ever, and got the best advice on what I should eat all through the travel :
Sendai = Hagi no Tsuki and gyutan
Sapporo = ouni, ikura and gengiskan
Osaka = okonomiyaki and takoyaki
Fukuoka = Hakata Mootsu (my only gourmet failure)
Nagoya = hitsumaboshi and tebasaki
... and started right there, of course ! ^^
(mmh, ça me rappelle un peu moi au sento : gras et luisant !)
Then, Sendai...
Strange to mention that town after what happened... Anyway, it was the first step of that very last Kagrra, tour, where I met dear Sutafairu, awesome Megaraptor and sweet Yoki !
That evening was mesmerizing (and so would be all the following ones, of couuurse ! ;3). Tense and exciting. Everything was new to me, I hadn't listened at all to their new album. New too, that feeling of "communion" with our fellow gurakos. I like to consider myself like a real man with guts and all, but... ach, that sobbing everywhere and Nao crying his eyes out, that was weird and too much, even for a macho woman ! ;>
Sapporo.
Lots of snow, green-grey ocean, turkish blue houses. And the wonderful feeling of the deep sea intensely stroking your palate when you eat urchin... mmmh ! ;D
Rika chan is so typical....
So is weirdness~
and Hokkaido fans were... boys and wild girls ! ,3 maybe their best performance to me during that tour... Roller-coastering from sumptuous ogress smile to devastated faces, but anyway, so intense !
From there, I crossed the country to Nara.
No Kagrra there... or was there some in a way ? ^^
Osaka !
Back to big city and social life ^^ I met again Sutafairu and Megaraptor, plus cute Kazzeh, we waited together in the stairs to Heav.. eeer, to Shinsaibashi concert .
In that livehouse, for the first time, during the waiting, we noticed that song : "kyaaaa !!! 8D that's Isshi singing, isn't it ?! is it a solo we don't know ? is it a solo project ??!" ... and indeed, it was what we'd discover later as Shiki Isshi's Shirakuen !
On that day, I also decided to believe that the fact that "Poupée de Cire Poupée de Son" (60s French song) was part of the waiting soundtrack was a message directly addressed to me . Yes ! (please, be kind to me, pretend you don't know I'm stupid..)
There was also that insane handshake event with that Tshirt nasty business.... I wonder if they will remember how 4 foreigners asked them to stare at their tits to read dumb Tshirt messages... hope they will ! ;3
Mmh, I think it's at Shangri-la that I realized Kagrra really was over, and what a stupid waste it was. I mean, I knew it, but seeing how pretty their performance, all together, was, I realized it. Does it make sense ? It was an overwhelming feeling. I felt tired.
(but maybe that was also because I had spent 5 hours at a kabuki show on the same day ! ;>).
Osaka was great. People there speak loud, buy a lot, eat a lot, and girls are pretty with big eyes and big smiles. Ok, that's a cliché. But maybe Osaka is a cliché itself ?
Then, south to Fukuoka !
Blooming plum trees, crafts, dolls and a slightly quiet concert... maybe not quiet, but so respectful. We recognized lots of girls we had seen before in previous concerts. Feeling at home !
On the way up to Nagoya, we stopped by Okayama, that shelters an impressive feudal castle. And Momotaro. Everywhere.
Nagoya. Last step of that livehouse tour...
Meeting Surreal and her friends, staying at Yuri's, buying second hand kimonos, discovering how Japanese people can become wild for a Van Gogh exhibition, staring at Tokugawa family collection of Noh outfits... that was a nice stay !
,
Finally, Tokyo.
I was alone for some days, before Niea999 (que ton nom soit sanctifié ! 83) joined me, so I travelled a bit, to Kamakura (which is outstanding and has a Noh museum, but the museum was closed on that day and I ran out of battery some minutes after leaving the JR station, so no pics... ach, failure !), and to Nikko (which is dreamy under the snow. But cold ^^').
And then, the most unforgettable last 3 days in Tokyo. <3
I had such perfect memories from my first trip to Japan I was a bit afraid this one wouldn't get the "gold star".
But.
Although it was very different and couldn't have that "first time" taste, it was wonderful indeed. Now I'm pretty sure of it, I like that country ! ;3 And I feel so privileged of having met and hung around with so many awesome, enthusiastic, cool and genuinely good people. Long time friends, new ones... Of course, there was Kagrra, but it turned out to be much much more ! n_n
Now, again, Sutafairu : THANK YOU ! we prepared that trip together, you baby-sitted me, you let me shake hands with the boys, get closer to the Divine Goddess Isshi during many lives, it was so good being 2 nuts gaijin "band-gya" and still feeling almost normal because we were together ! ;3
Ma douce Niea999, si tu lis ceci, sache que si ta religion autorise la polygamie, je souhaite officiellement être ta deuxième épouse ! j'ai du potentiel : je suis plus jeune, plus grasse et un peu moins barbue que la première ! Dis OUI !
Brynn, Kazzeh, Yoki, Kouri, Surreal : first time meeting after reading you on LJ ! Who said you're often disappointed when you meet people you know from the Net ? Definitely NOT gurakos like you !
oh, and Wingsinacage : I hope we'll meet properly someday, that was too swift in front of CC Lemon~
To you all : let's do it again someday !!! <3