Waku Waku Gakkou 6/17 17:00 Show
Not gonna write up a full report as that takes forever and plenty of people have already posted reports from all 3 shows~. I'll just share a brief write up of my experience and a few sneak pictures I took in the venue!
I tried my luck in the ticket lottery, but did not win any tickets. I really regret not asking my friends to try as well, but last year the tickets for Waku Waku were not in demand and were re-selling at the face value price. Not true this year! At least prices were not as bad as a concert. I ended up buying a ticket in the right field stands for about 15000yen. I bought my ticket right before the general sale of tickets started. After that, the prices shot up, so I am glad I bought when I did! I wanted to try sitting in the outfield stands as those are usually closed off during concerts and I thought it would be fun to experience the Dome from a 'new' area.
I ended up going to Tokyo on Friday in anticipation of a long line for goods. My plan was to buy goods on Friday evening, Saturday morning, and Sunday morning if I didn't manages to get all the goods I needed by then. Luckily, the line was surprisingly short. I was able to buy all the goods I needed by Saturday afternoon. Around the time i finished though, the clearfiles started selling out and it doesn't seem like they restocked very many on Sunday as they were already sold out when I dropped by the Dome around 10. Anyone going to Osaka, I suggest you line up bright and early if you want to get your hands on them!
On Sunday, since I managed to finish up all my goods shopping on Saturday, I headed over to NTV to check out what 24 Hour TV stuff they might have. On the way to the NTV building from the station, there was a GIANT poster of the guys in their 24 Hour TV shirts. I really wanted to get my picture in from of it, but was worried I might be attacked by the mob of girls standing in front of it trying to get pictures.
I ended up buying quite a few of the 24 Hour TV goods. Sadly, there were no T-shirts or charity bands available so I'll have to wait for my online orders to arrive to get my hands on them. They also had Mikeneko and Kai-kun goods prominently displayed in the store. They also had costumes from Bemu on display.
I really like the NTV store. They usually always have something fun going on. I can't wait for their summer fair to start!
After NTV, I went back to the Dome to grab some lunch and then headed inside! On my way, I saw this tote bag that was decorated with colored gems that I thought was really cute. I am going to try and decorate mine that way! I had to enter at Gate 25, which was a pain as they were only letting people in via the circular spinning doors and it was taking forever! Normally I wouldn't mind, but it was really hot out and girls kept trying to push their way to the front.
Once inside I realized why my plan to sit in the outfield was a bad one. It was easy enough to see the stage, but the chairs in the outfield are more like butt shaped benches and the space between the rows is not very big. I have really long legs and spent a good chuck of the event making sure my legs didn't bump into the girt sitting in front of me! I managed to snap 2 quick pics of the stage area, both rather poor quality as I was trying to be sneaky about it....
I loved the intro that they did for the school with the guys 'transforming' into their teacher selves. There were even English subtitles for some reason! The subtitles were Jun Matsumoto at training, Masaki Aiba at breaktime, Sho Sakurai in Zero (....this one probably could have used a little work), Kazunari Ninomiya in transit, and Satoshi Ohno in a meeting.
Then the classes started. Nino did his class on expectations and how they effect your thinking. Nino's lesson was probably my favorite this year. He started with a video of him and several students. He was trying to figure out which one broke a vase. During the video, things changed around and he asked everyone how many changes they noticed. Then they showed another video of the first one being taped and what changed. They pretty much changed close to everything, probably 30-40 changes total. I definitely did not catch them all, or even half! Later there was a running part. I was near the 2nd and 3rd leg of the relay which were run by Sho and Aiba. Ohno ran last leg and Nino tried to get the robotic finish line to move as he approached, but it didn't work.
Next up was Aiba! He did the same food theme as last year, but this time with sushi. He asked some questions anyone who got it right would get a sushi made by him. The first question was about what fish was related to tuna. Everyone got it right but Nino, which I felt was a bit cruel as it was his B-day and all. Then Aiba asked about what part of crab is used in some type of pasta sauce. Ohno go it right, so Aiba made him a shrimp sushi. He put too much wasabi in it though and Ohno's face scrunched up and he had to hold his nose till the spiciness passed. I hate wasabi, so I could understand his pain. Aiba also licked his fingers after making the sushi, which caused a mini uproar. Not good manners for a chef!
Sho's lesson on water was next. I found this one interesting if only cause I think people in Japan waste too much water. I come from a place that is very dry and water conservation is very important. The fact that people here will flush the toilet just so other people can't hear the sound of them peeing makes me so angry! Such a waste of water! I almost wish Sho would have brought up that point in his lesson. We then got a demonstration on how much water is used when we shower. Aiba got to be the one 'showering'. There was a mannequin with his face on it set up in a show and he had to put on a raincoat and go in the shower to wash his mannequin self while the others carried buckets of water for the shower to work. 1 bucket was about 5 liters, thus dubbed 1 Arashi. It took 12 Arashi for Aiba's shower. My favorite part about this lesson was the squeeeee that happened when Aiba washed the crotch of his mannequin. Such dirty minds fangirls have!
Next was Jun's lesson on birth. I had to admit, this one was not so interesting for me. I mostly sat in disbelief that someone would let the birth of their child be video tapped for public viewing purposes and have a stranger, even a famous one, sit in and watch. I can only imagine how I would feel if thousands of people witnessed my birth...creepy. I couldn't help but feel it was blatant propaganda for the girls in the audience to start making babies as well. Sigh....... The part were he spoke with some kids in the audience was fun though. But the mom kind of annoyed me cause she kept butting in when Jun was trying to ask her kids questions. I like the idea that people think so carefully about the names of their kids. My own name isn't really that meaningful. My mom just liked how it sounded. Japanese names are fun cause you not only have the sound of the name, but the kanji as well (which can mean things other than how the name is pronounced). During Jun's lesson we also got to celebrate Nino's B-day with an umeboshi/strawberry cake and they read a letter that his mom wrote (different from the show earlier....she wrote 2 different letters).
The last lesson was Ohno's. He did a fun smile challenge and had some computer program with a blue bird (that I couldn't help but think of twitter when I saw it) that picked the person with the best smile. First round was Jun vs. Sho and Jun won. 2nd round was Nino vs. Aiba and Aiba won. Then it was Jun vs. Aiba and Jun won. Then it was Jun vs. Ohno and Jun won again and was named smile champion. Ohno also did the 'wave' beam from last year, but I think it worked better last year. All the people in my section put their hands up when the beam passed, but them kept them up. Sort of defeats the wave purpose. Maybe we were supposed to leave our hands up, but no one seemed to know for sure as all the people around me were asking each other if they should keep their hands up. I did not keep my hands up.
Last, they sang Furusato. There was a part were Arashi asked the audience to sing, but no one did. Sad. I was also a bit peeved cause, when the first cart passed my area, only Aiba was on it. Sho and Jun didn't climb up until it was well past were I was sitting. My only consolation is that Aiba and Ohno are my favs and I got to see both of them up close on the carts. I also enjoyed the ending video they played of the guys filming their various videos for the intro and lessons.
Overall I enjoyed myself for the most part. I know it's not a popular opinion, but I don't really like the Waku Waku event much. Hence why I only went to one show. I would prefer if they just did a proper concert. I feel like Waku Waku is something I would prefer to watch on TV rather than at the Dome. I get a bit sleepy during some of the lessons as it's so warm inside and I think sitting for the length of the show is almost more difficult than standing for an entire concert. Standing up for the closing bow is rather painful....
I tried my luck in the ticket lottery, but did not win any tickets. I really regret not asking my friends to try as well, but last year the tickets for Waku Waku were not in demand and were re-selling at the face value price. Not true this year! At least prices were not as bad as a concert. I ended up buying a ticket in the right field stands for about 15000yen. I bought my ticket right before the general sale of tickets started. After that, the prices shot up, so I am glad I bought when I did! I wanted to try sitting in the outfield stands as those are usually closed off during concerts and I thought it would be fun to experience the Dome from a 'new' area.
I ended up going to Tokyo on Friday in anticipation of a long line for goods. My plan was to buy goods on Friday evening, Saturday morning, and Sunday morning if I didn't manages to get all the goods I needed by then. Luckily, the line was surprisingly short. I was able to buy all the goods I needed by Saturday afternoon. Around the time i finished though, the clearfiles started selling out and it doesn't seem like they restocked very many on Sunday as they were already sold out when I dropped by the Dome around 10. Anyone going to Osaka, I suggest you line up bright and early if you want to get your hands on them!
On Sunday, since I managed to finish up all my goods shopping on Saturday, I headed over to NTV to check out what 24 Hour TV stuff they might have. On the way to the NTV building from the station, there was a GIANT poster of the guys in their 24 Hour TV shirts. I really wanted to get my picture in from of it, but was worried I might be attacked by the mob of girls standing in front of it trying to get pictures.
I ended up buying quite a few of the 24 Hour TV goods. Sadly, there were no T-shirts or charity bands available so I'll have to wait for my online orders to arrive to get my hands on them. They also had Mikeneko and Kai-kun goods prominently displayed in the store. They also had costumes from Bemu on display.
I really like the NTV store. They usually always have something fun going on. I can't wait for their summer fair to start!
After NTV, I went back to the Dome to grab some lunch and then headed inside! On my way, I saw this tote bag that was decorated with colored gems that I thought was really cute. I am going to try and decorate mine that way! I had to enter at Gate 25, which was a pain as they were only letting people in via the circular spinning doors and it was taking forever! Normally I wouldn't mind, but it was really hot out and girls kept trying to push their way to the front.
Once inside I realized why my plan to sit in the outfield was a bad one. It was easy enough to see the stage, but the chairs in the outfield are more like butt shaped benches and the space between the rows is not very big. I have really long legs and spent a good chuck of the event making sure my legs didn't bump into the girt sitting in front of me! I managed to snap 2 quick pics of the stage area, both rather poor quality as I was trying to be sneaky about it....
I loved the intro that they did for the school with the guys 'transforming' into their teacher selves. There were even English subtitles for some reason! The subtitles were Jun Matsumoto at training, Masaki Aiba at breaktime, Sho Sakurai in Zero (....this one probably could have used a little work), Kazunari Ninomiya in transit, and Satoshi Ohno in a meeting.
Then the classes started. Nino did his class on expectations and how they effect your thinking. Nino's lesson was probably my favorite this year. He started with a video of him and several students. He was trying to figure out which one broke a vase. During the video, things changed around and he asked everyone how many changes they noticed. Then they showed another video of the first one being taped and what changed. They pretty much changed close to everything, probably 30-40 changes total. I definitely did not catch them all, or even half! Later there was a running part. I was near the 2nd and 3rd leg of the relay which were run by Sho and Aiba. Ohno ran last leg and Nino tried to get the robotic finish line to move as he approached, but it didn't work.
Next up was Aiba! He did the same food theme as last year, but this time with sushi. He asked some questions anyone who got it right would get a sushi made by him. The first question was about what fish was related to tuna. Everyone got it right but Nino, which I felt was a bit cruel as it was his B-day and all. Then Aiba asked about what part of crab is used in some type of pasta sauce. Ohno go it right, so Aiba made him a shrimp sushi. He put too much wasabi in it though and Ohno's face scrunched up and he had to hold his nose till the spiciness passed. I hate wasabi, so I could understand his pain. Aiba also licked his fingers after making the sushi, which caused a mini uproar. Not good manners for a chef!
Sho's lesson on water was next. I found this one interesting if only cause I think people in Japan waste too much water. I come from a place that is very dry and water conservation is very important. The fact that people here will flush the toilet just so other people can't hear the sound of them peeing makes me so angry! Such a waste of water! I almost wish Sho would have brought up that point in his lesson. We then got a demonstration on how much water is used when we shower. Aiba got to be the one 'showering'. There was a mannequin with his face on it set up in a show and he had to put on a raincoat and go in the shower to wash his mannequin self while the others carried buckets of water for the shower to work. 1 bucket was about 5 liters, thus dubbed 1 Arashi. It took 12 Arashi for Aiba's shower. My favorite part about this lesson was the squeeeee that happened when Aiba washed the crotch of his mannequin. Such dirty minds fangirls have!
Next was Jun's lesson on birth. I had to admit, this one was not so interesting for me. I mostly sat in disbelief that someone would let the birth of their child be video tapped for public viewing purposes and have a stranger, even a famous one, sit in and watch. I can only imagine how I would feel if thousands of people witnessed my birth...creepy. I couldn't help but feel it was blatant propaganda for the girls in the audience to start making babies as well. Sigh....... The part were he spoke with some kids in the audience was fun though. But the mom kind of annoyed me cause she kept butting in when Jun was trying to ask her kids questions. I like the idea that people think so carefully about the names of their kids. My own name isn't really that meaningful. My mom just liked how it sounded. Japanese names are fun cause you not only have the sound of the name, but the kanji as well (which can mean things other than how the name is pronounced). During Jun's lesson we also got to celebrate Nino's B-day with an umeboshi/strawberry cake and they read a letter that his mom wrote (different from the show earlier....she wrote 2 different letters).
The last lesson was Ohno's. He did a fun smile challenge and had some computer program with a blue bird (that I couldn't help but think of twitter when I saw it) that picked the person with the best smile. First round was Jun vs. Sho and Jun won. 2nd round was Nino vs. Aiba and Aiba won. Then it was Jun vs. Aiba and Jun won. Then it was Jun vs. Ohno and Jun won again and was named smile champion. Ohno also did the 'wave' beam from last year, but I think it worked better last year. All the people in my section put their hands up when the beam passed, but them kept them up. Sort of defeats the wave purpose. Maybe we were supposed to leave our hands up, but no one seemed to know for sure as all the people around me were asking each other if they should keep their hands up. I did not keep my hands up.
Last, they sang Furusato. There was a part were Arashi asked the audience to sing, but no one did. Sad. I was also a bit peeved cause, when the first cart passed my area, only Aiba was on it. Sho and Jun didn't climb up until it was well past were I was sitting. My only consolation is that Aiba and Ohno are my favs and I got to see both of them up close on the carts. I also enjoyed the ending video they played of the guys filming their various videos for the intro and lessons.
Overall I enjoyed myself for the most part. I know it's not a popular opinion, but I don't really like the Waku Waku event much. Hence why I only went to one show. I would prefer if they just did a proper concert. I feel like Waku Waku is something I would prefer to watch on TV rather than at the Dome. I get a bit sleepy during some of the lessons as it's so warm inside and I think sitting for the length of the show is almost more difficult than standing for an entire concert. Standing up for the closing bow is rather painful....