Day 3 - 大阪城、名古屋城、嵐のコンサート
Good morning Umeda Sky Building, good morning Arashi-san!
The surrounding grounds around Osaka Castle are possibly more beautiful than the actual structure;;
*cough Nino interlude cough*
Looking back at my photos, I have no idea why I found Nagoya Castle more impressive. They look exactly the same lol. No,, I'm sure Nagoya was much more bigger and impressive, with large ancient rocks and a giant moat. Ahah me standing next to awkward turtle and even more awkward castle image character ;; lol no way I loved it that's why I wanted to take a picture with them hah.
I think it was a bit of combination of nerves, but I was actually late for the concert because I took completely the wrong subway line. >__< But I spotted some fangirls with con bags, and somehow in emergency Japanese communicated to them I need to get to the dome, and they helped me call a taxi;; when I got there I had to run past all these fangirls standing outside the dome listening, so shameful;; I asked the dome personnel 私の席、見つかってたすけてください！おねがいします！and he ran with me up the elevator and helped me find my seat. -__- OKAY its only the most important concert of my life, but there was another lady who was at least an hour late after me.
ARASHI 10-11 TOUR "Scene" ~ 君と僕の見ている風景 ~ @ 名古屋ドーム12/5（日）
I probably haven't read a con report or seen con paparazzi photos since October ;; so I was pretty suprised during the concert. :D
Well suddenly I was there, and there they were. Under the blazing blazing lights on the moving stage there were 5 ants dancing, whom, I suppose, were Arashi. I didn't know what to pay attention to, (while being blinded by laser lights) the screen with their shiny, gleaming with sweat faces or their tiny flailing bodies with my naked eyes? Secondly, how do I match each ant with each member??
My seat was in the centre stand, the front row of the last section so no one was obscuring my view.
Everytime a member came close our side, penlight mode would switch from casually bopping up and down to furiously side to side saying-hello. xD I really wanted to sing and scream and dance more, but I was afraid of offending anyone.. (story of Japan)
This my 'mind map' ahaha ^^;; that I drew on the shinkansen down to Tokyo. I started trying to write down my recollections, but my sense of linear order is kind of questionable?? I can't seem to find a song list of 12/5, not that I would remember what happened during what song. ;;
静か夜に
Riida's dancing was so kakkoi. I was torn between watching his face and wanting to see him dance with my own eyes. The spotlight was really intense on him, so dramatic!
1992*4##111
NINO 大好き！I haven't seen a single paparazzi photo of his solo, except for the checkered suit he was wearing. But you know, in one of my detailed daydreams when the album first came out, my imaginary music video to this song was musicale style with Nino walking down the street and singing and dancing with strangers. And then in the concert he was walking down along a video screen playing cartoon skyscrapers. xD;;
ラララ-ed along with Nino. ♥
Actually I sang along to a lot of the songs. I want our voices to be one. =.__.=
I love that Nino's voice warbles and breaks. Its so live.
That's how you know he's there, with you then, right now.
Ahh heart breaks right now re-listening to the song.
Refer to panel B3, because at the end of the song, Nino did the cutest salute and wink /;3.
Magical Song
I know a lot of people don't like this song, but I think its so cute. ^^;; But Aiba's solo was the closest to my side, so got to see him dancing up close!! Near the end of the song, the lights turned off, and the LE lights on his suit turned on LOL LOL, so it was like a stick/box figure in the dark with Aiba-ppoi movements flailing and jumping around hihi.
Come Back To Me
Hahh so how did Jun's solo start again? He was in some ridiculous neon/glitterly suit, hanging half way down the ceiling on a wire cable. The screen looked like a Mario game screen, and it said something like MJ-WALK ゲーム START! And then he was all hero pose with punched fist and kicked back legs, and began to float along the screen like he was in a video game. xD So he's floating around right? and this huge Nino idol photo item thing appears, so he touches the item and gets something like +100HP or something. Like again, LOL.
Well then he started singing, on the ground, or something. Hah.
T.A.B.O.O.
Ahh can't remember much, but I think there was a lot of flashing lights and dancing. ;;
Dear Snow
They were standing at the back stage on raised platforms, and during the Nino-Ohno solo bit, everyone else was in the dark and the spotlights were only on the Ohmiya pair, with the digital snow falling gently behind them.. with only their voices filling the dome, so beautiful.
Happiness
Fans were doing the 'running' move on the spot. xD Lots of yeah yeah yeah _|---|
空高く
I think the only thing I remember about this song is Sho being all rapper and counting 1-2-3-4-5 with his fingers pointing in the air. xD
サーカス
Sho-san spoke so much English, so suprising;;
The lights went dark, and you could only hear his voice say:-
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a show like you're never seen before.. Wonderland.
And then it was MJ walk across the screen again!! Except it was Sho Aiba doing the mirror image below him.
Then I'm sure it was in サーカス that they went up in those LE lighted boxes that were lifted up and suspended in the air. Nino was posing so awkwardly trying to look kakkoi in his xD;; and I think it was Ohno and Sho in another 'box' together that was been alternately lifted up in the air.
Carnival Night
On the moving stages!! Fun doing the furi//
Like but during one of the songs, the carts are pushed by the staff right? So scary I saw the Nino stumble as the cart was rocketed to the side a bit. o_o
But,, once when Nino cart was passing Ohno cart, they were running towards each other so their hands could meet, but they didn't touch. xD;; Panel D1.
I remember they did a cool dance interlude to a truth/monster/remarkable mix-up? All marching down one line down the middle to a drum beat. And they did their cool shiva/100buddha move. What do people even call that? When they stand behind each other in a line and dance together?
Its not like I didn't think Arashi were amazing dancers before xD;; okay somehow seeing the speed and agility in the flesh seemed so much more amazing. Professionals だね！ Ah I saw O-chan dance!! Nino's peace! Aiba's flailing movements lol lol. Jun's millondollarwatt smile, wink and wave combo x__x Sho's queenly wave hihi.
I think near the end of the concert, before the encores, they were standing on their little uplifted platforms, and the whole dome was dark except for 5 spotlights. You feel like you alone, your heart resides with those 5 people. ;; HORCRUXES-- lol not wait, I really felt a connection!
MC
My Japanese is not excellent, so some of the details may have been understood incorrectly;;
Sho saying something about how he hangs up a Christmas stocking, and a Aiba stocking??
Two juniors came with a santa sack of presents. One was wearing a santa costume, and the other a brown ski mask and a reindeer hood-thing. He wasn't wearing it properly, just the ski-mask, so they made fun of him, like what are you supposed to be? The junior held out the sack to Aiba and wished him a Merry Christmas.
And thenn I think it was either Sho or Jun that hit him on the head and said:-
メリークリスマスじゃない！Happy Birthday だ！
Nino knelt down and pulled his Christmas presents out of the santa sack, and lined them up in a row.. four Mario Kart controllers hah.
They were discussing which member got the 一番安くて(Jun) and 一番awesome?? (Nino)
Arghh like I can't even remember the dialogue in Japanese correctly even when I quote things lol, I swap it around for simpler Japanese that I know or the English translation that my brain did right that second.
Aiba wanted to share a おもしろい話.. about one time when he and Nino were in the shower..
Aiba mimed washing his hair, he said he was washing his hair, and because of the shampoo 見えない、見えない～ シャワーはどこですか and then apparently he touched Nino's ***** or Nino touched his ***** from what I read in other con reports. My bad.
Then Nino announced じゅよう the end!! この話いらないでしゅう？
After the MC, might have been in one of the encore songs, but Aiba came running out with the reindeer hat. xD; He chased Nino around the center stage trying to put it on his head, but never caught Nino of course! But Nino good naturedly grabbed it, put on the reindeer hat and did a funny jumping dance for the end of the song.
Ending Talks
Ohno's speech was really easy to understand. ;)
みんなでにんげんはよかった。
どうぶつえんじゃないよかった。
だから、にんげんは笑ってできる。
じゃ、みんなはずっと笑ってよ。
うん～
Aiba's speech, I think was something about having reached his tension/peak. ??
Nino mentioned the shower story again lol, making everyone laugh which pissed Jun off I think haha, for ruining the ending speech mood just before his turn.
Felt emotional listening to Sho and Jun's speeches. Alway so serious that.
１月名古屋で初めて、１２月終わって、いいかなぁ～
今年最後のコンサート。
みんなのちからありがとう～
--
It was amazing, and surreal. And somehow, I don't think I can stop at just one, despite..
Sooo now コンサートに行った事があります！じゃ、こんどまってあいましょう！
嵐、出会って本当によかった。♥
The aftermath
It took about an hour just to reach the subway station (about 10 mins walk). Even though I milled around outside the dome buying dvds and taking photos. The underground walk way which I guess was about 500m long, and 10 people wide was packed full and to a standstill as the stationmaster was staggering small groups of people at a time through the turnstiles as to so they wouldn't flood the subway platform and potentially knock people down onto the tracks.!
Then the train itself was packed!! I felt sorry for the other random passengers being pressed up by the crowds of fangirls.. well up until the next morning when I experienced Tokyo's morning subway, which on average is about the same scenario. ;; The businessmen entering the door backwards and trying to push and force himself in. >< Then when the train sways, you're lifted up against the swell of the crowd and move involuntarily.
Stumbled back to my hotel, exhausted, and had some soba at some trendy underground izakaya. Now this is the only thing in Japan I didn't know how to eat. xD;; They gave me this steaming teapot thing, and I think they were watching me as I lifted the lid and smelt it lol. The waitress came over and told me it was to put in the dipping sauce. I asked my friend later, and he said it was the hot water they boiled the soba in, and it was to mix with the dipping sauce and drink like a soup. Hahh ;;