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[drahzaar]

Post your stories or tales of akb here!  One of the best things about this fandom is how many different events there are and often how accessible the girls are to fans.  If you one day get to see them in person, it's something you'll want to share!  I'll start things off.

 

 

AKB48 So Long! Handshake Event 5/26,6/1

I had written details down a month ago but when I upgraded my computer I accidentally wiped the file .  So aside form NGOs report which I had written elsewhere some of them may be a little short...but sweet!  This event was at Makuhari Messe which is actually the same place where I attended Gocchin's final concert more than a year prior so I was feeling confident that I could at least get to the correct train station this time (of course there's more than one makuhari station).  Well, I guess it went just a tad better...

 

Spoiler

5/26

 

I went there with my buddy who isn't really an AKB fan but he's been around me long enough that he's completely fine with it.  We got off the train at Makuhari and started off somehow NOT following the crowd and got lost for an hour in the complex.  We went north from the station instead of south and honestly it was like a little city.  The good thing was we got there about 2 hours before my first handshake [whew] .  When we did finally get to the event, it still took me a while to figure out where my slots were.  For some reason I had a hell of a time finding Miyupon's lane...

 

 

Slot 2

Akimoto Sayaka: My first handshake everrrrr, and with the girl who got me into akb and was my oshi for 5 years no less.  While in line I could watch Takamina and Mayu greeting, first live member sightings!  I think I figured out the process ok.  I say I did but I couldn’t understand the girl at the front who asks you to show your hands.  It took about 10 seconds for me to figure out she wasn’t asking me to hand her something .  I probably cost some guy his slot with Sayaka haha.  I used 3 tickets and went in.  Wow!  She’s super pretty in person, and quite tall in heels.  I told her my name and that I was from Texas.  She asked (in perfect English) OH, where in Texas?  I told her San Antonio.  “OHHHH, how long are you staying?”  I said 9 days.   They were already forcing me out, it didn’t feel like 30 seconds at all!  As I was leaving she was trying to remember my name by repeating it.

 

Omori Miyu: I hurried over to Miyupon’s next.  Thankfully Sayaka’s line made all the others a breeze.  Miyu just had a person or two in front of me.  I went in and introduced myself and the usual.  She was cute and has a really interested expression lol.  I started letting myself out after my initial comments because we started having this funny/awkward exchange and after Sayaka’s line I thought they were forcing me to leave already.  I realized I was letting myself go too soon and she got this hilarious look like she was surprised and *don’t go!*  : :  

 

Iwata Karen: Karen was a lot more calm and mature than I expected.  Thinking about it now she was being herself.  I told her who I was and at the end I added that I loved team 4.  She looked pleasantly surprised and reached to grab my hand I was going out and said “I love you”.  Well done, Karen.

 

Tano Yuka:  She was a little shocked to see a foreigner it seemed.  She wasn’t going crazy but her reactions were all good and she seemed like a little bundle of joy.  I told her I loved team for and she replied “OH, thank you!”  Tano does seem to glow, it looks like she's putting forth effort all the time haha.

 

 

Slot 3

Nagao Mariya:  I was super nervous but I had already had some other members to practice my handshaking ability so I thought it would go ok.  The key was not passing out from her cuteness .  It's finally my go and I give them 3 tickets, I walk in and she has that little smile going that she always does when she shows her top teeth.  Her hands were so soft and warm.  She lit up when she saw me and I introduced myself, making sure she could pronounce my name.  I told her I was from Texas and she asked ”どこは” or something to that affect.  I was like "huh? umm" and eventually she smiled and asked in english "where in texas?" DUH I knew what she was saying my brain had just stopped working completely!  I told her San Antonio and she's like "OH!" Then I asked her in japanese if Hamu (her hamster) was doing well. She looked directly at me, smiled and said “Genki desu!”. Then they were forcing me out and we waved goodbye. When I got out I realized I had barely registered any words she had said until after the fact.

 

Iriyama Anna:  Next I happily made my way over to Annin’s line, it wasn’t too long at all.  She was pretty as usual and I just had time for the basic introduction and “I love team 4” which she appreciated.  She was actually friendlier than I expected.  I would see her again because she seems like a girl you could just have an easy conversation with.

 

Takahashi Juri:  Last up in this slot was Juri.  She got excited at seeing a foreigner.  I really love her dead eyes when she is trying to express emotion like that .  They just seem kind of wide and empty while you're talking.  Again I told her I loved team 4 and and I was being dragged out she was still excited and yelled “ka..kakkoii!!”   :awesome: 

 

 

Now I had a few hours to kill since my next slot wasn’t until about 2pm so my friend and I went walking to look around and find some food.  We were already feeling tired lol, from jet lag the previous day.  I had Yagi and Sayaka again in my next slot.

 

 

Slot 4

Akimoto Sayaka:  My memory is a little fuzzy on this one.   Since I was tired I thought she must be too but when I asked, of course she was basically like “lol hell no”.  I let her know that it was nice meeting her and that I would visit again next week.  Her line is really strict so we didn’t have much more time than that haha.  The tricky thing with a lot of the girls, and especially Sayaka, is that you have to interupt and cut them off sometimes if you want to get out anything you had to say.  Otherwise you'll find yourself smiling and nodding and then you get the boot!

 

Nagao Mariya:  This time I used 2 tickets even though I had more because I wasn’t sure how long I could hold a conversation haha. I come in to see her again and she sees me and starts getting excited saying "two!" and then she elaborates "second time!". I'm like "haha yes, second time!" Then she asked me if it was my first time in Japan but it took me a try or two to understand. I told her it was my second time. I had been planning to ask her about her appearance in nemousu later that day but since she had been talking so much our time was already up! As I was being forced out I still managed to ask her if it was on today and she was like “yeah!” 

 

 

Slot 5

Yokoyama Yui:  Yui’s line was pretty long so I went to her first.  I only had one ticket so it wasn’t too much.  When I first saw her she was saying goodbye to the last person and didn’t seem all that excited.  She did perk up when she saw me, probably because I was a foreigner.  All in all she seemed really pretty and mature.  I just told her the usual and that I was glad to have met her.  She ended up being really pleasant and relaxing to talk to.  

 

Ichikawa Miori:  Lemon’s line was actually a beast, I didn’t expect that for someone who was in one of the open lanes.  While waiting for her Renacchi was right there to my left, wow she’s so thin!  The open lanes are pretty cool this way.  I can’t remember who I actually saw when but I did see Haruykya, Ayarin, Nattsun, and a bunch of others close up.  Lemon’s hilarious, when I got up to her I realized how pathetically small she is .  I had something to tell her.  I said we have a lemon tree at my house back home (which is true).  She got super excited and was bouncing around haha.  

 

Suzuki Shihori:  Just one person in front of me handshaking her when I get there.  She sees me and is like “whoaaa!!!”  This girl has a great personality.  She really seemed friendly and legitimately happy to see me.  I only had one ticket and after introducing myself she started talking to me excitedly in Japanese.  When they were pulling me out she was holding on and only talking faster .  I wish I knew what you were saying Shihorin!  Lol, I’ll get her again next time.

 

 

My buddy had been waiting outside for this slot and said he was going to walk around a bit.  When I got outside thought he was still in the same place I had left him.  He told me that there had been a fight and the police were right there taking reports.  I had seen these guys selling photos outside the event before I went in and one of them had a ripped shirt.  A staff member had come and told them to leave.  They had argued for a long time and basically the kid and his friends were making fun of the staff member and things were getting ugly.  Eventually the staff guy tried to pick up his photos and confiscate them but he kicked the guy into the fence.  The staff member got up and grabbed his shirt and started hitting him over and over with is other hand.  So yeah, at least my friend who was probably pretty damn bored that day got to witness a fight  : : .  The funny thing about japanese police is they don’t really do much.  There was a policeman who had been walking by when they were arguing but he would just check to make sure things were ok and then walk away again haha.  After the fight he came back and started getting the reports lol.

 

 

Slot 6

Nagao Mariya:  My last slot today because my friend and I were extremely tired from jet lag by now and standing all day. I only had one ticket but wanted to tell Yagi goodbye and that I would see her next week. Again, as I walked through the curtain she got excited and exclaimed “3 times!” I’m glad she was keeping track . I told her I was tired and had jet lag. She replied “ah jet lag.” Then I asked her if she was tired too? She was like “oh no, no!” I was glad, she really did seem to have not lost a step even though it was getting late in the day. As I was being forced out I let her know I “next week!” and I think she got it but I’m not sure if I said it properly haha. As I was being pulled out she was saying Matte! Matte Matte! (wait) while reaching towards me. Dunno what she wanted me to do  : : 

 

 

6/1

Slot 3

This last week was supposed to be super short because my friend and I had things to do on our last day in Japan and I didn’t want to make him hang around the entire day again.  

 

Akimoto Sayaka:  I came and greeted her again, she remembered me from last week.  Basically I just stressed how happy I was to have met her and that I would continue to follow and support her.  I told her that her English was really impressive and of course she humbly denied it .  Really a beautiful woman, I can’t wait to see what she does after AKB.

 

Nagao Mariya:  Just like last time, as soon as she saw me she lit up with recognition.  I told her in Japanese that I had watched her on tv on Wednesday (ichiban).  It was the second time she performed sayonara crawl on tv I believe.  Anyway, she said “arigatou!”  I gave her a thumbs-up and said “good job!” She laughed and did a thumbs-up and nodded saying “good job!”  Then, she giggled like a little girl. Not just a short giggle, a long giggle like she was really having fun .  It was seriously the cutest sound I had ever heard!   I held up my fist and we fist bumped and then I told her bye.  She sure was quick with that fist bump too, it was cuuute.

 

 

After this slot I remembered that Tensai was going to be at this event.  I sent him a quick message and got one back saying he was behind the election posters under a tree chilling.  My friend and I went over and met up.  He was with Cristafari, Pandadash, and MemoryBreak.  They're pretty well-known foreign fans and go to a lot of events.  I guess we talked and traded stories for about 20 or 30 minutes and then I had my last handshake to go to.  I told Tensai about Shihorin because he had her later that day, it turned out she was talking fast with him too    Good times.

 

 

Slot 4

Nagao Mariya:  Ah, my last ticket   .  I went in and told her good luck in sousenkyo.  She smiled happily and thanked me.  Then I told her I had 40 votes.  She looked shocked and then started thanking me more earnestly, being really sweet.  As I was leaving and we were waving goodbye to each other she still looked in a daze.  I think she didn’t expect foreigners to support her so strongly?  It was that or she realized she was my oshimen, because I hadn’t told her that.  Anyway, it was kind of a cool moment.

 

 

Ok so I definitely could have spread my tickets out a lot more.  I had multiples for a lot of girls that I didn't end up using but this was my first time so I went overboard on getting some of tickets. Oh yeah, and I probably wont do the handshake the day after I arrive in Japan next time.  I can't wait until I can do this again.  One other thing was that I managed to convert my friend to Sayaka.  He bought some of her photos and was even able to pick her out in some of the videos at the event (which is kind of impressive)   .  Successful trip!

 

Small AKB Cafe side story

At the Cafe, the girl asked for our oshimen and I told her Sayaka for my friend.  Last time I was there they just gave you a random coaster but this time I thought they would actually give you who you want.  Well, almost.  She brought them out and started mixing them up.  My friend wasn't ready for this and he ended up missing out on Sayaka's coaster  :fp: .  I was laughing though and the girl also was having a good time laughing at his misfortune :lolol: .  It's funny because they really mix them up slowly on purpose so anyone can get it right.