In a few short hours I will be on a plane heading to Los Angeles to begin my journey back to Japan. It has been five years since I was last there and I’m sure that things have changed a lot since I last stepped foot on Japanese soil. Just to show you how long it has been, here’s the stuff I kept from my last time out there.
These were some the new releases during the 2 weeks in March I was around:
Tohoshinki – Choosey Lover
Kumi Koda – But
Namie Amuro – Funkytown
Hikaru Utada – Flavor Of Life (Ballad Version)
Berryz Koubou – Very Beauty
EXILE – Evolution
m-flo – Cosmicolor
Morning Musume – Egao Yes Nude
There were a lot more of course but those were the ones that I remember the most. Especially Utada’s Flavor Of Life. I swear, every morning when I turned on MTV Japan I heard that song.
The one major thing that has changed from then to now is that I am not going primarily for a sporting event. Back then I was not so hardcore into the whole J-Pop scene as I am now, so I did a lot of touristy things, watched some figure skating and wandered around Tokyo.
This time is much different. Having spent the past six years diving head first into the deep end of the J-Pop pool I am doing what many an idol fan have done before me. I am making the trip to our Mecca to see a real, full blown concert in the home land of the groups that we all adore so much.
Unlike my previous J-Pop concert experiences there will be no Naruto cosplayers dressed like Sub-Zero, endless droves of Death Note L wannabes and no need to tolerate anime geeks who think we music geeks are hoarding in on their territory.
Of course my first REAL idol concert can’t just be some small fry type deal so I went for the biggest possible one I could find. Yes, AKB48′s Tokyo Dome concert series. Ambitious? Yes. Impossible to get into? Yes. But with a bit of coordination with my travel buddies (fellow staff member Hiro, t3hdave from New School Kaidan and one of their community members) and a lot of luck we are going to days 1 and 3 at the Dome.
Of course there will be touristy stuff as well. As hard as it is to believe, one cannot live purely on idols alone and there’s much more to see and do in Tokyo. Some of you are screaming “You lying bastard!” at your screen right now aren’t you? Well it’s true and I will be documenting the entire trip via video and photos. Besides the main Selective Hearing site you can check out the daily shenanigans at the following places:
So the complete lack of activity here will now be replaced by a flurry of madness over the next 10 days. If you have had no reason to read this site or follow us, perhaps you should start doing so now. It’s gonna be nuts.
Greg is the creator, administrator, editor, code monkey, overlord and general jack of all trades at Selective Hearing. He can be found lurking among the overseas Asian pop fandom and at most major conventions and events where a J-Pop/K-Pop act (or Gashicon) appears.
New School Kaidan is an idol site for veterans and newcomers alike, centered around community and site content. With specialized articles and discussions, we [...]
Selective Hearing's live weekly broadcast on JPH!P radio featuring a mix of J-Pop, K-Pop, Hip-Hop, R&B and House music. Regular segments include the Album [...]
Tokyo 2012 – It Begins
In a few short hours I will be on a plane heading to Los Angeles to begin my journey back to Japan. It has been five years since I was last there and I’m sure that things have changed a lot since I last stepped foot on Japanese soil. Just to show you how long it has been, here’s the stuff I kept from my last time out there.
These were some the new releases during the 2 weeks in March I was around:
There were a lot more of course but those were the ones that I remember the most. Especially Utada’s Flavor Of Life. I swear, every morning when I turned on MTV Japan I heard that song.
The one major thing that has changed from then to now is that I am not going primarily for a sporting event. Back then I was not so hardcore into the whole J-Pop scene as I am now, so I did a lot of touristy things, watched some figure skating and wandered around Tokyo.
This time is much different. Having spent the past six years diving head first into the deep end of the J-Pop pool I am doing what many an idol fan have done before me. I am making the trip to our Mecca to see a real, full blown concert in the home land of the groups that we all adore so much.
Unlike my previous J-Pop concert experiences there will be no Naruto cosplayers dressed like Sub-Zero, endless droves of Death Note L wannabes and no need to tolerate anime geeks who think we music geeks are hoarding in on their territory.
Of course my first REAL idol concert can’t just be some small fry type deal so I went for the biggest possible one I could find. Yes, AKB48′s Tokyo Dome concert series. Ambitious? Yes. Impossible to get into? Yes. But with a bit of coordination with my travel buddies (fellow staff member Hiro, t3hdave from New School Kaidan and one of their community members) and a lot of luck we are going to days 1 and 3 at the Dome.
Of course there will be touristy stuff as well. As hard as it is to believe, one cannot live purely on idols alone and there’s much more to see and do in Tokyo. Some of you are screaming “You lying bastard!” at your screen right now aren’t you? Well it’s true and I will be documenting the entire trip via video and photos. Besides the main Selective Hearing site you can check out the daily shenanigans at the following places:
So the complete lack of activity here will now be replaced by a flurry of madness over the next 10 days. If you have had no reason to read this site or follow us, perhaps you should start doing so now. It’s gonna be nuts.
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Written by Greg
Greg is the creator, administrator, editor, code monkey, overlord and general jack of all trades at Selective Hearing. He can be found lurking among the overseas Asian pop fandom and at most major conventions and events where a J-Pop/K-Pop act (or Gashicon) appears.
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