New School in April

At 6.44am in the morning I received an important text.

Too bad I was still sleeping and only saw it two hours later ( ･ ω ･ ; ) But it was exciting enough—I received the automatic text message that told me which school I had been posted to.

I got into my first choice!

ヽ(▽ ｀)ノﾜｰｲ♪ヽ(´▽｀)ノﾜｰｲ♪ヽ( ´▽)ノ

No regrets! This is the path I’ve chosen and have been given, and I want to make full use of it ( ･ ▽ ･ ) Up till a while ago, I never thought I would go to this school. But minds change, and I think it’s good that I decided to come here in the end. I’m going to be studying Media and Communications, and it’s what I’m actually interested in. I figured it’s way easier to study what I like to.

Meanwhile, school starts at the end of April! That just feels really weird because all my life school has always started at January, and lasted all the way till the end of the year. But it’s a new kind of school, so it’s just one of the changes I’ll have to get used to. The good thing is that I have plenty of time to prepare and relax until school starts (‐＾▽＾‐)

In between now and April, I’m going to continue working.

It’s going to be a long three months. I need to use my time well (・x・ )

Recently I started reading Storyteller by Donald Sturrock, it’s a biography of the late children’s writer Roald Dahl. He’s a storytelling genius that inspired me a lot since I was young.

Okay, I’m off to eat (・３・) Quick update today!

Dance Covers

Recently I did another dance cover (⌒▽⌒)ノ

℃-ute’s Ookina Ai de Motenashite!

It’s another cute and simple dance ♡ Even though I may not have been technically perfect, it’s one of my favourite dances to do now.

A short while ago someone on Formspring asked me which group’s dances I liked to cover most.

Like I said, I don’t have a specific group I like ( ･ ω ･ ) It’s largely dependent on the song. Right now I really like the fun and happy dances where I get to smile a lot ☆ Last time I tried the more mature songs once in a while, and it didn’t work out that well. I couldn’t get the mature vibe and I’m really bad at making sexy faces (￣□￣；) That’s why I’m still an amateur anyway. One day I’ll try to expand my repertoire (￣▽￣)

So far my little stint on Youtube seems to be going by fine though ♪ I’ve just reached 200 subscribers! It may be a small fraction of what most Youtubers have, but it’s a lot to me (´；▽；`)

Everything is done because I really enjoy doing the dances that my favourite groups do, I’m always inspired by them to have real fun while I’m dancing.

If you enjoy dancing and idols, I say go for it and post them on Youtube if you want to!

New Year, New Clothes

Chinese New Year starts tomorrow! Every year I love gathering with relatives and eating ☆ And hoo yeah, getting money (in traditional red packets) (￣▽￣)

Usually we shop for new clothes for the new year too ♪ I managed to buy new stuff with some of my earnings from work!

I got a pair of grey Converse high tops! They were on sale ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ I still want a really long pair of sneaker boots some day.

A new graphic T-shirt and dark denim shorts ☆

This really fluffy and airy white top (*^ヮ^*)

I like it a lot.

For a smaller purchase, I got a bracelet as well because it was on sale too!

And for the first time in my whole life…I bought a dress by my own will Σ(･ω･;) Prom isn’t counted because I didn’t have a choice.

Actually, it isn’t a great picture. The skirt was too long (you know how I feel about my short skirts) so I hitched it up with a red belt which ruined the shape a little (´･_･`) I’ll take a better picture tomorrow, because I’m wearing it for the first day of Chinese New Year!

I thought my parents would be surprised I bought a dress, but they said it looked like any other Top+Short skirt set I wear all the time. That’s not fun at all（；＿；）

Tomorrow’s going to be a day full of visiting ~ I’ll blog again soon!

DIY Notebook Cover!

The Japan ☆ series has finally concluded! Back to reality now (´ω｀。)

But it isn’t bad at all, I’ve been trying to make good use of my free time ♪

Yesterday, I designed my own notebook cover! My mom and I went to Muji, and bought notebooks with plain covers. They’re perfect for designing your own covers in whatever way you want （●・▽・●）

Blank and ready to scribble on!

There were so many possibilities (*´ー`) It really stretched my creativity ☆ In the end, it took me longer than I expected to come up with a design. I drew lots of inspiration from Japanese illustrations and graphics, figuring out just how to capture that simple and adorable style that was common in all of them.

This is what I came up with ヾ(*・∀・)/

After that I got started ☆ To begin with, I sketched out the design in pencil first.

Since it’s only the rough outline, I don’t draw in small details like facial expressions.

As you can see, my sketches are always really faint ( ´･ ω ･｀ )

Time for the fun part! Filling it up with all those colours ~

The first bold stroke!

Instead of just using markers, I used colour pencils and gel pens as well. Plus the occasional glitter pen (ﾉﾟ▽ﾟ)ﾉ☆

It’s slowly coming to life!

If I count up the total time taken, I think it took me more than 2 hours to finish. I’m just really picky when it comes to things like this (￣▽￣) But in the end, I think it was worth it.

Here’s the scan!

100% hand drawn by me ☆ There might be a tad too much sparkles here and there, it’s because I didn’t want to have too much empty space. Since I’m always a fan of bright colours, I made it as colourful as I could!

Also, yeah, the girl in the apple suit is meant to be me. See the little notebook? (´▽｀) I know I’m supposed to be Apple Cake but…I don’t know how to draw myself as an apple cake (´・３・)

Japan: Day Six (Final) ☆

Five days in Japan already? Felt like five seconds to me

Day Six was going to be spent in Odaiba before heading to the airport! As I mentioned in the previous post, I’d never been to this part of Tokyo before so I was looking forward to going around the attractions.

Odaiba is famous for their modern attractions like the Venus Fort shopping mall and Joypolis!

They have fantastic views too.

We headed to Aqua City, a huge shopping mall, in the morning.

The first thing I saw was the Statue of Library

What’s it doing in Tokyo? It’s a replica! Good enough for someone like me who has never seen the original before.

Venus Fort was spectacular! It’s made in medieval style, so you feel like you’re in Rome or somewhere similar when you enter. The ceilings are all decorated to look like a sky.

Before my trip, I’d discovered a service where you could rent dogs at Venus Fort and I was extremely excited about that…until I found out that the service no longer existedVenus Fort had a large section on the first floor devoted to pets, but only a pet store, a pet clothing boutique and training park remained. I’d gotten more and more excited as I saw more designer puppies trotting down the shopping mall with their humans, only to discover I couldn’t rent any.

Oh well, I had a lot of fun at the pet shop looking at the puppiesIs there a reason why the puppies and kittens I saw in Japan were infinitely cuter than any others I’ve ever seen?

(This was the same place Mai, Chisa and Nakky visited in Hello Pro! Time)

Tiny puppies sprawled all over their compartments!

I LOVE THIS ONE. Before this it was being dried with a hairdryer after its bath.

It kept trying to lick me through the glass ♥

This is the second time I’m spamming photos of animals. But they’re cute, so it’s okayThe puppies were the cutest things ever. I spent a good half hour there looking at all of them and wishing I could just pluck one out.

Even though I couldn’t rent a dog, I loved seeing the puppies.

Our train to the airport was due in a short while, so we didn’t have time to shop around for much longer. There were so many clothing stores, but everything was so expensiveSeriously, one day I have to save up and go to Tokyo purely to shop. (and sleep in hostels and eat cup noodles)

We said goodbye to our hotel and headed to the station after that! I felt pretty sad because in a few hours I wasn’t going to be in Japan anymore. Nostalgia was hitting me hard, and I hadn’t even left the country yet.

Dad’s proof that I eat like a pig even on the train.

At the airport, we did some last minute gift shopping! There was a Tsutaya there selling loads of magazines and CDs, but I had majorly overspent on this trip so I didn’t feel like I should buy anything more.

When we started boarding the plane, I didn’t feel like flying home at all. The past six days had been insanely fun, extraordinaryーeverything that I expected and more. I spend so many days at home living at the Internet and wishing I could be in Japan; spending a week there was a huge blessing and I’m hugely grateful to my parents for bringing me there. There’s just so many things in Japan that I love, and breathing in their culture for myself is one of the greatest experiences ever.

S/mileage, the maid cafe, cute animals, Kyoto and everything and everyone else that let me enjoy myself so much…I’ll always remember everything!

Next goal: Save up for my own trip there!

See you again, Japan!

P.S.

Thank you so much for reading my Japan ☆ posts! Even though I took so long. Really, thank you!

Japan: Day Five ☆

After spending a day and a half in Kyoto, it was time to go back to Tokyo

This time we weren’t going to stay in Ikebukuro, but my dad got a place in Odaiba instead. I’d never been there before, so it felt really different.

Today’s outfit! ☆

Before setting off for Tokyo, I had breakfastBreakfast is important. But because we had to rush for the train, I only had time to buy onigiri to eat.

It was nice though.

We were so early that we ended up waiting a while for our train while I browsed through magazines.

The train journey took about 2 hours this time! I basically slept and ate the whole time. Train journeys can be pretty entertaining though, as long as I have music to listen to.

We arrived in Odaiba in the afternoon!

However right after dropping our luggage at the hotel, we headed to AkihabaraI was looking forward to going there! Akihabara is the place with all the fun stuffーidol goods, maid cafes and all the other weird and quirky things.

Behold Electric Town!

The streets of Akihabara were full of activity and amazing sounds.

On the way to lunch, we passed by Don Quixote! It’s where the AKB48 theatre is located ♪ Even though the theatre only took up one floor (plus the shop on the 5th floor), almost the whole building was decked out in AKB48. Outside the building there were lots of fans sitting around and trading photos of the members.

Besides the AKB theatre, there are discounted goods and really fun novelty items, like costumes and games. Also the @home maid cafe.

After lunch, I convinced my parents to let me go to a maid cafe by myselfFollowing a round of interrogation and map-sharing, they deposited me at Maidreamin 2, one of the most popular maid cafes in Akihabara.

(I chose Maidreamin because Risako and Maasa went to Maidreamin 3 on Hello! Pro Time)

Everything at the maid cafe was as I expected, only cuter and even more fun. When I opened the door a maid immediately showered me with greetings (‘Okaerinasai, ojou-sama!’). She was a bit puzzled at first when I told her it was only me who wanted to go in, but then she told my mom and dad that she’d take care of me

The maid introduced herself as Yusa-pyon—I told her my name, and she proceeded to write it out on a little card, adding ‘-ojousama’ to it.

Yusa then showed me their menu, with adorable characters all over the pages. I decided on the recommended setーdessert, drink, a try at the lucky draw and a polaroid photo with my favourite maid(obviously Yusa because she was the only one that attended to me)

Only allowed to take photos of the food and nothing else!

Usagi parfait! Yusa-pyon was happy because she said she was an usagirl.

I had one hour to spend inside the cafe, and I was determined to take my time. Usually I’m a really fast eater, but I only allowed myself nibbles so that the whole parfait wouldn’t just disappear in a few seconds. Surprisingly, I really did use up almost the whole hour eating that parfait. It was deliciousThanks to Yusa-pyon’s Moe Moe Charm Spell?

Every now and then there would be a maid calling for attention, and then everyone would start staring as she danced and sang for some customer who ordered the special set.

When it was my turn to have my photo taken, I (naturally) asked Yusa to take it with me.

Yusa-pyon and me ★

And then concludes my solo maid cafe experienceIt was really fun! I want to go again, because the maids were all so friendly to me. The cafe was really cosy too! The only thing is that I wouldn’t advise  a girl my age to go alone. I had my parents pick me up when I was done because I was paranoid.

When I got out of the maid cafe, I spotted Tsunku’s Akihabara Backstage Pass cafe! It was in the building opposite.

Having spent several hours in Akihabara, it was time to go to Asakusa for a nice evening stroll! Asakusa is really different, because it’s rich in old-fashioned culture like Kyoto. We went down Nakamise-dori, where there were lots of amazing stalls selling Japanese snacks and toys.

Kaminarimon Gate

Even though it was cold, walking down the street was relaxingBeing able to see so much of Japanese culture is really an eye-opener.

I bought my favourite ningyoyakiーa small cake filled with bean jam!

A bird-shaped ningyoyaki!

We went back to Odaiba after we had dinner at a ramen restaurant.

The night view at Odaiba is gorgeous! The Rainbow Bridge is an excellent contribution to the wonderful scenery.

The next day would be our last…somehow the Japan trip went by so quicklyTime flew by so fast! I genuinely was having a lot, a huge lot of fun and I’m thankful for the many days I could spend in my favourite country.

Last day or not, I was going to make full use of it.

Japan: Day Six ☆ will be the last post in this Japan trip series!

Japan: Day Four ☆

Tomorrow I’m getting my O levels results. The O levels that I wrote/whined about for months last year. I have no idea what to expect…but whatever it is I’ll still post about my Japan trip tomorrow!

Back to Japan!
(I wish)

Day Four was spent in Kyoto! Mieko-san and her friend brought us around

Today’s outfit!

Breakfast first!

I had scrambled eggs, potato salad and…what’s that? Squid ink bunThe black part of the bun was coated in squid ink or something. But it tasted absolutely normal.

Day Four was going to be purely sightseeing! I didn’t do as much research for Kyoto as I had for Tokyo, because Mieko-san and her friend were taking us around

The first stop was Kinkakuji…the famous Golden Pavilion

It really was golden! I mean, I knew that. But it was even shinier than I expected. People were crowding all over to take pictures. I took lots of shots too! (of the same thing, but still)

I received a mini history lesson while I was thereThe place is huge! I can’t imagine one family living there. Mine would probably go nuts.

After Kinkakuji, we visited Kiyomizudera Temple! It’s stuck on the mountain, so we walked all the way up because there were really interesting and old-fashioned streets leading up to it. It was cold, so Mieko-san bought hot senbei for us to crunch on

Warm and crispy

We had lunch on the way! Mieko-san’s friend knew of a tofu restaurant, and it was supposed to be good fine-dining. That’s how I knew it was going to be a small lunch

‘Fine’ dining has a double meaning.

It was fun though! The tofu came in its own bathtub ♪ We scooped them out for each other. Somehow I think it made the tofu taste nicer.

There were several tiny courses, and the tofu dishes were even more delicious than I thoughtI’ve never gone to a restaurant like this before, so it was really interesting. It had a traditional setting too, with tatami flooring and all. It made me feel like I should kneel and eat, but Mieko-san told me I didn’t have to.

After lunch, we continued on to Kiyomizudera! Mountains have great ambience.

Sun rays!

After walking around the temple, we went back down again the lovely shopping streetCome to think of it, the shopkeepers have to trek up and down the mountain everyday. Oh my.

Spotted a giant Totoro and Jiji!

And something else very cute…

Samurai dog?

It actually had its own mini sword. The owner let a lot of people take his picture, so I snapped lots of photos of him too.

Japanese pet owners can be really interesting when it comes to kitting their animals out. I just hope that sword wasn’t too heavy for the dog’s back.

Our party visited Shinkyogoku after that! Shinkyogoku is a great shopping street with lots of modern shops and arcadesI went to the arcade and took purikura with Mieko-san and her friend!

Outside the arcade we found AKB48 gashapon too. Mieko-san helped me get a Mayuyu badge

Individual member gashapon machines

Shinkyogoku had a great selection of Japanese street food too…takoyaki

The takoyaki chefs are really good at doing itOver the takoyaki batter just sort of dribbles and remains like that…the Japanese chef tucks everything in until the takoyaki are round and perfect.

*tuck tuck*

More shopping at Shinkyogoku! The fashion stores are amazingI love everything about Japanese fashion. I mean, everything except the prices.

A long sleeved T-shirt from CHU XXX ↓

A hair accessory that’s suppose to curl the tip of your fringe upwards(The model reminds me of Takamina)

I also managed to find those big clips that I’ve always wanted ♪

For dinner that night, we had ramen! Bamboo shoots and wakame seaweed, yum. The portion was really generous too; even I got full after finishing it.

With extra bamboo shoot slices!

And that was Kyoto! Kyoto’s really different from Tokyoーa lot less busy, with a simple and rustic atmosphere. Even though I’d never been there before, I fell in love with its charm ☆ I didn’t see any maiko or geisha, but I was able to see many other beautiful things that belong only to Kyoto. For that, I’m grateful to Mieko-san because she brought us around and it made a huge difference

Day FiveーBack to Tokyo! And a maid cafe…?

Japan: Day Three ☆

Day 3 of the Japan trip and still going strong!

It helped that I saw S/mileage the day before.

Today, my mom and I were going to spend the morning together! ☆ My dad’s colleague’s found out he was in Tokyo for holiday, so they roped him in to have a meeting with the Japanese people. Seriously?

We had breakfast firstGrilled egg and german potatoes!

Thank you hotel-san!

I also went down to Family Mart and bought myself a mochi egg bun, yum.

Light and spongy!

While paying I zeroed in on a pack of AKB48 trading cards on the counter, so I bought them too.

We finally left the hotel ♪

My mom and I wandered around our beloved Ikebukuro that morning! (And later on Nakano broadway, which turned out to be my downfall. More about that later)

First, we visited Tokyu Hands

Tokyu Hands is a department store that sells the most amazing stuff ever, like novelty items, lifestyle needs, stationery, furniture, pretty much everything you could possibly need ★ It’s one of the greatest places to go to get brilliant souvenirs, and a favourite place of mine in Japan! If you go there, be sure to check out Tokyu Hands ~

What’s the best part of Tokyu Hands?

NEKOBUKURO
(Yup, I talked about it here too)

Oh my lovely paradiseIt was so lovely to see the cats again! I didn’t recognise a good number though, so I went around petting them all.

Here are a few pictures of cats.

I saw my Kuro-chan! ♡ But after three years, I come back to see him in the glass cabinAhhh. It was nice to meet him again after so long though, even if I couldn’t pet him.

The inner entrance

Iraishamase nya ~

A TV for you and the cats to watch!

Being surrounded by so many cats is such a pleasureSome of them let you stroke them everywhere (even gently tweak their tails), and some especially like to be petted in certain areas like their necks. Some just like to sleep.

Cat lovers, please go to Nekobukuro ♪

After spending almost an hour there, I wandered around the rest of Tokyu Hands. Like I said, the things there are amazing. AKB48 cosplay anyone?

Men’s size. MEN’S SIZE

There are tons of other costumes and accessories too!

Wigs in packets.

I couldn’t buy any of those costumes.

My mom and I left Tokyu Hands after that ♪ We headed across the street to one of the arcades and there I managed to get my mom to take purikura with me.

Before the trip, I did a lot of research on the different Purikura machines and makers, and I was able to find the ones that I liked(I’m a bit of a purikura connoisseur)

There were actually UFO catchers that had lots and lots of alpacas insideI just wanted to smash through the glass and bury myself in that mountain of cotton candy fluff.

♥♥♥ !

But well…I couldn’t win any. So I just walked away sadly.

My next stop cheered me up! I was set on going to Nakano Broadway. So I went. But for the next hour, I was in so much of a rush that I couldn’t take any photos of Nakano Broadway.

I went to Trio3 to get my secondhand H!P goods! There are three Trio stores in Nakano Broadway alone. Trio sells male idol goods. Trio2 sells largely AKB48 and other female idol goods. Trio3 sells H!P (and other idols) goods!

Because they were all secondhand, the photos were all ¥52 or ¥105 each. They were old, so all the photos I bought are of chibi Maimai

I also bought Yuuka’s photo book at ¥2100 ☆

♡

As it was, I made us terribly lateWe were supposed to take a train to Kyoto, and we just made it a minute before the train chugged off. That was the moment of regret for me, because I didn’t plan properly and I was too impulsive. It won’t happen again

Because I didn’t have lunch, I had a bento on the trainIt’s really pretty! The Japanese are always great in presenting their food spectacularly.

The three of us met Mieko-san in Kyoto. Remember her? She gave me AKB newspaper! (I never even knew those existed)

You can see half of Mariko’s face.

We walked down the streets of Kyoto at night. There was a particular street called Gion, where it had lots of old-fashioned shophouses and interesting alleys. Just what I wanted to see

With Mieko-san and her friend, they brought everyone to a tempura restaurant. It was incredibleThe tempura chef said he had 10 years of training before he could actually fry them for people.

The tempura cooker thing!

There were all sorts of tempura dishes, like shrimp, vegetables, and even prawn heads.

Mmmm…crispy.

With that, day three ended with our arrival in Kyoto! I had never been to Kyoto before, so I was really excited to see another side of Japan

The next day we visited famous attractions in Kyoto. Please look forward to my post on Day Four!

Japan: Day Two ☆

Well, well ♪

WHAT AN INDESCRIBABLE DAY THIS WASAnd one H!P fans might like to hear about…

December 27: S/mileage’s Shibuya Tower Records event!

An excited me jumped out of bed at six in the morningーbut were my parents ready? Noooo. I had to wait for everyone to get up and eat before I could set off on my journeyYou wouldn’t believe how high-strung I was, because the ticket distribution started at 10am but at 9 I was still eating breakfast.

The night before I went down to the concierge at the hotel to double check my information in case I’d been reading the Japanese all wrong. He told me pretty much everything I knew, and gave me a piece of adviceー”Best to go very early.” As he struggled to say there would be a long queue: “People people people people.” Complete with hand gestures ☆

And what did I find when I got there at 9.30am?

PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE (times ∞)

I was actually racing towards the Tower Records building, but I was too lateThe queue went around the building, and I stayed outside in the cold for an hour while my parents went around Shibuya. When I finally entered the building, I was relieved that I could finally get my hands on a ticket.

But guess what?

The queue went in further, and it went all the way up the stairs. I went up and up and up…until I had reached the balcony on the 9th floor.

And there I waited for another 3 hours in the cold again

Here’s a little drawing for a clearer picture:

After an excruciating 3 hours of shifting from foot to foot and watching concerts on my phone, I finally moved to the staircase and there began my descent of 9 floors! It wasn’t much warmer indoors though, so everyone kept shivering. The guy behind me was nice enough to stand a few steps behind me though, so that I was able to sit on the stairs from time to time. Thank you

It went by in around half an hour, and I FINALLY bought my CD, and got the ticket with it! The ticket numbers are issued randomly, so somehow I got number 28. 28 out of a few hundred people! That’s amazing?! My long wait was really worth it ★ I was so glad I could have wept on the spot.

In total, I waited 4 and a half hours.

Once I had the ticket safely in my hands, I went off to find my parents at Omotesando where they had lunch (and I had none at all during the last few hours)! On the way I passed by some yummy food displays that were not a good idea for my empty stomach.

As a result, I finally found a Lawsons and bought myself melonpan.

While I chomped away at my melonpan, I made my way to Omotesando to meet my parents. This was the exciting part, because I was actually taking public transport by myself in Japan! Maybe it doesn’t sound that impressive, but for the record I never had the chance to be independent like this in a foreign country before. Taking the train is easy, so long as you can squish yourself into the crowds ☆

I got off at Harajuku because I wanted to go down Takeshita-dori first before walking to Omotesando.

There were a lot of great clothes, food, knick-knacks and to an extent idol goods, but I was in a rush so I couldn’t really stop to buy anything…that said, I was also running out of money.

Once I’d met my parents, we wandered around Omotesando and Harajuku for a while, before I finally dragged them back to Shibuya

We went to see Hachiko’s statue outside Shibuya station ♡ I’ve written about him before!

After that, I went off to the Hello! Project Official Shop! I originally planned to go to Shibuya 109 and I was looking forward to it, but the timing just didn’t allow me toNext time I’ll definitely go!

The H!P Shop was located at Basement 2 of the 109men building. I found it easily enough

DREAMLAND

It was seriously surreal walking in! Photos, goods and posters were everywhere. Everywhere I looked there were H!P girls around! (not live, obviously)

I didn’t have time to enter the Petit Museum, but even within the store there was a glass display with a few outfits up. They were all from Hello! Channel 7, such as the uniforms that 9th and 10th gen wore! Fangirling time ♡ There was also a photo of the time when Mai, Eripon, Kana and Takechan visited the store. Why couldn’t they have visited when I was there?

Gets!

They also had Gashapon machines with tiny H!P goods inside, like keychains and badges! They seemed quite old though, because apparently there were still Koharu keychains that were inside.

What’s inside?

Oh hi Risako!

Keeping this forever

By the time I was done at paradise, it was time to go for the S/mileage event! The event was scheduled to start at 5.30pm, but we were told to start lining up at 5 sharp.

Twenty-eight. TWENTY-FLIPPING-EIGHT!

I was a bit disoriented because there were a lot of people everywhere, and there were so many people there had to be two separated queues: Number 1 to 50 in one queue, and Number 51 to 14983243 in another.

Since my number is a relatively small one, I was in the #1-50 queue that went from the door and spiralled down the stairs. I was a bit lost at first amid all the Japanese hurtling around in the air, so I asked a very pretty female wota (she looked around 20 years, somehow she reminded me of a Popteen model) whether I should be standing further down the stairs. She showed me her ticket number (#35), and told me I had to stand further up in front of her because my number came first. Considering she could have cut my queue at that moment, I think it was pretty nice of her to help

Everyone was asking about each other’s ticket numbers so I had to keep going ‘ni-juu-hachi’ (28) and switching places here and there. In the end, I was sandwiched among a whole bunch of male wotas.

At 5.45pm (we were late!), the doors FINALLY opened and we all poured inside. Because I was 28th in line to enter, I had a pretty good position! There were no seats; just free standing. I quickly got to the front, where there was only one (tall) guy in front of me. I was so close to the stage (less than 2 metres), I couldn’t believe it

It took forever for everything to start! Firstly we had to wait for the other 8726348 people to enter the tiny hall, and then the MC started saying a whole bunch of stuff. All the while S/mileage songs were playing, so I just got more and more excited ♪ Also blinded when wotas started breaking their lightsticks (more like lightsabers).

The moment finally came when the MC yelled out, “SUMAIREJI!”, and everyone spontaneously combusted into cheers (except me—too overwhelmed to make a sound)

A pair of red shoes suddenly peeped out from below the curtain.

And then all seven girls burst out from the curtains, running and waving across the little stage. The wota storm exploded into something even more high-octane

At this point I was still speechlessI was so overwhelmed to the point that I was going to cry anytime. These were the girls that I had been watching on screen for so many years (fine, not in the new members’ case), and here they were, less than 2 metres away from me, live.

The hour went by so quickly. To be really honest, I can’t even remember the details now like the order of the songsS/mileage sang Please Miniskirt Postwoman, Tachiagirl, Uchouten Love and PMP again at the end. Seeing these songs performed live right in front of me was nothing like I had ever imagined. The girls were so close to me, their movements so sharp, their smiles so bright, their presence more mesmerizing than it had ever been on the computer screen. The wotas had an energy that I couldn’t believe, and everything together just combusted into the best feeling ever.

It was truly, truly amazing and I don’t know how else to say it

I was yelling and jumping and chanting, and the energy in the little hall was awesome! The girls had a lot of personality and charm, and each of them wowed me in her own way. More about that in a while

We had a handshake session after the songs ended! Actually, this was what put me off a little. It was even more rushed than I expected, and I barely got 3 seconds with each girl. Before this I actually planned what I wanted to say, but in the end I could only say a little

The staff members were behind the fans to push us all along. At first, the men got practically shoved along while females just got pats. But after a while it got even more hurried and girls (me included) started getting pushed away as well.

This is what I said to each girl: (in order)

Kana: Meccha suki ya de! (I remembered her teaching the girls on HPT how to say I like you in Osaka dialect)
“Ohhh arigatou (thank you)!”

Akari: Ganbatte ne!
“Arigatou gozaimasu!”

Rina: Ariganbatte! (My words came out in a rush and got muddled)
“Arigatou!”

Ayaka: Leader, otsukare! Ganbatte!
“Hai, arigatou gozaimasu!”

Kanon: Kanyon, ganbatte! Kawaii! (I wanted to tell her I was from Singapore, but didn’t have time)
“Hontou ni arigatooou ~”

Yuuka: (speechless)…Yuukarin, itsumademo ouenshiteru yo! (I’ll support you forever)
“Ahh ureshii! Arigatou!”

Meimi: Meimei toootemo kawaii! Ganbatte!
“Arigatou, arigatou! Bye byeeeee!” (She waved as I was practically thrown off the stage)

Each girl had huge smiles and sincere, firm handshakes for me. They were so incredibly warm, friendly and sweet that I was really spellbound for a long time, plus I was so close to them for so long ♡ They all made a huge impression on me, and I will never forget the bright smiles that are true to their name.

My impressions of each girl:

Ayaka: She really had a strong leader feeling, and she smiled a lot during the entire performance! Ayacho is great at talking too, and it made me feel like listening to her all the time!

Yuuka: My first and last time seeing YuukaBeing one of my absolute favourite members, I looked at her a lot, and she was so beautiful and adorable and fantastic. When she told me she was happy, I truly believed she was. Yuukarin gave a flawless performance that day ♡

Kanon: Kanyon was in front of me a lot during the performance! Her eyes are so bigI loved her hairstyle (simply let down), and she is naturally gorgeous. I thought she was particularly good with the crowd too, because when she wasn’t singing she was pointing her mic at the wotas for us to chant.

Kana: Such a cute and clumsy girl this was. She tripped once, and she was the last to line up for the handshake and ended up in the wrong placeI think she really improved a lot from her audition days!

Akari: I like Takechan a lot more now! Her voice was so adorable in real life, and she was so fresh and genki. I remember her squealing her at a baby during the handshake and and patting it a lot even though the staff was pushing the poor mother away.

Rina: Unfortunately I wasn’t able to notice Rina a lot, because she was on the other end of the stage most of the time. But she was so sweet, and thanked everyone really sincerely! I noticed she had quite a number of fans too, and one that kept shouting her name.

Meimi: Meimei had the most energy and biggest smile, I think! She’s great at interacting with the fans, and was so warm and outgoing that I fell in love with her even moreOne memorable moment was when Meimi looked at me for a long time. During Tachiagirl when she was just dancing in the back, I started looking at her while most people were paying attention to the front girls. She noticed me, and smiled at me for a solid 10 seconds or do ☆ I was seriously happy

I’m happy that I could see Yuuka before she graduated, I’m happy I could be so near to the girls the whole time, I’m so happy I’m seeing my favourite H!P girls for the first time in my life after years. That’s truly so many things to be thankful for, and the long queue was worth it.

Yuuka, I hope you’ll always be happy with whatever you do. And I promise I’ll do what I said to you; support you forever. ♡

Even though S/mileage won’t read this:

Thank you very much for making my day at Shibuya, thank you for your hard work and your smiles that made me feel so much at home. One day, I will see you again ♡

Phew. That was a long postAfter the S/mileage event it was just dinner and then we went back totally exhausted.

But what a great dinner ambience!

Look forward to my post on Day Three! ♪ I can’t believe I took so long to write this one.

Japan: Day One ☆

I’m back

It’s been a whirlwind of days! Now that I’m home, I can finally unwind and unpack, and look back on the amazing six days I had in Japan. It was a truly excellent adventure.

The flight was at 6 in the morning, which meant I had to get up and leave at about 4am. Good thing I packed the night before, because I was half asleepStill, I perked up after a while beacuse there was nothing more exciting than finally getting on a plane to Tokyo ♪

Moshi (Alpaca-san) came with me for the trip.

Fluffy clouds!

That plane ride took forever! 6 hoursAnd the worst part is that there weren’t any screens to watch movies on. My iPhone battery got drained in that period of time because I ended up listening to music.

Finally landed in the afternoon! Being surrounded by everything and everyone Japanese all of a sudden was glorious. I was running all over the place while my parents tried to yank out their winter jackets.

My dad rented mobile phones! Two phones for the three of us

Keitai!

Nothing fancy, but it was my first time using Japanese keitai and it seemed so coolAnd also useful in case I got lost somewhere (thank goodness I never did).

We got onto the train to Ikebukuro next! It was a 1.5 hour journey but that didn’t matter since I was already in Japan, everything was funI really didn’t know how my parents could fall asleep.

Getting him ready for the cold ✿

For the first two days of this trip we stayed in the Sunshine City Prince Hotel in Ikebukuro. I’ve stayed in the same place before, so I’m quite attached to itTo anyone who’s making a trip to Tokyo, you need to stay/visit Ikebukuro! I forgot to take a picture of the fabulous street with all the arcades and shops, but trust me, it’s amazing.

The hotel is great too because it’s attached to the Sunshine City shopping mall. But the best part is that there’s a Family Mart downstairs! And you know Japanese convenience marts are one of the best things ever.

Snacks, magazines, accessories, cosmetics, souvenirs and other fun things are all here! I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s kind of like Japanese culture is condensed into one little mart.

By the time we arrived in the hotel, the sun was already setting. Parents were tired, so we just went around the mall and then had our first dinner in Tokyo

Nice and eggy ★

My mom decided to stay in the hotel to rest, but my dad brought me out exploring at night! It was about 4℃ at this time, but I was already nicely wrapped/puffed up so off I went

I discovered Book Off, that bookstore that sells tons of cheap/secondhand CDs and photobooks! So I happily made my first purchase of the trip.

Morning Musume’s Fantasy DX live photobook

¥105 yen CDs!

Here I got to have my first attempt at communicating with the Japanese localsI asked the guy at the counter if they had ℃-ute, but he just gave me a blank look.

I tried with Hello Pro next, and then he understood. He started saying a whole bunch of things that I didn’t catch, and brought me to a shelf with a ℃-ute label but no CDs. So I tried S/mileage and Berryz Koubou after that, but nothing tooThere were only several old Morning Musume CDs, which I bought in the end.

The photobook selection wasn’t disappointing though! Several H!P photobooks, so I bought the Fantasy DX live photobook at ¥2100 ☆ I really wanted to buy Mai’s photobook though, but they didn’t have it.

Still, I was happy with my purchases!

My dad and I went out again and bought a crepe to eat

Banana and ice cream!

Ice cream in the cold, yumJapanese crepes are just so delicious, I wish we had some here too.

My last purchase of the day:

Nail stickers

Alice in Wonderland nail stickers from Loft! I think these were about ¥350. They were really cute and stood out a lot, so I caved and bought them!

I did my nails ~

With that rush of excitement, my first day in Tokyo ended! I couldn’t sleep that night because of the next day.

What was happening the next day?

★ S/MILEAGE EVENT! ★

I’ll write about that in my Day 2 post tomorrow!