Luck of the Lottery

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Tensai

Once again it’s time to try to get tickets to various concert events. As usual, this all comes down to the luck of the ticket lottery system in Japan, which I’ve have limited success with in the past. Wish there was an easier way for tourists to apply for events like Countdown Live and Music Station Super Live. (ala Super Enpou)

Figured it would be interesting to track how my luck goes this year – especially since I’ve got another round coming up for the January trip for AKB48 Request Hour and Perfume’s Arena Tour.

AKB48 Theater Shows – 12/23 – 1/1

  • Super Enpou request sent – no reply
  • 21 individual show applications – 1 Enpou win for SDN48

Music Station Super Live – 12/23

  • Ticket request sent via postcard – didn’t win
  • AKB48 Mobile FC lottery entered – didn’t win

Music For All – 12/24

  • Failed to win in AKB48 Fan Club lottery. Did not attend.

Kuwata Keisuke – 12/30

  • Lottery required Japanese credit card and the purchaser needed to present that credit card / ID when picking up the tickets. I had a friend who could have ordered for me – but couldn’t go to pick them up.

Ayu’s Countdown Live – 12/29 – 12/31

  • 12/29 – Won first round of Fan Club lottery.
  • 12/30 – Failed to win in first and second round of Fan Club lottery. Applied for the 3rd Team Ayu FC lottery
  • 12/31 – Failed to win in first and second round of Fan Club lottery. Failed in general lottery.
    • Purchased a ticket from a reseller – it arrived right before the email about a 3rd unexpected lottery. They didn’t need as much room for equipment as expected.
  • Applied for the 3rd Team Ayu FC lottery – didn’t win.

Overall it was a really great trip – as I was able to see SDN48 on Christmas Eve and then two Countdown Live performances. I knew the chances for regular AKB48 tickets were slim – and I’m now almost completely convinced that Super Enpou is a one-time prospect (at least for regular theater shows).

The most frustrating point was the lottery for the Kuwata Keisuke tickets. The need for a Japanese credit card I can understand, but to have to present that when you pick up the tickets it maybe the most stringent requirement I’ve ever seen. I know they want to prevent scalpers/gray market sales – but it does prevent legitimate fans from overseas from seeing the concerts.

I think I’ll continue to track this for future trips – it’s kind of fun building up statistics on how hard it actually is to get concert tickets in Japan.

Posted in Big in Japan, J-Pop | 3 Comments

It Was A Very Good Year

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Tensai

On the long drive back from Los Angeles last weekend, it occurred to me the last year has been an incredible one. If you had told me in mid-September what would happen in the upcoming year, I would have laughed. I had been dreaming of going to Japan for over 20 years, yet always found a reason not to go.

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Posted in Big in Japan, Buried By A Sound, His World Is Under Observation, J-Pop | 2 Comments

Shopping for AKB48 Goods in Tokyo

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Tensai

You’ve finally decided to take the plunge and take that trip to Japan. Now that you’ve arrived, you are probably seeing and hearing AKB48 everywhere. But one question remains – where can you find their CDs, DVDs, and other goods.

This guide is an overview of where to shop for not only AKB48, but other idol and J-Pop goods in the Tokyo area. Much of this information applies no matter where you are in the country, and can apply to other interests including anime/drama DVDs, figures, video games, and more.

Note: I will be in Tokyo over the winter break and this guide will be revised afterwards. If you have any suggestions, tips, or requests, please let me know via the comments.

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Posted in Big in Japan, J-Pop | 1 Comment

NMB48 Team N – Zepp Tokyo – 09/04/2011

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Tensai

Earlier in the week I was able to score a ticket to the NMB48 performance on my last full day in Japan. Amazingly enough, the tickets were not insanely priced – I paid about double face value for mine. Zepp Tokyo is SRO – so getting a ticket that was below number 1500 with high-touch was a good deal.

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Posted in Big in Japan, Buried By A Sound, J-Pop | 3 Comments

AKB48 Team B – 09/03/2011 – 2nd show

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Tensai

The entire time I was in Tokyo, I was applying for every AKB48 show that was available. No response to my Super Enpou entry (even including SDN48). I was down to the last weekend before I got wait-listed for this performance. Being number 66 – I nearly didn’t go. Especially since there were only a few senbatsu members (Myao and Amina). The rest was Team 4 and KKS. But it was an official Team B performance.

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Posted in Big in Japan, Buried By A Sound, J-Pop | 1 Comment

VIP Indeed

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Tensai

The AKB48 blog announced ‘Super Enpou’ availability for the Seibu Dome concert series.

While I could technically apply – it’s the same weekend as the B’z concert in San Francisco. Not to mention that I’ll be in Tokyo shortly thereafter for a-nation ’11. I really enjoy the Super Enpou experience and it’s the perfect way to see an AKB48 event (really wish other groups would follow their lead).

Though it does mean it’s likely there will be Super Enpou for the 24th single Janken Senbatsu – and I’m going to have a hard time not applying for that event.

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A Farewell to Kings

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Tensai

This past Tuesday night, I logged out of World of Warcraft for the last time. Thus drawing to a close my WoW career that spans back to nearly the beginning.

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Posted in Blister On My Finger, MMO's | Leave a comment

We’re getting the blog back together

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Tensai

With my imminent departure from the world of MMO’s, I’ve found something that I haven’t had in a while…

Time on my hands.

Which is not a bad thing at all, but I need to find something to fill it. Part of that is going to be consumed with studying, some with exercising again (been a while since I was on the bike), but that still leaves a lot open. When you stop gaming 8-12 hours on the weekend, it makes a big difference.

I’m considering getting into the daily habit of blogging again – as it’s beneficial for a number of reasons. One – remembering things for posterity. Two – it gets me writing again (at least non work-related content), and finally it adds something else to my To-Do list. The more I have on it, the less likely I am to skip doing them.

Part of the task is getting all the remnants of my old blogs (I’ve been doing this since 2001) back into a database. Started that a bit yesterday, but still have several months and missing gaps to cover.

We’ll see how it goes – wish me luck.

Posted in His World Is Under Observation | Leave a comment

AKB48 Team Kenkyuusei Performance

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Tensai

My last full day in Japan and I won Enpou for the Team Kenkyuusei 12:00 show at Donki, which allowed me to see pretty much every type of xxx48 performance during the trip. (I guess this would be the equivalent of an AKS ‘Hat Trick’).

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SKE48 Team S – S2 JCB Hall Performance

Posted on June 10, 2011 by Tensai

Since I was in Japan already for the Sousenkyo, might as well try to see one of the JCB Hall events. My two options were SKE48 – S2 or S3. Which was perfect, because I really wanted to see a live SKE48 performance. After watching their PVs, LODs, and concert DVDs, I’ve come away with the impression that they have the most intense stages. I wanted to to see this in person, so it was time to figure out how hard it is to get tickets via Yahoo! Japan auctions.

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Posted in Big in Japan, Buried By A Sound, J-Pop | 1 Comment