Words cannot describe the excitement I felt when overseas ticketing was announced, especially after seeing "Indonesia" listed as one of the choice of countries, and there was even more of it when I got the winning notifications. There was a rush of events after, from hastily asking my workplace’s permission, getting visa done, and preparing other necessary things, I finally left to Japan to attend my first ever proper music concert, my first ever Sakurazaka46 concert.
DAY 1
When I arrived at Suidobashi station, it just so happen to be ~5 minutes before Nikkan Sports kiosk opened up, and I already saw them setting up the stand. I went to take pictures of the station banner for a bit before joining the line to get newspapers for myself and my friends.
After that, I headed toward Tokyo Dome's venue, and arrived in the area proper at around 10am, but the lines for goods were already crazy, as well as Spotify booth. The Spotify booth was pretty open and you could see what is displayed from the outside, and deciding that it doesn't seem to worth the wait, my friend and I went to the FC booth and gacha booth located on the other side of the Dome.
As we made our way, I noticed that there were a lot of young fans in their 10s and 20s with 3rd gen goods, there were also families, such as a mother with her son, a father with his daughter. At first I thought these families just happened to pass by on their way to nearby attractions in Tokyo Dome City or LaAqua, but they got towels and other goods! It was so nice to be able to see in person just how wide the range of Sakurazaka46 fans are, to see how well Sakurazaka seems to be received by women, and just how much impact 3rd gen brought into the group.
The gacha booth consisted of tents with a two coin exchange machine and multiple gacha machines filled with various goods such as UniAir collab goods and members' name tags with two color variant, white and black. Funny enough you could see the whole set-up clearly in Yuipanda YT vlog, since she went to one. I happened to have enough 100 yen coins for two pulls, so I skipped the coin exchange and went straight to line up for the black name tag machines. I was surprised to see people exchanging thousands of yen on the coin machine! I think they even prepared tiny blue plastic bowls to help carry the coins.
The wait is not long, but sometimes the machine got a bit stuck so the fan up front had to call staff for help getting it unclogged. Thankfully it didn’t happen on my turn, so I took the gacha eggs with me to the back of the area where I can open it without holding up the line.
I got Shizuki’s and Kira’s. I wanted to try to trade Kira with Mio, and I didn’t have to look far, as a bunch of people with boxes of keychains were already waiting outside of the gacha area. I approached the person closest to me and asked if I could trade with Mio. He wanted Shizuki, but I said I'm keeping her for my friend, so I can only do Kira. He thought for a moment before agreeing, quickly looking up Mio from his box. I then traded Shizuki’s with my friend for Rei. We then went to the OFC booth right next door. Failing the SakuKoi gacha, I went to receive my participation prize sticker.
After that, we went to get lunch at LaAqua next door, and then my friend took me to meet the other Yuipon oshi for a group picture. They were surprised to know that I came from Indonesia, and I happily distributed my batik bag souvenirs to them as well. After taking a group picture together, I went back to meet other friends and head to the overseas ticket counter to redeem our tickets.
It wasn’t open yet when we arrived, but a small line had already formed with fans from other countries like China and South Korea. There were several staff standing by, visibly concerned about the flow of the crowd, given the small ticketing area and we were surrounded by a literal ocean of people (Whether they are fans passing by or fans standing at the side seeking to trade their photocards). When it finally opened, we were directed to specific stalls according to our reference number, and handed over our winning proof and passport for verification.
On D1, I could see that the staff manually looked for my name on a print-out, and once she confirmed, asked me to extend my hand for the wristband. Afterwards, she returned the winning proof (I printed out the notification email), my passport, and gave me an envelope containing the paper ticket.
Satisfied, we went back to Tully’s to meet with the other overseas Buddies for a group picture. The atmosphere during the group picture was really fun, we were yelling stuff like “Sakurazaka46 daisuki!” and “Buddies!” and some of Japanese Buddies around us started yelling it out as well making it even more merry. After it ended, we separated as we each make our ways inside the venue.
Overseas ticket holders may only enter from Gate 22, which is right at the center area of the Dome. We had our bags checked before entering, and then show the paper ticket to the ticket checker. Once inside, my small group and I thought our seats will be among the first stand, so we randomly entered the closest entrance. The moment I went through and stepped inside the venue proper, I was already blown away by the sight. So many people have entered and seated filled the Dome, but there were no time for awe when I still couldn’t locate my seating area.
@x_x_tt4 東京ドーム見え方 全体的に見やすいです！ トロッコは通路が近いのでそこから肉眼で見えます👀#東京ドーム ♬ Hello Future - NCT DREAM
It was something like this.
We went back outside and found a staff standing by the entrance, and she led us downstairs. There I saw a sign with "EXCITE SEAT 🡆" and other writings in English leading us to a certain gate, and I could only wonder why they would put it in such a secluded place, but once we got there the female staff just vaguely told us to go ahead. Still puzzled, we stopped a security guard who also pointed at a direction. We must have looked confused, because he offered to take us all the way there. Of course we said yes. He kindly guided my group and the other few Buddies we picked up along the way, and he guided up further up the first base side. He then pointed down the stairs and so I walked down, down, down, and down, toward the entry point for arena blocks.
I already assumed that overseas tickets will be seated in the same area, but I did not expect such it to be in such a good zone, which is apparently what “Excite Seats” are. The space between seats were quite generous, and we also got a lot of space underneath the seats to store our belongings. The seats themselves were apparently just renovated in 2023, so it's still new and very comfortable.
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Once done, there wasn't much to do but to prepare for the start. The crowd were already buzzing, and then ~5 min before the scheduled start of the concert, the kage ana started. It was Matsuri and Yuzu. Matsuri said, “Buddiesのみんな、準備はいい? (Buddies, are you ready?)” just as she did before in the CM, but oh boy let me tell you: I wasn’t ready at all.
Let's get ready!!
— WeStillSubbing (@WeStillSubbing) January 9, 2023
🌸🤍🌸🤍🌸🤍🌸 pic.twitter.com/B12QPshXOe
The lights dimmed after they finished kage ana, and an overwhelming sight appeared before me. Tokyo Dome, filled with white lights; swayed with the excitement of pre-concert EDM beat. I looked at how it filled from arena on the field all the way to the top seats near the ceiling, from the side to my left all the way to the back seats partially blocked by the stage to my right, and before I knew it I already teared up. It was so beautiful.
I had to quickly switch gears for Overture, though, and then the concert started proper with a roar. As the title says, this was my first ever proper music concert, so I didn't know what to expect and this will be my sole personal impression: but it felt as if I was in a cinema instead of a venue, and I was watching a movie instead of a concert. It felt magical, and the opening leading up to the first three songs seized me already.
One of the most special moment on D1 is how "MINAMI KOIKE" suddenly appeared on the screen, and a familiar blonde girl appeared from the main stage. I let out some kind of a "KYYAAAyeeagGHGHHHH!!!!" squeal together with the crowd around me. I certainly did not expect her to make her return in Masatsukeisuu, out of all the songs!
When "LAST SONG" appeared on the screen together with the green target mark, I failed to make the connection that it's going to be Jigoujitoku (I was expecting it saved for encore D2), so I was really shocked to see them wearing the paint-covered white costume on stage. My immediate first impression was, "The MV didn't do this choreo justice!". Though at first Shizuki seemed nervous, she soon lose herself in the performance and did so well. As you can see, in D2 she did even better job!
Then at the ending MC, Matsuri talked about how she believes that this is not the end for Sakurazaka, that members and Buddies can reach even higher together. I wish there’s a footage of it somewhere, because I really think it’s a speech all Buddies should see and hear from themselves alongside Rika’s when they announced that she'll be centering for BACKS. Speaking of which, there were two Rika overseas oshi sitting in the next section, and I could see them jumping up and down with their penlights when it was announced.
When it was over, the staff started naming the sections that can start exiting. Excite seats were among the first to be called on D1, and staff started ushering out pretty quickly, so I only had time to take some quick pictures of the stage.
After a very long queue I finally made it out of the venue. I tried to head to the dinner place with other overseas Buddies, but Google's GPS was a mess (maybe because of the sheer amount of people?) so I got lost and ended up being one of the last person to arrive. The dinner itself was simple but very, very much fun. Most of us didn't order any alcohol but we were pretty much all acting as if we were drunk, singing songs like "Buddies" and "Sakurazuki" loudly in such merry to the amusement of some Japanese Buddies who happened to be sitting in the other tables. It started to rain when we left, but the coldness did nothing to the warmth I felt that evening.
DAY 2
Exhausted from D1, I decided to just take it easy and came to Tokyo Dome much later, roughly around 2PM, and immediately went to redeem my ticket with my other friends. It felt so much smoother than yesterday, and I quickly received my tickets, then headed to Tully's to gather with the other overseas Buddies.
Around 3.30PM, the front of the Tokyo Dome was already crowded with people who already making their way inside the venue, so the only way we'd be able to have a chance taking a picture in front of Dome is basically going as a group and try to find a spot. A kind Japanese fan helped us to take pictures! After that, we once again separated with everyone free to do what they'd like to do until the time of the concert.
My friends and I rested a bit to catch our breath, finding a spot to sit down somewhere in front of the venue, and it was during this time the Japanese Buddies sitting next to us struck conversation. He was surprised to know that we were all overseas Buddies, and kindly offered his penlight to us. Then, just so it happened, one of us needed one. What a miracle!
When it was the time to enter, we already vaguely knew where our seats are, but there were just so many entry gates even on one floor, and we ended up asking a staff again. He kindly led us to one of the gates and told us to just go straight down. My seat was even better on this day, directly in front of the right stage, and I remembered that Mio ran toward this direction in encore of D1. It made me excited and wish that I could catch her attention if she runs toward the same direction again today.
D2 was streamed, so there was a strange sensation knowing that what I'm seeing on the big screens here were currently being streamed live, and that would be what I'd be watching on my monitor usually. On D2 I ended up looking at the stage more than D1, though.
One of the things that left me the most impression in D2 was, funny enough, happened during Masatsukeisuu again. There was someone who danced in such particular way and caught my attention, and when I looked with my binoculars I was surprised to see it was Kira! She clearly worked hard on her dancing, and managed to keep up with Rei and two other members I couldn't see well, while also establishing her own unique presence on stage. I was so impressed and touched with how much she improved, I pretty much kept looking at her until they left to gather on the moving stage.
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| From Yuzuki's blog. Seems like Inoue and Yuzuki were the other two? |
When it was finally time for encore, I made sure to prepare myself to make appeal to Mio if the opportunity present itself, but I didn't remember whether it is first or second song. Then I saw her running toward the right stage!! It's the Anthem x Drone!! I quickly raised my towel at shoulder-length and waved my penlights, already set to her colors. Mio's eyes darted from one direction to the other, throwing responses one after another, until suddenly she looked my way and pointed. "Me!?", so I wondered as I excitedly waved my penlights, and Mio waved back. "Oh god, is it really me!?".
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| Artist's impression |
Mio then turned and headed to a different part of the stage, but we weren't left for long, because one after another members took turn gracing us with their presence: Akipo, Rena, Uemu were the ones I remember (Honestly, my mind was a mess from Mio's response, I didn't remember much from the rest of encore).
When it was over, this time excite seats were spared from the first wave, giving us all ample time to pose and take pictures with the stage. I asked the female Buddies next to me if she'd like to take picture too, and we could take turn. She happily agreed, and so we waited for our chance (There were a lot of other Buddies taking pictures too) before quickly doing ours.
After we finished, I started packing but suddenly drawn to the loud cheering coming from stage back sections. I figured that they probably saw the members leaving the stage, I certainly didn't expect it to be so special and chaotic! While waiting, Sakurazaka songs were played inside the venue, and the Buddies who were still waiting for their turn to exit started doing calls with the same energy as during the concert. It was very fun to be able to experience that.
Then, excite seats were called to exit on second wave, and since most of us finished taking pictures and packing already, overseas Buddies quickly lined up and climbed up the stairs. It didn't took as long as yesterday, as there was an exit nearby, and I only had to wait for a little while until it's my turn to pass the revolving door. As I step out, thus come the end of my concerting experience.
CLOSING
You see, as someone who has been following Japanese idols for a long time, I've "seen" a lot of Tokyo Dome and very well aware of the significance of the place. So when I climbed the stairs and stood on the connecting bridge in front of Kourakuen Hall, seeing the familiar white dome and "TOKYO DOME" on its railing, it just felt unreal.
I think that's also why I cried when I saw the white ocean of penlight for the first time. I thought Japan Expo Malaysia was crazy already, but here I am in Japan, watching Sakurazaka46 concert at Tokyo Dome with overseas ticketing band around my wrist and sitting with my fellow overseas Buddies. It was dream-like.
My experience both days has been fulfilling and wholesome too, being able to experience with other overseas Buddies I usually only interact with through the internet, and of course with Japanese Buddies. I'm happy to have been able to interact with them a lot.
Speaking of Japanese Buddies, there were a lot of interesting interaction: such as the couple who came by after seeing Sakusen's tweet and handed senbei to us, the person I mentioned above who offered his lightstick, there was also a woman who talked about how much she loves seeing the activities of overseas Buddies on Twitter... It's really heartwarming to see how welcoming they are of us, how they are just as excited as we are about the direction Sakurazaka is taking.
On D2, Matsuri said "今回から... (From this [concert] onwards...)" when mentioning overseas buddies, and I'm sincerely praying that those words come true and overseas ticketing system continues to be something common in the future. I truly wish that more overseas Buddies could experience what I had experienced, to make their dream of seeing Sakurazaka46 concert come true. Of course, something like Japan Expo or overseas tour would be just as great, but there's just something different from seeing a proper full-scale concert production in Japan (And I imagine the preparations for something in the scale of Tokyo Dome must have been at a different level too! That said, the production team has done an amazing job again!).
Just knowing that the chance, the option to apply will always be accessible would be huge and valuable, I think. And just maybe, in the future it could also change something in the wider J-Pop scene when they see the demand coming from overseas.
I said before that if Sony really want Sakurazaka to go global, then it won't be cheap, fast, and instant. It still rings true now and even during this on-going 9th single period, I could feel and see that the management still has MANY, MANY homework to do in terms of production and creating the support system to enter international stage proper, but from what I seen in Tokyo Dome, I believe that the current group has what it takes to compete globally. The management is years late behind K-pop already, and I hope they could take more decisive actions quickly.
As overseas fans, there are many things that we can do to help in this new digital age. From little things like streaming on Spotify / YouTube or sharing Sakurazaka with your friends and surrounding, dancing the song on TikTok. And if you have the means, you could also consider purchasing album on iTunes or buying streaming ticket that would directly support the group and show the level of demand outside Japan. There are so many ways to support the group nowadays, and little by little, we could help pave the path forward.
The girls dreams of bigger things, and I can't help but to be inspired to desire bigger things as well. I don't know how long it will take for us and the girls to see them; but I'd like to do what I can as well.
Other notes:
- Can confirm HikaTen hugged each other during IkuModo.
- I really like they way they used the SKZ icon during performance with graphic and all.
- Newfound respect for Matsuri's performance ability.
- Yuzu was a lot more confident when doing the English greeting on D2!
- On D1, Karin used Korean right away and Ten had to ask, “And what does it mean?” to prompt her to explain.
- People (and me) screamed when Dead End Hikaru appears on both days.
- I could feel the heat from Nagaredama’s flame all the way from my seat on both days.
- Chuke actually ran pretty far for Nagaredama. On D2 I could see it clearly and was worried she won’t make it in time, but she somehow did!
- The fog got in the way of Nandomo perf both days. But it was still nice to be able to see them moving the table around. It's amazing how they could make the stack of tables at the end in time!
- When Kira and Hono yelled without mic on D2, they were actually so loud it could be heard. When they were doubting the people in top seats, the Buddies there shook their penlights as if to say that, yes, they did hear them.
- Translated lyrics for the entire song appear on the screen for Koi wa Muitenai.
- For Manatsu, the main stage screen displayed a school during the day. In the last chorus, it changed into school at night with fireworks going off.
- On D2 Start over, after “Itsu no manika akiramereru darou”, Karin jumped from the part of the stairs she was sitting and joined the group. She was so cool.
- Rei was so cute during Anthem Time D2, the way she jumped!
- Yu and Muu passed each other during Buddies in D1 and they were like hi-fiving as they ran around!
- The trolley passed very close by the overseas section, and members are very generous with fanservices. Riko waved at us during D1, and Karin graced us with her smile on D2 while we furiously waved our hands.
- In D1 encore, Rena promoted her newspaper with Yuzu and Ten raised her hand slowly like, “Um… Mine, too, please!”
- On D1 encore I think?, I looked toward VIP boxes and saw two figures swinging their penlight strongly. It seemed that the one on the right had their thumb over the lightstick button, because it kept changing color with each swing. It changed whole rotation until back to white, and the person realized what happened and removed their thumb. After the concert I learned it was Sawabe, and the person next to him was Ikezaki.
THINGS I LEARNED FROM THIS CONCERT
- Bring extra batteries!!! Definitely my biggest regret. My penlights were brand new and they did well on D1 so I felt confident about D2, but then the 2024 tour one started to die in the middle of D2. It didn't happen just to me, but to the other overseas Buddies as well.
- Investing in towel and penlights really worth it. You can join the fun of coloring the venue in one color, shaking it together to create a wave, and obviously the oshimen colors will help increase your chance of getting noticed.
- When in doubt just follow call leaders. On D2, there was a call leader shouting so loud behind the overseas seat, we just couldn't help but to turn and see who he is (Someone wearing a Pooh costume).
- I borrowed a binocular from my friend and though I initially doubted it's usefulness, it ended up enhancing my experience so well, now I'm wondering if I should buy one of my own. It allows you to see the performance up close and watch what the camera won't show you. You can use it to follow a specific member too. Bonus is being able to see who are sitting on VIP seats, if you are seated close enough / have a binocular strong enough for it.
- Concerts are do DARN exhausting! I stood for a whole day in JEM, so I thought I'll be fine but I really underestimated it. By the middle of the concert, my back is hurting and I just feel so depleted, I had no idea how the girls could sing and dance with such energy throughout the concert! Next time I'll do proper exercise to build up my stamina and leg muscles.
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