Taken from hyunniespexers
Credit: lovekimhyunjoong.com + Lavender
I went the Tokyo concerts Sunday afternoon and evening, it was great. I was at the fifth row for the afternoon, only 9 steps to the stage (I measured it). Didn`t dare to take out the camera to take pictures, but used my iPhone to take notes, will write a detailed FA later today.
Thanks for all the translations, I only understand a little bit what HJ said, and his answers pleased the crowd very much. He looked tired during the evening session, his voice lower than afternoon, but he was very high at encore.
Bae Yong Joon sent flowers Sunday, I was taking pictures of the flowers and wonder whether BYJ sent flowers (I didn:t see any on Saturday), then I saw whole bunch women (older ones) taking picture of this particular red flower stand, heard them whispering “Yongsama”, the king still rules.
For the afternoon session, HJ tossed a colorful hat to audience and it landed on my right, three Japanese women jumped up and fought for it, I mean really fought for it on the ground. OMG, it`s quite a scene, 3 properly behaved Japanese women fought tooth and nail for a hat, after several minutes (that long), the lady next to me won, she held it tight. When the concert ended, she ran out fast, as the other two women still tried to pry the hat from her, LOL.
When HJ left the venue, he was filming the fans, his van left first. Starlings, he is staying at the hotel we stayed last year for the first love story fan meeting. They ate in the hotel, the dancers and staff brought water and food in. Not sure if they went out later.
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Sunday, November 20, 2011
Kim Hyun Joong 1st Japan Tour
Tokyo International Forum-Hall A
Today is the day, I get to watch TWO Hyun Joong concerts, very excited waking up. It rained yesterday and proved Hyun Joong/SS501 are truly rain god. But today the sun is out and the weather is very good, makes me more cheerful.
It doesn’t long for me to get to the International Forum, I get there a little after 10. The first concert starts at 1:30pm so I thought I would be early, oh, boy, am I wrong. When I exit the subway station, a couple hundred Japanese fans have already lined up the sidewalks in an orderly manner across the street. I decide to stay on this side of the street and get myself a prime spot. We wait patiently, more and more fans come out of the subways station with each train arrival.
At 1100ish, men in black make their presence and start to rope off the sidewalks, that means wuri star is coming. Soon, big vans with tinted windows start to arrive, they make a left turn in front of me and enter the forum parking lot. They all have tinted windows, so it’s impossible to see inside. One van came with a cameraman standing through the sunroof filming the fans, we all cheer and wave happily. I am sure they will use some footage for 1st Tour DVD, so I may have a slim chance to see myself for 1/10th second, wishful thinking. The last two vans are gray, the kind Hyun Joong rides in Japan, so it seems everyone knows even though the windows are not rolled down. Fans call out his name and wave madly, I am sure he can see us and feel our love.
As soon as these two gray vans enter the underground, the guards take off the ropes and the crowd starts to move to the Forum Hall A where the concert is held. It’s a very nice venue and is the largest among his tour locations, it has two floors and holds 5000 seats. All tickets for the three additional Tokyo concerts were sold out and it’s quite an achievement. Some tickets with good seats were auctioned for over 50,000 yen. The tickets are not cheap by any means but still hard to get. Fortunately I have a wonderful cousin in Japan and she was able to get some tickets for me after several attempts. One time online ticket sale started at 10am, she and her husband started to dial the numbers using 4 different phones at 09:57, but they couldn’t get connected for 10 minutes, and all the tickets were gone by the time they were able to get connected. For the additional Tokyo concerts, Henecia membership (additional fee) was required to apply for tickets, so my each ticket costs 50%. The tickets are quite expensive even by Japan standards. My cousin mentioned even many famous Japanese singers charge no more than 7000 yen per concert. When I was in Hiroshima I saw a concert schedule and fee posted in the venue where Hyun Joong’s concert was held, Japanese singer concert tickets 5,000-6,000yen, DBSK 8,500 yen (the highest and the only one sold out). So in a way, wuri star has made it selling out all his concerts.
Sorry about the sidetrack, back to the concert venue. I follow the crowd towards the venue and I want to get a lightstick since the one I bought in Seoul was broken. I get in the hall and see a long line is already formed, it must be the line to buy souvenirs, so I stand at the end of the line like an orderly Japanese fan. But the line doesn’t move at all for 20 minutes, I finally realize this is actually the line for entrance for the concert. Why do they even line up even everyone has a ticket with a seat number? The concert starts at 1:30pm and they will let us in at 12:30, and right now it’s only past 11. I don’t understand at all but I am not willing to give up my spot, so I wait patiently in line for a seat will be mine regardless when I get in. There are notes for fans to write question for Hyun Joong and he will also pick some lucky fans to go on stage. I write down my question and seat number and drop the note in the box.
At 12:30 sharp, the staff let us in, each fan is handed a plastic bags with DATV flyers. They also put up signs no photo no video, each bag is inspected. But I have a new camera hidden underneath my scarf in the bag and I hope to take some close up pictures. I rush up the escalator, but another line is formed quickly in front of me, the one for souvenirs. I line up again, they are selling towels with HJ’s name too, I want that too. But right before it is my turn, they put “sold out” stickers on the lightstick and towel, I can’t believe this, I end up settling on a fan. Again, I don’t understand why they always sell limited amount of stuff like this, they could’ve made much more money and more fans happy. I can only sigh, I will have nothing to wave.
Anyway, I go into the hall, it’s very large inside, each seat is spacious and comfortable. I am so lucky my seat is at the 5th row, to the right side. It’s only 9 steps to the stage (I measured it, ^.^) I have a very good view of the stage, I don’t dare to take out my camera, so I use my iphone to take pictures of the stage and my seat, but one security guard stops me right away. Aigoo, it doesn’t look like I will be able to take any pictures, I hope MurderQ or Ahlia will be in attendance because they always take wonderful pictures regardless where.
I notice the crowd is younger than the one I attended last year for 1st Love Story fan meeting. Everyone seems very happy and whole hall is filled with excitement. The seats start to fill up quickly. There’s a big screen on stage and 2 smaller ones on each side. Hyun Joong’s songs are playing and his CFs for Seoul ambassador and Japan Thermwear are showed too. Time passes quickly, 1:30 came and went, no signs of Hyun Joong. The crowd starts to get restless and starts chanting “Kim Hyun Joong, Kim Hyun Joong”. Finally at 1:40pm, the music for “Let it go” starts, everyone is on her feet screaming and waving. My seat is quite close to the speakers and the sound is quite loud. Finally, a figure emerged, wuri star stands on the raised platform, dressed in a black military suit. He walked down the stairs to the main stage while singing, this is the first time I watch him performing this song, even though I have watched the videos many times. To watch him performing live is always so much better, he is a very good dancer. His hair yellow and curly, kind of long too. He dances with full energy and sings most of the lyrics live. This is a short song though.
Next is “Breakdown”. I have watched it live several times in Seoul and enjoyed it tremendously. His moves are precise and smooth, but somehow I am used to the costume and hairstyle back then, so it is a little strange to see him dance with yellow hair and that costume. I have to say I like the image in June better. He has lost some weight, his face is smaller and his legs are getting skinnier, his black pant look quite loose on him especially the thigh part. Oh, how I wish to watch the 20’s choice performance, those arms, abs, legs, drool. Having to perform so many concerts in such a short time has taken a toll on his body I think. Anyway, his performance is still excellent, the whole concert hall is on fire, fans sing along and chant “break down break down”. This one always gets my heart pumping faster.
After Breakdown, Hyun Joong gets off the stage to change, “Please” MV behind the scene is showing on the screen. This is the first time I see the part where they shoot on the rooftop at night, he was so focused during the shoot. When the MV finishes, Hyun Joong is on stage again, he is in a different outfit, white shirt, black jacket and black sparkling pants. As usual, the dance is good, to watch him perform is truly enjoyment to the eyes. I glue my eyes to him and don’t even think about taking any pictures. The fans remain standing and wave lightsticks. I look around, half of the lightsticks are the green U:zoosin with the alien, and half are the multi-color one for the tour, it’s quite a scene to see thousands of green and white lightsticks waving at unison.
Next song is Thank You. He has sang this song many times over the years, and his singing has improved loads. After several dance songs, he is sweating profusely, I can actually see sweats dripping from his face. He sings with his whole body and you can feel his passion. Again, the fans sing along as well.
It’s talk time after Thank You. The MC and translator (2 ladies) come on stage, it’s about 1:55pm. They bring 3 white triangle stools for them to sit. Hyun Joong uses an orange towel to wipe his face. I notice his handsome bodyguard standing on the side of the stage the whole time, is he still scanning the crowd and looking for any signs of troubles? No rest for him either, he is indeed a good bodyguard.
First part of the talk is questions about Tokyo (questions are slightly different between afternoon and evening sessions). There are translations about the talk and I won’t repeat here. I am glad I could understand a little more what he was saying thanks to all the Korean news and Korean dramas I have been watching. There are several funny parts:
- He was asked about dog, he imitated different dog barking sound (US, Japan and Korea), cutest to the max
- He asked about how cat meow in Japan, also imitated cow, sheep
- One question, he had to think and count with his fingers for a while, but ended up holding only 2 fingers.
- He is coming to play a soccer game in Japan next year.
His answers seem witty and funny, draw many laughter from fans, he knows how to please the crowd. He is definitely more confident and more matured than last year’s fan meeting. While he is listening, he constantly scans the audience and you can see how happy he is that every seat is filled and all the fans are cheering for him.
At 2:25pm, he picks 3 names from the drawing box, he is very playful and teases us before he reads out the seat number in Japanese, fans are like “Ahhh, Ohhh”. The lucky 3 are 2 women and one little girl. His face lights up when he sees the little girl, saying “Ibuda” (pretty in Korean), he also lifts up the little girl and carries her at fans’ request, so cute. The lucky 3 receive a gift from him, he shakes their hands and gives them a hug (which draw some protests from the audience).
At 2:43pm, the talking part is finished. He leaves the stage to change. His Japanese song “Smile” is playing and the screen is showing behind the scene for his 2012 calendar shooting. They show his many smiles, his smile is so beautiful and bright, lights up the whole city and makes you smile in your heart too. I love the part he patting the little cat, I just imagine him patting my cat, that would be a nice picture, ^.^
He comes out to sing a ballad song, I am embarrassed to say I don’t know the name of the song, but it is a beautiful love song, his voice is getting better and better. Someone help me, is it from the new Lucky Album? Again, I was so busy working watering my money tree before the trip I haven’t even listened to the whole album yet.
He did Kiss Kiss next, this is a light hearted one, kind of cute. But I prefer the breakdown, manly type more. He changed costume again for “Do you like it” and “Lucky”. He is very lively, has some fancy footstep and leg shakes. The whole place is on fire, everyone is on her feet (or his, I saw a couple guys). At one point, he bumped into a female dancer and almost tripped. It will not be good if falls on stage.
He talks briefly after “Lucky” and says he would sing “One more Time” from Playful kiss OST. He walks up to the raised platform while singing and goes under when the song is finished.
Fans start to chant his name loudly for encore, 2 minutes later, he and all the dancers come out on stage, they dance Kiss Kiss and Lucky, he runs around like a little kid, he asks fans to jump, OMG, I can feel the ground shaking. So many otherwise properly behaved jumping singing, the power of our star. At one point, Hyun Joong picks up a towel and Ms. Now slimed down Thunderous Thigh wipes his face using the towel, it’s sort of motherly or sisterly action, but draw daggers from my eyes (I am sure many other pairs). Hyun Joong has a goofy colorful hat (you can see in the last picture from MurderQ posted by Nanet), and he tosses it to the audience, 3 ladies are on the floor fighting for it. For details, please read my previous post.
(PS: Nanet, even though I want it very much, but I don’t think I am brave enough to join the fight, plus, it is in public, and most important thing, it’s right under Hyun Joong’s eyes, I want to keep my “good” “proper” image)
The concert ends at 3:18pm.
I am so happy, it’s good to see him performing on stage again and also get the sense that he has made it to be a successful solo singer. I am sure the load he carries on his shoulders was heavy, but at least some can be lifted now.
I look around, everyone is smiling, and I am too.
Part II – Evening session
As the afternoon session people leave, the evening session fans have already arrived, so the hall becomes a very busy place. A line has already formed along the side, well, I will not join this time. There are some congratulatory flower stands in the hallway, people are taking pictures. Senders are: Universal records (Hyun Joong signed with them for Japan market), Look! S publisher (I think maybe HJ had interview with them); Music On! TV, DATV and two names I can’t understand; last one is from Bae Yong Joon. Many fans whip out their cell phones and take pictures, they look very excited as they see Yongsama in person.
I wander around a little, people everywhere, getting hungry so I get some snacks from a bakery store. I find a deck outside to sit down and take out my iPad to write fan account. After a while, a group of younger girls come with a big banner and put it on the floor, it’s full of messages to Hyun Joong. A cameraman shows up and starts filming the fans with the banner. His equipment is labeled Keyeast. I ask him (in Korean, so proud of myself) whether he is from Keyeast in Korea, is he filming for DVD, he says yes and asks me where I am from, I say US, he is like, “interview, interview”. I say my Korean is very limited, I have to say it in English, he says it’s fine. He turns on the camera, and I just start talking, I say I went to his Busan fan sign meeting and breakdown promotion, congratulate him for a successful concert, be happy, be healthy, blah, blah, can’t really remember much. After he finishes, we realize that I didn’t mention I am from US, so he turns on the camera again, I say I am from LA, etc. Later when I look at myself in the mirror, I look horrible, OMG, hope they don’t use this, I will be too embarrassed to see my puffy face on screen,
Soon it’s for the evening session entrance, I meet with another foreign fan, she has watched all sessions except Sunday afternoon one! We only enter 15 minutes before the concert starts, again, lightsticks and towels are not available. Our seats are on the second floor, we can see the whole stage, but it’s kind of far. She sat at 1st row in Hiroshima and Hyun Joong came down stage to shake hands with fans in the front. They are showing his CFs on the screen again.
At 6pm, everyone starts to chant his name, wuri star is on stage several minutes later. The performance is the same, Let it go, Breakdown, Please, Thank you. His outfit is different than afternoon session. Again he is drenched in sweats. Time for the talk session, the questions are slightly different than the afternoon session. He talks about his drinking ability, 5 bottles; marriage, he thinks for a while before answering. Even he still gives funny answers and makes fans laugh, I can’t help but to notice that he looks tired, sometimes he just stares blankly, he smiles a little less, his voice lower than earlier, poor boy. He is asked to do Kiss Kiss in slow motion, and he does it several times, making us all laugh out loud.
3 fans are picked by him to go on stage, a young boy (very handsome and cute) is picked. Hyun Joong immediately pulls him close, he really loves kids. The boys says he wants to be as tall as him, Hyun Joong says calcium, etc. Each fan is given a gift by Hyun joong and gets a hug too.
The talk session ends at 7:08pm, Hyun Joong leaves the stage to prepare for the second half of the performance. Smile MV is playing again on screen, I will never get tired watching his smiling face. He comes back on stage again and does Kiss Kiss, Do you like it and Lucky guy. He dances with full energy, no signs of fatigue, even his singing is still strong, no panting. (I remember a couple years ago when he was doing a De Ja vu performance with 501 boy, he was so exhausted and you could hear his panting clearly). But according to the fan who has attended many sessions, HJ was singing all live for the first few concerts, and now he sings most of the parts live but skips some when the background music is loud. I remember he said during one interview that he practiced Breakdown for a month in order to sing live. His efforts have paid off for sure.
He sings One More Time last and goes under the stage when he finishes. Everyone is screaming for him, he comes out with dancers for encore. He has his gray hoody sweater on his shoulder. They goof around on stage, fans throw stuff on stage, towels, stuff animals, Hyun Joong picks some up and puts them aside. At one point, takes down his sweater and gives it to a fan, everyone screams, we all want one. Later I saw picture that he gave it to a little boy, of course.
As soon as he leaves the stage, some fans start to rush out of the hall, I pick up my bag and follow them, they know where to see Hyun Joong off. We run at full speed, I am not kidding, soon, we arrive at the parking lot exit, there are already many fans on the side walk, several layers deep. A restaurant nearby is blasting Hyun Joong’s songs, smart way to get business tonight. Several minutes later, a gray van came, Hyun Joong is sitting on the ride side holding a camcorder to film the fans. Everyone screams and waves, the van moves very slowly due to the traffic, so it gives us a few more precious seconds to see his face, I take a short video too, but I don’t quite know how to zoom in, so he looks small in the video. I will try to post later when I figure out how.
I wish I could go to more concerts, Hyun Joong is like a drug, once you get addicted, you just want more and more. Hopefully next year I will be back for Budokon or Tokyo Dome concerts.
Part III – 2011-11-22 Haneda Airport
I was going to be a good tourist and make good use of my railroad pass, but seeing Hyun Joong on Sunday just makes me want to see him more. Since he will fly to Fukuoka today so I will have a chance to see him if I go to Haneda airport. My cousin’s husband even looked up the route for me, which one is the shortest. I still debated whether to go or not in the morning, I was tired since I stayed up late to write the fan account. But when I got up, I knew I would go, people guess he will leave after 12, that gives me plenty of time to get to the airport. Thank goodness Haneda is much closer than Narita, I made my way there without difficulties. The problem was that it has two terminals, which one, which one. I decided to go to the last stop and if I didn’t find anyone there then go to another one.
I arrived Terminal 2 a little after 11AM, I was sure there would be some Japanese fans waiting so I started to look around for groups. Soon I found a couple dozen women gathering together in one of the entrance, ah, must be them. And the good thing is that Hyun Joong hasn’t arrived yet. I asked one fan whether she knew which flight he would take, nobody knew, but somehow they know when and where to wait. So I let out a sigh of relief and took out my camera to take pictures, and, NOOOOOO, I forgot to put in the SD card. When I was write the fan account, I pulled out the SD card and inserted it to my laptop, this morning I was in a hurry trying to post and completely forgot to put it bag. Darn it, I want to @#$%^. My cousin called to check on my progress, I told her about the SD card, she said just buy one in the airport. She usually keeps extra in her wallet, she is very smart, but stupid me. I went to a couple store and nobody sells SD cards. I would have to go to different floors to check and I was afraid he would come in when I am gone. OMG, what to do, finally, I gave up the SD card and went back to the waiting area, at least I still have my iphone, it’s a new 4S and picture quality is not bad, 8mp.
I was looking at the screen for possible flight he would be one, 12:30, 13:15, etc, almost one per hour. Then I saw the automatic check in stations, you could buy tickets too. My curiosity got me and I went to one computer to see how much it costs for a ticket to Fukuoka, if I know which flight he would be on, theoretically I could purchase one and take the same flight. I started to press the touch screen, ok, one way ticket to Fukuoka is about 367,00 yen, about US$478, kind of expensive for a 2 hour flight. But it seems they have seats available on all flights today. After several minutes, I completed my research and turned around, got a shock of my life, all the fans were gone, I mean, no one was hanging around. I swear it was just a few minutes I was on the computer and how come this happened. Has Hyun Joong already arrived and left right behind my back, I want to @#$%. But I didn’t hear scream or cheers, it seemed impossible that the fans would watch him walking by silently. Maybe they went to another terminal, I made my way down stairs to take the monorail to go to Terminal One. But I stopped myself before got on the monorail, I needed to make sure they are not here. So I went back up to the departure lobby and scanned the crowd for any signs of groups. Finally I saw a group standing at one end of the departure hall, also there were uniformed staff standing around close by, I ran towards the end and saw the ladies were lining up in front of a particular gate, several airport security were standing by, one even holding some ropes. OMG, what a relief, I joined the line behind the rope, there were about 50-60 people now.
Sometime after 12, we saw a familiar face, Hyun Joong’s handsome bodyguard Mr. Jeong walked in with someone in uniform (airport security head). He is such a polite young man, he bowed nearly 90 degrees to that man when he left. He saw us and bowed to us, two Japanese fans gave him two bags of presents, he accepted graciously. He discussed with the security people and left after a few minutes. Looks like Hyun Joong would take the 13:15 flight. Everyone took out camera and camcorder to get ready, we waited and waited. Some people stopped to ask who were waiting. Finally, around 12:45, airport security started to get busy, a Keyeast staff came in with a camcorder, all the signs that wuri star is coming soon. Then it just happened, a group of men walked in, he was right in front of us, he walked slowly, like a leisure stroll, he was wearing a gray light weight long coat. He was looking straight most of the time, then he turned to his right, smiled and wave at us. He got in the security gate in a few seconds. From my angle, I could see him taking off his coat. I took a couple pictures, after he disappeared from our vision, I checked my phone, OMG, all I got was a blurred side view, looks like a Monet impression painting, today is just not my day. Oh, well, I am sure other fans take better pictures and videos, I think I should just give up doing this when I see him, how can I just had one lousy picture when he was so close in front of me, aigoo, me complete camera idiot
After several minutes, I jumped and realized I could buy the same flight ticket, I could do it, I would fly there with him and take the train back. I ran to one computer and started to press the buttons on the screen, tickets for this flight is still available, I entered my name, age, gender, then selected a seat, all the window seats were not available, Ok, I will take the aisle one then, now, it asked for my credit card, wait, let me go back to check the seat one more time, OK, set, I opened my wallet and took out my credit card, at that moment, the screen refreshed, the first flight available would be 14:00, they just closed the 13:15 fight. What is this, I can’t believe this. The computer refused to let me on the 13:15 flight. I gave up and exited the screen. So much for the day, I sighed.
This is the first time I saw him in an airport coming and going, I kind of wonder where are the rest, it seems they have some sort of standard operation procedure for going/coming to airports.
(y)
