Bigbang bigshow 2012 alive tour!

okay this is going to take a while to adequately blog about what I've seen, but I just got back from day 2 BIGBANG bigshow alive 2012 tour and my mind has been blown!!! Holy beejezus it was amazing!

goods line

goods=sold out(mostly)

First I hit up the goods line. Let's just say things sold out, fast....Most everything was gone by the time I got there but thank god everyone was chill and having a great time. I like the goods at this concert and picked up quite a few things I wanted. The only thing I really wanted but couldn't get was the daesung fan. Oh well I'll be at the Fukuoka japan concert in the VIP section. Got my goods and then wandered around. I had some trouble reading things and understanding what it said, but luckily there was a lot of Japanese and English on things.
I was planning on picking up some soul headphones but chickened out on the prices at the last second. Picked up a new lightstick(my last one broke from rocking out at the last concert), Hoodie, paper crafts, and bandana.Below was a giant display of the gmarket collab with Bigbang. They had games such as bigbang basketball and this strange stepper machine that, the more steps you took the better a fan you were. You could win special prizes. I saw clear files, shirts, and special photos. They had a thank you box where you could write letters to the members. The paper had pictures of the member you were writing to.

Bigbang g-market collab=cute pics of g-dragon

We waited forever but were happy with our goods. There was a special line for Korean VIP'S to get special goods. いいいなあああああ！！ I'm a Japanese VIP and wanted all the goods. It has gotten me the special VIP seats for the Japanese concert but is no good to me in Korea. Ok here's how I got the tickets to Bigshow 2012. I live in Japan as a teacher and have two Japanese friends who love bigbang. We used a special company called a だいこ (I think) It buys bulk tickets from other countries and sells them to people in their own home country. It IS more expensive than just buying the tickets on Gmarket, but it guarantees you good seats. I spent \10000 on my ticket alone, but I was in section 2 in the front stage. It was the best seats I could have imagined. I would pay it again to not have to fight on gmarket for tickets. I booked my flight from Miyazaki to Seoul for \20000 (there and back) and got a hotel in Meoyeoungdong(sp?) for cheap as well.

waiting for goods top needs a hug

So onto the concert. I went on day two, the Saturday, and after goods went shopping more. I came back around five and got in line for my section. First you got a wristband that identified you section/gate and then you got in line, with numbered groups. I was in 500-800. Our group was the third to enter for group two so we got great seats. At first I was confused. We were ushered in and after a bit of walked entered two's section. No one was there. The whole arena was empty! The hand full of people who had entered before us were all lined up next to the main stage. I thought it would be better to be near the extended stage so that's where I went. I'm a tall girl, at 6'ft (180cm) everyone was keen to stay away from me which was great, until the concert started. Slowly the whole section filled up and they started playing music videos to keep us entertained. I stood there forever(1 hour) while security yelled at us.....No camera's, no phones, no unauthorized goods, no light, etc. The number one rule was no pushing, which was useless by the time the concert started. This particular concert started late, about 15 minutes late and people were getting antsy. Finally it started with a hilarious opening sequence.

waiting to go in

It started with a bang and people went crazy. Sorry I have no pics, security was right in front of my and I didn't want to be thrown out. The threat was very real, with several people around me being dragged out, crying. Madness I tell you! Madness. I was smashed into the railing and stayed there the entire time. The girl next to me hyperventilated and had to be escorted out. The closest thing I can describe it as, is a mosh pit. A mosh pit of crazy fan girls and man was it awesome. My friends didn't fair so well and were pushed around. I could reach out and touch the stage and had a great view. They went straight into their new songs and blew everyone away. This was a loud concert. I have been to rock concerts in America that weren't as intense as this. All of the songs were awesome, most of the stages were new and many of the songs were a remix of the original. There were cool cut scenes in between performances. First up was Seungri who came out in this army laser costume and I must say he has gotten wayyyyy hotter. His singing has also improved and I really enjoyed him in Blue. He performed his songs and then it was on to Gd&Top. As usual they were energetic and bouncing around, TOP was even more bubbly than usual.

after and leaving

Then Taeyang performed his classic songs and really broke out in some fantastic dancing. It was better than usual and he had a back up crew of break dances. On a funny note one of the backup dancers in from of me(a guy) had a minor wardrobe malfunction. His pant had clips/buttons on the side so you can change them quickly but the whole backside of his cameo pants came undone and he was dancing around with his underoos showing. He quickly got of the stage. I really liked their fashion as this concert too! Cool jackets, hiphop accessories, and hats were the theme of the night. The final solo stage was Daesung. I really liked his new song and it sounded powerful and cool. I really liked the tempo of the song. I was super surprised when he had giant wings and floated above the audience. I noticed at Korean concerts the atmosphere is extremely different from Japanese concerts. The Korean concert was very loud, cool, and everyone seemed way more into it than in Japan. My favorite song was definately fantastic baby. If had a club like atmosphere and everyone was singing and dancing. G-dragon rocked it and TOP's boomshakalaka's had everyone cheering. Second song was ain't no fun. I really liked the girls vs. boys vibe and the stage was pretty sexy. 

stage, all the black areas were screens

Funniest things this concert.
1) Taeyang and Daesung rolling across the audience in giant human hamster balls. Taeyang looked  like he was having the best day ever as he ran around. At first I thought they would stay on the stage, but then the rolled onto the audience essentially crowd surfing without being mauled.
2) G-dragon sitting in front of the girl next to me on the stage and taking her hand made sign. He said something to her and handed her one of his towels. Fan girls near her were sooooo envious!!
3) The girls behind me catching Daesung's towel and fighting over it. The security man made them rock scissor paper for it and the winning girl cried.
4) Backup dancer pants falling off.
5) Seungri mocking Taeyang's dancing and all of them laughing.

after the concert, couldnt take pics where I was because security man threatened to remove me from the front row.

The last part of the concert was lots of fan songs and we cheered for an encore. There was lots of towel throwing and I believe GD accidently threw his jacket into the crowd. I think he was aiming for the edge but it flew into the audience and was consumed by fan girls. It ended and we were ushered out quickly. Thing to note. HUGE line for the subway. Have your t-card loaded or you'll be waiting in line for a ticket forever.

goods, games, and lots of photos

leaving

woah,

GOT TICKETS TO BIGSHOW/ALIVE TOUR 2012!!! Never thought I'd be going back to korea so soon, again, but it's going to be fantastic. We got amazing tickets in the front section of the stage area. Going to go on a three day BIGBANG fueled trip via money and constant smiling. I'm going with two of my best Japanese friends who are just as crazy as me so I can only imagine what's going to happen. I'm a bit intimidated by the goods line in Korea and hope it doesn't excede 3 hours.....Hotels, traveling, and plane arrangements are all complete. I will leave this upcoming weekend on friday. Listened to their new song Blue and was blown away by the sadness of it. Amazing lyrics that stick in your head even though I can't pronounce all of it. On another note in March I will go to Tohoku to help clean up. Tickets were more expensive than the Korea tickets but I think this will be a good thing for me. I want to help and deep down I secretly enjoy manual labor. I enjoy cleaning and carrying things so it will be an adventure. Golden week is coming up but I have no plans, I'm thinking a trip to shikoku might be nice and do the pilgramage around the island. Had my birthday and everyone was extremely nice and got me an amazing cake. I got lots of presents, lots of it cat related. For Valentines day I made 100 truffles and gave them to everyone and anyone. Here's hoping white day brings good returns. I forgot what a pain making chocolates is and the second batch was bad so I had to do it again. Pictures to come soon.

Osaka & BIGBANG

30,000 people!

ramen museum

So for a quick three day weekend Muqing and I went to osaka to chillax and see the Yg family concert at the Kyocera dome. We stayed at another awesome hostel, super clean and very helpful, called j-hoppers hostel. Really nice place. Day one we arrived in Osaka around 12:00ish and decided
that we were sleepy and not wanting to move around so we headed to the goods line. It was super easy to find but the train system here is crazy. It's well run but there are tons of lines you can choose from and moving from one line to another is interesting to say the least. Got in the goods and and lo-and-behold!!! It only took an hour and everything we wanted was there. Meaning NOT sold out!! I got a yg hoodie, anniversary light, 2NE1 pins, gd&top clear files, and a tablo pen. Good haul! We were starving and saw a poster for a collaboration between coco curry and bigbang. Yes and yes, we headed there and payed too much and enjoyed the best curry evah!! including getting a free bigbang spoon. Checked into the hostel and then headed out to find a cat cafe.

our seats weren't too bad

The lady at the hostel had given us directions to a cat cafe with a map. It took us TWO hours to find the damn thing. We wandered around in the cold deciding where this cafe was, only to take a taxi around a corner to a building we had already been to. Sadly in was in a building we had walked by at least 10 times. Oh well... We went in and chilled with cats for an hour and called in a night. The next day slept in and went to the ramen museum. Momofuku cup ramen museum and had a blast! You get a cup and decorate it for only 300yen. ($3) Then fill it with pre-frozen noodles. There is a plethora of delicious freeze dried things to put into the ramen including, asparagus, kimchi, and cheese. I choose curry flavor and have yet to eat it. I can only imagine mine will taste horrible. Then we headed to the concert. It was surprisingly easy to get in and we found our seats. We were pleasantly surprised that our seat were so close, right near the floor area. They were showing lots of music videos and other videos from the Korean family concert.

bigbang curry

The concert got going with GD&TOP's Oh yeah video, it was a bit strange, and everyone started singing to this video. It kicked off with 2NE1 singing a variety of songs and then we got a sampling of all of the artists songs in their groups. Bigbang, 2NE1, Psy, Se7en, Gummy, Tablo, and Jinsu & Sean all sang lots of songs in a variety of languages. Including English, Korean, and Japanese. Then they mixed in the collaborations. Sometimes they sang of Yg songs, other times they sang new songs, like se7en did. Gummy, Psy's and Jinsu & Sean's songs were new to me. Gummy sings alot of ballads and has an amazing voice. I don't like ballads but her singing was extremely powerful. Psy is Amazing!! I had seen him but never seen him perform. It was crazy, his stage presence was overwhelming and even though he could only speak Korean and his songs were new to us no one could sit down or not pay attention to him. How could you ignore a giant statue of him drinking and smoking, and then having its clothes ripped off? answer is---> you don't. Jinsu & Sean has this amazing old school American hip-hop vibe. I really liked it because it wasn't trashy sounding like contemporary hip-hop now adays. Bigbang came back at the end for another round and they sang the special ending song, but not before the most ridiculous ending songs ever. 2NE1 and Gummy sang bigbang's last farewell and Bigbang sang I am the best. Top and daesung in I am the best was hilarious. I wish they would break from their cool image to be goofy more often. Since the accident they've been more reserved. Again Psy stole the show parodying lady gaga and beyonce. He wore the EXACT same outfit as they did and danced like a beast on stage with the video playing behind him. A nice touch was his face glued onto the video. Awesomeness.

-FIRE (2NE1)
-CAN’T NOBODY (2NE1)
-GO AWAY (2NE1)  
-TONIGHT (BIGBANG) 
-HANDS UP (BIGBANG) 
-BIGBANG TALK TIME 
-KOE WO KIKASETE (BIGBANG) 
-GARA GARA GO (BIGBANG)
-I’M SORRY (GUMMY)
-DIGITAL BOUNCE (SE7EN FT TOP)  
-TALK TIME (se7en Jinu & GD(?)) 
-HIPHOP GENTLEMEN (GDRAGON, SE7EN, JINUSEAN)
-A-YO (JINUSEAN)
-TELL ME (JINUSEAN WITH DARA)
-LOVE IS BAD (TABLO FT BOM)
-TABLO AND GUMMY STAGE  
-TOMORROW (TABLO FT TAEYANG) 
-IT HURTS (DAESUNG) 
-LONELY (SE7EN SEUNGRI SE7EN DAESUNG) 
-OH YEAH (GTOP FT BOM)
-PSY STAGE
-SHAKE IT (PSY)
-SOMEBODY ELSE (SE7EN)
-I AM THE BEST (2NE1)
-I DON’T CARE (2NE1)
-UGLY (2NE1 FT GUMMY)
-HEARTBREAKER [BALLAD VER] (GUMMY)  
-HARU HARU [japanese VER] (BIGBANG) 
-LIES (BIGBANG)
-HEAVEN (BIGBANG)
-LAST FAREWELL (2NE1) with gummy (?)
-LADY GAGA PARODY (PSY)
-I AM THE BEST (BIG BANG)
-MALHAEJYO (sung by the whole family + GDYB dance)

FOUR hours later!!! The concert ended with the special ending song and then we headed out deliriously happy. Best concert ever. Monday was a holiday and we went to kiyomisu temple for coming of age day. We got to do giant omikuge and I got middle level so I am moderately lucky for the rest of the year.

swag

mini GD&TOP from Japan album

Korea!!

This explains most of the trip

Korea, a land full of spicy foods, cosmetics galore, and tempers running high. Had an amazing time in Korea just walking around and taking in the sights. Although we were a bit on edge and a bit nauseous, we came out on top and with overly filled suitcases. I saw what I wanted to see and went were I wanted to go. I do regret not going to the new years bell at the big square, but knew that if I went it would equal more sickness.
Day 1: Still in Japan, drove to Fukuoka on the highway. Cost $50 but was so worth it. Arrived at the ryokan and checked in. Hit up some shopping and eventually the onsen. Muqing and Lola used the hand massagers which immediately left them with their hands stuck in a large plastic box.
Day2: Drove to the port and 3 hours later arrived in busan via ferry. Took a taxi to the hotel to arrive just in time to meet Sakimi-san at the door. Stayed at Zen-backpackers, the cleanest hostel I've seen in a long time. Pristine with free toast and tea. Awesome view as well. We were starving so we got yakiniku/korean bbq and then hit the town for some shopping. First thing of importance to see= BIGBANG bus for Nikon. It was monstrous and plastered with pictures of all of bigbang in giant, color glory. Fan girled...Called it an early night and saw sherlock holmes. Awesome movie and then headed to TGI Friday for some chopped steak. Damn hamburg had disguised itself as chopped steak on the menu so got to eat chopped steak/hamburg for dinner..
Day 3:Went out and waited for our 5th person tomoyo-san and headed to the bullet train. Cheap and fast we arrived in Seoul around mid-day Arrived at our hostel only to find that they messed up the reservations and moved us to another hostel across the street called golden pond. Okay hostel, little messy, with strange shower, but overall no to bad. Dropped off the stuff and hit the town. Met a really cool girl at the hostel from Germany and got yakiniku(again) and drank an entire bottle of shoju in about 30 minutes. It was a bit potent and left me a bit spiny but overall much better taste than shochu. Went shopping around and only bought a bit and went to bed early. Hostel was hot, and I mean really hot. My apt. in Japan averages 5C in the winter, the hostel was at least 20C and I thought I was suffocating. I opened the window only to be thwarted by the lady wearing long sleeves in pants below me. She shut the window and turned the heater on high. : ( .
Day 4: Photo shoot=incredibly sick. How I mad it through this morning is a mystery for me. So sick and in generally a bad mood, I powered though 3 hours of make-up, hair, and free tea. I had alot of fun and was glad the clothes fit me although they added an extra piece in the front. After we shopped til we dropped. We went to meoyongdong and shopped at millions of cosmetic stores and street stalls. Bought my polaroid camera,cd's, northface jacket, and BSX stuff. Hit up all of the famous k-pop related items/stores. Posters, cutouts, and boot leg goods were everywhere and it looked like other people were fan girling as well ^-~ Ate more soups and street foods including spicy mochi then went to get massage. Note to self, never get a massage again. It was unpleasant and expensive. They beat the shit out of my back and my back hurt 3 days later. It might have helped my posture, but the pain was not worth it. The others got their unmentionables steamed, yes steamed, I'm not going to explain. Then we all headed to the onsen which was ungodly hot. Even hotter than Japanese bath houses. Did not enjoy.

Day 5: New years eve! DMZ tour was planned for half a day, so got up at the butt crack of dawn(still sick) and rode to the city hall and then headed to various places on the way. We saw the freedom bridge, and the original train intended to travel to north korea. It was rusted and not in use. We went to a mini museum where we saw a video and what is actually in the DMZ(mostly nature and land mines) It was freezing and everything was frosted and frozen. Finally we went to the 3rd tunnel, which was a steep climb into the ground that flattened in a small rocky tunnel you could walk to the end of. N. Korea dug it and when it was discovered they retreated back, whilst smearing the walls with black coal. They tried to claim they were mining coal even though the tunnel is granite. Walking back up was hot and tiring and then I bought snacks and randomly found bigbang cola!!We ended at an amethyst factory where could buy Korea's official stone. We went to a tea shop the diagnosis you, and then creates a unique tea blend for any ailments you might have. They even included bottles of extra tea to take home. Then our group parted ways. Muqing and I went on our k-pop craze while the others got massages and aka-sui. We went to se7en's chicken shop which had amazing food and then shopped on this amazing street with light show. I really wish I would have stayed there for New years. We went to SM entertainment and laughed at ourselves when we realized we could only stand outside of it. Headed back and ate cake and ice and we quietly rang in New years.

Day 6: People in our group got sick and so we headed to the hospital which discharged here very quickly. While Iv's were flowing we went to the main palace for the changing of the guards. We missed the first change so we wandered. It was cold and everything was frozen. We also saw a large gold statue. We went to Meoyongdong to meet up with our sick member and got lunch at a mild Italian restaurant and then split up again. Muqing, Tomoyo, and Sakimi went to Nandeomond for some bootleg shopping and Lola and I did a final sweep of Meoyongdong. Final cosmetics were  bought and we met back at the hostel to pick up the luggage then headed to catch the bullet train back to Busan. 3 hours later back at our original hostel we settled in and sorted the suitcases. We to a pasta shop that gave us free hot chocolate and delicious lettuce pizza.

Day 7: Pure traveling. Chilled at the hostel eating toast and tea then took a taxi to the port and ferried it back to Fukuoka. Then a 4ish hour drive back to Miyazaki, where we stopped and ate soba and ice. It was super mild after all the korean food. delicious! then got back around 9pm.

It was a difficult trip with lots of suitcases and opinions. But I'd like to think we came out happy and on top. I would love to go back and stay 2 weeks next time. I would travel slowly, stay in a different hostel, and never go to a bath house again. I got what I wanted and more. Leaning towards a short teaching time in Korea now, but to be determined.

sick and tired

So I got my tickets to the YG family show in Osaka and am super excited!!! I'm going to pay the bit extra and fly there instead of taking the ferry due to my motion sickness issues. This ticket and my trip to Korea in December are all that are motivating me at the moment. My English club is currently involved with creating a play for a large and important event, and its slowly killing me. It looks TERRIBLE. No amount of English learning will undo the horror that is this play. My co-workers and I have created elaborate backdrops(this took months to make), at least 20 hand made props, and hours of script writing and dancing training. When finally it came time to put it all together, the students could say their lines perfectly, but changes to the script were frequent and have ruined any chance of it being good. Too many people that should have no say are being allowed to run the show and the blame inevitably will land on my friends and I, and the people who worked hardest to make this the best it can be. The students are also ruining it by looking bored and joking around. They seem to think messing around and not doing what they should in front of the head(mayor) of the city I work for is tons of fun.......The worst part is there is nothing we can do anymore. The students have been reprimanded, praised, warned, and threatened to no avail. They have gone to that magical place where Japanese students go when asked a question they have no answer for. They just stare blankly back at me and the worst part is, it is them, who will look ridiculous on stage, and it is my friends and I who will take the blame at the end of all this. But worst of all, it is the head of juku who will be crucified for the budget, student failures, and overall horror that the students have made. All the blame will be where it shouldn't and could possibly end the best thing going for my city: Juku.

cat of doom

But enough of my ranting onto bigger and better things. I have felt like crap for about two weeks now(possibly stress from the play) but I have been having some fun. Like going to ji-chan's house for some catching up and ridiculous stories. Got to drink fanta out of bamboo cups and enjoy awesome company and food. I made the fabulous choice to head out for some drinking after the event. Lola tried to steal my shoes, but I talked her and Muqing out of walking from Nango back to Nichinan at night. I dropped them off for a great night. Squeezed my ass into a friend's tiny car and headed to karaoke for two hours. Nomihodai for the win and some epic singing. First time seeing heavy metal sung at Karaoke and ate tons of french fries. After two hours of singing with a slightly sore throat, I headed home at 2:30am and finally went to bed at 3:30.....Woke up at 6am got ready for a trip to mt. aso. One of Lola's English students took on a fabulous high speed drive on the highway that got us to mt. aso in 3 hours(let it be known it took me 6 hours on backroads to do the same thing). I got seriously car sick. I should have known, but I felt terrible for inconviencing this poor guy. He even pulled over so I could barf on the side of the road.(also let it be known I bought him a $30 bottle of sho-chu as an apology) good times, I think I scared him a bit. First stop was the cuddly dominion, basically a glorified petting zoo. Saw tons of animals that are wild in America but are novelty to people in Japan. Such as the giant guinea pig petting area and cat and dog areas. At least I got to play with animals. Next was mt. aso and an amazing soba restaurant. Everything was soba, ice cream, teas, noodles, even salads. I have never enjoyed ice as much as that place, who would have guessed soba ice cream could be so damn delicious. We then drove through the expensive onsen district where people pay upwards of $200 to bathe in black salt, and mineral waters. We went to an onsen for $8 and enjoyed the lovely rotten egg smell all onsens have. I even dared to go into the freezing pond that literally gave me pins and needles it was so cold. Finally we drove back and stopped in Miyakonojo for kaiten sushi and ate tons of sushi. I like these places because you can pay per plate and there's nothing better than seeing a giant stack of plates that only cost you $5. Finally head back to nichinan where I got the best sleep of my life. The next day(sunday) was spent on a dress rehearsal for the play from hell. All of my superiors were there and could witness the horror for themselves, and thus began the debate of too many cooks in the kitchen. Too many ideas and authorities clashed. In the end I have no say and will still be at fault at the end.
Final not: Aoshima camp is this weekend and I plan to de-stress and work with children. I will also help make curry and nan. Come on Korea time!!!! I need clubbing, eating, and shopping stat. At least I'll have lots of money for the trip because I'm too busy and stressed to spend money right now

making wasabi

.

We are Family!

More concerts to be had this time of year as it winds down. Decemer I'm gonna hop on over to korea via ferry and enjoy the snow and coldness for a bit. Perhaps a little skiiing and shopping. So much concert info has been pouring into my inbox its unbelievable. Shinee's new japanese is set to hit by the end of the year. Super excited but a bit peeved seeing as I bought all of the Japaneses singles individually. Tohoshinki's concert is in February, and I will try to get tickets in decemeber. Just announced is the YG family concert in both Japan and Korea. D-lite's comback after his car accident is great news, but it might also mean G-dragon won't attend due to postponing his activities. 2NE1, Se7en, bigbang, and gummy will all be there for an epic concert in January. I hope they can all make it!! I've already put in my reservation with my membership the minute I heard about it. Another note, their dvd/cd combo pack and Japanese single have been postponed until a later date due to Japan's negative views about drug usage. The korea family concert will be held in December. Finally in February there is the possibility of Bigshow. Every year they hold a giant concert with only bigbang but due to all of the recent new involving them who knows whats going to happen.

dancing and drawing

Minho!

Not much to write about but must keep writing weekly to keep the blog going. Went to sports day at Yowara and had a great time. I got to participate in the giant ball rolling event, although the ball was paper-mache and really hard to push(with no help from muqing). Snagged some lunch and headed back for some epic house cleaning. I find that if I don't clean the house once a week by week two the house looks like hell. It's finally colder out and I can break out the hoodies!! Well, not really seeing as I can't wear them to work.....So....Let's break out more suit tops!! Still working on my drawings. Seeing as I keep drawing k-pop pictures I bought a new sketchbook and am going to try to draw more serious things in a more original way. Thumbnails commence! I have over 20 pages of miniature drawings that I plan to turn into large scale drawings, but I have been super busy with work...boo...I am now obsessed with supernatural. I first watched the animated series which covered the first two seasons and I'm hooked. Season two finale will be watched tonight and then I'm gonna take a break so I don't die from watching too much tv. Tonight is dancing, traditional dancing that is so repetitive that you can space out. Finally finishing out the week with the obi festival where said dancing should be done in front of a large crowd and cameras.Good times.....now to finish the last k-pop drawing for a while. Here's a pic from the second to last drawing.