Japan, September Updates!

It's been a while since I have updated my blog, and I dearly apologize for that. >.<  It has been REALLY busy here, and now there is so much to say.  LOL

SOoo...  For the most exciting part....

I AM PART OF GACKT DEARS....AND...

BLOODY HELL I'M GOING TO HIS YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz LIVE ON OCTOBER 27!!!!!  

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:)   I wish I could make a bigger happy face... LOL

Alright, to the more fancy stuff....Getting concert tickets is sooo difficult here in Japan. In the US, it is so easy to secure a ticket for a concert, even if it is the day of you can still get tickets depending on who you are wanting to see. But here in Japan? HEEELLLZ no.  You have to register for the fanclub (and sometimes it costs big money...), you have to register for Lawsons AND their ticket sites, and THEN...you have to HOPE you can get a ticket before they sell out, EVEN if you are in the fanclub.  Usually, concert tickets in Japan sell out within seconds of them being released. So what happens first, is the fanclub members (and SOMETIMES general public), enter to win their tickets in a lottery.  Firstly, you can't find ANY information about how the lottery works. ANYWHERE. So I am going to help yall out if you ever encounter this problem.

This is envelope for tickets/fanclub tickets/ etc

DEARS Fanclub confirmation. This is what you receive at Lawsons after you register for the club at the loppi machine.

 
HOW THE JAPAN CONCERT TICKET LOTTERY WORKS:

With Lawsons and their Ticket site, you sometimes have the option to enter into a lottery to get your ticket(s).  The lottery is usually open to fanclub members only, or fanclub members first, but either way, it is a hit or miss.  It is completely random. Winners are randomly chosen and so are the seats. The good thing about this, is that the fanclub members don't get to steal all the good seats. The bad thing is, is that you could get the worst seating in the entire house.  But that is the least of your worries. At least you have a better chance at securing the ticket. 

Now here is where it gets hard to find information.  When you register with Lawsons and their Ticket site, you have to register what bands you are interested in getting tickets and information for. Your band may or may not be registered.

Also, when you go to enter the lottery, you DO NOT PAY UNLESS YOU WIN THE TICKETS.  This information can't be found ANYWHERE in English, I tried.  I just know this from experience. If you DO win the tickets, then the money is automatically withdrawn from your credit card. 

And now it gets even more trickier...If you win, you will receive a confirmation email from lawsons telling you what you won and how to go pick up your tickets as well as how much was drawn from your account.  The tricky part? Getting the tickets.

Go to a loppi machine usually found in Lawsons. The 100円 Lawsons do not carry the loppi machine (at least not that I can see).  The loppi machine is ALL in Japanese, so make sure you have a denshi jishou, a person who can read kanji,  know your kanji, or just be really good at guessing when you go to pick up your tickets. The machine will ask you for your four digit pin to confirm your tickets, will ask you for the 10 digit confirmation you received in your email, as well as some other information about you.  Here is the most important..do NOT forget your credit card you used to pay. This is how they check to make sure YOU are the one who won the tickets, and not someone who is trying to steal them from you.  So please do not forget:

1). 4 digit pin
2). 10 digit confirmation number
3). credit card used to pay

Also know your address, phone number, DOB, etc. This is useful information when applying for fanclubs too.

Once you have your tickets, you are good and set!!

If you do NOT win your lottery, it is okay because you have a chance to purchase them later on their release date. For this, I suggest you purchase them within seconds of their release time, especially if it is for a famous artist like Gackt, Ayumi Hamasaki, X-Japan, SMAP, Kumi Koda, etc etc.  These tickets sell out within seconds of being released, so be quick and be ready!  There are actually people who wait at the loppi machines or at the computer on the ticket site, waiting for the release time to get their tickets.

Also, Japanese are obsessed with their hobbies, especially when it comes to artists that they like. So they will follow their favorite artist to every live they have all over the world. They will also purchase tickets even if they have no intention of going to the concert.  I know...It sucks...GOOD LUCK!

NIHON BUYOU

Went to my first nihon buyou lesson tonight.  I have been dancing nihon buyou for 5 years now, but I wanted to continue to learn here in Japan. I love to dance, and I love performing, so I was ecstatic to be able to continue dancing here.  

It was sooo great! I made a really awesome friend who will be joining me in my lessons. :)  She loves the things that I like too! We have a lot in common.  She is from China, but lived in Japan for 5 years now.  She likes shabu shabu, karaoke, and enka. :)  She was really easy to get along with!!!!  I can't wait to hang out with her again. ^.^

The sensei is super nice! I got served beer, some snacks... XD  And then he told me that he will teach me a harder dance because I have been doing it for a while. He wants us to perform for a big festival at the end of October. SOOOO exciting, and a bit exhilarating too.  Nerve wracking is another good word to use, I think. lol

We learned a super short song tonight, and we are going to practice it a lot. :P 



TENSHI NO SATO　天使の里

Tenshi no Sato was absolutely gorgeous! The ride to Kyoto took a little long, because we missed our station and went to the wrong one. >.<  We then had to take the bus to Kyoto Station, and get on the JR line to Sato. Tenshi no Sato was right next to the station.  When you walk in, you are bombarded with beautiful gardens and traditional entranceway. Also bombarded with a tall, modern building in the middle of it all. . . 

When you walk in, you check in at the window. If you are a VS member then you don't have to make a reservation. However, if you do not have a Volks paid membership, then you have to make a reservation ahead of time before you can come, and show id when you get there.

The shop was in the basement, and they have all of their one offs for the limited event displayed!!! <3

Speaking on one-offs... O.M.G.  They have showrooms everywhere, and they display all of their best versions and one-offs ever. Along with the limited clothes etc. It just makes you want to pee yourself. O.O  It is so amazing!  You are not allowed to take pictures though.

We met up with three very WONDERFUL ladies!  They were so nice and helpful, and we all hung out and talked about dolls for a long while! 

When we went outside, we went to the gardens to take pictures. So beautiful.  I have taken tons of pics and some video, but I am going to only upload a few of them for now.

After our visit to Tenshi no Sato, we went to a resturant in Kyoto that was famous for their pancakes. They were expensive, at about 750円　to 1000円 for two pancakes and a drink. @.@  You can also add desert to your set (in the US we call it a "meal").

But they were DELICIOUS!!  The place was at a renovated onsen, and you could tell it used to be an onsen. :)  Because of this, we could not take pictures of anything except our food. I don't have pics of my food at the moment to upload. I will have to get them from my friend's camera. :)



I think that is all for now.  Classes are super, joined Kendo and found a guy I like... lol .. .  Joining naginata club (I hope to anyway!), along with Sado club. ^_^  SUPER BUSY!!!


Mimiru


Lawson Ticket Site
https://l-tike.com

Osaka: Orientation Day 2 & a Little Umeda

Today was perhaps the most nerve wracking part of orientation....the placement test. @.@  I do NOT test well, and I freak out during them. *cry*  But oh well. :)  Whatever happens happens. It was not a pass or fail.  The test did have different parts:  Computer (listening, grammar, reading, vocabulary), Written, Oral interview. Ganbare minnasan!

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After the placement test, I had to go and visit with the International Affairs Office and my advisor to discuss how to go about getting a job and joining Kendo club.  I was curious because I heard that there was a weight limit to join certain clubs, and Bennett sensei was so funny!  He started to "freak out" and go: "Oh my! I didn't know that I had a limit weight on my club! D:  I wish I would have known about it before~!!"  LOL  He was really hilarious and helpful.  I also mentioned to him about me wanting to take his naginata class.  I love martial arts, and I am excited to continue to take martial arts here. ^.^

Not only did I get to mention that I wanted to join kendo to the instructor, but I also got invited to take nihon buyou dance lessons from one of the other professors at Kansai University. :)  I am VERY happy to continue to learn nihon buyou in Japan. <3   The professor was very happy that I learn and dance, and that I am interested in it. Nihon buyou is not as popular as it should be, and the society it is involved in is very closed.

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Originally, we were going to go to Nipponbashi to find the Volks showroom, Tenshi no Sumika, but instead we hung out in Umeda for a while and grabbed some noms. We were famished by the time we got out of the placement tests and meetings, and then there was the ride to find a nice place to eat.  We were supposed to go to a SukiYa, but we were not quite sure where it was located, and we were too hungry to go and look. Instead we went to Mos Burger, which was still nice, but more expensive than the SukiYa.

Across from Mos Burger was the good ole' Animate store. ^.^  It was busy, but everyone was getting out of school and work, so of course it was rush hour.

I am happy to have been able to go back to Hep Five and get a new pair of earrings.  I have been missing a pair for a while, and Hep Five has awesome earrings for cheaper than what you can get in the States. I just decided to save my money that way and get them here. ^.^

In the basement of Hep Five, is a huge shopping center connected to the stations, some other malls and tons of food places.

The parfait at one of the many cafes was delicious! Minus the lots of fruit, but I don't particularly like fruit with ice cream and cake. >.<  But either way, it was lovely! 

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People here in Japan are very friendly and accommodating. There are the few that discriminate, but it is not really much of a deal to me.  Discrimination is everywhere, it happens, nothing you can REALLY do about it except pity the person for their naiivety.

I guess that is all for tonight. There was really a lot that happened today, but after a long day beginning at 6am, it is hard to really want to write minute detail. @.@  Perhaps I will update this post and elaborate a bit more tomorrow. ^.^



Cheers!

<3
Mimiru