Tag Archives: JRock/Vkei

7th – 10th February 2020: Paris (France) for DIR EN GREY & BABYMETAL

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7th February 2020: Through the Strikes

I had an (amazingly convenient) flight that left at 9am on Friday (and that had cost me 35€), but it turned out to be weird. When we boarded, it turned out that it was a big plane, an intercontinental plane. Which meant it was huge, and more importantly, it had on-board entertainment. Thus, as we waited for the go-ahead, I set up to watch an action film. Then, the pilot told us that we were going to have to wait something between one and two hours to be able to take off due to the strikes. But hey, at least we were flying and I had an action film to watch (the newest X Men, Phoenix one. I did not become a fan).

We took off at 10am and our big plane made the jump in just one hour, as opposed to the 2h10 minutes of estimated travel, which meant we were almost on time! Of course this did not sit well with the strikers, who had us wait first for the parking spot, and then for the stairs. Finally, I made it to the train and was downtown Paris at about 13:00. I came out at the Notre Dame stop to inspect the damage caused to the Notre Dame Cathedral by the 2019 fire. My first impression, looking at the tower, was optimistic, but as I walked round the cathedral, I could see the real damage and reconstruction efforts. Furthermore, it still reeked of burnt wood, probably because they are still pulling out debris.

Collge of Notre Dame showing the cranes and scaffoldings in the repairs

As it was sunny, I decided to go to the Sainte-Chapelle and see its windows in good weather. The Sainte-Chapelle is a small two-level chapel inside an administrative building in the Isle de la Cité smack in the middle of Paris and not far from Notre Dame. The chapel has a lower early Gothic level, and an upper level with impressive stained-glass windows that I love. As the sun was shining, I got really lovely views and pictures. It is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Collage. Sainte Chapelle: outside showing the spire, inside with some colourful windows and pointed arches

Collage of the upper floor of the Sainte Chapelle. It shows different angles of the long gothic windows, covered in colourful glass

The weather was great, and the forecast for the following day was bad, so I decided to just walk along from the Isle de la Cité towards the Arc de triomphe (some 5 km away). On my way I walked by the Louvre, Les Tulleries, the Grand Palais, the Petit Palais, the Alexander III Bridge, and into the Avenue des Champs-Élysées.

Collage with different landmarks of Paris - the river, neoclassic palaces, Luxor obelisk, Champs Elysees...

Finally I got to the Arc de triomphe, where I took a train to the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur area, where my hotel was. After dropping my stuff, I walked up the hill to have a look at the basilica and I caught a glimpse of the sunset with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

A view of the Sacre Cour with a classical carousel in front of it

A profile of the Eiffel Tower in a blurry sunset in orange tones

As my last adventure for the day I went to see the Moulin Rouge from the outside (because inside was too expensive to even consider) – and I listened to KAMIJO’s ムーランルージュ.

The Moulin Rouge cabaret, all lit up in bright red for the night

8th February 2020: Louvre and DIRU

The forecast was accurate and on Saturday weather went down the drain. I decided to go to the Louvre Museum, even if I had been there before. I got predictably lost and I’ not even sure how. In the end, I managed to see everything that I wanted, which began and finished with the Victory of Samothrace, my favourite piece of art ever.

I have a love-hate relationship with Louvre, mostly based on my utter lack of sense of directions and the way the palace-museum is organised, with the exhibits in different wards and floors. In the Classical Greece sector, however, I overheard something strange. I was looking at the Sleeping Hermaphroditus, and I overheard a random guy explaining to a little kid that Hermaphroditus was designed to represent the “most important sacrament of them all, marriage between a man and a woman”. I had a very WTF moment and I was too shocked to address the guy because, seriously? I’m all for Christian art representing Christian beliefs. However, pushing those onto a culture that a) had completely different values, b) was 100% all right with homosexuality, and c) whose goddess of marriage (Hera) was consistently cheated on? I mean, yes, there was a connection between Hermaphroditus and marriage in how they became intersex, but let’s face it here – the Greek mythology had too many erotic undertones to be able to push the Christian values onto it.

As you can see, I am pretty much biased…

A collage with several Louvre pieces of art - Winged Victory, sitting scribe, the three graces, Diane wasing her hair, Hermaprhodite sleeping, Psyche and Eros kissing, Liberty guding the people, Venus de Milo

I spent three to four hours in the Louvre and then went back to the hotel to get ready for the DIR EN GREY concert and VIP experience in Élysée Montmartre, which could have been a better experience if my head had not been hurting and the weather had been nicer – I could have totally skipped the downpour while waiting. Oh, and if the stupid chick from behind me had known how to behave. But hey, it was a great excuse for a much-needed mental break. DIR EN GREY or “Diru” is a Japanese heavy metal band formed characterisede for its dark themes and scenography that I thought I needed to check at least once. I don’t think I’ll need to repeat the experience, though I don’t regret attending.

A dark stage with a drumset. Letters projected on the screen behind the stage read Dir en Grey Tour 20 This Way to Self-Destruction

After the concert I headed off to the hotel to catch some sleep (I had booked a very close hotel because I remembered the area being rather… unfriendly from the 2015 trip).

9th February 2020: Destroy the Bastille!

Sunday morning felt like 2ºC and it was windy. I lingered in bed for a while and then headed out to see the Bastille monument and its remains. Like, the four rocks remaining. I searched for KAMIJO’s Bastille on the mp3 and hoped that the device lasted another season.

Monument to the French Revolution

A few brick stones forming a circle, considered the last remains of the Bastille

Then, as it was cold, I headed off to the Galerie de Paléontologie et d’Anatomie comparée (Paleontology and Comparative Anatomy Gallery) which was a short walk away. I’m still trying to decide whether it was amazing, or the materials nightmares are made of.

The first floor holds a “Cavalcade of Skeletons”, along with dissected specimens and a “gallery of monsters”. The museum was founded in the 19th century, and it keeps the atmosphere – and the charm – of the old exhibitions. There are stands and wooden cases, and the smell of dust and old paper. It was enchanting, but at the same time deeply disturbing.

The second floor hosts the dinosaurs and other fossils, including a very cool mosasaurs. Most of the fossils are either moulds or reconstructions – I swear I’ve seen that Irish elk at least three times before. Also, the T-Rex skull was adorably flawed.

The third floor is… ammonite-land.

Shots of the museum. Skeletons of animals - fish, oxen, crocodiles, elephants, whale. Fossils: Dinosaurs, fish, toothed whale, shark teeth, snails

After I was done with the museum I decided to head off to yet another one, the Musée national des arts asiatiques Guimet (The National Museum of Eastern Arts or Museum Guimet), which holds pieces of art from Cambodia, India, China, Japan, Korea and so on. Behold my favourite Shiva (which is not as cool as the British Museum sexy bodhisattva, but still).

Different pieces in the museum: Dancing Shiva, sitting Buddha, Caligraphy in the shape of a dragon, ellaborate kimono, samurai armour, Indian goddess

After checking out the four floors, I left the museum and walked towards Trocadero to take the underground. I snapped a few pictures of the Eiffel Tower and saw a bunch of peddlers swinging people away from their money (up to 400 quid. Live and learn (O_O)!)

The Eiffel Tower in front of a cloudy sky

Finally, I decided it was too cold to continue walking around and headed back to the hotel to get ready for the BABYMETAL concert. Truth be told, had I known they would be adding Madrid to their tour, I would not have bought that ticket but as things went, I found that they were going to be in the same venue as DIR EN GREY just a day later, so it made sense to try to stay. It worked out. BABYMETAL is one of those insanely-profitable Japanese marketing stunts involving cute girls that had never really been in my radar until I found a cheap ticket to see them. The crew was quite different from DIRU’s, including good ol’ metalheads and families with little girls. It was entertainingenough, and it seemed very lucky timing.

A group of girls dressed in black dancing in front of a logo that reads Babymetal

The concert was short, so I was back at the hotel before 10pm. Thus I got a good night’s sleep before I left.

10th February 2020: No bells of Notre Dame

My plane boarded at 10am so I had to leave early for the airport. The weather was rainy again, so I took the underground to Gare du Nord and then to the airport, where the staff was super nasty. In the end, I made it to my plane, where I settled down to watch Jurassic World on the way back. As I was riding the train, I had a nice view of the Paris as it was dawning, but the bells of Notre Dame were not tolling, and my inner child was sad about that.

I only had three days, but this trip was a very welcome getaway, and even if the weather did not help, I got to do a lot of stuff. I had to scratch out a few plans due to the weather (and the stupid headache, I think I might have put in the left contact wrong again), but there’ll always be April… Because yes, I’m coming back to Paris for the Saint Seiya Symphonic adventure and that’s going to be epic. And heartbreaking because I found out too late to get VIP tickets (≧▽≦).

9th – 11th October 2019: Flash Barcelona (Spain) for Miyavi (and friends)

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This was another of those flash trips, and it worked miraculously somehow. MIYAVI‘s concert was on the 11th, which was a Thursday. It’s not normally something I can do, but I managed to get away from Wednesday at noon to Friday at noon. So I worked on Wednesday morning, and in the late evening I took a train to Barcelona, where I met my friend C***** and we headed out to the hotel, which… turned out to be pretty bad. It was the closest we found in the general area of the venue for a different price but I draw the line at cockroaches, no matter how small they are. The bed was too soft, it was too hot and in the end we were both up at 6am to the point that we decided that we could get to the queue already.

Our tickets were VIP so they included a Meet & greet and a picture before the concert, which is one of the most fun I’ve attended lately. However, the road leading to it, and the organisation, was a bit of a chaos – there was a late-announcement of an opening act, the M&G time was changed and nobody really know what time it really was… It added a lot of unnecessary stress, as bad planning usually does. But in the end, MIYAVI is an amazing human being and made up for it all. He greeted us when he came in, and when he left, and he gave his best on stage.

Miyavi kneeling on the floor playing guitar. He is wearing white trousers and a sleeveless black tshirt that reads No sleep till Tokyo

However, I’m going to use this platform to say this – Miyavi is adorable (and huge) and I would die for a hug from him. The M&G was over super quickly but he had a smile for everyone and that’s a super nice detail.

We went back to the hotel to catch some sleep and the next morning we met our other friend E****, who had not attended the concert, for breakfast. I took the early afternoon train and I was home for the afternoon-evening shift, so it worked.

Cup of coffee with fern art.

17th August 2019: OBURI in Ebisu {Japan, summer 2019}

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I spent the day at Ebisu [恵比寿], where I got to say hi and meet a lot of new new people today. First, I was meeting with E**chan for a late lunch, which unfortunately was a later-lunch as her train had an accident (not with her in it, thankfully) and she had to drive to another line station to get from her village outside Tokyo to Ebisu. I spent the time wandering the malls and the Ebisu Sky Walk, which is basically a long corridor without anything to see. In the end she arrived and albeit late, we managed to find some super-nice place in the Ebisu Atre building, and we were starving so it was amazing!! We both had katsudon [カツ丼] because we just saw the picture on the menu and fell in love.

Katsudon lunch set: miso soup, a bowl of rice with meat and egg on top, a cup of tea and grated cabagge to share between two people

A scoop of vanilla ice cream and a cup of green tea

Afterwards we went to the Oblivion Dust concert at Ebisu Liquidroom. A very fun and intense concert, even if Oburi has too much of an active fandom for me (≧▽≦). Unfortunately, KAZ had broken his hand early during the year so he was not there. The replacement was not bad, but not really him, you know?

After the concert I got to greet lots of friends and we had some izakaya food (damn, that was yummy but expensive).

The logo of Liquid Room, styled to look like an organic chemestry molecule, with hexagons for Q nd Os

Walked distance: No idea, I forgot the watch. But most of what I walked was on the Ebisu Skywalk [恵比寿スカイウォーク] as I was bored waiting for E**chan since I was early but her train was super-delayed due to the accident (≧▽≦).

16th August 2019: SAITAMA Summer Rock Festival 2019 {Japan, summer 2019}

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After developing an unhealthy obsession for discovering fesFE[M] when they opened for JUPITER in Madrid in May 2019 I was very happy to be able to catch their act again in Saitama [さいたま市]. I also learnt a lot about the v-kei scene and how it works.

The event was the first day of SAITAMA Summer Rock Festival 2019 ~Shikokku no Symphony~ pump up!! [SAITAMA Summer Rock Festival 2019 ～漆黒のシンフォニー～ pump up!!] and it was held at Saitama Hall [埼玉会館ホール].

Schedule of the Event, in intervals of 25 - 35 minutes

Although fesFE[M] act was not scheduled until 19:15, I headed off to Saitama early because I needed a same-day ticket, so I was there around 12:15. I did not have any issues getting in, as it was a weekday in the morning. I had originally thought that I would just get the ticket and then snoop around Saitama city, but the event was held far away from most interesting stuff, so I decided to stay and see it all. It was, as I mentioned, an interesting experience.

Stuff I learnt:

  • I should have taken earplugs as seven hours in a small hall echoes hard
  • First rows are exchangeable according to which your favourite band is. Nobody bats an eye and people will make room for each other
  • The bands will sell their own merch to make new fans and even chat to you. They will be very surprised if they get two foreigners in their queue and they don’t know each other
  • Some of the bands are really good, some of them are really bad

After each show, the “leader” of the band would come out for a small interview. Some of them had to do stuff like playing with beach balls and stuff, but mostly it was promotion for upcoming band activities and stuff.

Ticket. It reads the names of the bands and the number F001

Here’s a curated version of notes I took after each act for the ones I attended:

{mid:night}: They are not bad but the vocalist (although tall) needs more stage presence.

ロクダマカルタ: Was not convinced, but the guitar is dressed as a schoolgirl and the furutsuke is fun.

[Ad]: Female vocalist. She’s good, but there’s something that does not completely click. They stayed the longest for selling their stuff and promoting.

マゼラン: They are really, really good, both music- and stage-presence- wise. I’m so glad I had not realised at this point that they would be outside selling stuff because I might’ve bought all the things.

機械人形歌劇団カラクリ: Didn’t like them

エンヴィル: They are the Kanjani 8 of v-kei. They troll each other really hard and they are fun, with passable music. They wear yukata and each has a different footwear. They also watched like half of the other bands from the back row and cheered like standard fangirls.

DARRELL: Not bad, but too yelly for my tastes

GLARD: They were fun. I got to talk to the vocalist and buy one of their CDs. As I was talking to him, another foreigner decided to talk through me, and translate the price for me? No idea, I think she was just trying to get his attention. The poor guy was very surprised when we did not know each other.

ºCellsius: I like them too, they are really fun (and they are wearing… tartans?).

Avilis: They are cute and bouncy

グレン: They look like a band put together for an anime that would later sing the OP

ROMIO: The male vocalist is very pretty, but I managed not to fall into the trap of his prettiness.

Finally it was fesFE[M]’s turn at 19:15. I moved to the second row (not the first because no idea what the furutsuke are) and I enjoyed the show. It was almost the same they did in Spain when supporting for JUPITER, including Doll in Blueberry Jam. I really loved the vocalist Lion (again) how the keyboardist Jun plays the dollmaster cutting all the ropes and bringing the dolls back together. Also, wow Rensa (drummer) for being able to twirl the baton in his hand for three minutes straight without moving any other muscle.

After the show, Lion came out for his interview and he explained that he would be there on Saturday with his “other” band. I felt tempted to come back, but I had plans for that day already.

Then I went outside to buy some merch, including some polaroids, but unfortunately the band did not come out (ó_ò). I would have loved to see them, but at least I got to tweet at them and some saw the tweet ヽ(^◇^*)/. I talked to some other fans who looked at trading the polaroids, but I did not have any Tohru (bass, aka “the blonde”) and he’s popular. I missed the last band while I was waiting, but it was all right. I decided to head back because I still had about an hour’s worth of train ride.

Walked distance (which no. This is 80% furutsuke): 15324 steps / 10.9 km

3rd August 2019: Higashiyama Sky Tower and ELL {Japan, summer 2019}

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In the morning I headed out of the Nagoya centre and to Higashiyama Sky Tower [東山スカイタワー]. This was a bit far out and I had slept in – did I mention tiredness catching up? I also considered the zoo/aquarium but in the end I decided against it.

A collage of the Higashiyama Sky tower, a rectanglar building with a cilindrical core, mostly built in glass and metal. The smaller pictures show the view of the park, and the earthquake damper

I had an amazing lunch set in the shopping mall underneath / connected to Nagoya Station on my way back.

Lunch set: cold soba, white rice, breaded prawns, pickles, and green tea

Then I headed out for Electric Lady Land because my second KAMIJO concert of this trip was held there. Bought goods, waited around, enjoyed the concert. ELL is a small venue and we were not many people there for the concert – it was strange that there were so much people in Tokyo to fill up the Blitz, but not enough in Nagoya to fill ELL. It was a more humble concert, with a smaller screen for the projections, but it was fun none the less. I was able to stand close to the stage, but I chose the wrong side – I stood left while KAMIJO donned right. I shall learn from that. The set list was the same, which gave me the chance to appreciate the new songs even better. Glad I got to attend both concerts, never mind how different and similar at the same time they were.

Notice reading ell. Fits all. Japan Tour 19 Persona Grata. Kamijo. Open 18:30, Start 19:00

Walked distance: 16231 steps / 11.6 km. We don’t trust this measure either as it counts the furutsuke as walking (≧▽≦).

26th July 2019: KAMIJO’s Persona Grata {Japan, summer 2019}

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I headed off to Tokyo [東京] to freak out about the tickets of KAMIJO’s 2019 Japan Tour Persona Grata, which was a total blast. That was basically the highlight of the day, aside from lots of train rides until I got to Tokyo and some delicious yakiniku.

Lunch set. Salad, white rice and some raw meat for the grill, along with the sauces to dip

As KAMIJO’s fanclub has a European chapter and allows for very real benefits, I was able to ballot for tickets for the Japan tour, and I actually hit for Premium tickets for Persona Grata’s opening night at Mainabi Blitz Akasaka. The tickets included “seating in front of the stage” and special presents – the seating turned out to be first row, and enough presents, including an autograph, to more than make up for the money.

The tour doubled as an introduction to the new songs for the upcoming singles and I enjoyed them a lot. I discovered a couple of songs I really liked (I ended up getting most of KAMIJO’s discography in different Book Off trips this year), and it was really fantastic. I enjoyed every second, and having a chair really helped to get some rest when he was off stage and we had the “film” instalments. Unfortunately, the fandom is not too open so I did not get to make any new friends. Nevertheless, it was probably one of the most powerful concerts I’ve ever attended.

Night view of the venue, reading Mainabi Blitz Kamijo

Walked distance: 13515 steps / 9.66 km. I don’t believe this for a second, the watch is totally messing up between moving arms doing furutsuke, and walking.

25th July 2019: Sekigahara {Japan, summer 2019}

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I was staying in Nagoya for another of the HYDE concerts, but I had a free morning, so I decided to take a train to Sekigahara [関ヶ原], which is a nearby little town, which is really only in the books because in October of 1600 a huge battle in the mountains over there decided the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, which shaped the history of Japan for centuries. It is known as the Battle of Sekigahara, Sekigahara no Tatakai [関ヶ原の戦い]. Basically there were a bunch of samurai clans warring with each other and Tokugawa managed to convince, bribe and slaughter every one in his way until he was the de facto ruler of Japan.

A vermillion gate with trees in the background

I found a map with a route to follow and thus my first stop was the Higashikubidzuka [東首塚] Mound, where a bunch of samurai were beheaded – this was off to a bloody start. Within the same area there were several monuments signalling different events and encampments – which was to mark how most of Sekigahara is laid out.

Collage of the park, showing a marker, some flags and a torii

Then I continued on to Jinbano Koen [陣場野公園], where I could see the Site of the Battle Camp of Tanaka Yoshimasa [田中吉政陣跡], the Site of Tokugawa Ieasu’s Final Encampment [徳川家康最後陣跡], Kibune Jinja [貴船神社], Mitama Jinja [御霊神社].

Collage of the park, showing a marker, some flags, fences with spikes, and a torii. There are trees and overgrown bushes in the background.

It was hot as could be, so I was not going to do the 17-km route, but I did go to the main area, the Site of Sekigahara Battleground – Sekigahara Kosenjō [関ケ原古戦場], along with the Site of the Battle Camp of Shima Sakon (Sasaoyama) – Shimasako-jin ato [島左近陣跡].

The logo of the city of sekigahara. It can look like the moon coming up from behind a mountain, or a samurai helmet

After that, I backtracked to the Sekigahara Town History and Folklore Museum Sekigahara-chō Rekishi Minzoku Shiryōkan [関ケ原町歴史民俗資料館], which I had missed at first because there was construction in the area. There I could see some weapons and armours and get the whole collection of samurai clan stamps and enjoy the air conditioning.

Samurai armours and pennants

I would have liked to go to the Site of Tokugawa Ieyasu’s First Encampment [徳川家康最初陣跡], but it was too far away to walk, so I had to take picture from the train.

A clear in the forest with some white flags

As an interesting anecdote, I found a Thai coin in the battle site, something I would have never expected.

A Thai coin

Once in Nagoya [名古屋], it was HYDE concert time at the Zepp Nagoya again. As the previous day, it was a fun concert – I stayed at the end of the venue because my entry numbers were so high I had zero chance to find anything mid-venue, but it was all right, it’s not like I’m ever going to do first row in a HYDE concert in Japan. I have accepted that. I had fun anyway, and that is the most important thing.

Walked distance: 14683 steps / 10.5 km.

24th July 2019: Morning in Kyoto, afternoon in Nagoya {Japan, summer 2019}

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After waking up early again (what can be done? Early night → early morning) I walked out the hotel and took another stroll in Maruyama Kouen. Only this time, instead of heading towards Yasaka Jinja and Gion, I continued straight and I found Daiunin [大雲院].

The roof of a pagoda, in oxidized green colour

I continued on to Nene no Michi [ねねの道], which has temples left and right. These temples have little statues that you have to touch for luck, wealth and so on. As I have been feeling so lousy this last year, I decided to find the health one.

Statuettes of the Buddha and local gods

On my way I climbed up the Daidokoro-zaka [台所坂], a bunch of gentle stairs that lead up to Kōdaiji [高台寺], a fun temple with a lot of yokai folkore. It also held some healing sutras, so I took the liberty to make them spin.

Temple with funny-looking lanterns decorated with yokai and ghost faces

From there, I went to Kongoji (Yasaka Kōshindō) [金剛寺(八坂庚申堂)], which is a temple with… colourful balls where people write their wishes. They are supposed to entertain the ‘good faith monkeys’ (Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil) that guard the temple, I guess.

Buddhist temple with a decoration of thousands of brightly coloured pompoms

After that, I walked towards the Hōkanji (Yasaka no Tou) [法観寺 (八坂の塔)], a five-story pagoda.

Five story pagoda

A bit farther, I also found Rokuharamitsuji [六波羅蜜寺].

Buddhist temple exterior

I went down towards the river Kamogawa [鴨川], where I saw some more wildlife – ducks, cormorants, herons (cranes? Have I told you I can’t tell cranes and herons apart?).

Black cormorant standing in the river

Finally – for my Kyoto trip – I walked down the Pontocho [先斗町] Alley before I headed for the station. It is renown for its restaurants, but everything was too expensive for my budget.

Narrow alley with restaurant lanternsand signs

Then I took a shinkansen to Nagoya [名古屋] as I was going to attend HYDE‘s Live 2019 that afternoon. As I arrived too early for 3PM check in, I headed off to Zepp Nagoya to see whether the goods were out. They were. A girl passed out at the queue a bit behind me due to heatstroke, and that was a bit creepy, but the staff took good cafe of her.

After the goods I went to leave my stuff and have a shower at the hotel, then I met up with several friends and even new friends. The concert, in my opinion, was considerably better than the 2018 tours – at least he finally has a whole album to make a concert from. It felt more coordinated than the previous one. The album was good and the concert was powerful, though I am still not too keen on how the VAMPS’s songs sound. HYDE put masks on his musicians and enjoys all the spotlight on himself. He jumps and rolls on the floor and enjoys being the only one people focus on.

Zepp Nagoya logo

When the concert was over I met up with Sr-san for dinner. We had misokatsu [味噌カツ] in a famous shop, and had a long conversation about the concert and HYDE’s new songs.

Dinner: breaded pork on rice and shredded cabbage

Walked distance: 23305 steps / 16.6 km.

21st July 2019: More Kawagoe. 戦国時代－The age of civil wars－: アコースティックライブ＆CDサイン会 {Japan, summer 2019}

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Sengoku Jidai －The age of civil wars－ [ 戦国時代－The age of civil wars－] is a visual kei band I’ve quite actively been trying to avoid – because I know that I would like them, quite a lot. However, I was following one of the members, bassist Ju-ken, on social media – he used to play with VAMPS, and with GACKT before that, and I have one of his picks from the Barcelona VAMPS concert . Not long before my trip, Sengoku Jidai released a new song, which I learnt through Ju-ken’s Instagram. So I went down the YouTube rabbit hole, and somehow ended up on the webpage. Over there, I found out that there was a free event in Kawagoe today as part of the new single promotion. And that is why I decided to come over and try to attend.

Around 10 am I showed up at Kawagoe Pepe shopping centre. The event was a “sain-kai”, which is basically a “meet and get an autograph”. From 11 am, you had access to a booth to buy a number of CDs of the last two singles: Yotogi no Hana [夜伽の華], the last one, and Sengoku Enka [戦国演歌], my favourite. The band would hold a small concert, after which you could shake their hands and get your CDs signed, one at a time – furthermore, by participating you would be guaranteed a seat inside a small restricted area to watch said concert. I ended up being the 18th person on the line, as my entry ticket said so. It took about an hour to complete the buying part.

Admittance to the concert (one, printed in yellow with number 18 on it) and the Meet and Greet (two, printed in black)

In between the two parts of the events, I made a little escapade to Kawagoe [川越大師]’s Seiya-san Muryōshuji Kita-in [星野山無量寿寺喜多院], which is a Buddhist temple dating back from the 830 AD. It is noted for its hall and its pagoda. It also has a small graveyard with “the five hundred disciples of Buddha”. I was not sure whether last time I had actually been there or not, because I arrived by the Delijah TM method of getting lost, so I wanted to make sure, and I had a bit over an hour to kill.

After walking the temple for a while I went back to Pepe for the second part of the Sengoku Jidai event. “Doors” to the seated area opened at 13:30, and the live started off early, around 13:45. There were many people watching from the sidelines, too, that was good to attract new fans. The acoustic was very interesting – I had never been to one, except for a couple of songs at the VAMPS’s Beast Party, but this one was also an unplugged. The live lasted about an hour, with four songs and a lot of talk, except on Ju-ken’s part, who plays a persona called “Date” and never speaks – he is very strict and serious – so he just explained, via gestures, that he liked fishing in summer. The whole persona thing will be important later.

The fun part came during the actual signing – the first one to see me was the drummer whose eyes went wide – he has no poker face at all and completely went (O_O)!, wondering what a white person was doing in their event. I informed him that I was the foreign factor representation. Then I got Ju-ken / Date – I told him about having his pick from Barcelona. His eyes went even wider and the only thing that he said was “sank you, sank you, sank you” shaking my hand. I actually… chatted a bit with all four of them. I had bought two CDs so I could go through the process twice, and they remembered me for the second time. Honestly, if there had been more CDs, I would have bought all to get them signed.

The band shaking hands and signing autographs

Signed CDs

After the event was finished, I went back to Tokyo [東京]. I kinda got lost so I wasted about an extra hour and a half, and thus I was not at the next hotel, in Shinagawa, until late. It had a huge TV (that’s a 135cm-wide bed)!

The TV at the foot of the bed is almost as wide as the bed itself, and the bed would fit two people

I got dinner on the way. One of the items I tried were the conbini boiled eggs.

Soft-boiled egg box

Walked distance: 19468 steps / 13.9 km. However this includes the little furutsuke that Nao-A made us do, and that was recorded as pacing, and getting lost and walking for an hour coming out of the wrong exit of a station.

15th – 17th June 2019: Cologne (Germany) for the Gazette

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Getting from Madrid to Cologne was stupidly difficult and expensive so in the end I took an early Saturday-morning flight to Frankfurt and then I booked train tickets (an ICE and a suburban train) to the hotel area in Cologne. My plane took off at dawn (literally) and landed at 9:40, so I thought about booking the train at 10:30.

Sun rising under the wing of a plane

On a whim of distrustfulness, I decided to get the train for 11:00, which was lucky. While we did land on time, it took us an eternity to get to the terminal, and in the end I arrived in the station just past 10:30. Since I had a bit of time, I grabbed a Frapucchino and a bagel for some ridiculous price, but that kept me going until the evening.

Bagel and ice coffee latte

The great European Meadows - a very flat prairie in yellow-green and some greyish clouds in the sky

I reached Cologne and went on to the commuter to the venue area, where my hotel was, a short walk away from the station. After checking in, I dropped my things off in an amazing room, and had to do a double take – for a second I was not sure they had given me the right room, because it was way too nice for the price I was paying.

Huge bedroom with two beds and complimentary chocolate on them

After changing clothes, I grabbed my bottle of water and off I went towards the city centre to visit the Cologne Cathedral, Kölner Dom. The cathedral has been a World Heritage site since 1996. Its construction started in 1248, but was halted in 1473. The building remained unfinished until the 1840s, when the work was picked up again, following the original Medieval plans, and the church was finally completed in 1880. While it was badly damaged in WWII, it withstood the bombings and ever since then it has been in a constant state of small and not-so-small restorations and repairs.

Cologne Cathedral. One of the towers is being repaired. The building is German gothic, dark, and very spiky.

From the Cathedral I walked towards Cologne Zoo or Kölner Zoo. Although it had been drizzling before, at that point it was sunny again, and the walk was nice.

Street. Houses are made out of brick and some of them are painted in bright colours

I decided to go to the zoo because it was the only thing that seemed to be open for long enough to mean value for money. The weather had warmed up and the bunnies were roasted *coughs*. I got to see some animals I had never seen before, such as Przewalski’s horses, snipes, or a grizzly bear. The zoo has a huge enclosure area, a petting zoo with domestic animals (and cheeky cows), an aquarium and a terrarium with both reptiles and creepy-crawlers *shudders*.

Collage of animals from the Cologne Zoo: lizard, lionfish, zebra, horse, orang-utan, hippo, cheetah, crocodiles, peackock

Then I walked back to the hotel, stopping by the supermarket on my way – and here I discovered my undoing. The triple chocolate cookies which wrecked my trying to eat healthy stroll. I shall try to find them again in my next Germany trip though. However, I have to say that I had learnt from my being stupid for MIYAVI in London and not eating well through the weekend.

Iron structure holding a bridge up

Triple chocolate cookies packet.

I was exhausted, so I think I was out at 22:00, which helped being awake at 7:00 the next morning. Thus I just headed off for the venue, E-Werk, and settled to queue.

While The Gazette is not a band I usually listen to, I really wanted to check them out, and this was the opportunity. They’re fun live, but not a band I need to follow up on, either on CDs or concert-wise, so while I may consider attending another concert if it happens close to me, I won’t spend too much money on them. Also, I had purchased “VIP” tickets which included a handshake with the priority entry – that ended up having to line up all day, anyway.

I have to say that the line was the most organised I’ve ever been to, but unfortunately the venue staff was averagely unfriendly

Music stage. The curtain reads The GazettE

On Monday morning my paranoia had me early at the station, and that was good because apparently my suburban had been cancelled, and being early I was lucky enough to be able to catch a completely different one, but I was able to make it to Cologne station without any further stress and catch my ICE. As the station is located next to the Dom, I was able to say good-bye.

Cologne cathedral from the train

I also had quite a few nice views from the plane.

View from the plane - a turquoise lake in the middle of the mountains

18th & 19th May 2019: Madrid (Spain) for Jupiter (and fesFE[M]!)

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Believe this or not, we this weekend started at super-early on Saturday, when I took literally the first bus out to Madrid, and I think I was there around 7:30 or something to meet my friend. She had been having a rough time and she had asked me to “keep her head off things”. Up until a couple of days before, we did not even know whether she’d been able to come to the concert, so I had a whole plan up my sleeve. Unfortunately, a couple of steps backfired (^◇^；)

First we had breakfast at the coach station where we met, to catch up and to give shops and so on the time to open up. When it was a decent hour we took the underground to drop our luggage at the hotel (the lovely EXE Moncloa, even if I’ll be forever traumatised that the terrace was not open ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡). Then we took the underground again towards the neighbourhood of Chueca, and I had looked up a bunch of Goth apparel shop that… did not open at 10:00 as expected, but at 12:00 (≧▽≦).

Fortunately, some make-up shops were already open and we were able to pass the time amicably before we ended up at the TeamLab exhibit – that I had already seen, yes, I know, but she had not ☆⌒(ゝ。∂)

Teamlab logo and digital art: Waves, butterflies in red and green, and a dripping circle as if it were painted with a brush. All of them are light or bright colours on black.

After playing out in the exhibit for a while, we moved onto the Callao Gourmet Experience for a snack. I wanted to introduce her to the Niji Mochi shop, and we also shared a chocolate ice-cream shake.

Mochi and coffee with whipped cream

Afterwards we were shopping for a little before we moved on to have lunch. I had a surprise for her. While I care little to nothing about Korean food, she is a fan of everything Korean, so we hit one of the best Korean restaurants in Madrid, called Seoul. I gave her free reign to order for both of us and we shared. In my not so humble opinion as blog owner, the best was the green tea at the end.

Lunch: fried dumplings, roasted meat, rice with vegetables, and green tea.

Once fed, we went on and found an underground station and we rode towards the Museo Arqueológico Nacional, National Archaeological Museum, although we had not realised that it was museum day so instead of a quiet exhibition we had to deal with a ton of families!

Exhibits at the archaeological museum: bones from a mastodon, boar statue, lady statue, Neanthertal skull, Roman mosaic of an octopus, Horus statue, Iberian stelae, primitive animal that looks like a boar or a bull carved out of stone, Grecian vase

After that, my friend was tired from spending all night in the bus, so we went to the hotel to finish our check in process. On the way we stopped and bought a few snacks for the following day because you always have to be ready for a post-concert low.

We found out that we had not one but three Japanese restaurants in the area where we were staying, and we happily went to have dinner in one of them, called Naniwa. We had some decent sushi and takoyaki, and ordered takoyaki seconds because we had a discount (≧▽≦).

Dinner: sushi, fried chicken, octopus balls, chicken skewers

The next morning we went to the venue door around 9:00 and upon seeing nobody queueing yet, we went to have breakfast, then walked around the Moncloa park area, mostly chatting, until we went back to the venue. And went back to the venue. And went back to the venue again, just to find there were still no people in the queue.

Coffee and bread breakfast

In the end we ran into the supporting bands went to have lunch in a second Japanese restaurant in the block, Morikaen. On our way there we walked past a family all clad in “Sunday clothes”, and their little girl wearing aaaall white who just stared at us – in rock-goth black – with pure envy in her eyes. Here’s to you, little one. You’ll get there too.

Lunch. Tuna tataki, rice and cicken, breaded pork, octopus dumplings

After lunch, I decided that I was too tired to go up and down the streets and we stayed back to wait for the venue to open before we got into the chaos that was the concert. Honestly, I think this has been the worst-organised concert I’ve ever attended. My friend C***** and I had Premium tickets (there were five of them on sale), which included a handshake with the band, a picture with a member, autographs from all, the opportunity to purchase a Polaroid with the whole band (well… and either a backstage or soundcheck pass that never happened).

Jupiter is a Japanese heavy metal band with a very distinctive visual-kei style, and honestly we only decided to go because it was… easy and convenient, well-communicated and an opportunity to spend a weekend decompressing somewhere. As the time drew near and we could access more stuff, the excitement built up – I also managed to find the album they were promoting and it sounded really well, actually.

There were two support bands, a German one called VII ARC, and a Japanese one. As we went in, I sent C***** to the first row to save my spot and I tried to find out whatever was going to happen with the VIP extras because communication seems not to be the promoter’s first language. It turns out, the experience was throughout the supporting band’s act. Good thing I had asked, else we would have missed it (as someone did! One of the Premium tickets did not show up, and most VIPs never got their chance to even buy the Polaroid).

I got to talk to the support bassist as we waited for the picture, because the had been kicked out from backstage for the pictures – poor guy. Then I had my picture taken with Teru, my favourite member (I swear that if I ever get to do this again, I’m choosing Hizaki cause he’s just amazing). The problem with placing the experience there was that… well, we lost our spot and missed half of the Japanese support band’s acts – fesFe[M], who in the half concert I watched blew my mind. I mean, absolutely blew my mind. They are also a V-kei band, and they’re currently running with a “doll” theme and they were just fantastic.

The Jupiter concert was as expected, very energetic and fun. Even if we had lost our spot, the venue has some lateral raised spots, and I found a good place at a low staircase that allowed me to lean back and not be in too much pain – basically we watched the concert next to the fesFe[M] bass (≧▽≦). Kuze, Jupiter’s vocal, was really good live, more than expected.

After the concert, we bought fesFe[M]’s autographs and got our pictures with them, when we headed back to the hotel and had some dinner, and the following day we parted ways, a bit sad but happy that we had had the chance to meet up and have a fantastic weekend!

Schedule fo the tour

Fesfem playing. They are dressed up as dolls, and the main singer as a bride

Jupiter playing.

4th September 2018: また今度 with a red rose petal (HYDE LIVE 2018, Strike 3) {Japan, summer 2018}

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First thing in the morning I got packed (hoping that my suitcase did not get lost again) ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡. Then I went to Odaiba [お台場] on my own as D****e was working and there was my last HYDE live for the season. There was wind and rain, but it was not bad especially considering that there was a super typhoon in Osaka that slammed a ship against a bridge and cut down communications to the airport (O_O)!. I mean, compared to that I won’t even complain that my hairdo went to hell because woah there.

I checked out the Venus Fort to check if there were any new goods, but as there were not, I moved on. I took some pictures of the Megaweb Toyota City Showcase [メガウェブ トヨタ シティ ショウケース].

A collage with some cool and futuristic-looking car. The logo reads MegaWeb Toyota City Showcase

And History Garage [ヒストリーガレージ].

History Garage classic cars.

It was at this time 12:55 so I hurried to the Gundam to check whether it moved at 13:00 and I was lucky. It changed its helmet and all (≧∇≦).

Gundan robot looking up to the sky. it is white and taller than the two-story shopping centre behind it.

After that I went to eat ramen. I could not read the super long name of the ramen to save my life, so I just said the number. The girl just turned to the kitchen and ordered ‘tamago’ (;¬_¬). seriously.

Ramen bowl with algae, chasuu (pork), spring onions and noodles

After lunch I went to see the waves.

A cargo harbour with unsettled sea

And I got a drink at Starbucks.

Starbucks plastic cup. It says thank you and it has a smiley face and a heart

Then I joined the people wait for HYDE to come in, waved at him, and thought that he did not look it awake. Once D****e made it we went inside.

Because I had not spent enough in this trip (sarcasm), something that I did before the concert, however, was get the Starset CD and M&G experience that included a handshake and an autograph. I felt that they had done an awesome job and deserved the credit and the cheering. So after the concert I went to meet with them, and they were were extremely nice.

One of the things I like about Odaiba concerts is that they keep the barriers up, so I can hold onto something and I don’t need to stay back to have something to hold on to, so I can get rather close even when I’m tired or sore. This time it paid off because I managed to find a petal from one of the roses HYDE threw as I was leaving.

Zepp Tokyo Venue from above

Starset CD with the band's autographs

A red rose petal

Finally we got home and D****e helped me so I got my trains sorted out to go to the airport the following day.

S night view of Tokyo, with Tokyo Tower lit up

1st September 2018: HYDE LIVE 2018 @ Odaiba, Strike 1 {Japan, summer 2018}

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There was a HYDE concert, the first of three I was going to be able to attend, in Odaiba [お台場] and we took the Yurikamome to get there because of ticketing convenience.

The concert was in Zepp Tokyo next to Venus Fort. And what do you do before a concert? Queue. In Europe it is so you get in, in Japan it is so you buy goods. We were promised goods that were not there in the end ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡ but at least we did not get a sunburn while waiting as we were prepared for rain and thus carried an umbrella… against the merciless sun (;¬_¬).

After we had bought our goods, D****e and I went to have lunch at the Venus Fort. We surveyed the places and ended up in a yakiniku place which was almost empty, and still had a loong line. Things I’ll never understand.

Yakiniku lunch - a dish of uncooked meat, the grill to cook it, rice, broth, and pickled vegetables

The concert was HYDE’s Live 2018 – HYDE’s new solo project. After VAMPS disbanded a few months back, this was my first concert watching him. It was a strange feeling, because the feelings were very bittersweet. I was more keen on some songs than on others, but I guess I got into the mood pretty quickly. However, it did give me the impressions that the music was… somewhat disconnected, and Zipang was a power-ballad lacking power. However, Out was amazing. I could have done without the VAMPS songs though, but I guess that without a whole ready album, HYDE sang whatever he owned rights to. Also, I think I bought too many goods…

One of the discoveries of the day were the supporting band, Starset, who have a very distinctive style that I pretty much liked.

Hyde's tour truck

After the concert we went home to get some rest.

25th August 2018: Niigata + Otohige {Japan, summer 2018}

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D****e and I went to Niigata [新潟] to attend Otohige, a summer music festival.

I took in a few things:

  • Golden Bomber are fun (well, this I knew already). Sho got hit for real a couple of times
  • Wagakki Band are fun too. I have given them money
  • I can’t go to arena moshpit without anything to hold on. Too painful.
  • Being on third row for HYDE should be amazing but it sucks if you can’t see HYDE and all your body hurts due to pushing and shoving.
  • I shall avoid macro festivals that do not have seats. If there are seats and arena, I will stay at the seats
  • Japan summer rain when everything hurts is not nice.
  • Painkillers and yummy yakiniku can make things better. Eventually.

This was not such a great experience for me as going into the pit turned out to be a good decision, causing a flare. I’ve decided to avoid festivals from now on.

23rd August 2018: 疲れた {Japan, summer 2018}

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After nine days on the go, mostly with the backpack on, today I took it easy as my body kind of hurt. I went for a stroll down Ikebukuro [池袋] and looked at yukata. I went to the music shops. In the end I bought a yukata in Shinjuku [新宿]’s 135º, black with red and dark-pink roses.

I got lost in Shinjuku Station. Like, very lost. Then I realised that to get to the “South Exit” you have to actually come out of the building and find it outside. Live and learn. The great thing about getting lost in Shinjuku Station was that I found all the TOKIO panels for their new videogame commercial. Including one low enough to be able to “take a selfie” with Nagase.

Then I picked up D****e in Roppongi [六本木], we had dinner and called it a day.

11th August 2018: The Luna Sea Connection {Japan, summer 2018}

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Luggage arrived around 9 am, and let me tell you I have never been this happy to see my own underwear. I put together all the presents I had brought for people (feeling sorry that I had not been able to take M***chan’s for her the previous night) and headed out, first with D****e to Shinjuku and later to Akasaka, as I was meeting a friend over there for a concert.

Back in April 2018, when I went to the INORAN concert at the Salón del Manga de Alicante, one of the people I met was E**chan, who is coincidentally a Luna Sea fan and studying Spanish.

When she heard that I was going to Japan this summer she offered to help me find tickets for the solo concert of her favourite Luna Sea member, the bass J in the Mainabi Blitz Akasaka [マイナビBLITZ赤坂]. I met E**chan at Asakasa station [赤坂駅] for lunch and coffee / tea before the concert. We ended up in a place called Uchi no Tamago Chokubaijo [うちのたまご直売] and ate tamago kake gohan [卵かけごはん], which I had never eaten before and was absolutely yummy (I’ve looked up recipes by now (≧∇≦). I mean, it’s basically raw egg and rice so…).

Lunch. A bowl of miso soup and a bowl of rice with cooked egg on top

After lunch we were talking for a while, and then headed for the concert. I bought some goods (Tshirt) and she was nice enough to wait with me even if she had a much better number since she’s a fanclub member. The concert was super lively and rocky, with almost a mosh pit and all! It was fun, and J was very energetic – one day I will see the whole of Luna Sea together. I got pushed and shoved a little, so even if fun, it turned out a bit exhausting.

After the concert I headed back of to Shinjuku [新宿] to have a shabu-shabu dinner with D****e before we headed back home.

Dinner watching the shabushabu broth until it boils. There are mushrooms, tofu and spinach leaves ready to be cooked

21st & 22nd April 2018: MIYAVI & London (England, Great Britain)

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On Saturday the 21st I caught a red-eye flight and I landed in London Stansted around 7:00. After clearing security (aka a security guard very interested on WHY I was there and WHOSE was the concert again?) I got myself on the train and headed off directly towards ULU London to attend MIYAVI’s “DAY 2” World Tour in Europe 2018. I spent the whole day at the queue / venue, so I tell you much of what I did, except that I was an idiot and did not really eat much solid food, if at all. A cookie, I seem to remember, and a cereal bar, which in the end caused a bad stomachache. Lesson learnt. Also! Heatwave in London. How do I manage to always catch the heatwaves in London?

MIYAVI is a Japanese guitarists I’ve listened on and off for a while. I lost a bit of track of him when he got married and had a baby, but every excuse is good for a little getaway. And I have to say that he blew my mind.

I set off at around 4am on Saturday and arrived in the queue around 10 am. The line was incredibly well organised, and the venue staff was super-friendly and efficient (which is a welcome change from most). Often, when an artist comes in, you can hope for a wave, maybe an autograph or sneak up a picture – not with this man, who goes out of the way to shake your hand and thank you for coming.

Well, I did have a VIP ticket that included a handshake and a picture, so I got two handshakes out of him! The concert itself was fantastic, fast-paced and MIYAVI is a guitar master. He was supported by a number of musicians and singers and they all were bustling with energy.

MIYAVI's instagram story reading well done London you guys were hot tonight

Before heading to the airport, the following morning I headed off to the British Museum, which was halfway between the venue and the hotel. I spent a couple of hours there, mostly in the Korea and China areas. There I fell in love with the Bodhisattva Guanyin.

Collage. British museum façcade and some exhibit from the Asia ward - Shiva, Buddha, a green-faced priest, dragon, a Korean dress... The main piece is Guanyin, sitting with a knee up, their hand resting on the knee, the other leg hanging down

From the British Museum I directly went to the airport, and I grabbed some food at Itsu, which is not my favourite Japanese brand due to the price, but my stomach was acting up (my own fault though (≧▽≦)) and I needed something to appease it. So sushi, miso soup and Coke it was.

Sushi and miso soup

7th – 9th April 2018: 8º Salón del Manga y Cultura Japonesa. Alicante (Spain)

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This was a crazy, crazy weekend that I planned on the go with my friend C*****. It all started when INORAN, from Luna Sea, was announced as guest. She was on the fence as to whether she wanted to come, but not long after that Kenichi Yoshida was also announced, and she was sold. I had already got my tickets and booked a room, but it was fine for two people, so we could bunk together.

I finished work on Friday at around 19:00, made a dash for the local train station and took a commuting train to Madrid, where I took the long-distance train to Alicante, where I arrived at around 23:30. C***** came to pick me up at the station, as she had arrived and already checked in.

The next morning, Saturday 8th, we went to the bus station, and headed off to the venue, the IFA. We found the bus-ticket vending machine and found the deck to wait. We got to the venue and made our plan. We wanted to see the INORAN presentation and his concert, of course.

First thing, we took a walk down the whole space, and got our bearings, specially where the toilets were. The convention was organised in several areas: the commercial stands, the non-commercial ones, and a small “matsuri” with more traditional decorations and shops. After about an hour of walking around (probably even less) we got to “queue” to enter the small hall where the presentation was to take place. We got talking to a group of Japanese girls, including one, E**chan, who was studying Spanish! I met the Japanese me (≧▽≦).

In general, I have to say that the organisation of the event was bad. There were three signing events scheduled, out of which only one ended up taking place. During the presentation we watched the PV of INORAN’s newest song, and he said ‘hola’, and although there was a signing announced for this, it did not happen. The organisation later (after the whole convention was over) said that INORAN had requested two signing sessions to be cancelled. We had brought original material for him to autograph, but there was no chance.

Inoran talking into a microphone

After the signing session, around 14:00 we… had no plans until the concert at 19:00, so we decided to just… wait at the stage, and believe me, we were not the first to think about it. We watched the cosplay contest (and did not agree with the result, by the way) and got all pumped up for the whole thing. INORAN is the guitarist of LUNA SEA, and even if he tried to sing, he is not the best vocalist in the world, truth be told. Other members of the group were u:zo on bass, Yukio Murata on second guitar and Ryo Yamagata on drums. Even if I said before that INORAN lacks as a vocalist, the concert was really good (and hey, by now I’ve seen 3/5 members of LUNA SEA, do I get a membership card or something?). I think it’s really fun when singers try the local language, or at least mangle it. INORAN did so with a very well-rehearsed “¿lo estáis pasando bien?” However, most was Japanese.

Inoran on the stage, playing guitar and looking at the ipad to remember the lyrics

Another note on the organisation. We were the first row, behind the barrier. In front of the barrier sat a bunch of “volunteers”, “workers” and “VIPs” that were there out of curiosity and basically only blocked the view of the fans – two or three rows. Behind the fans there were the curious onlookers. I do wonder what INORAN found himself thinking about the convention.

After the concert came the WTF-organisation moment of the day (it would get even “better” on Sunday though): the autograph signing. We lined for the autograph and we were told that we needed to purchase a postcard (printed by the convention) that INORAN would sign – the workers said nothing else was allowed. And here is when I was mean. I asked the worker if he spoke Japanese so he could ask whether signing anything else was fine by INORAN. And the worker said that he did not speak Japanese – tough luck, buddy.

I paid my euro for the postcard and when INORAN reached out for it, I pulled out one of the CDs I brought and asked him to sign that instead. There was an uproar from the workers, but he had literally zero issues signing my CD. I mean, it was his original material after all (Note to the organisation: you idiots, if I pay you the 1€ and don’t use your postcard, you can use that postcard for someone else who will pay another euro. Seriously). When I was leaving, I asked INORAN to also sign C*****’s CD instead of a postcard, and he smirked. I’m sure that the organisation hated me a lot that evening (again, it would get “better”).

Inoran's autograph

After the signing, we bought some Sumi-e (calligraphy) from the super-talented Mitsuru Nagata (more on that on Sunday). Finally, we went to the non-commercial stands area and C***** bought herself a bunch of things (and some pins for me!), we took a picture with a Mary Poppins cosplayer, and we headed off towards the hotel.

Two Japanese ink drawings. One is a samurai drawing his sword, the other one some bamboo. Also two badges: one reads I speak fluent sarcasm, the other one everything is better with dragons

As we had had a small on-the-go lunch waiting at the stage, we decided to go for a serious dinner. The fun part was that we ended up finding the Taberna El Chapeau, where the band had been the previous night. It was very near our hotel, and we checked the menu for kicks and giggles – it turned out it was not expensive at all, so we ate there! We tried the palm-honey eggplant, a mixture of fried seafoods, a miniburger, and a very sinful brownie for dessert – the lemmon sherbet was on the house.

Dinner. Some fried snacks and a mini hamburger, a pair of lemmon shots, and an ice cream scoop

The morning of Sunday 9th started pretty much the same as Saturday’s morning. We took the bus to the convention centre and walked around. We got to meet with Mitsuru Nagata, and we asked him to take a picture with us in front of his works. Aside from super-talented, he was very nice. He invited us to see his calligraphy demonstration, but we apologised since we were going to see Kenichi Yoshida’s concert. He said that it was a good idea, because he was around more often than Yoshida.

Several hanging rolls of Japanese ink paintings, with samura and a phoenix

Thus, we queued to enter the hall. We actually arranged to queue twice in one go. First we had the Kenichi Yoshida concert, then there was an INORAN Q&A. We made some nice friends at the INORAN queue, so they agreed to “keep our spots” there while we were in the concert, as long as we stepped out – it was fair.

As the doors opened for the concert, we had yet another riff-raff with so-called workers and organisers, as part of the rules were that the hall had to be emptied between activities – as the hall only sat 200 people, this was made to prevent people from “saving” seats and preventing others from attending talks and conferences. Unless you were “friends with the organisers”, then you could just… ignore that – basically, as we queued outside, a group of people stepped out, then jumped back in and claimed “they had emptied the hall”. I called them out and the guy was all indignant. Apparently, he had been asked to translate as a last-minute thing or something, and had brought his friends along.

Before the concert started, we were told that after the concert, Yoshida would be signing postcards – just like INORAN the evening before – but that there were only twenty of them. We were very annoyed at that because, yet again, C***** and I had our own material. Yoshida came along percussionist Yuki Tsuchida, leader of the band Cross Groove Premium. The Yoshida brothers use the shamisen for a fusion of modern and traditional sounds for a very cool result.

Kenichi Yoshida playing shamishen, with his percussionist on the right

Okay, and here comes the… embarrassing part. After enjoying the concert, my friend C***** and I decided that we would try for the autograph… somehow. So instead of “hunger-gaming” for the postcards we… took after him. As Yoshida was climbing up the stairs along the drummer and the manager I caught up with him. I… very respectfully… tried to tell him in Japanese that there were too few postcards and that my friend and I had brought the original CDs, and if he would mind signing those for us.

To my eternal surprise, he said yes. The manager ushered me up to the second floor as C***** went to hold the place in the queue, and I got the CDs signed, along with a sticker. Shaking like a leaf, I went back to the queue. In the end, it turned out that there were enough postcards for all the fans, so we tried again! Yoshida was nice enough to take a picture with us and sign postcards again.

Yoshida's autograph

Then we went to the hall again to see INORAN’s last appearance, the Q&A, which did not have a signing either. The event was carried out in Spanish, English, and Japanese. After watching the PV, the questions came. They focused on INORAN’s thought on Spain, and whether he knew about how popular he is in Spain. Some fans and “press” asked interesting questions about his career, experience and collaborations with different artists and bands – Hide, Tsuchiya Anna, LUNA SEA, Fake? and so on. He was asked how to become ‘big in Japan’ particularly as musicians and he said ‘working hard’. And then I lost it when he called the ‘young’. That almost made me roll on the floor laughing.

Inoran sitting on a chairm with a hat, a scarf, and his jeans rolled up

After the Q&A we headed back towards Alicante, and in the bus I exchanged Lines with E**chan to stay in contact. C***** and I picked our things up from the hotel and walked to the station, where he had a super-late lunch.

Burger, fries, and a glass of coke

We had a shared train-ride to Madrid, and we spent most of it in the cafeteria chatting up. We also got to see a pretty rainbow as it rained on the way. After we made it to Madrid, we separated for the last leg of our journeys, happy to have met up once more for yet another fun adventure.

Dark clouds and a rainbow

14th – 16th October 2017: Vienna, Austria

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14th October 2017: Arrival and the Inner ring: Butterflies and Dinosaurs

Between flight and transfer to the city on Saturday morning, I arrived in the city of Vienna at 1pm. As my hotel was between the station and the city centre, I took my chances for an early check in and I was lucky – it was. After dropping my luggage I headed off to walk around Vienna’s Inner Ring, the Ringstrasse, which is a big boulevard that runs around all the old city of Vienna (Unesco World Heritage Site). A bunch of things were on my way and it seemed easy enough to find one’s way around. My hotel was located in a building close to a park, and had three floors, on the 11th, 12th and 13th floors of a building, which gave me some views of the city.

On Saturday the plan was wandering around, but as I am who I am I ended up improvising. My first stop was the outer Vienna State Opera, the Wiener Staatsoper, where a young man dressed as Mozart tried to sell me tickets for a show.

Vienna opera house, a baroque building in light colours with huge windows and an arched entrance

I continued on my walk and I saw the Albertina, a modern art museum, but I was actually heading to the Imperial Palace greenhouse, which is the home of a café and the Schmetterlinghaus, or Imperial Butterfly House. This is an area of the greenhouse where a bunch of butterflies are free to fly around and feed on a bunch of flowers, plants and pieces of apple. I was lucky enough to catch a few good shoots and I was very happy to have decided to go in (albeit I have to say that I was really keen on going there since I had seen that it existed). I really had a blast and enjoyed this, so it was a must that I don’t regret having missed, especially since the 6.50€ for the ticket. I spent around forty minutes in there chasing butterflies.

Vienna Butterfly house: a former greenhouse, and a few close-ups of different butterflies on bushes.

Then I saw the Austrian National Library, the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek.

Severe-looking stone building with columns and windows.

After that I back I walked through the Hofburg Palace, Hofburg Wien, and the Michaelerplatz or Saint Michael Square.

Collage of the former Imperial palace. It is a stone building with columns and windows, and arches

After that I crossed the palace in the opposite direction and ended up at the Heldenplatz, which gave way to Naturhistorisches Museum, the Natural History Museum to see dinosaurs, because there were dinosaurs, which is the home of the Venus von Willendorf, a tiny statue of stone dated back 29,500 years. The museum also holds a collection of minerals, meteorites, preserved animals, dinosaurs, an animatronics dinosaur and a multitude of artefacts from Prehistory to the Middle Ages. I also saw the same dunkleosteus that they have in the Tokyo Kokuritsu Kagaku Hakubutsukan. Have I mentioned dinosaur animatronics?

Collage of the Natural Museum: the building, with a dome, a whale skeleton, an Albertosaurus skeleton, the head of a Dunkleosteous fish, a huge salt stone and the Venus von Willendorf, a small naked woman statuette in golden stone

Following the museum I continued down the Ring Boulevard and it did not take me long to stumble up the Pallas Athene Brunnen (Monument to Palas Athena) and the Austrian Parliament Building, Parlamentsgebäude. The latter was under reconstruction.

Vienna parliament house, under renovation. There is a Palas Athena in white marble with a gold helmet standing in front of it.

I continued my walk until I found the Vienna Town hall, called the Rathaus, where there was a kind of Videogame trade fair or something going on.

Vienna town hall - neogothic building with a lot of towers and spikes.

Then I went on walking towards the university and the church of Votivkirche, a neo-gothic building next to the university.

Gothic church under renovation

Afterwards I went down to the hotel because this is not summer vacations after all, just a weekend escapade and I seriously did not have that much energy. On my way I walked past the stables of the Spanische Hofreitschule (Spanish Riding School) stables and I saw some pretty horses.

Two white horses from the Vienna riding school

And even from the hotel (literally from bed), as my room had views, I could take some pictures of the sunset and the lit buildings. And then I went to sleep at a horribly early hour because I was beat and for some reason I managed over 8 hours of sleep.

Sunset over the skyline of vienna. The buildings are dark and the sky is orange

15th October 2017: Palaces, churches and the Cinema

Because my hotel was **** for a change (I have to say that when I think about the whole weekend the word “decadent” is what comes to mind), I had a kettle and instant coffee ready for me – this was my breakfast. After that I did the online for my flight the following day and of course running into technical difficulties, and I left the hotel at around 9:30, which was a bit later than I had intended.

I was coming up to the Belvedere Palace, and on my way there I took a diversion to see the Karlskirche or Karlskirche (St. Charles’ Church), which I could see from my hotel and illuminated at night. This is a baroque church that sometimes holds classical music concerts.

The church of St. Charles; a Baroque church. It has a dome, and two twisted columns in front.

After taking a wrong turn once or twice this I headed out to my original target, the Schloss Belvedere (Upper Belvedere Palace). This is a Baroque Palace (seriously, Vienna is full of Baroque) that has been turned into a painting gallery. The most famous author in this gallery is Klint, but if I have to be honest, I’m not too appreciative of him – must be my likings for the realists. In the end, I liked the palace itself better than the painting collection, specially the reception room and the staircase.

The Upper Belvedere Palace, a Neoclassical building in white stone.

As I had bought a three-combo ticket including Upper and Lower Belvedere and the Winter Palace, I walked down the Belvedere Gardens to the Unteres Belvedere (Lower Belvedere), which holds the “Medieval Treasure” and temporal exhibitions. The best thing was the gold and mirror room and the marble gallery.

A huge garden with a palace in the background. The garden is artificial in a way, with perfectly-trimmed grass, fountains, and bushes.

The Baroque entrance to the lower Belvedere palace, a stone gate with sculptures on top. It looks like it wants to stare you down. The palace peers through the three open doors in the background

Then I headed off to the centre of the city to see the Winterpalais des Prinzen Eugen (Winter Palace of Prince Eugene), which was not the best thing ever but hey it came within the three-museum combo.

A Neoclassical palace with flags hanging over the door

Then I headed off to Domkirche St. Stephan (St. Stephen’s Cathedral), which is the gothic Catholic cathedral. It is not Baroque but Gothic. The entrance was free, but it also had a paid area, including the catacombs. Unfortunately I was too late for the current tour and too early for the following one, so I decided not to stick around, else I would have got the combo for the catacombs, the tower and the treasure.

A gothic cathedral. Collage showing the outside, with the tower and the ornate windows, and the inside showing the pointed arches inthe nave, and the organ.

As it was, I saw the cathedral and then headed off down different streets and saw the outer area of Katholische Kirche St. Peter (Catholic Church of St. Peter).

Façade of a Neoclassical church

And then headed out to the Michaelerplatz to check the inside of the Michaelskirche (Catholic Church of St. Michael).

Neoclassical church, showing the white and pointy bell tower. The image is tilted so the tower fits in the frame

I checked the Spanische Hofreitschule (Spanish Riding School) for tour tickets, but I was late for that and it was all sold out, so I decided to go to the station and buy some food in the supermarket for both lunch and dinner. On the way I crossed the Stadtpark to see the floral clock and the Johann Strauss monument – Johann Strauß Denkmal.

Finally, I headed off to get some rest at the hotel, and have a shower. At 18:15 I walked down to the cinema at the corner of my hotel building, the Gartenbaukino, because in the end that was the reason I was there – to attend the Austrian premiere of the X JAPAN documentary We are X as Yoshiki was going to be around for a Q&A session afterwards.

There had been a small mix-up with the ticket numbering (all of them had been printed out with the same seating number!), which was solved efficiently. We watched the documentary We are X and then there was a Q&A with Yoshiki himself. There were emotional moments as the fans thanked him for everything he had done and for his music.

Entryway to the cinema. It reads We are X Live + Q&A mit Yoshiki 20.00

Yoshiki sitting in front of a burgundy curtain. He is wearing his sunglasses and a black suit, boots and a golden blouse

After the Q&A some of us stayed talking at the cinema gate and the manager, who had solved the ticket problem, came out to close – and he told us where Yoshiki would be leaving from. And that’s… the story of how I got to talk to Yoshiki, I got his autograph and took a picture with him and I will never, ever, ever forget the rush of that.

I have to say I did not sleep much that night. All the excitement caught up with me and I kept replaying the scene in my head over and over again. in the end I think it was around 2:30 that I could turn the lights off.

16th October 2017: Airport Monday morning

After checking out of the hotel I walked back to the train station and took the CAT towards the airport. I had taken an earlier train than I had already planned and boy was I glad to do so when following arrows at the airport took me as much as 20 minutes. Something I learnt in this trip is how friendly Austrian people are, and that they have a great sense of humour, as apparently one of their star souvenirs is “no kangaroos in Austria”. The return flight was not as good as the first, but it was on time and I could arrive to work smoothly for a crazy week.

29th July 2017: Shinjuku, Shibuya & Blended Fam {Japan, summer 2017}

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D****e and I were going to have a relaxing weekend, not leaving Tokyo [東京] and stuff, but she wanted to do some shopping. We started off in Shinjuku [新宿], at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Tōkyō Tochō [東京都庁], which was as always great and on her subway line anyway.

Collage showing Tokyo from above - thousands of buildings that disappear in the background, and some forlone green parks

Afterwards, I wanted to check something in one of the Shinjuku fandom shops (it said to ask the shop assistant, and I can ask, but I was not sure I would have understood the answer, thus she offered to tag along with me). Unfortunately the item I wanted was already gone, life is tough.

Then we went to Shibuya [渋谷] for lunch, Tokyu Hands and Mandarake. Afterwards we walked in the rain towards Royal Flash to check Arly’s Jewellery Line – Blended Fam. Arimatsu, or Arly, is the drummer for Oblivion Dust, and used to play for VAMPS too. He also designs jewellery, and he makes very pretty stuff – unfortunately quite expensive. We chose to drop by this day because he was going to be in the shop greeting fans, and engraving his most affordable piece of jewellery, a pendant made from his used cymbals. Furthermore, if you got one while he was there, he would engrave your initials on it! Fun. I decided to get one, and he was mortified when “SD” was engraved upside-down, yielding to “DS”. He was mortified. Then I joked about it and I gave it a naughty meaning… making him choke with laughter. So… it was a win, I guess?

The artist engraving the pendant, and the material - old cymbals cut out in a heart-shape.

After the event, we headed off to the Tokyo SkyTree [東京スカイツリー]. We were going to see the nearby fireworks with a friend from there, and have dinner later, or have dinner with her if the rain did not stop. In the end only we had dinner – as it was raining very hard and we thought the fireworks would be cancelled, so we headed off to a nice Chinese restaurant at the SkyTree which had extra long gyoza.

Chinese food - dumplings, rice, sweet and sour pork, soup

When we were coming out we saw one last firework, as the show was not cancelled in the end. Live and learn.

Firework sparks behind the structure of the Tokyo Skytree