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Tokyo Trip 2006-2007

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Day 1

So I arrived in tokyo at 6:30pm on 24 december 2006...

First I took aiplane from Fort Myers to Dallas...the flight took about 3 hours... after that I and my mom had only 30 minutes to get to the next plane (from Dallas to Narita). Luckily we succeeded!

The seats in the economy class of the airplane are really cramped together and let me tell you its not too good for a person who is  5 feet and 9 inches tall...and the flight which is 14 hours long...not good at all... but the end of 4th hour on the plane I was in pain, my legs were getting numb...XD it was awful...but as I looked at the little lcd in front of me, i thought on 10 more hours to go... >_<;  (the food was good though...and they had tea!! ^_^;)

Here are some pictures from airplane.

Well we finally landed at Narita airport...but my journey was fr from over... I needed to get from Narita to Tokyo... so went to go buy the bus tickets...I asked the lady " Can I have tickets to Keio Plaza hotel?" and she said " Shinjuku?"  I was like " Yeah, keio plaza hotel in shinjuku"...she gave me the tickets and they said just " Shinjuku" on them... I asked her why... and she said that its the same thing... >_<; so i believed her... meanwhile my mom was exchanging the money from dollars to yen...

Then the bus came along... and we got in...when suddenly i saw the list of the stops on the bus...and keio plaza hotel wasnt on the list!! I ran to the bus driver and asked her... shetold me the bus is only going to Shinjuku station... my frist thought " Damn that lady a the airport!! Keio aint same thing as Shinjuku!! >_<"  well i had no choice at that point...

God... we were so exhausted... I didnt care anymore... Keio plaza hotel is only 10 minutes away from Shinjuku train station... so we rode the bus for 2 hours and 30 minutes... during the bus ride... my mom sat behind me and she was sleeping and i was watching the road, suddenly i heard a quiet scream from behind (It was my mom). I asked what happened and she told me " I fell asleep on the bus and I was sleeping on the shoulder of a Korean guy next to me... and he didnt say anything...he let me sleep...when i suddenly realized I was sleeping on something soft... i opened my eyes and I saw a good looking, young, unfamiliar face inches away from mine...so i screamed... >_<; "  hahahahaa The guy was really young and good looking... he was funny lol but really polite...he let mom sleep on his shoulder lol

anyways, so we arrived at shinjuku station...looking at our suitcases (we had 2 huge ones and 1 small) we decided there is no way we can walk to hotel... so we got a cab... we could see hotel from where we were standing... but it was impossible...the cab driver looked at us like we were stupid... XD

But no one knows how awful it was... >_<;

so i thought...ok i got to the hotel and i can get to the room and sleep but firstly take a shower...but NO!! As we were checking in they couldnt run my mom's card through...its a disaster...when we left we put all money on mom's card...and now we had no money... at all...so after spening another hour at the registry... I realized I have my Gas AAA credit card... *sigh*  it has low credit of only 3500dollars...but it was enough for collateral for hotel! *sigh* the breakfast wasnt included...so we had to go to the grocery store and buy food with little cash i had left... >_<;

Finally we came to hotel room and the employee was helping us with luggage...and then i am so exhausted that i dont even remember english language...so the guy is jsut standing there and looking at me... I was like...what? kinda reminds me of the movie "pretty woman"... he wanted tip... XD So i gave him 10dollars(1000yen) and he left...

anyways i took a warm shower and fell asleep.





the next day I asked my good friend Kei to come and help me find the concert hall for Mana-sama's concert. Kei came next morning from Kyoto to help me...thank you so much. ^__^

We left hotel around 1pm and went to Shibuya...and then it all started lol I looked at map for the Shibuya O-east and pretty much i thought i knew where I was going...NOT! I got all three of us lost, wandering throughout the shibuya district... XD We walked and walked...hahha I am sorry... ^_^;  then asked for directions...but no one knows... so Kei called his friend who told us where to go... turns out we were supposed to go in opposite direction.... ^_^; I am sorry again...

Finally we found the place...*sigh* i hope to find it tommorow!!

anyways then I decided to visit HMV music store...so i dragged Kei and my mom there with me... (selfish)...after that we went back to Shinjuku.

Here is pic i took today at Shibuya

This is Xmas day, so Xmas day specials were going on and I MUST VISIT MOI MEME MOITIE!!! XD So I dragged us all there lol

lucky for me they were giving out gifts with purchase...and i had to finish filling out my member's card so i can get a gift...so i bought few things... hahahah ^_^;  (below)


Then we went to explore the whole 5-8 floors on the Marui young...Sorry you guys... I am selfish...Kei looked realy tired and bored...sorry... ^_^;

So i found really cute jacket in BPN (black peace now) and as i bought it...I received I free xmas gift yay! (below)

Then i took few pictures at Shinjuku -Blue X-mas lights!! and bought KFC food lol

At the end of the day I and Kei exchanged presents. It was Kei's b-day on 24th, Happy B-day! ^__^

this was the end of the day... I want sugar in my Tea...but i am too tired to go to grocery store...

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Day 2

Ok I am still in progress of editing the concert report... I am really tired right now...so this is as far as i will go... more will come tommorow. ^_^

So it is the day I have been waiting for all my life…yes…the day when I get to see Mana-sama in person…the day of Dis Inferno Last year party 2006!

The day started with me and my mom waking up at 2am…we couldn't sleep… XD after browsing the web for Hizaki project I decided to have room service bring us warm breakfast… waahhhh paradise…it was delicious…^_^ (pics below)


Then it was now 7am and I started preparing my make-up and hair…after a struggle…I decided to go with my usual hairstyle…^_^;

Then I went downstairs to buy a strawberry cake(I wanted it… )and some pins for my hair…
There I took some photos because I could lol also they had a display of miniature trees downstairs so I took few shots there. ^__^ (below)



By 2pm I and my mom were all EGA-ed and ready to go!
This is my final concert outfit! (below)
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We went to Shibuya and of course I must say that Mana-sama has bad luck with picking out concert dates… XD It was raining/snowing/freezing… and of course I got lost trying to find Shibuya O-east…hahha …after a 20 minute delay we finally arrived at Shibuya O-east . I expected a huge line outside but instead there were only few people there… was 3pm… I took my camera and shot couple of photos at location… (below)



The tickets were supposed to be exchanged at 4pm which I did…here are the tickets (below)

Waiting for the doors to open I met a few wonderful people. First I met two wonderful…amazing girls from France (with whom I hung out for the rest of the time and during concert). I am so glad I met you guys! They also came for the holidays and wanted to see Mana-sama. It wasn't their first time, they saw him in 2005 and 2006 live in Europe! I am so jealous! lol Together then we went to buy some goods of M10M upstairs at 5pm-5:30pm. I bought these items! (below)

After we went back downstairs the place was filled with people, all dressed beautifully in gothic Lolita/aristocrat style! I must say that there were a lot of guys there, I was impressed! Also I met a beautiful girl from Arizona, United States! (yay ! Another US fan here!!) As the gates started opening and the numbers of the tickets were being called , I knew that this was real…it finally hit me…I was going to see Mana-sama! The announcer guy was talking in Japanese and completely caught me off guard…>_<; luckily there were few wonderful girls from Europe who spoke good English and gladly helped me out. Thanks you guys! ^__^ At the entrance they asked us for cameras…and I gave mine up…I really don't want to aggravate Mana-sama… so it means no photos or any media from inside the hall…^_^; but Instead I will introduce few sketches. As I entered the hall I ran towards the front of the stage, followed by my newly made friends from France. The time was 6pm, one more hour before the concert/event should start. (my sketch of the concert hall)

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At 6 45 pm I heard amazing guitars behind the curtain… I held my breath, waiting in anticipation of what was coming up… At that point I forgot about my mom whom I brought with me to the concert…^_^; anyways finally t 7 15pm I heard familiar voice… the voice I heard many time before… K!! He was on the right hand small stage, dressed in the business man suit but wearing his usual hairstyle and make-up…he looks really tall in real life! Hhha it was rather amusing, considering I didn't understand what he was saying…but oh well…

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Then he introduced Mana-sama.. I heart stopped as Mana-sama ran out on stage… he was wearing… a weird outfit…which consisted of ripped fishnet shirts of green and red (I think) and leather shorts of beige and his trademark boots!(correct me if I am wrong about his outfit…cause I was so excited that I started to forget what he was or wasn't wearing…^_^;) He looked so cute! He had a bottle of water in his hand and he pretended drinking from it and then (like in 80s) pretended to spit water in the audience… ^__^

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BTW I was in the front row in the middle, between two of the French friends. ^__^; The the rest of the band came out with Hayato on guitar , Mana-sama on drums and some other guys whose names I didn't catch on bass (dressed like Nikki Sixx) and a singer with bright blond wig and tight leather pants , all were dressed similar to Motley Crue . When suddenly they started playing… the sing was called " Looks that kill" by Motley Crue… oh amazing… AMAZING…. I couldn't take my eyes off of Mana-sama… he looked even more beautiful in person… *_*

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As they finished the song the curtains closed and out attention as one again focused on the small stage on the right hand side, where K was standing with mic and behind him the Mana-sama's motley crue! ^__^ Adorable! Mana-sama put his hand on the blond vocalist's shoulder…and then he walked out with loud noise of his chains! ^__^ Then curtains opened again and there was Mana-sama wearing something that resembled punk outfit… his pants and boots but on top baggy jacket, tie and shirt (kinda like businessman) And he was holding his favorite bass Widow form BC Rich!! DIX!!

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Then the Enka started playing and Seth appeared on the big stage. He was wearing a beautiful black kimono with the red bow in the middle… He looked really beautiful…the photos I see of Seth don't do him justice… ^_^ Next to him, kneeling down was Hayato, wearing the black with red stripes sportswear suit and a weird veil over his face. Lol As Seth was singing , Hayato stood up, opened the fan he was holding and picked up few paper confetti thingies from the basket next to him and fanned those piece of paper onto Seth creating an illusion of Sakura petals… it was beautiful until Hayato was getting pissed off and started throwing aggressively those confetti at Seth who was smiling widely lol

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Then Sugiya came out on stage as a magician, he had a big yellow sparkling bow around his neck. As he walked across the stage he threw flowers towards us, fans.(some lucky people caught few of those flowers). Then he did the can trick where cane turns into a rainbow colored puffy thing… ^_^; After that Seth came out on stage dressed in his m10m clothes and teased Sugiya while Sugiya was making balloon animals… a dog, a teddy bear…some weird thing which I do not know the name off while Seth told us to sing a song to encourage Sugiya… ^_^; So then Sugiya got fed up and popped one of the balloons with agitation lol after which he left stage.(he pretended to punch Seth in the stomach a few times lol) Then K came out on stage… I was blown away… he was wearing a white long sleeve shirt and jeans, sitting on the chain with acoustic guitar and mic in front of him… wow what a beautiful scene… and then he started singing… I was amazed… his voice is really beautiful and conveyed so much emotion through music… it was great… I fell in love with K all over again lol everyone was silent enjoying his performance… ^__^

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Then Seth came out and started talking to K… omg K was so tall compared to Seth…it was kinda funny… ^_^; Again I don't know what they talked about… I think something about how Seth should call K…

Then they left stage, the announcement told us to watch the screen and MaTin animation came on hahaha it said "Characters by Mana" and " Animation by Taqueya" it was funny animation…but I bet it would be funnier if I could read the kanji that appeared as manga style bubbles… First it started with MaTin with sword doing some sword play…so cute!

Then other small animated band members came on so cute! Animated K was watching Mana-sama do the sword play and he had a thought bubble that showed how if K would to disturb Mana-sama, he would lose his head to that sword. Lol

Then they showed anime hayato who was playing drums but at the same time using drum sticks to eat noodles lol then suddenly drum set dissappeard and hayato was playing on the empty bowl with little MaTin looking at him with blinking eyes lol

The anime sugiya appeared and he was holding a bottle of Sake and on top of his head he had the drunk bubbles lol Then they showed how K does everything for everyone…how he cleans Mana-sama's sword, brings sake to Sugiya and etc

Then they showed anime Mana sword dance and the different curry ingredients were flying off in different ways and then all came together in one plate which MaTin gave to all members to eat. All 5 of the members were holding the curry plates and chewing their food… so cute!!! And K character had tears on his eyes but still eating lol funny!

 It would be better if I could read the kanji dialog though lol

 Our attention then was directed to the stage with the intro sound to beyond the gate…the curtains then opened and Moi dix Mois appeared in their regular outfits except for Mana-sama was wearing that 2002 outfit with puffy multi-layer skirt…so awesome!!

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The real concert has begun! They played many songs including Ange, Forbidden, Perish, Lametful miss, Vain, Eternally beyond, Deflower, Night breed, Mad Ingrain and new awesome song…with lots of organs and heavy guitars. I was waiting in anticipation to hear Seth vocals…must I say… AMAZING!! My opinion of Seth absolutely changed… completely… I love that guy so much… I got a pretty good look at him because he was in front of me all the time… His every movement, every gesture, every facial expression was fascinating… I could look away though I did want to look more at Mana-sama… And the way Seth was playing with the microphone stand and the microphone…wow so elegant… and his smile…wow… *__*

Something funny happened during performances of songs listed above… Mana-sama suddenly dropped on the floor (on purpose) and started rolling around on his back , playing guitar then he rolled to the edge of the stage and bent his neck backward so that he was looking upside down at fans… waaaaaaahhhh I was so jealous…I could barely see it…

 I am sorry I don't remember during which song what happened…I was too excited to see them so close to me so I didn't really remember the songs…^_^; Then each time Mana-sama came over to our side(the middle) I tried my best to reach forward and touch his dress or his hand… and I screamed…yes I did… ^_^;

and finally my wish came true…wow I have to reserve this moment…I reached my hand forward , towards Mana-sama who was kneeling down with his guitar…then suddenly he reached his hand towards mine and I felt his hot fingertips gently move across mine…even if it was for a split second…I could see his eyes on mine and his fingers that play guitar so wonderfully… It was amazing…he touched the hands of other fans too along with mine but I only saw him lol My life has no regrets… ;_;

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Then they left the stage… everyone was calling them back…when suddenly they came out in T-shirts (one of which I bought at the goods stand…I should've bought more damn it!) wow so casual…I loved it!!!and they started throwing things at us… like rubber balls of different colors…Mana-sama kept tricking us…it seemed like he was aiming to the left but he suddenly throws to the right…>_<; tricky… sly Mana-sama…

and I must say he throws really good!

Then they started throwing everything else they could find… imagine Mana-sama with a pink basket filled with rainbow colored pieces of paper with his autographs on them…he was throwing them everywhere…but I couldn't catch it… damn it!!

Then Sugiya started throwing those balloon animals that he made and Mana-sama seeing that, came up and took one of the balloons and tried to make a figure with it…but then he looked at it, rolled his eyes with this " oh damn it!" expression and threw the looong balloon at the crowd…I and my friend on the right caught it together… we pulled it from me to her for awhile…and I could see Mana-sama looking at us… XD then my friend who is a really nice person I ever met… said that I can take it… yay!! I love you! So I got the Mana-sama's unsuccessful balloon animal… (pic below) which I had to carry from concert to train station and then to hotel while it was raining… I was praying that nobody would pop it on the way… >_<; I came to hotel safely…

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Anyway back to the concert hall… while they were throwing that stuff at us… the HUGE colorful balloons were traveling everywhere… we were pushing them around and somehow everyone wanted to tease K so we all pushed huge balloon at him and hit him in the head couple of times… and then Seth felt naughty and when balloon flew toward K, Seth came up and popped it lol oh the yellow balloon I will always remember… then Seth tried to pop all balloons… at that point I lost the sight of Mana… O.o;

Then the green balloon was traveling and we threw it to seth who in turn, almost tripping, pushed it to K who was facing backwards so the balloon hit K on the head and Seth was cracking up… and K looked at Seth like… a glare type of thing lol

Was fun! Good job Mana-sama!! All my wish would be if there was a bit of English in this…^_^;

After that Mana-sama who was wearing tight velvet pants and his tall boots and a casual m10m t-shirt, bowed to us and left the stage as the lights came on… by that time it was 10 pm… so I was on my feet for 7 hours…my feet were killing me… ;__; so I grabbed some water and ran back to train station with my red balloon… I even forgot to fill out evaluation sheet for m10m damn it!! I regret it…

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So now my next goal is to find this place and see if I can get jeun e fille… probably not… but it wont hurt ot look at it at least… ^_^;

If you guys want to repost my sketches somewhere else please give credit to my website  http://nightworld3.com

 
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Day 3

    After the concert I was really excited so I couldn't sleep…so I stayed awake all night drawing the sketches of the concert on my computer… It is hard to draw on computer, but I had no choice because I didn't have a scanner with me…so… well the sun started rising and as bored as I was I started taking pictures (below)



Strangely I didn't feel a bit sleepy… O.O My goal was to go to Harajuku and Shibuya to fin that ESP craft store that Mana-sama mentioned…

So I signed  in on MSN and asked Kei to help me find it. Thanks you so much. ^_^

Suddenly Emily came in online and we talked for awhile…I told her about the concert. I wish Em was here… ^_^

Then Kei, I and mom left to go to Shibuya. The day outside was really nice but the trains were crowded… in my mind I could still see the concert and Mana-sama's hands… ^___^  I am really happy.

We arrived at Shibuya… and let me mention one thing… I have no sense of direction… none! So if it wasn't for Kei I would never have found the ESP craft store… never… even when Kei pointed at it , I was like " Where? I don't see" … XD

Anyways we havent even steped into the store when I heard familiar music… " Moi dis! …" Moi dix Mois music was playing loudly… and the starcase was covered in posters…!!
Heaven!!

As we walked in there was a little LCD screen on the ceiling playing the latest Moi dix mois DVD concert with Juka… *__* I turned my head and saw Mana-sama's ESP guitar display… WOOOWW! Amazing… Here are some photos.



It was a sale day called Mana-sama Fair… and ESP jeune fille X was on sale for 150 000yen other then its usual 477 000yen… So after a lot a lot of begging and pleading my mom allowed me to get it… but on the conditions that this would be my last time to go to Japan until I get my bachelors degree…;__; tough…but I wanted Jeune fille… anyways I ordered it and it will arrive at my house in Florida in 4 months… ^_^;

I also bought a few moi dix mois guitar picks and we left.

I started feeling tired and sleepy… finally … and I had to go back to hotel… On the way back to train station I took few pictures of holiday scene in shibuya.(below)



And here is me lol I look exhausted…sorry…hahah
 
I also took a picture of the train station…

Kei decided to go to Harajuku and I and mom went to Shinjuku… ohhhhhhh I was so tired… As we walked in  I smelled something nice… the cake store!! It was on the way to the elevator… I couldn't pass up such a good thing…^__^

So we bought 2 little cakes and a small bottle of champagne (below) because new year is coming up and champagne is a must! (here is the pics of my lunch)

After I ate… I just crawled back to the bed and fell asleep… I woke just 4 hours ago at 1am…ahhaha I cant sleep anymore  lol

TBC…

and the video from esp store!
ESP Craft Store

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Day 4

The 4th day of my stay in Tokyo was rather boring.. Exhausted from all that happened earlier my body craved for rest and my mind earned for sleep… so waking up at 9am and going out on routine grocery shopping was one of the things I did… after having a rather small breakfast I decided that I cannot wait any longer and need to go finished filling up my moi-meme-moitie card… I really didn't know what was gonna happen…if I will get a gift or just a discount… but I went ahead anyways…


As I dressed in my EGA outfit and headed outside with my mom, enjoying the fresh cold breeze and surprisingly sweet air… I decided to take a stroll in Shinjuku park right outside the hotel… I mean it is literally 30 seconds away from Keio Plaza… ^_^

And here we walked into the park where the trees changed their usual green into bright colors of autumn and bare trunks and twigs of winter…the scene of all that's dead, or maybe just sleeping… either way it was worth taking pictures of so here you go… enjoy the deep sleep of nature in its best…


 
After that I went to moi-meme-moitie… with anticipation of a gift my heart was beating really fast… what will happen…?

I finally was there and the same girl as always greeted me with one of her best outfits… I looked around and at the ended  up with buying a white shirt that Mana-sama portrayed in the winter 2006-2007 edition of GLB , then a light black jacket with leather cross in the middle, the famous tie which I wanted all the time and that want was fueled by the sight of that tie on Mana-sama during Dis Inferno… Thus my card was filled! The girl carefully wrapped everything and presented me with a new card and then brought out a box… my breath stopped… a present!! She smiled and said the same phrase which was spinning in my mind… the gift as you cna see the wine glasses. ^_^ prefect to celebrate New year with! ^_~

After that I decided to take few pictures near moi-meme-moitie glass display and store itself… though my wish is to visit the store in Nagoya… ^_^
Here are few pics I took.





 
Then after that I headed back to the hotel… and 10 minutes later I was in the elevator going up…when I suddenly noticed that elevator had a 13 floor button… oh! So Japanese don't believe in # 13 bad luck…?


It was about 5pm when I got back to hotel and after small lunch/dinner I fell asleep…waking up the next day at 7am…