YG Family Concert

This post is probably going to be all over the place, because I’m still collecting my thoughts, and reveling in how much fun I had at the YG Family concert this past Saturday.

Basically, way back in December I realized that I hadn’t been to a good concert in a long while. I found out that Dir en Grey was going to be playing in Tokyo within a couple of weeks, and I wanted to go, but the tickets were all sold out. Then, my friend Kolla, who I met through Emma back in September, sent me a link saying that the Kpop groups 2ne1 and Big Bang were going to be in concert in Osaka and Tokyo. At first, I had thought of taking a trip to Osaka to see the concert with Kolla, but upon checking the website, I found out that they were also playing at the Saitama Super Arena, which is close to my house. I figured I’d go there since it was convenient.

I had to buy the tickets at a Loppi machine in a Lawson Station. I looked up different instructions on the internet for how to use a Loppi machine, since everything was all in Kanji. I found the L-code that I was supposed to use for the concert, and I successfully reserved my ticket! After converting yen to dollars, the ticket is about $160. Yes, it was expensive, but it there were seven different groups.

I tried to take some pictures, but taking photos wasn’t allowed, and with my luck, I’d get caught, but I did manage to snap a few shots.

YG Family Concert inside the Saitama Super Arena

I ended up being way in the top rows and in the back, but the stage was in plain view, and I had a fun time. I did wish that my friends Emma, Jenni, and Kolla could’ve been there with me. I ended up going by myself, because all of my friends who are into Kpop don’t live in Saitama. I know of a few other JET’s who are into Kpop, but they all said they couldn’t go.

I had to take two trains to get to the Saitama Super Arena. The New Shuttle, which I always take into Omiya, and then I just take one train from Omiya to Saitama-Shintoshin, which is just one stop over. It only took a half hour to get there.

The Saitama Super Arena is pretty much right next to the train station, and the crowd for the concert led all the way up to the turnstiles. Luckily, it wasn’t the actual line to get into the venue.

There were tents outside selling merchandise. I got a Big Bang crown light for Kolla because she said she try to buy one at the Osaka concert, but they had sold out. I also bought a poster for my friend Jenni, and I bought a 2ne1 face towel since it was raining. I didn’t realize until I had made my purchases that they make you pay for the bags too. I didn’t get one because I figured I could put my stuff in a coin locker inside the arena. It turns out there weren’t any, but I was able to keep my stuff underneath my seat.

Merchandise booths in the rain

Beside the merchandise booths, they also had food tents where they were selling over-priced street food that was branded with each of the bands. One booth was 2ne1 “corn potato” and there was Big Bang curry.

Big Bang curry for sale

I ended up being seated between two middle-aged Japanese women. It wasn’t too bad. Good for them for coming to a concert and enjoying themselves, but when they stood up, they just stood still, and that made it harder for me to jump and dance around.

I was way up in row 400-whatever, but I had a clear view of the stage even if it was far away. They also had screens where they broadcast close-ups of the singers.

The first group that came was 2ne1, and I screamed and jumped up before they even came out on stage. Half the time they had the artists names on the screen before they came on, and half the time they didn’t. They sang “Can’t nobody” and “Go away.” After their first set, they greeted the audience in Japanese, and Dara took out her iPhone, and had the whole group get together so she could take a picture with the group and “with the audience.”

Big Bang came out next and everyone around me jumped back up again. They opened up with “Tonight”  and also sang “Koe wo kikasette” which I knew half of the lyrics. They had the lyrics to that song up on the screen behind them so the audience could sing along. They ended with “Gara Gara Go” which is such a fun dance song. Every time TOP sang, the crowd would sing some more. It was obvious he was the favorite member of the group. Also, during their performance, they came out to the middle of the stage, and all got on this huge round dais that lifted up and turned around.

My sneaky shaky photo of Big Bang. You can see all of the lights the audience was waving around.

The next singer was Gummy, who I had never really heard of before, but she had a nice voice. I sat down during her song.

After Gummy, Se7en came on stage and sang “Digital Bounce.” Even though I couldn’t see many of the performers real well from my seat, it was like a giant dance party. They also had TOP and G-Dragon come out and sing their song “High High” and they actually came out top the front of the stage, where it was easier to see them.

They also had these two other singers called Tablo and Jinusean, who I had never heard of before the concert, but their music was fun too.

There was another singer that came on called PSY. I had heard of him vaguely, but he was an excellent surprise. He’s this older, rounder guy, and he wore sparkly silver hammer pants, and a giant white fur vest. When he addressed the crowd, he had to read from a scroll, because he didn’t really know Japanese. But PSY was actually a really good singer, and he better utilized the front of the stage, and he actually took the time to acknowledge the fans all the way in the back rows. He would shout “Ikkai! Nikkai! San-kai! Yon-kai!” to get all of the audience members in different levels screaming at the same time. He was the only one that did that, and I like him for it. For his last song of that set, their was a huge blow-up figure of PSY in a sumo suit, which was hilarious, and he danced in front of it, and had the lyrics to his last song on the screen, and encouraged the audience to sing along.

Se7en came back on after PSY and sang his new song which is called “Somebody Else.” The best part was that he came out to the front of the stage, and he was doing a dance number in heelies. It was so cool. I wish I had a pair of heelies now. (I’ve wanted heelies before the concert, but now I just want them even more.)

Se7en, during his performance of "Somebody Else" in heelies.

2ne1 came back on for a second time too, and they sang “I am the best” and “I don’t care.” It was so cool to see everyone in the arena to shake their lights in time to the lyrics of “I don’t care.” The last song they sang was “Ugly” and it was just so cool to hear it live. For that last song, the singers all got into different little “stage carts” which went through the large aisles of the audience. I had never heard the song “Ugly” before the concert, but most of it was in English, so it was easy to sing along, and one of the thoughts going through my head was “Where was this song when I was in high school?”

After their second set, they brought on a birthday cake for Minzy, because her birthday was just two days earlier, and she only just turned 18! She was the youngest singer there. She really is talented.

Gummy came back on after 2ne1 left the stage. She was also on one of the stage carts, and she played piano during her song, but it was hard to see her, because her “stage cart” was decorated with all of these tall lights, and even with her image projected on the screen, you couldn’t really see her through the lights. For her last song, she sat on stage, and sang a jazzy version of G-Dragon’s song “Heartbreaker.”

Big Bang came back on after that, and sang “Haru Haru” which is one of their older songs. It was beautiful. And after their set, they took their time saying Thank you and good-bye to the audience. TOP and G-Dragon actually addressed the audience in English for a little bit, and when G-Dragon said “Thank you Tokyo!” I shouted back, “You’re welcome!” As they were walking off stage, G-Dragon started beatboxing and rapping “Saitama, Saitama, Saitama, Saitama,” before leaving the stage.

PSY also came out for a last performance, but this time he didn’t actually sing. He was in a red, sparkly, mini-dress and danced to Lady Gaga and Beyoncé. It was so funny. PSY is definitely an entertainer.

As a surprise, Big bang came back out one more time and sang “I am the Best” which is one of 2ne1’s songs. After that, all of the groups and singers who performed came back out onstage and said their good-bye’s and took their final bow for the night. The concert was over by 10pm.

I am so glad I went to the concert. Yes, it was worth the $160 that I paid for the ticket. I had a good time, even if I only knew about half of the groups. Everyone was fantastic live. There was such huge amounts of energy, and I was smiling the whole way home.

I ended up buying more things after the concert. I got myself a concert t-shirt. I asked for the large in good faith that it might fit. I tried it on the moment I got home, and it DOES FIT, thank goodness. I also gave in and bought a bag because I needed it to carry everything. It was also cold and rainy, and I didn’t want everything to get wet.

I do wish more of the singers utilized the front of the stage though. Many of the singers did their dance routines near the back of the stage, and behind these huge lights, and they only broadcasted half of it on the screens. I actually thought they were going to use the front of the stage more than they actually did. Hopefully, next time I can get seats closer to the stage, but in all honesty, everyone paid to see them not the screens. We can all do that at home in front of our computers. Regardless of that, I had an awesome time, and I can’t wait for another concert!

 

Re-contracting interview

Today I had my re-contracting interview for the JET program. All of the ALT’s from Inagakuen, including Olga from Germany, are planning on re-contracting for another year, although Michelle is still on the fence about it. She has a month to finalize her decision though.

Before our interviews, we had to fill out these interview packets, with questions about our work environment, and how satisfied we feel with our positions as ALT’s. I’m basically satisfied with my job here at Inagakuen, and don’t feel the need to leave quite yet.

Antoine, Kesha, Michelle, Aaron, Kira and I all got the same bus in the morning to go to Ageo station. We had to get up an hour earlier than we normally do on a work day, so that we could get to the Saitama Board of Education on time. The bus ride was about twenty minutes long, and then we took a train on the Takasaki line from Ageo station, to Fukiage station, which took about another twenty minutes. We met up with Olga at Fukiage station, and then took the bus from the train station to the Education center. We met up with a couple of other Saitama JET’s at the bus stop, who were also going for re-appointment interviews. The third bus ride took about another 30 minutes, so that was a lot of traveling.

We all had to be there by 9:45 to register and sign in. We didn’t know our actual individual interview times until we arrived. I had the second slot at 10:20, so I had a bit of time to relax.

The interview went swimmingly. Everyone was interviewed by a Coordinator for International Relations (which is actually another JET position besides ALT) and a Japanese worker from the Saitama Board of Education. The questions were based off of the packet that we had to fill out and bring with us. Basically, in the interviews, they’re making sure that you are re-contracting for the right reasons. Basically, I like my job at Inagakuen, and I am no rush to leave the JET program. I’ve been waiting a long time for this opportunity, and I want to learn some more Japanese while I’m here. Why would I want to cut my time short? I am in no rush to go anywhere else, and I don’t see myself leaving JET quite yet.

I still have to turn in my Statement of Intent form to my Vice Principal, and then he sends it in to the Saitama Board of Education. The deadline is February 10th, and we’re supposed to hear back from the BOE by February 17th.

I can’t confirm anything 100%, but with the way the interview went, and the tone that my interviewers were speaking by the end of the interview, it seems as if they were saying “Oh, so want to stay at Inagakuen. of course we’ll keep you.” Now I just have to wait for the rest of the process to go through, and hear back in February.

English Lunch and Japanese class

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, all of us English ALT’s host English Lunch in the classroom across the hall from the English lab. Sometimes a lot of students come, and sometimes it’s just one student who comes and talks with all of us ALT’s. Most of the time it’s the same high-level English students who come to English lunch consistently. Every once in awhile they will bring their friends, or other students will show up once or twice. We always try to ask them how their day is going, what class is their favorite, etc. to get them to speak in English outside of the class setting.

Sometimes the students like to ask questions about Western pop culture. One student, Yuki, is really into Michael Jackson, and he loves American pop music. He can go on for hours about MJ, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry. He is a pop-culture junkie.

Even though we all just finished winter break, there are a few third-years who are skipping out on English lunch lately, because now is the season for university entrance examinations. One girl, Anna, is taking three different examinations I think. There is one University she really wants to go into, but she failed the first examination, but there is a second round, and she is going back to take it.

Aaron, Kira, Michelle and I are also trying to learn Japanese. We all have the JET Japanese correspondence course, but none of really like how it is set up. Basically, they send us these workbooks that we have to finish by a certain date, take the test at the end of the book, and send in the answer sheet before the deadline. We just got back our results from book one last week. I got a 78 out of 100. I did better when I was taking Japanese at Hollins.

The workbooks are set up by theme rather than grammar points, which is supposed to help JET’s learn the Japanese they will actually use in conversations with some of their co-workers, or when we go shopping. But what that sometimes does, is it will go over a complicated  grammar point that I have never seen before, review it for two pages, and then drop it entirely until the test at the end of the book. It’s frustrating sometimes.

I’m also taking the introductory level to get myself back up to speed, and I am used to reading some basic Japanese all in hiragana and katakana, and the introductory level is all in romaji, and it feels like a step backward to me.

Since September, Aaron, Kira, Michelle and I have been going to these free Japanese classes every Friday night from 7 to 9 at a community center. It’s actually pretty close, only three stops away from us on the New Shuttle, at Shonan station. There is a woman named Ito-sensei who organizes the classes. Other Japanese adults come in as volunteer teachers, and basically we are paired up with a volunteer Japanese teacher, and we talk about what we want to learn in Japanese for that class. It’s very laid back, and there’s no set course.

We basically sit with our teachers and talk and take notes for the first hour, and then at eight, Ito-sensei announces the break time, and we all go back for green tea, and some snacks that she brought to share for everyone. Everyone gathers at the back to mill around and chat for about 15 minutes or so, before everyone goes back to their seat to talk some more until 9 o’clock.

There is a Korean woman who goes by the name “Claire” who just moved to Japan. She used to be an English teacher in Korea, so her English is actually pretty good. Now she teaches at a private language institute here in Japan. She brought a Korean dish to class last night to share. I don’t remember what it was called, but it was like long gnocchi noodles and small eggs mixed in a really spicy red sauce. I tried it, but choked a little because it was so spicy. Luckily, she also brought a milder version of the dish. It was good, but now I know if I ever go to Korea, I’ll have to be careful about the food.

Kira, and Aaron are intent on going to actual Japanese classes in Tokyo at some point, and have called up two Universities about Japanese classes for foreigners. Most of the classes don’t start their next session until March or later. Aaron and Kira keep asking me what I think of Ito-sensei’s class and if I think it’s effective, like they need my opinion of the class to validate their motive to go to another Japanese class. I don’t know why. What I think isn’t going to change their opinion and their attitude. They’re going to go anyway.

Granted, the class isn’t perfect. It’s an informal conversation session basically, and there’s no structure, but it’s free and it’s close by, and it fits into my schedule.I like the people I meet there, I’m making actual Japanese friends with the people I talk with. I’m not going to leave anytime soon.

Happy New Year!

So for New Year’s I decided to go Japanese Traditional, and went to Zojoji Temple to celebrate. I arrived around 8:30, so I was late to get a “wish balloon” which they handed out to people to let go at midnight. There was mochi pounding, and many food stalls. I spent most of my time walking around getting various food and hot drinks, because it was so cold! I think I went through about four hand-warmers that night.

I also got to spend more time and take a better look around the temple. Many people were coming in, and throwing in their coins, and praying for the New Year.

The inside of Zojoji Temple.

 

Around 10 pm, there was a prayer ceremony, where the monks walked out, sat down, chanted, and rang bells. It went on for about 15 minutes.

About an hour before midnight, they started gathering people within the barriers. They had the people who got the “wish balloons” stand in a separate section. I stood next to a fire on one side of the temple that was being guarded over by Japanese boy scouts. Sometimes the wind picked up and blew smoke into my eyes, but I kept by the fire anyway because it was so cold.

When there were only a few minutes left in the countdown, they turned off the lights of Tokyo Tower, and replaced it with these shiny-star like lights that were crawling from the bottom up. Then they turned off the floodlights around the temple and started the countdown. When it hit midnight, the Tokyo Tower lit up again, and the people released their wish balloons. The wish balloons were transparent, and they all looked like cartoonish raindrops falling back up into the sky. It was really pretty.

People then started rushing into the temple, and in other directions as well. I’ve learned that with Japanese crowds, to just go with the flow, and try not to fall down. I pulled myself out of the crowd a feet down, and stood by this massive bonfire where they were burning all the New Year’s good luck arrows from lat year. I guess it’s equivalent to burning old Palm Sunday palms.

I stayed by the fire to keep warm, and then eventually made my way over to the little side temple, where people were ringing the bell before going in. I got to ring the bell too, and I waded through the crowd to get a good luck New Year’s arrow.

Now the temples and shrines just stay open all through New Year’s, so people were coming in and praying and buying charms, even through 3 am. I stuck around the area until 5am though, because that’s when the trains started running again.

I wandered over to Tokyo Tower about 1:30 am, because I had read that they hold a New Year’s party that’s open to the public. It wasn’t open inside, though they still had some food stands running outside. I got some food there, before heading back to the temple to stand inside for awhile.

Tokyo Tower lit up for the New Year

Eventually I wandered down the main street leading from Zojoji temple, and found, of all things, a Seattle’s Best Coffee, and stayed there for awhile.

See! I have the photo to prove it!

I walked back to Akabanebashi station when the trains started running again, and headed towards Harajuku so that I could also  visit the Meiji-Jingu shrine.

They had the shrine all lit up. I went and purified my hands first, even though it was so cold. For New Year’s in the main part of the shrine, instead of going up to the altar to through coins, they had this huge white cloth draped out for people to just throw their money on all at once. Let me just say, that the coin throwing is a great way to get rid of all those useless one yen coins I have lying around.

Praying for the New Year

I decided to get a charm from the Meiji shrine as well. They were also selling New Year arrows, but they also had this other wooden charm that had a painted diamond and bells attached, so I got that instead.

My New Year charms that I bought at Zojoji and Meiji-jingu

I debated going to another temple or shrine, but the sun was just coming up and I was tired, cold, and my legs hurt from all the walking and standing I was doing for the past 8-plus hours, so I went straight home, and slept until the earthquake hit.

It was one of the stronger earthquakes we’ve had in months, and I’m sure it was the longest earthquakes I’ve felt since I moved here. It caused my alarm clock to fall off the shelf. When I realized that the earthquake hadn’t stopped yet, I got out of bed, and ducked nest to the wall. I wasn’t fully conscious to remember that I should’ve opened the door first. But it passed, and I was fine, though my calender and banners on my wall were still swaying for awhile. It was an interesting start to the New Year, and no one was hurt. I think it’s going to be a good one!