UVERworld

Amazing. Today was simply amazing. I knew it was going to be good, but it could not have gone any better.

I got to sleep in for the first time all week. It felt really good to just lie in my nice warm bed and not have to worry about anything. I spent the entire morning being lazy around the house. I did some laundry, ate breakfast, and played Zelda.

For lunch I was invited to go with Mieon and 2 students who came to CWRU this year. They just returned to japan a couple weeks ago and were really excited to see me. Their first impression of course, was that my Japanese is really good. When I talked to them in Cleveland, I spoke only in English to help them learn. That is a part of the foreign exchange student experience. Now that I am in Japan, it is the other way around. They speak to me only in Japanese. There was another student named Shoichi that met with us as well. I just happened to meet him last time I was in Japan as he is one of Hiromichi's good friends. It is simply amazing how coincidental life really is.

So for lunch we ate at this place in Harajuku. It was an お好み焼き食べ放題, that is, all you can eat okonomiyaki for 90 minutes. It was really good and we all ended up eating way too much. It was the first time that I actually stuffed myself full since I arrived in Japan. During lunch we talked about how the students spent their time at CWRU, as well as what Mieon and I are currently doing at Waseda. It was a fairly relaxing time albeit a little hot from the grills. Here is a picture of the girls making lunch.


After lunch we wandered around Harajuku popping in and out of shops. I was very surprised to see an used clothes store along the way. It does not have a huge selection like good-will, but in every other sense it is the same. We ended up walking all the way to Shibuya where Shoichi and I departed from the girls. He was going home, I was going to a concert.

I had very minimal directions on how to get to the UVERworld live. I knew it was at this college whose name I could not read. I looked it up on google maps and apparently the college is really close to my house. I stepped off the train at nishi-eifuku station and immediately found a map. Japan is so convenient because there are maps at every single train station. I did what I do best and matched up the Kanji I had written down with the ones on the map. I was off to the college. It did not take long before I caught up with some students who were also on their way to the live. I did not get a chance to talk to them, but they kept looking back at me for some reason. When I found the college I instantly saw the massive crowd of people waiting to get in. I asked one of the helpers if I could buy a ticket and he said "NO"

Heartbroken. The only word to describe my feelings at that moment. I was looking forward to seeing UVERworld so much and then there was this huge letdown. Defeated, I slowly started back towards the station....

Just then, a group of 4 Japanese students caught my attention. A blessing has come down unto thee! One of the students was selling 2 tickets because his girlfriend could not go with him to the concert. I spent a while talking to them about whether or not they were trying to rip me off, which was a very amusing conversation. I ended up buying a ticket from them for 1000 yen. I was expecting to pay 2000 because that was what the general admission was. What a steal! I exchanged phone numbers with them and was on my way.


The concert ended up being amazing. I could not take any pictures as that was prohibited, but I did snap one of my ticket to prove I went. First off everyone was ushered into the school gymnasium where there were 400+ chairs set up. My first impression was that this was going to be really lame if everyone was sitting down. I found an empty seat next to these two otaku looking guys. They had never heard UVERworld before and were just there for the entertainment. The girl that sat on the other side of me was a huge fan. She got really into it. When the lights went out, everyone immediately stood up. I heard cries from the girls sitting behind us 見れない！見れない！ (I can't see!) The two guys next to me were roughly the same height I was, which is approximately 20cm taller than any of the girls there. So the concert started and it was the same as any other concert I had been too. Everyone cheered, screamed, and sang along to the songs. The show was amazing.

After the show I was exiting the building when I noticed something. Most of the people there were girls. I hadn't noticed it before, but when I gave it a second thought it made sense. There were parts during the concert where the crowd sang a few lines from a song. It was an overwhelmingly female sound when those parts came up. All well, it makes me think no less of UVERworld.

When I arrived home I also received an e-mail from the guy that sold me the ticket. He wanted to go out drinking / partying. I was all for it except for the fact that I was already at home. Hopefully we can hang out another time.