Day 23

Up 4:30 to get on the first train to Sendai. Again, it was easy to spot the kiddy wotas even on the train. They all wear shirts which says "SURF" or "RUSS K". In Japan people wear what everyone else is wearing after they've seen some celebrity wear it. Got into the line about 8:40, They were being real assholes and didn't start giving out tickets until 11. I took of my shirt so it wouldn't be soaking wet, but now I'm a little burnt on the back. Finally got my tickets around 12, then I wanted to buy some goods since they were out of stock in Tokyo. Exact same shop and people as in Tokyo - I guess they travel with the idols to make more money. Bought a Rena towel (Ponytail version from a few months ago), Takamina shushu (so I can have a set of 3), and then B2, A5, K5 on DVD, plus A5 on CD. My backpack is extremely heavy but luckily it's easy and safe to just put it in a locker at the station.

So while waiting for the event to start, noone was allowed to use their cellphone or sit down. -_- Anyway, they did Sakura no Shiori and Aitakatta, then a pretty long Nemousu game thing. Yuko draw a paper from a box which said stuff that members would have to do a quick role play on, and make the audience laugh. The chosen members were also drawn at random from the box. Kinda lame overall, and way too long. But Yonechan was great. Then they finished with Ponytail to Shushu.

The handshaking started right after, unfortunately the tables were hidden behind the stage, so noone could watch them while waiting. It all went kinda fast though, I had number 4000+ and got to do my rounds after only 30 minutes. I used five tickets since I wanted to do five specific members. Had no idea what table combinations there would be though. Luckily I got to meet all the ones I wanted to once. The only ones I did not meet was Tomochin and Matsui Sakiko.

There was no real special experience meeting them though. It's really fast and usually the same shit. At least the stage was a little better (higher up) than in Nagoya. Bootleg stands and a luxury block near the location.

Was done around 4pm and headed back to Sendai for dinner and some shots. Gyuutan (beef tongue) is a local speciality in Sendai. Most expensive food I've had so far I think, but it was godly. Or it's just been too long since I had some real meat.

Afternoon shots from some office building near the station. My train was scheduled to depart 19:38, so didn't have time for night shots.

Then time to board the train which would take me to Sapporo. With two transfers it took almost 11 hours. It's crazy how Tokyo-Sendai take 2 hours, but Sendai-Sapporo so long. This is the train that went from Hachinohe to Aomori.

I think the main reason it takes so much longer is because the trains are older. But it was the only way to get there in time for the next event. At least I had reserved seats, and with JR Pass, it's completely free. This is the train that went from Aomori to Sapporo. At Hakodate it made a long stop to turn all the seats around, because the track changes there. It's a pretty cool feature though, so you never have to ride backwards, and if you want, you can sit four people together.