Yesterday I spent the afternoon in Ueno, getting a few gifts, walking around, and enjoying seeing all the Christmas decorations that had already been put up.
I also made a detour to the Book Off to check that location for some old CDs and magazines on my list and then when I found none of them decided to search for and ultimately indulge in some PS4 games that I had been wanting to try for a long time instead: the highly-acclaimed ELDEN RING and an intriguing JRPG called Tales of ARISE. It’s more fun to challenge myself to play them in Japanese.
After picking up a few essentials at a grocery shop (玄米茶、茶づけ、かつおぶし) and selecting some bread from a パン屋さん I liked as a treat for later in the evening, I headed back to the hotel just before dusk.
Then packed up my suitcase while watching the Japan/Costa Rica game. But I was pretty distracted. All I could think was,
I don’t want to leave.
Some breads and a beautifully scented bath helped soothe my ruffled feathers before turning in for the night.
The next morning, I got up early after having had plenty of sleep (disturbed by three distinctly weird dreams), and at checkout time, headed for the airport. My first flight had already been delayed by an hour, though thankfully it wouldn’t impact the rest of the journey.
At Tokyo Station, I was just waiting in line to get my N’EX ticket to the airport when a dude came up to me and asked me if I knew the area well, in English, to which I kind of sputtered “yes… and no”. Turns out he and his travelling companions were on a 4 hour layover and wanted to get to Shinjuku for some sightseeing as quickly as possible. He was asking me if it was easy to get there by train, or whether they should just take a taxi. I have to say, I don’t think I’ve ever even been to Shinjuku, so I couldn’t immediately tell him which train to take, and wasn’t sure how costly it’d be to get there by taxi. When I was looking it up for him, he stopped me, thanked me, and said his friend had just texted to say that they’d just take a taxi to make better use of their short time frame. He offered his hand to shake, asked for my name, and then said, “Thanks again, Shenik, I’m Jay.”
Weird coincidence, but kind of funny.
It’s rare that someone hears my name and pronounces it right on the first try — I didn’t see any need to correct him.
And then off he went with his friends on a vite-faite tourism stint.
After that, getting Narita Airport was uneventful. I just stared out the window at the scenery, at the particular way that Japanese houses are constructed, and which I like so well. The airport’s international departure wing was far quieter than the last time I was here, and though I’m sure it will ramp up in activity again before long, it was nice to actually be able to get a seat while I waited for the check in and baggage drop to open… those, too, had been delayed.
While all three of my flights were smooth, I encountered delays between each of them, nearly missing my last flight back to Ottawa by a narrow margin.
I was rather grumpy by the time I landed for good, but actually getting my luggage and being safe on the ground made me feel a lot better, and by the time I got in my front door, despite the sadness at leaving Japan, I was just glad to see Scout.
Not to worry: my suitcase passed his inspection, and yes, he is a tall boy!
For this, the longest train ride of the trip, I came prepared with material to translate on my phone and a mocha to enjoy whenever there were sights to sit back and enjoy from out the window. I also finally wore my tour t-shirt and adorned my eyelids with a deep purple shadow.
The view of Mount Fuji this time around was even clearer.
The walk to this venue, tucked away past a residential area in an industrial district, was pretty interesting. So interesting that, even though I stayed on the right track the whole time, I thought I was getting lost.
First, I came upon a grey cat casually grooming itself on top of the hood of a parked car, then I crossed into a residential area and passed a small park with cute, hand-painted signs featuring well-known characters along its perimeter, and finally I trekked into the industrial district… which felt largely abandoned until I hit another street and fell into step with some other 九組 heading past a convenience store towards the venue proper.
I arrived just as they were starting to call everyone into the venue sequentially, so I got within hearing range of the staff member and waited my turn to go into the cool, high-ceilinged warehouse the live was to be held in. By the time I got inside, it had already filled up quite a bit, but again from my position more towards the back, I still got to stand opposite Saga in the crowd and had a great view of the whole stage. This time, I actually did switch out my Groovy Chiko hoodie for my much lighter stained glass robe so I was more than ready to dance, jump, and headbang the night away.
Before long, the lights dimmed, and we all began to clap, tempting the members onto the stage…
On this the night of the semi-final, and the sixth repetition of their opening songs for the setlist during this tour, they were well-practiced in performing Living Dead and Answer, all of us in the audience responding to the music enthusiastically in kind. Adding to the gradual flow from dark and rhythmic to lighter and more melodic, they then starting playing the utterly cheerful TSUBASA., the crowd bobbing along to its upbeat notes. Next, they turned up the heat, whipping us into a fervor and working up a sweat with the speed of 百科繚乱.
Too fast to live, too young to die!
Our bodies all warmed up, we then fell into the luxurious sway of their song Moondance and again I was very glad to have a bit of elbow room closer to the back where I was so that I could dance to my heart’s content. Next came BABYLON, with Saga’s initial solo, made more challenging by the restraints that were part of his stage outfit. He gave the song the dark, decadent introduction it deserved, and then together the members drew us into a strange caper, or rather a wonderland of weird dimensions. BABYLON has always given me very interesting (not to mention clear) mental images.
I love that they debuted 界 not by releasing it as a single, but by playing it at a live, during a fest. 界 is just awesome and definitely gets even more impactful in a live setting. In particular for this performance, they had smoke machines going, so at certain points from my vantage further back in the room, the stage was just a dense red fog. It increased the intense feel of the song even more.
To the gods of rock, we did pray.
As the dark chords of our collective prayer stilled, a staff member helped Saga switch out 焔 for an acoustic guitar, and thus began Envy, as enchanting and as soothing as ever. Then we were treated to another amazing performance of Saga’s on acoustic guitar for INSOMNIA. I love that song so much… it’s one I often recommend to people who’ve never listened to ALICE NINE. music before and I’m so happy I got to hear it during the course of the tour. When the soaring and diving melody of the song had faded, every member except for Nao left the stage.
For the Drum Solo this time, Nao surprised us towards the end by getting out two neon pink glowsticks to drum with, and then threw them over his shoulders at the end in an imitation of the Drum Solo caught on film from their HELLO,DEAR NUMBERS live DVD. I loved that little nod to ALICE NINE. history. The audience participation has been so much fun each night, and we were all energized and ready to go for the intensity of the next song, as the other four members returned to the stage.
After another powerful rendition of Roar, I was very excited when they started playing カルマ, a song with a great sound tucked away on the Stargazer: single. We all let loose for the rare treat of a song, and then slipped into RAINBOWS, the room filling with lights of every colour as we jumped, headbanged, and danced. I knew it would be my last time dancing to RAINBOWS for a while, so it was even more blissful an experience than the last few nights.
During Funeral, I danced to the ribbon of Saga’s bassline, enjoying the way everyone else’s instruments and Show’s vocals intertwined to bring the incredibly cool song together. Exodus: built on that momentum, to lead into the frenetic heat and cool rhythm of 開戦前夜. After which, I gave myself up to the soothing sway of Farewell Flowers, floating in its notes.
The members left the stage and it was our turn to make some noise and encourage them to return to play the Encore. I was in a strange headspace, feeling both incredibly present in the experience I was having of the live, while also feeling a measure of disbelief that it was actually happening. The feel of being packed into a smaller, more intimate livehouse this time as opposed to the larger, assigned-seating halls for the lives I had been able to attend before 2020 happened was exactly what I’d needed. The energy of each performance was so warm, so casual, and yet so well-rehearsed and passionate. It did feel like being enveloped in the sound and mindscape of ALICE NINE., a world of sound that the members had worked so hard to build and protect for 18 years and counting, with the help of everyone over the years who chose to listen and show up in whatever big or small ways they were able to.
I think part of what I’d felt this time around was that I was seeing the more experienced version of the band I’d fallen in love with in the first place, so many years ago. The way that Saga plays bass in this emotional, melodic, understated way, then turns around and plays the chords heavy like a growl, headbanging all the while. The way Show commands the front podium with bright, distinctive vocals and an edge, putting words to the music. The way that Nao is very serious about the quality of his drumming, but so often seems like he’s just having fun. The way that Tora starts to grin when they’re playing a cheerful song out of their extensive repertoire (and sometimes during heavy songs too). The way that Hiroto is both intense and apt to visit other members during their most well-practiced classics. We all focus on different things, and even though I’ve tried to kind of describe the way I see what happens on stage, it is inevitable that words fall short — and that someone else would experience the same timespan in an entirely different way.
Saga’s understated passion on stage every night was so inspiring to experience again.
So, all of that and more was what I continued to chant encore! for.
When they heeded our cries for more and returned to the stage, gratitude and love were on my mind as they began to play Ray. Show’s singing of the beautiful lyrics gave the song definition, and my eyes were on Saga as he played its rhythm with a buoyant tenderness. Not knowing when I would get to hear this favourite played in person again, I placed my hands over my heart and held the magical atmosphere close.
They followed that emotional song with the absolute blast that is 春夏秋冬. Such fun!
I knew that Grace would be last, but it cast as strong a spell on me as ever as they played it. I was completely in the zone, feeling the music and dancing to the sounds by instinct. Grace is so alive that it just flows through the body, uplifting and beautiful.
It was the perfect note to end on for the semi-final of their tour and for my trip as a whole.
Whenever I hadn’t been closing my eyes, fully feeling the sound and the music in the room, my attention had been fixed on Saga, who was absolutely incredible up on stage, rocking out to each song (love when he headbangs while playing!), and making me feel even more wildly happy to be there. There’s nothing like literally feeling the music rumbling through the venue.
It was an unforgettable night.
An incredible tour.
Worth the wait.
I stood by the water afterward to take in the sight of the venue lit warmly in the dark and to let the memory of the night settle in my chest. Then I backed away and turned around to retrace my steps back to the station. I didn’t need my phone; my feet remembered the way, carried me through the quiet dark of the industrial district, then past the children’s park in the residential neighbourhood, and across a main thoroughfare, beyond which I’d be able to reach the subway entrance.
I stopped for a minute or two to hide a smile at some artwork by local kids on display in the subway tunnels on the way to the platforms. But then I forced myself to press on to the station so that I got back to Tokyo early enough to catch one of the last local trains back to the hotel.
The ride was calm and I spent a lot of it lost in my own thoughts. By the time we’d reached the final stop (mine), I was the only traveler left in car 16, and I enjoyed how strange that particular sort of solitude was. I hightailed it to the local connecting train and made the second last trip.
Then… I took a bath.
And replayed moments from the live in my mind.
And drifted off to sleep, the hum of the music still quietly rocking in my soul.
I was up very early (because I did all my sleeping the day before… ah, jet lag…) so I got everything done that I needed to for the day trip to Nagoya, and even started to re-pack my suitcase for the return trip to Canada.
Not that I’m in any way eager to go back.
After having arrived at the first two lives just in the nick of time, I learned my lesson and bought my Shinkansen tickets well in advance for the last two, just in case a lot of others ended up travelling during the same time slots as me.
The train was southbound from Tokyo this time, so the scenery I got to see along the way was quite different from what I’d seen on the prior northbound routes.
Most notably, I got to see 富士山!
I kind of just stared in awe and disbelief. I’ve travelled down to Nagoya and Osaka before, but for whatever reason (maybe I was sitting on the wrong side of the train), I’d never spotted Mount Fuji before. The only other time I’d spotted the legendary mountain was on a hill in a residential neighbourhood outside Yokohama, squinting at the peak far in the distance. The sight of Mount Fuji during the trip to Nagoya definitely set an awesome tone for the live I was about to attend.
And it turns out it was a very good thing that I set out extra early this time, because I got pretty lost in Nagoya station (accidentally entering through a local train fare gate instead of the subway station gate I had been trying to find). Still, I made it to the venue with plenty of time to spare, for once there early enough to line up in order and go into the livehouse in sequence according to the number printed on my ticket. That is something that’s quite interesting about the standing-room-only livehouse experience in Japan, because over here, everyone just needs to line up (or camp out lol) outside the venue and it’s first-come first-served once the doors open.
I was so excited to get into the venue, that I forgot to switch from my warm, Groovy Chiko hoodie to stained glass robe when I was tossing my purse into a coin locker… the robe would have been lighter to dance in, but no harm done.
I really liked the layout and feel of tonight’s venue, and something about the acoustics made their sound seem extra powerful (or maybe that was just me being really excited). Overhead there was a cool, contemporary-style chandelier as well as a disco ball, while off to the right the bar was tucked away in an alcove where anyone could leave to get a drink if they felt like it.
Each night’s live has had wilder energy than the last.
Absolutely breathtaking.
After we had clapped them on during the SE, the curtains were lit a murky blue or green from behind and then raised dramatically, as ALICE NINE. began playing Living Dead. That was extremely cool. Next came Answer followed by WHITE PRAYER to get everyone in the room hyped up (I will never get tired of the live arrangement of that one) and from there they dove into the badassery that is the song RUMWOLF, to which I thought, hell yeah!
Because I had so much space to move around in this venue (I had decided to stand further back again, but still had an excellent view of Saga playing), this time I got into dancing the Moondance with even more wild abandon than before. To keep the decadence and debauchery going, they played 造花の代償 next, and the bass line was so cool… instead of each member throwing flowers (like I’d seen them do for ALICE IN CASTLE in 2018), it was just Show teasing the crowd with the fake flower while Saga kept the bassline going, everyone else’s instruments building the scene around it.
While everyone else did 振り付け (choreographed dances), I stayed still during the お経 in 界, palms clasped together beneath my chin, head tilting in the overpowering light to watch Saga’s shadowed figure mesmerize us from the stage.
Welcome to the temple of ALICE NINE.
Feel the might of their music, their sound, their tone, their performance.
With a quick switch from bass to acoustic guitar, Envy then began, and I’m not sure if he did it in previous lives (he probably did), but Saga’s rapping on the acoustic guitar with his ring sounded extra loud and sharp tonight. It was another beautiful rendition of the song with Shou singing in lower tones, the rest of the instruments building slowly, steadily, powerfully until the end of the song.
I truly didn’t expect 十六夜 to be played for whatever reason, and so it was such a surprise — a wonderful one at that. It was beautiful and powerful live. While the tender complexity of the song wafted and dissipated in the air, piano song began playing on the speakers in the dim lighting, and all the members except for Nao left the stage.
Thus began the Drum Solo, with Nao leading us both from the front podium and from behind his drum set in the beats he’d be performing for us that evening. Once again we all clapped and called out in time and unison, more than eager to keep the energy up and carry it through the rest of the live. With that, the other four members returned to the stage, took up their positions, and began playing Roar. On the tail-end of that powerhouse of a performance, they began Heart of Gold, everyone jumping and dancing in the stage lights while the members filled the room with the upbeat sound of that classic.
RAINBOWS came next, and it is SO much fun each time, it really is. We A-jumped, we cheered on all the solos, members ran around the stage, Saga took the front podium briefly to make sure we were all jumping and having fun (as we should be) and then Show gave the song a proper close with a high note!
Funeral‘s cool complexity melting into Exodus: was awesome. After which, they didn’t let us lose steam, and so started playing 開戦前夜. Because there was a bit of extra elbow room in the back where I was, a group of four 九組 next to me actually started dancing and moshing in a circle together at certain points in the song, and I almost wanted to join in (I never would have actually forced myself into their friend group though lol). It was so obvious, that even Saga took notice, looking over and grinning at their enthusiasm.
Lives are slowly starting to regain their footing 🙂
When the song ended, I felt elated, trying to catch my breath, and they then began to play Farewell Flowers. Each time I’ve heard this at a live, it’s become more soothing, like sitting in a canoe or a kayak on a calm lake at sundown, feeling the wind and the water gently rock you.
Shortly after they put down their instruments, waved, and left the stage, we collectively took up the call for an Encore, clapping and calling them back to the stage. We cheered when the lights went up again, and they returned, regaling us with a performance of the breezy, breath of fresh air that is 透明の翼. Next up was ブループラネット, and the song had such huge, playful energy tonight.
Finally, last but in no way least, Grace was soulful and exquisite.
I was so sleepy, so satisfied, I nearly fell asleep on the shinkansen back to Tokyo… and then it was a mad dash once I did get back to the station to make sure I caught the subway back to where I was staying before the trains stopped for the night. Thankfully, by that point I knew my way around the station quite well by memory.
I had a good soak in the bath before bed, and then finally drifted off to sleep, replaying all the best moments of the live over in my mind… ♡♪
I had thought of perhaps visiting Kamakura again, or else Enoshima, but I felt too tired to make either of those trips (much less a full excursion out to Kyoto), so I lay in a sunny spot on my bed, curtains open, and read my magazines.
Before long, I’d fallen asleep.
When I woke up I thought of maybe setting out for Ueno, close by as it was, but even that felt like too much. I fell asleep again.
It must have been the jet lag, or my body telling me to just take a full day of being relaxed and sleeping after a full year of work and housework and projects…
By the time night rolled around, I felt well-rested, and went to get myself some food, then settled into the chair at my desk to write a letter to Saga (my Japanese handwriting is rusty, but I took my time and did my best to be legible) and plan for my trips to Nagoya and Osaka in the days ahead.
I spent most of the day sleeping… it was rainy outside, but so warm in bed…
Finally, I put on something fairly warm to go out in the rain with, and headed for this very particular venue. A huge milestone of accomplishment for bands in Japan, Budoukan is a large circular arena, impressive both from the outside and on the inside.
People arriving from the subway station, me among them, shuffled forward in the rain, taking out their umbrellas, and forming a line to walk through enormous doors of stone, wood, and wrought iron.
I’ve seen footage of several bands making their debut performance there (like ALICE NINE., NIGHTMARE, and the GazettE), but this was the first time I’d been able to go to the venue personally.
Even from all the way up in the second-last row of attendees, where I was, the view and the power of lynch.’s performance was awesome.
Despite having been a fan from years back, I didn’t end up knowing many of the songs included in their setlist that night (which was cool all the same). The first song by them that I heard was a grateful shit, followed up by their first album, and then The Avoided Sun, which remains one of my favourite albums in general! I am also extremely fond of their single Adore, for the b-side on it: an illusion. I kept up with listening to all their releases until LIGHTNING, after which (for some strange reason), I fell out of touch with their new material.
All this is to say that, despite not recognizing all that many songs that were played, I am definitely a fan of their sound in general and had a really great time.
Getting into the venue felt very dramatic in and of itself as we climbed the gargantuan stairs to head up to the second level, rounding the curved outer corridor once inside to find the quadrant and row that our seat was located in. Though I was high up in the stands, I had a great view of both the stage, and the Japanese flag hanging in the centre of the ceiling.
When the lights in the room darkened and lynch. began taking to the stage, we all stood and from there, the performance was dark, loud, and filled with melodic pockets of respite. Aside from their awesome sound, the visual effects that accompanied the performance were impressive as well (flame machines! lasers! cool videography!).
Hazuki kept remarking that the whole experience felt surreal, that even being on the stage that all of them had been aiming for for so long, it was hard to believe that it was actually happening — or feel nervous, due to all the rehearsing they’d done.
Everyone gave a heartfelt speech around the midway point, but none more than their bassist, who took accountability for his actions that had led to the original postponement of their performance at the milestone of a venue, apologizing, and thanking everyone for still believing in and supporting the band.
The air was kind of cleared after that and they played the remaining songs on their setlist with renewed vigor, or rather, with a different sort of vigor. Hazuki’s vocals, more often than not, dragged us all to hell.
Right towards the end, they brought out a daruma, which Hazuki explained had been gifted to them by a fan, years back, hoping they would (I think — I may be mis-remembering) do a nationwide Zepp venue tour. They accomplished that and so drew in the daruma’s first eye. Their next goal was to play Budoukan, and they’d been holding on to the daruma for years so that, tonight, they could finally fulfill that dream and colour in the daruma’s second eye.
Which they did: Hazuki took out a black marker and drew in another eye.
Then, he placed the daruma onstage where it could oversee the last song(s) they played for the evening.
It was a truly awesome performance, and I’m glad I got to attend for such a big milestone.
When it was over, and we had clapped until they left the stage, people were asked to leave the venue by section to try to avoid overcrowding the exits and the subway entrances. Even after I left, I hung around off to the side of the subway entrance just to let the majority of people leave before me, as I wasn’t in any mood to be squished inside a train carriage if I could avoid it.
After the relative heat of the venue, being out in the cool (albeit damp) night air was a relief, though when I finally did get home (picking up something to eat along the way), I was more than ready to get out of my damp clothes and eat while watching the Japan v Germany world cup match. Then take a long, hot bath, and curl up in bed, to go back to sleep…
I’d meant to leave for Yokohama much earlier today, but fell asleep in a patch of sunlight while reading ALICE NINE.’s interview in the latest ROCK AND READ.
When I did finally wake up, I got ready, shaking off the last vestiges of my sleepiness, and headed out to Yokohama station. I made a beeline for Loft, and was surprised to find the mall already decorated for Christmas; while I was at it, I also picked up the latest CD DATA in the Kinokuniya right next to Loft.
I went to the motomachi chuukagai area next for an appointment to pick up a package from the address forwarding service I use. Their warehouse was simple to find, but I had to contact them to ask how to get to their office. It was through a little set of double doors I hadn’t noticed at first, and then up some stairs to another door that was clearly marked, but also not necessarily for customer use. White Rabbit / Blackship is a great set of services, though. I was there to pick up my autographed copy of GRACE as it would have cost far more to ship it home directly.
幸せ♪
The person I’d been communicating with via email invited me in to see the place, and I stepped in to take a look, but then excused myself because I felt shy and awkward. They were very kind about it, and it was close to their closing time, anyway.
I then walked all the way over to minatomirai, passing through bayside parks and around the Akarengakan mall.
And then… at the park leading to the entrance of the World Porters mall, I was enchanted by an incredible light display they’d set up in the park, transforming it, through LEDs and geometric shapes, into someplace magical.
I took my time staring at the displays as I walked, but I was pretty hungry and so didn’t dawdle; I went to one of my ‘usual’ bread shops and was pleased they still had some of my favourites left. The curry bread is just divine, but what I really went there for was their ちりめんじゃこ bread.
I found an empty bench along the boardwalk and ate my curry bread there by the light of a lantern, relaxing in the cool night air (plus, my feet were starting to get tired by that point).
Still, I wasn’t done. I got back on my feet and headed for minatomirai station to go back to Yokohama, this time heading through my usual route in Queen’s Square mall; the height of its escalators passing through several floors to go straight to the entrance of the subway platform really impressed me when I first saw it… and intimidated me a little. I’m not great at dealing with heights.
After a short train ride, I was shocked when I ascended the escalators out to the main square off Yokohama station, only to find that all the construction and restoration that had been ongoing during my last visits was all done, everything bathed in lights. It was a wholly impressive sight. I know logically it had been several years since I’d been back, but the restoration nevertheless wowed me.
I took my usual route to head to the Yokohama Vivre mall, also bathed in lights, because I wanted to check the Book Off there for magazines I’m missing, but found none… what I did find were a few more choice CDs (NIGHTMARE’s NOX/LUX, ELLEGARDEN’s greatest hits, and 凛として時雨’s #5).
And a gachapon shop. This time, quiet and empty as it was, I couldn’t resist satisfying my curiosity, and after perusing the whole shop, I indulged in 3 spins, for items that would add more tongue-in-cheek humour to my kitchen setup.
A kitten in a cabbage box with the same colour pattern as Scout, an extremely detailed replica of a portable toilet (I really wanted the Japanese-style toilet, but unfortunately got the western-style one lol), and a little replica of a capsule hotel unit that can fit another figure inside it.
Thoroughly exhausted, I finally called it a night and headed back to Yokohama station to take a quiet and rather empty train back to my hotel.
When I got home, I poured myself a bath, added some lavender-scented bath salts, and slipped into those mysterious, mystical waters before bed…
I had nothing in particular planned so I spent the morning journalling, eating breakfast in stages, and just generally enjoying the warm confines of my bed.
Eventually, though, I got dressed and was ready for an excursion. It turned out that Akihabara was about a twenty minute walk from my hotel so I loaded up a map and set out in its general direction. I took a few detours out of curiosity for the area I was staying in, but eventually found my way.
It was a stroke of luck that I ended up in an area of Akihabara I was already familiar with: a towering Yodobashi Camera, which also contained a very particular TOWER RECORDS. I made my way inside, rode the escalators all the way up to the 7th floor, and then, there it was…
ALICE NINE. 聖地 — Holy Land
The ALICE NINE. display that the staff of TOWER RECORDS Akihabara continuously curates is impressive, to say the least. And given that they had only just a couple weeks earlier held an instore event to celebrate the release of GRACE, there was even more signage than usual. I took quite a bit of time reading messages that the band members had written during the course of several events, as well as messages that staff of the store had written to promote their releases. As a fan it was very heartening to see so much love for them concentrated in one place.
I already had my copies of GRACE so I didn’t buy one there, but I did buy the latest ROCK AND READ (vol 103) which has a band interview about their anniversary live, side projects, and the new album in it. A companion to the album, so to speak.
With the magazine in hand, I perused the rest of the shop, picking up the latest NIGHTMARE single “With” and one of NUMBER GIRL’S concert audio CDs that wasn’t on streaming services… partly because of the excellent 2-disk tracklist, and partly because said tracklist was mostly handwritten, with each track getting its own graphic style (very punk, which I was down with).
I’ve been a fan of NIGHTMARE almost as long as I’ve been a fan of ALICE NINE., and since I wasn’t able to attend any of their performances on this trip, picking up With seemed like a good middle ground (it’s a great single).
On the other hand, NUMBER GIRL is a band I learned about by reading a magazine. Hévn vol 20, to be exact. In it, there was a questionnaire section featuring ALICE NINE., one of the questions being about music they’d recommend, and Saga answered Stolkholm Syndrome by MUSE (a longtime favourite song of mine, so I knew I could trust Saga’s taste) and then also added SAPPUKEI by NUMBER GIRL, who I’d never heard of before. I liked it.
Voilà, an excerpt of the interview in question.
After I’d gone back to admire the ALICE NINE. display one more time and paid for my music and reading selections, I left the shop and went in search of a very particular floor in Yodobashi Camera: the one containing all the games, toys, and plastic models. The board games drew my attention right away, and believe me, I was tempted (the fact that I wouldn’t really have anyone to play them with in Japanese stayed my hand). I was delighted to remember that Love Letter, a longtime favourite icebreaker game of mine, was actually created in Japan. I have a version featuring characters from The Hobbit. I also recognized some of the amusing board games ALICE NINE. played during their DICE NINE episodes.
I took my time admiring all the adorable Rilakkuma goods… and then exercised my willpower not to buy a Gundam plastic model because there is no space for it in my suitcase. It’s been years since I built one… I would often buy one a year whenever I went to comicon; they’re so much fun to build.
As I was descending the escalators to leave, I came upon a floor with an enormous Star Wars display.
Dayum.
Akiba doesn’t mess around when it comes to geekery lol. I knew that, of course, but it was still kind of a delight to stumble upon the elaborate display.
I left the incredible tech and toy department store and went in search of the Book Off I remembered was nearby. I got to the right street and began walking along it… but the Book Off was nowhere to be found. In confusion, I turned around, and there, in the distance, was the huge Book Off sign, wrapping around the top of the building it was in.
I felt sheepish, and walked back the way I’d come… I had crossed a street right away without thinking and had passed right by it! If I’d just turned the corner at that point instead, I’d have saved myself an extra walk.
But it was no matter.
I went up to peruse their CDs and found a good handful… including lynch.’s The Avoided Sun which, like Kagrra.’s 雫 is a fairly rare CD I search for alnost every time I visit Japan. I was so happy to finally have my own copy! It’s part of the collection of CDs that make up my Visual Kei roots (i.e. ALICE NINE. CDs, NIGHTMARE’s the WORLD Ruler, the GazettE’s NIL and STACKED RUBBISH, D’s the name of the rose and Neo Culture, Kagrra,’s san… and so on… I still have several more to collect).
I also found PIERROT’s FREEZE, LUNA SEA’s IMAGE, Lillies and Remains Transpersonal, and lynch.’s GALLOWS to add to my collection at home. I gave away a lot of CDs and books in the course of my two last moves and it was necessary, but a part of me still feels a pang of regret. There’s something soothing about picking a CD off your shelf and deliberately putting it on, compared to just queuing the songs up on an app. Both have their place — I love streaming for discovery and convenience. But The Avoided Sun, for instance, isn’t available to be digitally. Neither is a large chunk of ALICE NINE.’s discography (containing many of my favourite works of theirs).
But I digress.
I then went looking for music magazines. My main goal? To find a specific issue of BASS MAGAZINE that Saga had appeared in! No luck at that location, though… perhaps it’ll be at another.
I did all my wandering to the sound of ALICE NINE.’s GRACE album (which should be treated like one long song, as explained in their extra-detailed online interview with Decolum). But for all the energy listening to those songs gave me, eventually I felt tired and so took the long way back to my hotel.
When I say the long way, I mean that I tried to consult the map as little as possible, and that, while I did take another wrong turn, my feet did more or less remember the way back to the building. Outside in the sun, it was fairly warm, but when I got in, I cuddled into my Groovy Chiko / Visual Saga hoodie, pulled on some thick socks, and before I knew it, I had given in to sleepiness and tucked in for an early evening nap…
I had to take a later shinkansen than I’d intended because of weekend crowds or delays (I’m not certain which) so got to the livehouse with just a couple minutes to spare. Fortunately, this was not my first time going to a live in Saga’s hometown of 郡山, so I didn’t get lost at any point along the way.
I have such fond memories of this livehouse, being the first cozy-size one I attended back in 2019 for Saga’s birthday. As if the main set and encore hadn’t been amazing enough, Saga and Hiroto returned onstage a third time and played すべてへ, with Saga singing on acoustic guitar. Thankfully, he uploaded a part of it on Twitter afterwards, because it was such a joy to listen to that night, and listening to the clip now just brings those memories right back.
That was a special live in and of itself, one that is forever imprinted in my memory, and this live will be too. They rocked. We were all so happy to be able to raise our voices with them again!
Unlike in 新潟NEXS, 郡山 Hip Shot Japan didn’t have any areas demarcated on the floor, so it held more attendees and we weren’t as restricted in our positions on the floor.
Since I arrived later, I was more towards the back at the foot of the steps (which was still incredibly close to the stage), and thankfully on the 下手 side! But I ended up dancing my way sideways to having a clear view of Saga, so I got to enjoy seeing (and feeling) all those gorgeous, badass bass skills in action all night.
And hold my arms out to cheer Saga on
\(^o^)/♡♡♡♡♡♪︎♪︎♪︎♪︎♪︎「沙我!!」
Saga gave 焔ちゃん’s neck so many kisses and raised that bass up to such honorable heights ❤️🔥💋
The lighting at 郡山 Hip Shot Japan was denser, more brilliant, and included lasers, which was so cool! They also had some smoke machines going at points.
Living Dead is a song with a marching beat, but it also feels like you’re tunnelling through the earth, in a way. That contrast in feel is really frickin’ cool. They played Answer next, whose texture I really love, and everyone in the audience was dancing to the brightest sections of the music. This led into an even brighter classic from 2007. I felt so happy when I heard them start TSUBASA.! Ohhh, the memories… It is one of those rare singles of theirs that didn’t actually end up on a subsequent album, and is such a great song.
From there, the mood got a little darker, a little more luxurious, and they began to play the delectable, the danceable, the gorgeous… 華! The live arrangement, in constant evolution, is SO GOOD! Every time! AHHHHHHHHHHH I was so happy that they played it! Next up was Moondance, made even more of a pleasure due to the fact that we’d been warmed up dancing to 華 first (delightful setlist pairing by Saga).
But man, FIVE JOKER then folded the coolness factor into the mix. I thought I was hearing a slightly different arrangement, but either way, I love the bass in this song and I was groooooving to it. After which, 界 began, and we embraced a more sombre atmosphere in order to worship once again at the temple of アリス九號. Together with the members of the band, we we sending out a prayer to the gods of rock, with this night of musical revelry as our sacred offering 🙏
Yes. It’s that good.
Envy, which followed, really filled the room in its own particular way, with Saga’s very clear plucking of the strings ringing out. It builds slowly, with patience, to an incredible climax.
INSOMNIA is a song that I really love, but for whatever reason, I hadn’t ever expected to end up at a live where they would play it. I was so surprised and in awe when it started… Saga kept playing acoustic guitar for the length of the song too. I’d never seen or heard a live rendition before, so I don’t know how they’d normally perform it, but having the acoustic guitar in the mix was captivating. And as ever, the way the vocals crest and fall in the song was beautiful. Then the tail end of the song faded, and four members left the stage…
At this, Nao got up on the front podium, and like the night before, he got the crowd riled up, clapping and calling out in time with his Drum Solo. Very fun, and his drumming, as ever, sounded great! The others returned to an energized audience and they all jumped into playing Roar. During yesterday’s after talk, Show and Saga suggested an adjustment to the furi for the Love-love Hate-hate call sections, and today we tried the new way and it did emphasize the energy of the song much better. Even without the rap section, this song is badass, but the rap takes it to the next l e v e l.
But oh, what a thrill of excitement I felt when PHOENIX started. It marked ALICE NINE. returning from their hiatus, and turned into music the sense of triumph we all felt upon knowing they were back. I was so amazed by this song when I first heard it, and every time I hear it now, I still feel such pride in them. This song was the lead track on their re-debut EP (as A9) whose recording they crowdfunded for, and my name, along with everyone else who backed it, is in the booklet. Pretty amazing, to have been a little part of their musical history in that way. Saga’s bassline is kickass in this song, and I love the vocal melody Show sings in it. The energy was incredible during this performance and I just let my body flow along with the music. Bliss.
We all worked up a reeeeal good sweat dancing to RAINBOWS, doing the A-jump, and giving all our love to this amazing classic. They rock so hard and make this song sound so damn good every time! Next up was Funeral, and it sounds SO wicked cool live. It truly does. I love Saga’s ribbony bass line in it, the solo was nice and gruff/grungy in this performance, and really, everyone’s parts sound so cool with everyone getting their moment to stand out in this song. Exodus: deepened the mood in the room with its contrasting growls and softer melodic sections, and that led into… 開戦前夜! We all let loose during the course of the song, getting wild together just before the end of the main set. And as was becoming customary during this tour, they again ended their main set with Farewell Flowers so that we could all catch our breath and be soothed by the song.
Shortly after they left the stage, we started clapping and calling out for an Encore in waves… again, I meant it when I cried out ‘En-co-ru!’ with every fiber of my being! We love you, come back, let’s rock some more!
Thankfully they heard us an obliged, the stage lights gettong bright again as the members returned to the stage. It was Re:Born that they played first and ‘oh my god’ was the thought that popped into my mind first. I wasn’t expecting this song, and it just… I felt so very alive and so much joy being in the room to experience it. I remember hearing the premiere of the song during their 13th anniversary live broadcast on NICONICO and being completely blown away by it. It was like breathing fresh air at that point in my life. Hearing it was like breaking a curse that I hadn’t realized I’d been under, and after that, I went back to my 居場所, my happy place, fully. And this particular performance definitely upheld and added to this song’s particular magic.
What came next was 春夏秋冬 and I went absolutely wild for this one. I’m sure I heard this song before at another live, but much like VELVET last night, this particular performance was so euphoric, so filled with glee and nostalgia and happiness that ALICE NINE. still rock the room as hard as they ever have, that this is the version now most prominent in my memory. These classics have such energetic, well-defined furitsuke as well, so that there’s no space or need to dance in your own way. It’s extremely fun to dance along with everyone else. And dance, we did! Then, of course, at the end, they all gathered together at the front of the stage and played with a foot up on the podium there, shoulder to shoulder (Nao guarding their backs)… my younger self would never believe that I actually got to experience that fundamentally aliceniney song live, in person. What a delight.
In a short MC after they finished performing 春夏秋冬, I believe Show admitted that in their early days, they added in the oioioi/fist-pump section during the Tora solo because they thought it’d be cool. Had everyone in the audience giggling over it. Hey, it’s there to stay, we love it, and it’s part of アリス九號.’s long and storied history!
To follow in the footsteps of a band sound classic, they played their classic-in-the-making of a different feel, Grace. This song sounds so complex–and it is–yet when they play it live, it comes together so beautifully, so naturally, and lights up the room. I love this song… the sound is so dynamic, so full of vitality, the way it soars and dives.
I’m so glad I found their music by chance.
Saga’s beautiful, cool, and unexpected compositions continue to enchant me, and rock my world.
It’s incredibly fun to see bands you love live in concert… but it’s life-affirming to go see your favourite band in person. After so long… what a joy.
I did hang around outside for a bit after the live ended, but it was a getting chilly and drizzling, so I eventually just said a silent ‘see you next time’ to that beloved livehouse (and a certain musician still in it), and made my way slowly back to the station, stopping or wandering down a side street as I liked each time something caught my eye, each time I experienced a sense of déjà vu.
It is a strange feeling to know that a place you wanted so badly to go and see for yourself, a place that you stare around in wonder at, is as everyday and as commonplace as it gets to just about everyone else that surrounds you. Saga grew up here, in Japan, in this city, and probably dreamed of visiting somewhere else at some point too. I’m glad I got to walk these streets again.
It was relatively dry but chilly as I leaned against a wall to wait for the shinkansen to pull up to the platform. And then the train carried me back to Tokyo, memories of the incredible live I’d just attended replaying in my head…
I worked up a serious sweat… before the live. I legitimately got lost trying to find the right exit out of the Niigata station. I knew which direction I needed to head in, looking at my map, but every exit I tried led in the wrong direction and I was really worried I wouldn’t make it. At one point, I truly thought there wasn’t enough time left before the performance started. But I finally found the right hallway, it led me out in the right direction, and once on the street, it was easy to go the rest of the way.
I was so relieved. A… tiny bit sheepish too.
Of course, later I realized I would likely have been able to get in even after the live started, but that’s not something I would want to do if I could help it.
The livehouse was small and cozy with clear squares marked on the floor in tape for attendees to stand in. I got a square in the back right corner near the door, and stood diagonally so that I could get a clear view of Saga. Definitely a good idea to have worn my platforms, otherwise I would have been a shorty struggling to see past the people in front of me. I had a clear view of everyone on the stage, though.
I know I’m probably going to say this every time, but… the setlist was excellent.
I’m such a nerd, I had to actually hold my glasses in my hand while headbanging to prevent them from flying off into the crowd やばかったよw (’twas crazy lol)
The classical SE they began using earlier this year (Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony) is so epic, and is right on par with how elated I feel when they do a live. Everyone clapped as they took to the stage to the triumphant swell of the music, and then… they began to play.
Opening with organ music and dramatic lighting, Living Dead feels as emotionally heavy as the weight of the steady march that characterizes the song. I could hardly believe my eyes, that my favourite band was right there living, breathing, playing right in front of me. As I watched, swaying to the music in a daze, elated, following along with some of the dances, they transitioned into playing Answer. The venue started to heat up along with the tempo of the song and reality was starting to hit. I was really, truly there.
The next song, Show explained, was for all of us — WHITE PRAYER! I thought I was going to lose my mind, I was so excited. I love the live arrangement of this one, along with Saga’s flowy bass line in it. 懐かしいいいいしか言えない!Again, with this song, the whole room was thrumming with movement, dancing together to a song that is such a classic in their discography. Then they started playing the opening notes of 百花繚乱, and things got really wild! As an older song, it also had a very well-established dance, and the whole room was moving together furiously excited… I was one happy, nostalgic 九組! It was so much fun!
As Moondance began, Show definitely showed us how the くねくね dance was supposed to be done… this was something Saga explained in his GRACE Commentary livestream before the start of the tour — that everyone should move their hips and sway to the song in a sexy way. It sounded so good live, and was indeed a pleasure to dance to. I love Saga’s bass line in this song, and that was what I was following as I moved and reveled in the sound. When the song ended, Saga took up position, bracing himself in order to play BABYLON‘s opening bass line and slap… this was my first time experiencing the song live, and it was utterly cool to fall into and be immersed in the music for this one.
In the echoing ending notes of BABYLON, the mood shifted.
The stage went dark, and after a long, low tone, 界‘s sutra began, booming through the room, transforming it with sound. Saga had explained how the song was meant to evoke the sense of coming to worship in the temple of ALICE NINE. in an interview… and that description is bang-on for how I felt, listening to it. While Saga’s deep voice rang out, repeating the sutra, I put my hands together in prayer and felt like I was being put into a trance. The livehouse was our place of worship. Music, the deity we were supplicating. Sound from vibration that conveys scenery, emotion, memory…
When that powerhouse of a song finished, Saga set down his red bass, Homura, and picked up his blue acoustic guitar. So began Envy. The song felt so beautiful live, with slow, deliberate plucking of the acoustic guitar’s strings, and slow, intentional singing from Show. The sound was so full in the room and I just swayed with the flow of the song, carried away, hand over my heart.
Saga put his red bass back on and after a quiet pause to accommodate the switch, 昴 began. Not only was it absolutely beautiful, the fact that we as the audience could actually sing with them made it even more meaningful. 幸せだった。The song really unfolds fully live, with Saga singing backup and the audience joining in too. I’ll never forget the intense sense of beauty and of longing that I felt when I watched the live footage from Untitled VANDALISM. And how beautiful it was when I heard it the first time during the FC trip I took, in a planetarium live. But after all the restrictions, after all the waiting… being able to sing it together this time in particular was a singular experience that I won’t soon forget.
Be as one…
Some piano began to play as all the members aside from Nao left the stage. He got up as well, but in order to come to the front podium. First, he got us all clapping, then he got us all shouting in unison, and then we combined the two actions. Nao returned to his drum set and started srumming to the beat he’d gotten us started on, and from there he whipped us all up into a frenzy of shouting, clapping, and hand-waving along to the Drum Solo… the drumming throughout the live was crisp and on point too!
Finally, the other four members of the band came back onstage in order to start playing Roar which is a total powerhouse of a song, and incredibly melodic to boot. The drum-rap-bass solo section is crisp, sharp, and then velvety-soft. Which brings us to ヴェルヴェット itself. When this song started playing, I was ridiculously excited. The energy in the room for this song was just awesome. Everyone fist-pumping together and getting wild for this classic… this might even have been my first time hearing it in person! But even if it weren’t, something about this performance really put it at the top of the list in my memory.
As if that hadn’t been enough nostalgia for one 九組 to take, they started playing RAINBOWS, and I was elated. Elated! The stage lights cutting through the darkness of the room in every colour imaginable gives the song an incredible air, and there’s no question that we were partying out hearts out. Saga gave the middle finger when everyone was doing the A-jump. Badass. Show hit the high note at the end and it was awesome. That song always takes me back and is one hell of a good time at lives.
In a change of pace, they played Funeral next, and its forward momentum and many layers of detail and sound texture sounded amazing. This was followed by Exodus:, which took us further into the depths that Funeral had pulled us into. Next came 開戦前夜, which I was experiencing live for the first time; it was epic. An incredible release of tension in the room. Made me wish I wore contacts so I could headbang with even more wild abandon! To finish their main set, they played Farewell Flowers, which Show described as a song filled with the utmost amount of love. After serenading us with it, they put down their instruments and left the stage to to sound of our applause.
It wasn’t long before, in the dim light of the stage, we all began clapping and then chanting ‘encore!’ in waves. This was only the third live since early 2020 where concertgoers had been able to raise their voices during performances, so it must have been a huge relief (and pleasure) for the band members to hear fans actually calling out ‘encore!’ again instead of just clapping. I was certainly happy to say it. I sure as hell meant it! We kept up our call for a while, and then the stage lights brightened for the Encore, the members returning to the stage to even more of our delighted applause.
I was so happy when they began playing Ray… I love that song, both in terms of its sound and of its gorgeous lyrics. It was so pretty live. They followed this with Daybreak, which is such an uplifting song, and I was totally mouthing the words behind my mask, so grateful to be there in the moment! Finally, to end their set on an even higher note, they began to play Grace. I was completely in the zone for this song, in my bliss, following the furi most of the time, but also waving my hands and fingers in my own way along to the beautiful complexities of this song’s sound. It’s amazing live, a true beauty in their discography.
I felt at peace when the song ended, clapping as the members again set down their instruments, and made their own exits off the stage.
Saga gave 焔ちゃん’s neck a kiss of appreciation before putting his bass down in its stand, and then blew a kiss to the crowd as well, waving and leaving with a quiet smile.
I felt a bit dazed, but so happy as I left the room as well to go outside and line up for the after-live Talk Event. I decided to use my ticket on this particular night in order to attend Saga and Show’s talk, and after a short wait, the staff ushered us back inside, checked our tickets, and then directed us to go back inside the event space and sit on the floor.
Here are a few highlights:
Show prompted Saga to talk about his job-quitting amnesia excuse story (originally told during an Alice9Channel episode), which was a preface to them discussing the fact that Saga actually has an extremely good memory… for instance, he remembered everyone else’s lines from NUMBER SIX. when they were filming that movie. Meanwhile, Show’s memory isn’t quite as good and he really has to work hard to remember lyrics and things, but has found that sometimes writing them down in full helps.
They brought up the fact that they noticed someone dancing during Grace as if conducting an orchestra. Show had apparently discussed with Saga that it would be good to make a song with that sort of air, but they were surprised someone had actually danced to it that way.
They discussed the Love-Love Hate-Hate call section of Roar, both agreeing that, so far, it hadn’t had the oomph they’d been imagining. They suggested that for future lives, we should put emphasis on the echoes of Love! and Hate! by raising our fists with the repetition of each word, to give the pairs a strong finish. (Edit: In subsequent lives, we actually began jumping up with hands raised to emphasize the echoed words!)
Saga explained that something about the initial bass phrases in BABYLON were tricky and frustrating, but in the moment, I didn’t understand the specifics… afterward, I came to the realization that BABYLON was tricky for this tour because Saga’s stage outfit includes arm restraints. So given that Saga decides the setlists, he was kind of poking fun at himself for including a song that would be extra-difficult for him.
The crew were packing away the stage behind them, and eventually someone on their staff called out from around the corner to advise them to wrap up the talk and make their exit, which they did, seeming slightly miffed at the staff rushing them along.
The entire live, the subsequent talk event, that moment of sitting and listening to them chat — all of it felt surreal to me. It had been years since I’d been in the same room with them… it felt so damn good to be back.
I didn’t originally buy a ticket to this performance because I had worried my flight might get delayed and I wouldn’t get to Japan in time (anxious thoughts are so often far-fetched that way), and I also worried I might get terrible jet-lag and not feel up to going anywhere the day after arriving. Well, I’m happy to say that that definitely wasn’t the case, and I was incredibly excited to head out to attend this live, meaning I’d be attending all four remaining performances on the tour.
This also turned out to be my first time buying a same-day ticket (当日券), and I’m strangely happy that I now have that sort of ticket to add to my collection! It was certainly an experience (read: a stressful albeit somewhat comical one) to get so lost and turned around in the station but to still make it in time anyway.
I’m glad I did. What an amazing performance to kick off this trip with.
I love アリス九號.
They really fucking rock.
.
No longer in a rush, I walked back the way I had come, my body still filled with the trailing notes of the live, warm at the memory of feeling Saga’s bass line fill the room firsthand… at experiencing all of those songs in concert.
Knowing I would get to do it three more times before the end of the month…
幸せだった。
P.S. When checking Google Maps just to make sure I could take the exact same route in reverse to get home (since it was late), I accidentally pressed the walking route option, and apparently it would take nearly three days. I almost burst out laughing in public.
Yeeeeah, I skipped that route… riding the shinkansen was more than scenic enough an adventure for me that evening, thank you very much.
Though I set my alarm early, I didn’t get much sleep at all before leaving as I woke up after a few hours to keep fiddling with the contents of my suitcase, spend extra time with Scout, and try to tidy my apartment a little more both for Scout’s sake and for those coming to take care of him.
Scout tried his best to help me pack both by sitting on the suitcase and by bringing me the drain plug from the bathtub. What a cutie. What a weirdo. I love my cat so much.
I didn’t accomplish everything I’d wanted to before I left, and I was so excited, nervous, and worried about leaving Scout that I burst into tears just before zipping up my suitcase to leave. Scout knew I was going off somewhere, and seemed kind of annoyed with me, but he was completely okay when I went to Toronto, so I had to have faith he’d be fine this time too. I said I love you, have fun, I’ll be back, and いってきます, and then I finally left to catch the train and the bus to get to my parents’ house. There, I would be dropping my apartment key so that they could take care of Scout for part of the time I was away (my spare key went to my friend Stephany, who will be doing most of the caretaking of Scout while I’m away).
We’d had out first big snow the day before (which I’d been delighted about) but it also made the sidewalks snowy, slushy, and kind of slippery.
Hmm… what sticker should I add to my suitcase this time?
When I finally arrived at my parents’ house, there was a package sitting on their front porch… the memoir my mom had been writing via Storyworth, and which I had helped edit at the end. It was a relief to see that project come to a close, and the book was of incredibly good quality.
My parents gave me a direct ride to the airport, which I was very grateful for, after lugging my suitcase on and off public transit, and then… it was time.
I checked my suitcase and, feeling much lighter, I went off to go through airport security. They’ve completely updated security for domestic/international flights at Ottawa Airport, and moved it to a new location. It was a very smooth experience, probably because there weren’t many people there at that time of the morning.
A did a little bit of walking around but then just stayed put, buzzing with anticipation. I still couldn’t believe I was actually going back to Japan again after over two and a half years of postponement. My purse and bag were of course decked out in アリス九號. お守り and other things that I like , which made me feel centered every time I looked down at them.
I travelled in style. Well, a style, anyway!
Finally it was time to board the plane for the flight to Montréal, and when I went to present my ticket and passport at the gate, the agent paused, frowned, and then asked his fellow agent if she had a pen. She handed one to him, and he said, “you need to sign your passport.” I felt kind of ridiculous, but it was a huge relief to know that that’s all the hesitation was for. I signed my passport and he sent me on my way. Which is to say, I almost went down the wrong hallway (following the person in front of me who had also turned down the wrong way) and then the person coming behind us called out with a bit of a chickle, “I think it’s this way!” and they were right. We both course-corrected and were back on track.
It was a full flight and we were on schedule… until we got to the runway and the captain suddenly came on the intercom to tell us that we were returning to the gate to pick up a ‘must-fly’ passenger. I was kind of dumbfounded at this, because I’ve never experienced that happening before… luckily, it was this short flight to Montréal, and not the one to Narita! So we did turn right around and go back to the gate. I think we ended up being a good forty minutes late, all told. I felt a bit annoyed, but it didn’t impact me being able to make my connecting flight in time, so I let the annoyance slide when we were finally in the air.
I’ve taken this flight path enough times in my life now that it felt normal, like I was a bird on its annual migration; I had to keep reminding myself that I hadn’t done a trip, any trip like this in the air for nearly three years. Aside from wearing a mask, enough of the heightened health measures had relaxed that the experience really didn’t feel all that different from how I’d remembered it.
My trip to Japan still didn’t feel real. I walked around the international terminal until it was finally time to board, and then made my way to my seat without fanfare. I didn’t start feeling sparks of excitement until I saw TOKYO-NARITA written on my personal TV screen. And then again when I changed the language of the interface to Japanese. And then again when I watched a movie in Japanese and imagined myself back in similar settings, similar landscapes.
The in-flight food? Let’s just say, my digestive system wasn’t enjoying it. I watched some pretty good movies, though.
Get Out was chilling and clever; it deserves all the hype it got. KODOKU~孤独~, a short film, was a collaboration between 3 family members, shot in both Japan and Canada. 家族のはなしが素敵だった。感動しましたよ Cyrano featured a beautiful performance by Peter Dinklage. I loved the musical numbers… and the final scene between Roxanne and Cyrano was so beautiful. Cue me crying discreetly in my seat. Le Renard et L’oisille was a lovely short without any dialogue, just expressive animation.
I believe I started watching another film but didn’t finish it because I kept nearly falling asleep. I’m pretty certain the only reason I was awake for landing was because I was busy trying to beat the last passenger’s high score in Bejeweled. Which I did.
But before you feel impressed, you should know that the previous passenger’s score was… not very high. Still, for someone trying very hard not to nod off, I didn’t do half bad
Getting through customs definitely took much longer due to the extra steps involved, but I’d registered all my information online beforehand, so I was able to bypass a few of the checkpoints. Aside from the additional waiting, the whole process was well organized and before long, I was officially past customs and out on the other side. Of course, I still had to figure out how to pick up my JR Pass; something I’d never done before. It was after hours so the desk clearly marked for that purpose (in person and in my instructions) was closed for the night. Thus began another long wait in a line up for what I hoped would be the place to pick it up after hours. Thankfully, I guessed right, and the agent behind the counter set me up with both that and ticket on the NEX to finally, finally get going to my hotel.
The one good thing about heading to the hotel so late was that I didn’t have much commuter traffic to deal with once I arrived at Tokyo Station. I did, however, walk in a big circle while lugging my suitcase, before I realized that the next train I needed was just one platform over from where I’d gotten off the NEX… it was a short, simple ride once I’d figured that, out, though.
I did need to haul my suitcase up several flights of stairs though, because the elevators only went so far in the underground. I was sore, I was tired, I was grimy from travel… so after checking in, taking a hot shower, and enjoying an onigiri, I finally relaxed, and let myself start to imagine the アリス九號. live I would be treated to the next day.