Bon Odori ‘09 ~ so much awesomeness! ♥ ♥ ♥

I seriously have no idea how to describe to you HOW MUCH FUN I HAD. I came home last night exhausted beyond any level of endurance, and this morning I woke up with a sore throat and aching shoulders and legs… and yet I am EXHILARATED beyond any level of comprehension~! Seriously, I regret none of it. I don’t regret having to endure the dusty environment (the air was extremely dry), I don’t regret having to carry my 5kg bag while dancing all 3 sessions of the Bon Odori dance, I don’t regret fumbling around with my limited Japanese understanding to speak with a few Japanese families… ALL THE PAIN IS WORTH IT! Gawd I sound like a DoM loooool xD

I would really, REALLY love to write up my report-cum-review of the festival, but I am currently bombarded with a huge load of homework that I need to complete. YOU KNOW I HATE DOING HOMEWORK. OTZ but somehow I’m too darn ridiculously happy that I don’t even mind finishing up my homework so I can come back later and write up my source of happiness~ ♥

So, while I am away for the next 12 hours, here are 2 teaser photos for you:

aaaaaaand…

;DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

I’ll be back later! <3

[updated! :D]

(though I warn you, it’s a HELL LOAD of a picspam…)
(and yes, this report is finally complete!)

As I lamented in my previous post, my friend Sharmilaa was supposed to drive us (her + me + another friend Lisa), buuuuuuuut turns out her mom took her car to work, detailsdetailsdetails, crisis ensued, a blurry Tashii having just woken up from sleep to face said crisis, more details, and we ended up taking public transportation to the venue. lol xD So, we took a KTM train and then the free shuttle bus to the stadium. And, as inevitable as it is, when Tashii is armed with a camera and is riding a public transport, a camwhoring session is definitely unavoidable… :D

We arrived at the stadium at around 4pm… and already you can see the crowd gathering, even though the event doesn’t officially start till 5pm D:

The crowd:

notice the few people wearing face masks? ;D

The vast expanse of the field, which would (later in the night) be fully packed with the crowd dancing to the Bon dance:

When we arrived, the taiko drummers and Bon Odori dancers were having last-minute practices. It was somewhat interesting to watch them conduct the traditional performance in modern clothes. After all, it’s not a common sight you see at Bon Odori festivals. xD

My friend Lisa testing out the portable toilet cubicles:
She couldn’t find the ‘flush’ button, lololololol :D Till now I still lament at not recording the epic moment where we spent like 1 minute searching for the button… before we decided to, erm, escape. XD

After that we started attacking the food stalls! The Japanese food are always a main attraction of the Bon Odori, aside from the Bon Odori dance itself and the yukata-clad people. Besides, WHO DOESN’T LIKE JAPANESE FOOD?! You must have a stone’s taste in food to not appreciate Japanese food. *nods* So anyways, the stalls were quite the same as last year — Yakult, Bread Papa, and of course Sushi King seeming so out of place with the makeshift conveyor belt carying sushi plates. xD BUUUUUUUUUT something is new this year:

C1000 LEMON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
which Arashi advertised 2 years ago! I’VE BEEN LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR IT! gklsdng89;lmsdg89h46 YATTAAAAA~! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

One bottle was sold for RM3… but four bottles were on promotion at a price of RM10! EVEN MORE YAY-NESS! :D :D :D You’d get that I love bargains, especially when it comes to Arashi-related goodies kyaaah So I bought 2 Lemon and my friend bought 2 Orange. At first they looked kinda fishy – the bottles were fist-grip sized, and the liquid looked a lot like those salt rehydration powdered drinks that are normally prescribed by my doctor when I get diarrhoea, which taste god awful. So, I was kinda sceptical. But on the contrary, they taste AWESOME. It’s not very sweet (like the Fanta Grape I tried once), yet it pertains the natural taste (orange flavour was so fantastic omg) and the liquid is surprisingly rejuvenating. And lemon — MAXIMUM UMAI! ;D Okay, I’m totally biased since Arashi advertised it. XD BUT SERIOUSLY, IT’S REALLY GOOD.

And here’s Sharmilaa doing a mock CM to promoto C1000 Orange:

lol xD

And of course, we were off to hunt down for food :D Trust me — if you are a diehard lover of Japanese food… THIS WOULD BE YOUR TRUE HEAVEN aside from Arashi! Onigiri, Donburi, Korokke, Dango, Takoyaki, Curry rice, omg YOU NAME IT.

Yes, that include a sake stall, too:

They were daaaaaaaaarn expensive (one small cup costs RM9! D:), just when Sharmilaa and I thought of getting high and positively drunk on sake (well, almost). We couldn’t find the stall selling Asahi beer… but we saw SO MANY PEOPLE walking around with an Asahi beer can in their hands. OTZ So we got a cup of sake to share, and it tasted… bland. A little diluted. Maybe it was because of the ice in the sake, but oh well. IT WAS MY VIRGINAL CONSUMPTION OF SAKE, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOT. XDDDDDDDDDDD

Yup, there goes my sake virginity:

AND. My food-hunting session at Bon Odori is NEVER COMPLETE withouuuuuuuut:

Green tea ice-creaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam~ MY FAVOURITE ICE-CREAM IN THE WORLD ♥ ♥ ♥ Especially Yokomon’s ice cream — soooooo deliciously smooth that it’s like cotton on your tongue! And the green tea flavour was really bitter yet sweet. Just as I like it :D

Lisa and me posing with our ice-cream xD

Then we scoured around the stadium to capture search for yukata-clad toddlers/families to take pictures with because they’re sosososososo kawaii~ We managed to ask an approaching mother and her two little girls. Sharmilaa and I are rather okay communicating in Japanese (with the former being more proficient than I am, the unofficial learner xD), but omg our Japanese totally FLEW OUT OF THE WINDOW when we actually tried to speak it. XD Sharmilaa asked in English, and pointed at the camera that I was holding, and I went up and the only thing I could blurt out was, “Ii desu ka?” LOL FAIL. The okaa-san was really accomodating and she agreed, and here’s the picture:

the two little girls were sooooo cute, especially the older sister (clad in a pink yukata) her smile made me melt omg ♥ ♥ ♥

And after that we tried approaching another mom with her 2 little boys… but so many people kept approaching ambushing them to pose for pictures that we felt so sorry for them and decided against it. :/ Here’s them taking a picture with one random guy:

As we strolled by the picnicking crowd dejected at not being able to spot another potential family to take pictures with lol xD, we spotted this mom feeding her toddler child oh-so-lovingly it was such an endearing moment to watch~ ♥ I COULD NOT RESIST SNAPPING A COUPLE OF PHOTOS:

And also snapped a group of girls in yukata:

AND FINALLY. IT’S TIME TO EAT. XD

This is our food haul of the day~

Onigiri, Japanese curry rice, unadon, egg/unagi donburi, korokke, dango, C1000 Orange and Lemon, aaaaaaaand ocha. :D

Close-up of ocha and C1000:

AND IT’S PICNIC TIME~! :D

Soon after people started to crowd around the entrance of the Bon Odori stage, where the dancers and the taiko drummers had started to gather:

…which is quite a small crowd as compared to the crowd picnicking around and those jamming up the food stalls:

xDDDDDDD

Here’s a video of the picnicking crowd:

…ignore the random exchange of words in the beginning. XD

After we ate we immediately went to the stage and found a PERFECT sport right behind the barriers around the stage, where we got an AWESOME view of the Bon Odori dancers and the taiko drummers (who were squatting on the floor and were — for a while — blocked by flies that should be swatted for blocking MY view of the yummy hawt Japanese boys some random Bon Odori demonstrators/dancers).

Video of the taiko drums opening performance:

kldfhn932u4690;lshdvagdakngkl hawtness ♥ ♥ ♥

Random group shot!

And then it’s the first session of the Bon Odori dance~! :D

We found out we were among the ‘photographers’ crowd — y’know, the photographers taking up the innermost circle surrounding the stage and thus getting the best shorts — and the crowd 8 METRES BEHIND US had started dancing. XD So we pushed our way out of the immobile crowd and randomly cut in a random line in the dancing crowd. xDDDD LISA WAS BEING A SPOILSPORT AND DIDN’T WANT TO JOIN T_T So we got her to be the cameraman instead lolololololol.

The dance is actually really, really fun! It’s easy to a beginner’s eye, but of course it requires practice (Sharmilaa and I fumbled A LOT in the first try lol and we kept laughing like idiots), but when you’re dancing with 10 thousand other people who are enjoying it just as much as having JUST AS MUCH FUN, it’s turns into a whole new level of awesomeness.  ♥ I don’t know whyyyyyyy I didn’t dance last year, omg. After the first dance of the session we dragged Lisa into the dance, lol XD

(GAWD I SPENT 4 HOURS WRITING THIS POST. HOPEFULLY I CAN COME BACK LATER TO UPDATE)

Later we took another picture with 2 totally adorable boys:

LOL, I KNOW. THE BOY BEHIND US WAS SO HILARIOUS XD

Well, what happened was: we asked their mom if we could take a picture with them, but her 2 boys were sooooo shy — the younger boy started retreating behind her, while his older brother started whining, lol xD So we thought of just taking a picture of the mom and her boys (since they probably weren’t comfortable taking pictures with strangers, and you know some Japanese are wary of  gaijin), but the mom then offered to take the picture of us and her boys! My friends and I were, like, “O___O Arigatou! ♥” Lisa and I squatted down beside the little boy, and I asked him what his name was and he replied (very shyly and softly), “Kyosuke.” SO VERY KYUUTO, NE~?! ♥♥♥♥ omg I must have melted there and then. I wanted to say his name was really nice, but I was at loss as to what to say (read: Japanese comprehension totally thrown out of the window, remember?), so I just introduced myself. LOL FAILx2 OTZ.

And yeah, I didn’t know the brother was being totally devilish behind us in the photo. XD Too bad I couldn’t get his name. He’s so awesome. He’s like a future Nino (or a diva Jun) xDDDDD

Once the mom took the photo for us, we wanted to give our balloon to the boys (y’know, as a thank-you gesture), and I handed the balloon to Kyosuke, who just kept punching it with his tiny fists omg kawaii ♥♥♥ And the older brother started punching it too LMAO. It took us a while to communicate with the boys and the mom that we wanted to give the balloon to them (the mom thought the boys were just being annoying and asked them to stop), and I seriously HAD NO IDEA how to say “this balloon is for you” so I just thrust the balloon to the boys and said, “Purezento.” LOL FAILx258964609 OTZ. But the mom finally understood! XDDDDDDDDD thank god for the vocabulary I learn from Arashi She was really happy, and the boys were happy, and the mom told them to say thank you, to which they shyly said, “Arigatou!” KLDNG893MSDG89H36;HGSD KAWAII-NESS. ♥♥♥ Then, y’know, the usual courtesy bowing and ‘arigatou‘ then we headed back to the dance. Oh gawd we were so giddy with joy~

AND THIS IS WHEN THE ARASHI FLAILING BEGINS.

We were in the 2nd session of the dance, and I had Sho’s uchiwa strapped into the back of my pants (y’know, like how the uchiwa is normally strapped into the obi. xD). Midway through dancing, Lisa nudged me and pointed in front. About 3m to my left, two 30-something Japanese ladies were pointing and staring at my Sho uchiwa and flailing and squealing like FANGIRLS, and I very clearly heard them mention ‘Arashi’ in their sentences! It was SO AWESOMEEEEEE. Too bad they didn’t approach me, and I was too shy to approach them. OTZ And later on in the dance, there was a group of girls directly behind me who started flailing so loudly, and someone said, “Isn’t that Sho?! Arashi?! The uchiwa?!” and they squeaaaaaaaaaled so much. Sharmilaa and Lisa and I looked at each other and laughed, because it’s just too endearing. ♥ There was one part in the dance when we’d spin around, and when I turned around, those girls were staring at me over their shoulders and then flailing again amongst themselves. MORE FANGIRL AWESOMENESS! Once again, they were too shy to approach me, and likewise over here. Nevertheless, this shows that THE COMMON LOVE FOR ARASHI IS FOUND EVERYWHEREEEEEEEEEEEEE! I was right to bring my Sho uchiwa, otherwise I wouldn’t have discovered so many other Arashi fangirls at the festival! ♥♥♥♥ I bet if I were parading around with a Matsujun uchiwa there’d be more Hanadan fangirls will show up. XD

Then later, just before the 3rd (and last) session of the dance started, one fangirl approached me. She introduced herself as Wan and asked if the uchiwa I got was really Sakurai Sho of Arashi. CUE HIGH-PITCHED FLAILING! :D We took a picture together~ (because she wanted a shot of Sho-chan xD):

I don’t really have much to write about after that — we danced to the 3rd session of the dance (exhausted and probably half-dead, yet full of energy and we perfected the steps to the dance already!), the taiko drummers and Bon Odori dancers waved goodbye to the crowd before leaving through a celebrity’s aisle (what was missing was a red carpet lol XD) surrounded on both sides by the crowd. I only caught a short video of it:

One thing I really want to comment about is how systematic and disciplined the way the taiko drummers and Bon Odori dancers were ensured safe passage from the stage to the dressing room. Last year, it was absolutely chaotic — as the drummers and dancers left the stage, people started crowding around the exit and MADDENINGLY rushed over to take pictures with them. The poor things were seriously being RAVAGED. D: How rude. And I was one of those people being pushed! I was hell annoyed, and I felt really ashamed to have watched that — to think of what foreigners would think of Malaysians (aside from the fact that they’re being worshipped, lol). This year, however, the organisers have done well not to repeat that mistake. They beefed up security and ensured that no one even touched them as they walked down a makeshift aisle and into the locker room. I applaud them for that :D In the least, at least some amount of manners and courtesy is maintained.

SO. FINALLY. THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT.

I spent 3 effing days writing this post up. 3 EFFING DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!! And guess what? This must be my longest post EVER written –  at 2588 words, and just about 70 pictures. GAWD I’M POSITIVELY AWESOME MAD. I don’t blame you if you skipped half of this post. xD

In short: I ENJOYED MYSELF SO MUCH I’M DEFINITELY GOING AGAIN NEXT YEAR.

I’m seriously gonna save up to buy a yukata set next year. And driving to the venue. And bring a Sho uchiwa. And dancing all 3 sessions of the Bon Odori. :D

In response to some comments:
@Michiru — OMG, you recognised me from my Maou sneakers and not my Sho uchiwa?! XD When was it anyways? It would’ve been great if we could meet. T_T
@Hui Ling — I did not know Isetan supermarket has C1000! D: I haven’t gone to Isetan in like… ages. *fail*
@Khris — I’m not sure whether the dance is the same — I’ve only watched up for ep2 of Kisarazu Cat’s Eyes. OTZ I want to try Mitsuya Cider too~! I love Sprite, so I don’t mind the similarity. :D

Alright, guys. TASHII finally SIGNING OUT. ♥ *scuttles away*