紹介しようか。/ INTRODUCTION

こんにちは、皆さん！

You've just stumbled across my collection of observations from seven and a half months in Japan as an exchange student at Sapporo University in Hokkaido from May through December 2009.

Keep in mind, this blog isn't an anthropological study of Japanese culture; it's just the result of a 21-year-old American's experiences as an exchange student.

If you're interested in reading through my blog entries, I'd suggest starting from my entries from January 2009 (which explain the process of applying for admission to Sapporo University, available scholarships, and how I passed the time until I left) or from May 2009 (when I actually arrived in Sapporo).

A FEW NOTES:

+ I use a lot of native Japanese words in my blog entries, but I've tried my best to either explain the words immediately after mentioning them or by providing links to other sites that can explain them better than I can. For some words, I don't feel as much of a need to explain (like anime, for example) because they've become much more mainstream recently. If you still don't know what it is, just look it up on Google.

+ Unless otherwise noted, all photos were taken by me.

+ Many Japanese language students are huge anime and manga fans. I am a fan of Japanese animation as well, but my major interests in modern Japanese pop culture are in Japanese dramas and pop music. Throughout my blog I reference popular Japanese television shows (news shows like "News Zero" and variety programs like "Arashi no Shukudai-kun/嵐の宿題くん"), and at the end of each entry I list what song I happened to be listening to while I wrote that entry. If you have no interest in this part of Japanese culture, feel free to ignore those details.

+ Along the same note, my blog titles are often quotes from dramas or lyrics from songs. The title of this blog, as seen at the top of this page (unless you don't have Japanese enabled on your computer, which means you see a bunch of random symbols instead), is also part of the lyrics to Arashi's "Tomorrow's Memory." Translated, it means: In the middle of the ever-changing seasons, what color tomorrow will we draw?

Please enjoy reading!

Sarah

そろそろいかなくちゃ。。。

I'm in America again. 

(I've actually been home for a few days, but between getting back on a solid sleep schedule and meeting friends and family nonstop, I haven't had time to blog.)

The morning I left for the airport, Maki and Tomoya dropped by Riverside to bring me natto sushi (sushi with fermented soybeans) for breakfast and to say an official goodbye. After making fun of Jordan for trying to cram his guitar case into the back of Yusuke's van, we took a group photo (which Maki hasn't yet posted on facebook) and packed Yusuke, Maureen, Set-chan, Jordan and me inside. 

Did I mention it was freezing? And snowing? 

On the way to the airport, Ichikawa-sensei called my cell and we had a "final" three-way conversation with her, Jordan and me. I would've cried from saying goodbye to her if we hadn't been running so late; the fear of missing our flight to Narita was my strongest feeling at the time. 

That feeling didn't last long, because after Yusuke hugged us goodbye at the airport parking lot and both Set-chan and Maureen gave us hugs at the airport check-in, I couldn't hold the tears back anymore. Not my finest hour, but leaving Sapporo, my second home after almost eight months, had still seemed surreal until that moment. 

The plane ride from Chitose to Narita was more like an hour and a half of reminiscing about Sapporo and wondering about our return to American life. Jordan and I sat together (because the check-in attendant assumed we were a couple when she chose our seats) and discussed how we could best reassimilate into American society and not speak in Japanese every time we open our mouths. (I'm still having trouble with this.) 

Parting from Jordan at Narita - he flew into Seattle for a layover and I flew straight into Chicago - was difficult for both of us. He was the last living piece of my experiences in Sapporo, and once he walked through the other flight gate I would be alone for the last 15ish hours of my journey home. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        FINAL VIEW OF SAPPORO FROM PLANE



BLOG SOUNDTRACK: Remioromen, "Motto Tooku e"

札幌での経験や思い出

札幌大学で勉強させていただいたおかげで、今の私は昔の私とまったく違います。七ヶ月ぐらい札幌に住んでいて、日本語と日本の文化はもちろん、自分のことも分かるようになって来ました。 何よりも、一番変わったのは私の考え方だと思います。

例えば、他の人のアメリカに対する 意見を聞かせてもらえなかったら、世界におけるアメリカの長所も短所も分からなかったかもしれません。ボール大学で日本語とジャーナリズムを勉強していますから、日本のメディアが気になりました。ほとんど毎晩テレビニュースを見て、アメリカより世界で起きた事について知るのが楽しみでした。

私と人とのかかわりが増えるにつれて、私の性格も変わりました。アメリカ人として、日本に着いてばかりの時、私の価値観はまだ個人主義を中心にしていました。でも今利己的な事をする代わりにグループの気持ちを考えるようにしています。つまり、昔より他人のことに気を向けるようになりました。

また、留学したから、私の文化を紹介する機会もありました。英語のキャンプで大学の一年生を手伝ったり、南月寒小学校でインディアナ州の伝統について説明したり、英語の学校で高校生に言葉を教えたりして、アメリカ人の生活や文化を伝え、様々な日本人と交流することができました。

外国人として、日本の数ある町の中で札幌で過ごせてよかったと思います。なぜなら、札幌の郊外のアパートに住んでいたので、毎日近所の人と話しながら歩いて通学したり、地域のお祭りに参加したりすることができました。隣の人は友達になったので、普通の家族の生活が見えました。そして留学したら、なんでもいい勉強 になるものです。バスに乗ったり、レストランで食べたりしたことはいい経験でした。

日本に来て以来、将来の仕事について考えてきました。今は卒業したら日本へ戻って英語の教師か国際ジャーナリストになりたいと思っています。日本で働くために中級の授業を受けて、今年の十二月二級の日本語能力試験を受験しました。合否にかかわらず、力のかぎり頑張り、友達ともいい思い出を作ることができたので、帰国しても幸せです。

アメリカに帰ってから、来年札幌に来る大学生に会ってここについてお話する予定です。私のした経験を分かつのを楽しみにしています。日本へ戻るために今日からまた一所懸命頑張ります！



セーラ・モアランド
札幌大学の留学生
２００９年１２月９日

ささやかな毎日の中でどれだけ君を見つけただろう？

Because I'm leaving Sapporo in a few days, I created a "bucket list" of things I want to do before I hop on the plane. Today, I knocked off three of them in one morning. Not too shabby.

For some reason, I had not yet visited Maruyama Park (円山公園), which is only about a 25-minute subway stop (with a transfer from the Toho to the Tozai Line at Odori) from Fukuzumi. Within the park is the Hokkaido Shrine (北海道神宮), which is said to enshrine four gods: the god of Hokkaido, the god of developed land, the god of claimed land, and the god of Emperor Meiji.

After leaving the Maruyama subway stop, I walked in a square before finding any signs directing me to the park. Hint for those wanting to go: Look for the big clump of trees. You can't miss them - this park is huge. (See map below.)

While I regretted not visiting the park during the summer months, we just had our second snowfall of the season this weekend and the grounds were covered in about 3-4 inches of snow.

Gorgeous.

If you follow the main road and veer to the right, you'll arrive at the shrine's entrance gate. As a lone traveler, I wasn't quite sure of shrine protocol, and although I probably could have broken a few rules of respect and not gotten in trouble because I am a foreigner (外国人), I wanted the full, proper experience. A middle-aged woman was about 100 feet ahead of me, so I waited and watched for cues to bow, then mimicked what she had done. (This is a good principle to follow while traveling anywhere in most cases.)

On the trail to the large shrine, you will pass smaller shrines dedicated to different deities. (Pictures of these were not allowed.) As you approach each one, stop at the entrance and bow with your palms pressed together in front of your chest. The woman in front of me also lingered after her bow, just gazing at the shrine in respect and adoration.

If you continue to follow the trail, you will come to an area to purify yourself before entering the main shrine. Dip one of the ladles in the water and pour some over each of your hands, then use the rest to purify your mouth. If you're confused, just watch someone else. Better yet, if you stand to the side with a confused facial expression, someone will usually show you how to use the water properly. (I know this from experience. :P)

After purifying yourself, you can enter the main shrine. Etiquette for praying at a shrine can be found at Hokkaido Jingu's English site here, but the main points: deposit money, bow twice, clap twice, bow once more.

You can also buy charms for myriad of situations (love, health, school, even traffic safety) for anywhere from 600円 to 1200円 or another type of charm called omikuji (おみくじ), on which you can write your wish or prayer and then tie or hang it in the shrine's courtyard. Most of the wishes I saw were from high school students hoping to pass the entrance exam to their top-choice college.

So, about that third bucket list item... I ate lunch at KFC. (Yes, Japan's Kentucky Fried Chicken chain.) The most obvious question: Why? Well, for about a month I've seen MatsuJun's KFC commercial on TV a few times a week, especially during Arashi's Challenge Week in October, and the pot pie he advertises actually looks good. (And I don't even like chicken pot pies.)

NOTE: I did not take the above picture. The KFC outside of Maruyama Park didn't have any posters of MatsuJun in it. :( So I just found one on Google images. Thank you, anonymous photo taker!

The box is expensive - about 600円 - and includes one piece of chicken, the pot pie, and then your choice of a small drink, fries or coleslaw.

　
Yep, about $6 got me this. On the plus side, it was delicious, and not just in a fatty, full-of-unhealthy-ingredients kind of way. It was amazing and almost worth six bucks.

More impressive was "Christmas Colonel" outside the restaurant. I never would've guessed I would get into the holiday spirit after a trip to a fast-food hotspot.

Ho, ho, ho, Santa Colonel.

BLOG SOUNDTRACK: The Eurythmics - "Who's That Girl"

もちつき大会／MOCHI-MAKING PARTY

It's already been a week since Ashley left for America, and the rest of us aren't much farther behind her. To celebrate the end of the semester, SatsuDai's International Office sponsored a mochi-making party for us and Japanese students involved with the office or the English department.



I remember walking into Linden Hall, the cafeteria I eat at at least once a week, and wondering where I was. Instead of the usual table-and-chair setup, the floor was clear of everything except three marble stone bowls, three mallets and a large blue tarp. The foreign exchange students from China, America, New Zealand and England took turns using the mallets to whack the rice into mochi, which is basically rice with a dough-like texture.

The mallets are heavy, believe me. I dipped the end in the water bowl, tried hoisting it over my shoulder, failed, tried again, and finally brought the mallet down on the rice mixture. One down, many more to go.



After my bicep workout, I joined the assembly line where we rolled the already-finished mochi into balls and added anko, red bean jelly centers.



BLUE MOCHI! (just for fun)




Eating our finished mochi - first in soup stock...

...then as a multicolored dessert!

BLOG SOUNDTRACK: KAT-TUN, "Never Again"

走れ！走れ！（Run! Run!)

After finishing the JLPT this afternoon, the three of us trekked around Susukino (which looks like a ghost town in the daylight, with no neon signs illuminating the animated 3-D crabs above the restaurant entrances) for some last-minute shopping.

What did I find? That au finally updated the Susukino billboard to the new winter Arashi ad. About time. The other one had been up since I arrived in early May.

Click on the photos for bigger images. :)

BLOG SOUNDTRACK: Arashi - "Everything"

一生懸命頑張ったよ！I DID MY BEST!

The December 2009 JLPT is OVER. Whew.

Around 8 a.m., Jack, Maureen and I left for Odori (via Tsukisamu Chuo bus and subway), stopping at a 7-11 to buy breakfast (pasta salads). Although we confused ourselves about where the test building (a dental college) was and backtracked a few blocks, we managed to arrive with an hour to spare. Not that we really needed a map. In the end, we just followed a group of Chinese students whose faces were lodged in Japanese language textbooks to a group of about 100 other foreigners (speaking Chinese, Korean, French and English) sitting on the sidewalk for last-minute cramming.

None of us had brought our textbooks, so we stood behind one of the building's pillars and ate our 7-11 salads. The doors opened half an hour later than the time written on our registration vouchers, so the 100-or-so test takers rushed to the elevators, kicking off their sneakers and cowboy boots and pulling slippers out of their bags on the way across the lobby. By the time the three of us reached the seventh floor, most of the others had already settled in their rooms.

Maureen and Jack shared a classroom while I was two rooms down the hall. Each test taker was assigned a desk according to registration number, so I sat in the back next to two Chinese girls and a Korean man. Very few "Western-looking" people were taking the exam in Sapporo, apparently, as I was one of three in a room of about 40 test takers.

And then we waited. The Level 2 JLPT's three components (reading/grammar, kanji/vocab, and listening) total 2 hours and 25 minutes, but because of breaks between each round and instruction reading time, the test lasted from 9:45 a.m. to almost 3 p.m.

How did I do? I have no clue. Check back in February when I receive my results. Until then, I have hope.

BLOG SOUNDTRACK: Yuna Ito - "Koi wa Groovy x2"

THIS HAS GOTTA BE THE GOOD LIFE

At 10 a.m. Jordan, Emma and I jumped into a taxi and rode over to Minami Tsukisamu Elementary School, where we were scheduled to explain American/New Zealand culture to the school's fourth graders.

Yesterday we were given basic instructions: Introduce yourself in Japanese. Teach the students everyday English words. Eat lunch with your class. Take a group photo. In addition to those instructions, we had a sheet of questions specific to each class. Mine included "What other countries have you been to?" and "What are some of America's traditional foods?" Jordan's sheet also had questions like "What do you think of this class?" (Um, 最高だと思う？）

As soon as we arrived, we exchanged our outdoor shoes for slippers, as is custom, and were introduced to Kobayashi-sensei, the school's principal. For half an hour, the four of us drank tea and discussed our cultural backgrounds and Kobayashi's expectations for the day. Surprisingly, we were the first group of exchange students to visit the school as a request by one of the fourth grade's teachers. If today's activities went smoothly, future exchange students at SatsuDai will continue this next year and so on. No pressure.

Kobayashi-sensei is the principal I wish I had in elementary school. His office door is normally open, he said, so students often come in and talk to him in casual form, more like a parent-child or friend-like relationship. Because the door was shut during our talk, the students realized we had finally arrived and huddled outside the door. (The windows were partially transparent, so we could see their shadows in the hall.) The first time the door opened to let a staff member in, we heard a student yell, "ああ！外国人だ！” (AH! Foreigners!), confirming the others' suspicions, I guess. From then on, we were celebrities. :P

I was the first to be summoned by my student guides, three boys from 4-2, so I followed them to a classroom where - BAM! - the other 32 students popped those paper firecracker things and welcomed me in. "ようこそ、モアランド・セーラさん！” (Welcome, Sarah Moreland!) had been written on the blackboard and my picture (the one on my SatsuDai student ID card) was hanging, blown up in size, in the front of the room.

Then came 35 self-introductions in English. Some of the boys were so nervous to be speaking in English that their friends had to wipe the sweat off their faces with their handkerchiefs. Then I stood in the middle and introduced myself in Japanese and then taught them how to say different words in English, like "flag" and "home economics room." (I didn't choose these, believe me.)

Afterwards, the students quizzed me on kanji compounds, which ended up completely opposite of what they expected. Once they realized I could write kanji, the students asked me why I could write characters that neatly, and the teacher mocked the kids, joking that they needed to step up their game if they wanted to write better than me. (Haha...) The teacher asked me to write what other kanji I knew, so I stayed on the safe side and wrote 道 (road) and 花 (flower). My kanji's now hanging on the blackboard with the other students' work. Yes!

We then played games similar to American ones, like musical chairs (known as いすとり) and a game called ハンカチおとす, which is played like "Duck, Duck, Goose" but with a dropped handkerchief instead of a tap on the head.

After a jan-ken-pon tournament, the students presented me with a construction-paper-and-string book with photos of and messages from each of the 35 students and the classroom teacher. 嬉しい！

Next came my presentation of American and Hoosier memorabilia. I passed around postcards of Indiana and Indianapolis and showed the students one of the 2009 Indianapolis 500 checkered flags I had brought as a possible gift. One of the kids got so excited when I talked about race cars, he yelled "それ、大好き！" (I love that!) I then used the leftover change I had from the Chicago airport back in May to show the students what American money looks like, explaining about George Washington and Abe Lincoln (in Japanese, YES!) and how some American quarters have pictures of each state on the back. Good analogy: The teacher compared the quarters to if, say, Tokyo, Kyoto and Sapporo each had its own quarter. Something to ponder.

While the other students served lunch, Jordan, Emma and I were given a tour of the three-story school by the students themselves. Science rooms, computer labs, library, art room, even the girls' bathroom... My class's teacher was trying to get the students to use keigo with me, but he eventually gave up and talked to me about American school systems instead.

By the time we returned to the classroom, food had been served - bread, teriyaki chicken, daikon (radish) salad and milk. I ate at the same table as the students (just sat in a bigger chair) and talked to them about their hobbies and what they wanted to be when they grew up. I got answers like yakuza, bakery shop owner and pro swimmer.

After lunch had been cleaned up, we said goodbye. However, this was the longest goodbye I think I've ever done. After each student shook my hand, they built a tunnel with their hands and as I ran through it, they ran to the end to keep it going. Once we reached the hallway, they shook hands with me again and started a round of high fives. Even after I returned to the principal's office, they kept yelling "BYE BYE!" It seems Jordan and Emma got the same treatment, as the students kept shaking their hands and popping into the office to say bye.

Another highlight:

Student (to the principal): かっこい人は？(What about the cool person?)

Principal: まだ来てない。(He hasn't come yet.)

Later I realized they were talking about Jordan. :P

Or two:

Student: いくつ、今？17? 18? (How old are you now?)

Me: 21.

Student: へ？！じゃあ、結婚してるの？(Eh?! Then, are you married?)　

Needless to say, the school plans to have exchange students come back in the near future, and because Emma has another 3 months in Sapporo, she might get to return before she heads home.

As we walked to find a taxi, the students followed us out of the building and kept yelling, "Bye bye!" It's hard to not feel happy after an experience like this, and easy to remember their words as we left:

"忘れないで！" (Don't forget about us!)

BLOG SOUNDTRACK: Lady GaGa "Speechless"

CULTURAL FESTIVAL

Tsubakihara-sensei accompanied us by bus to the Hokkaido International Women's Association's Japanese cultural festival (created mainly for foreigners to understand the basics of traditional Japanese culture), with a stop at Starbucks in Odori along the way to warm up. We (Jack, Maureen, Ashley, Emma, Jordan and I) were excused from our regular Monday language classes for this event, which was recommended by Yuriya-sensei.

Entering the main room in the Kaderu Building downtown, I saw that Yuriya-sensei had already distributed posters about our Christmas-themed poetry reading next week. Maybe we'll have a bigger audience after all.

Our first station: the tea ceremony. This was the third or fourth time I've done it, but because of such long lines of other students waiting behind us, we barely had enough time to be served okashi (Japanese-style sweets) and wipe the sides of our tea cups.

Second station: kimonos. Although I had worn yukata before for the Yosakoi Soran festival, this was my first time around the much heavier, more complicated and expensive version. It took three volunteers to dress each one of us, and once they realized we were learning Japanese, they fawned over our Japanese language skills. ”ああ、上手ですね！頑張って下さい！”
Kimono were limited due to the overwhelming number of people who showed up, so just like the tea ceremony we were pushed in and out quickly.

Third station: Makeup and hair. This surprised me. After fitting into our kimono, four staff members with portable makeup cases matched our makeup with our kimono colors and then styled our hair - the best they could, anyway. My makeup artist asked me if odango (buns) were okay, and I immediately thought of Sailor Moon's hair. What she meant was one bun on the back of my head.

                the kimono all the girls wanted to try on

                 with my hair stylist

                 Jack trying on a man's kimono

the back views of the kimono were gorgeous - like Emma's more traditional bow (above) and Ash's flower-like bow (below)

ONE CRAZY DAY

AKA How I miraculously attended the sold-out Arashi concert

Sometimes life takes such a surreal turn. It's 2 a.m. here, but the fact that I was standing in the barely-above freezing rain only twelve hours ago, preparing for a lonely-ish night in my apartment studying (yes, on a Saturday) and watching more J-dramas, still doesn't register.

My story begins with this morning, when I decided to take a bus down to Sapporo Dome to take photos of any Arashi signs for the concerts tonight (Saturday) and tomorrow afternoon as part of their 5 x 10 Anniversary Tour. For those not "in-the-know" about Johnny's Entertainment groups, you have to first be part of the group's fan club, then you have to queue for tickets months in advance. I had heard from other Arashi fans and bloggers that because this year's 5-dome tour was both high in demand and high in nostalgia, tickets were given out first to "Johnny's veterans" and fans who had supported them for years.

Basically, Japanese pop-crazed foreign exchange students like me are left out.

After walking inside the outer ring of the stadium around 1 p.m. (5 hours before the concert), I noticed several teenage girls walking around, Arashi 5x10 Anniversary Tour ecobags in hand and homemade MatsuJun and Ohno baseball caps on their heads. I turned a corner and followed the line of (clearly) Arashi fans to see where they bought them. If security had asked me for my ticket, I could have easily pulled the "I'm a foreigner" card and pretended like I didn't know. Because I didn't. If I had, I would've realized that anyone can come before the show at a designated time and buy tour goods, not just ticketholders.

I think I should mention the weather at this point. It poured nonstop from the time I woke up until about 6 p.m. Add in temps at a barely-thawable 6 degrees Celsius. Now imagine standing in line behind about 3,000 people - I'm serious - in a parking lot outside Sapporo Dome (the only place big enough to hold everybody, I guess).

FIRST GLANCE: When I first got in line for tour goods. You can't even see the goods tent from here.


AN HOUR LATER: If you look to the right, behind the two black umbrellas and clump of trees, you can see the goods tent. The tent in the middle? Unused rest stop #1. The tent on the left (about 1/3 into the picture)? Rest stop #2, used mostly by children and some older middle-aged fans.


EVENTUAL JOY: Almost exactly three hours after I first step in line, I am able to see the goods table. Unfortunately, without my glasses I still couldn't see what was for sale for another 20 minutes.

About three hours later, long after I'd lost all feeling in my toes and had a frozen death-grip on my umbrella handle, I made it to the goods area. Prices were decent, cheaper than the Britney Spears or NSYNC concerts I went to back in middle school. Posters for 800 yen, large uchiwa (fans) for 500 yen and small uchiwa for 300 yen, clear file folders for 500 yen... A red anniversary-themed towel (which I noticed one woman use to dry herself off once she returned to the dome) cost the most at 3500 yen. Although fans had to wait in line for each item separately, the goods-getting system seemed efficient.

My items:

5X10 Anniversary Tour T-Shirt - 2500 yen

the same design Arashi wore during this summer's concert at the National Stadium in Tokyo

5x10 Anniversary Tour Pamphlet - 2000 yen

more like a 112-page glossy book than a pamphlet, with individual shots and recaps of all previous concert tours, including Korea, Taipei and Shanghai

5X10 Anniversary Tour Uchiwa (Large) - 500 yen/each

Sho, Nino and MatsuJun (plus photo of MatsuJun uchiwa back)

5X10 Anniversary Tour Ecobag - 1000 yen

tan canvas eco-friendly tote bag with the tour logo in red and blue letters

Total: 7000 yen (roughly $70)

I almost sacrificed my toes for 17 minutes of fangirl possessions. Yet I was on such a high after buying my Arashi goods, I headed back to the dome's warmth, ready to go home. That is, until all the fans were directed out of the dome and in formation to enter once the doors opened at 4 p.m. I saw the foggy collage of thousands of umbrellas herald the ticket-holding crowd I envied, and for some reason I chose to stand outside in the rain once again, just to people watch. This 90-percent female crowd loves Arashi as much as I do, and I got a thrill out of the newcomers pointing at my Sho and Nino fans (which were too big to fit in my standard-sized purse) and asking where to get them.

This flow of people continued for almost two hours.

Certainly, I had my selfish reasons for staying. I hoped someone would just happen to have an extra ticket they could sell. For a sold-out show in an arena with more than a 40,000-person capacity, at least one person had to cancel or come down with the flu or something. Well, so I thought, until I felt bad for wishing that someone would get sick - what if it was H1N1?? - so I began hoping something more positive, like someone who had a ticket and then decided they didn't really want to go after all. If it was their own decision, then I wouldn't feel so guilty about envisioning it.

And so I stood near the west gate, watching other people meet up and exchange tickets from online auctions on sites like Yahoo! Japan. (I had looked at those earlier this week, but some of the Japanese business transaction terminology confused me, so I chose to stay out of it.) I was envious, cold, hungry, and somehow still hopeful. I hoped I could hold out until 6 p.m., when the show began, and if I hadn't found a ticket by then, I would go home and try again Sunday morning.

Ten minutes before Arashi was scheduled to appear onstage, a girl about my age was wandering around my gate frantically with an older woman, going up to people and asking them something. I saw each of them tell her "no," but I had no idea what she asked. Then she looked at me a couple times, probably because I'm a foreigner, then asked me if I was going in. I replied that I didn't have a ticket. She asked if I wanted to buy one from her because her friend ended up not coming at the last minute, and I was like, "Hallelujah!" If only I knew how to say that in Japanese, of course.

Her face lit up and she called her mother over, yelling "I found someone! I found someone!" She pulled out the official Johnny's ticket envelope and, while escorting me over to the north gate, asked me which seat I wanted to buy and sold it to me for 7000 yen, the same price everyone else paid for theirs. No scalping price, no added interest because it was the day of. Because she was with her mother, I trusted her more than some random guy selling tickets like in America. (Another difference - there were no scalpers at the dome, no annoying guys trying to sell tickets for inflated prices. How refreshing.)

After I thanked her four times, maybe more, for the ticket, we separated ways and I went through ticket and bag check in record time. Turns out my seats were up in the nosebleeds, but I didn't care. Twenty minutes earlier, I had been standing out in the drizzle, ready to give up. Now I was in the Sapporo Dome with 41,000 other Arashi fans. Surreal. My night had completely changed.

About 20 minutes after 6, the screen started a flashback video of Arashi's ten years, and then Ohno came onstage and introduced the rest of the group. I can't summarize all 30-40 songs they sang as part of medleys, full-out songs or solos, but it was amazing. Instead of individual solos they've recorded before, they performed solo versions of various group songs. (Dang it. I was hoping for a Nino solo of "Niji" or "Kako.")

SOLO SONGS:

Aiba - "A Day in the Life"

Nino - "Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono" (played guitar :P)

Ohno - "Kumori Nochi Kaisei" (in his outfit from "Onii-san no Uta" :P)

Sho - "Tomadoinagara" (in a sequined, bright green sweatsuit)

MatsuJun - jazz rendition of "Wish" (wearing 1930's-inspired outfit - think suspenders and beige trousers - with NY skyline background)

I will try to list all the songs I know they performed, but I'll miss a few, and they won't be in order. Sorry, my memory isn't that great.

Opening - Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi (Ohno lead-in)

2nd song - Lucky Man

Crazy Moon/Kimi wa Muteki

Kaze no Mukou e

truth

Jidai

Kimi no tame ni boku ga iru

We can make it!

Love so sweet

Aozora Pedal

Tomadoinagara

Typhoon Generation

HORIZON

Sunrise Nippon

Step and Go

Hero

PIKANCH

Hitomi no Naka no Galaxy

Sakura Sake

Everything

Happiness

Believe

Oh Yeah!

Carnival Night

Kitto Daijoubu

WISH

A RA SHI

Nice Na Kokoro Iki

Ashita no Kioku (with backdrop of each member's baby photos, just as in the Tokyo concert)

final song - 5x10

ENCORE #1:

PIKA**NCHI Double

Beautiful Days (I think it goes here)

One Love

ENCORE #2:

Fight Song

(another song goes here)

final song - My Girl (first time performed in concert, not yet released at the time of the summer concerts)

HIGHLIGHTS:

+MatsuJun taking control of the cameras on the rolling cars and making faces in the screens

+Sho continuing to rap even though the sound system went out for a few seconds

+The entire dome and stage turning into a planetarium for "Hitomi no Naka no Galaxy"

+Singing the "C-A, R-N-I, V-A-L, NIGHT!" in "Carnival Night 2"

+Audience and Sho singing the "A Day in Our Life" rap together over and over

+Ohno's remarks: "I'd heard Sapporo was cold...And it really is."

+Nino's remarks: "We appreciate you all being there for us. This year too, we'll work hard. With my movie, Jun and Sho and Aiba's dramas, and Ohno's... well, we'll work hard next year, too."

+MatsuJun walking around the floor audience

+Arashi changing the words to The Fight Song, and Nino laughing so hard he couldn't sing his lines

ONSTAGE CONVERSATION: Sho asked everyone in the audience to sit down, and Arashi begins to have a conversation similar to their talks on their numerous television shows. First, Sho talked about how they haven't been to Hokkaido since their Dream-A-Live Tour stop in July 2008. Then MatsuJun pointed out the fans in the highest seats (the creme-de-la-creme of the nosebleed section next to me), to which Sho asked, "Aren't you scared?" (Sho's had some hilarious moments with his fear of heights.) He then asked us near the top who was scared and who wasn't, to which I raised my hand for the first to make him feel better. Haha... Then they began recapping their events on Challenge Week (Oct. 25-Nov. 1) and making fun of each other's mistakes during the live broadcast. Apparently, Ohno bowed too quickly at the end and, looking up with a confused face, paused too long before bowing again with the rest of the group.

Eventually, Sho shamelessly plugged his new show in January, asking the other members if he could have more time to elaborate.

Aiba's response: You only get 40 seconds!

Sho: Um, I need to go to the bathroom. Do we have enough time? (gestures hand above his head in a way I didn't understand, then rushes offstage)

Aiba and Ohno then talked briefly about finishing up filming for their respective dramas, and Jun seriously plugged his new drama next spring, which (if I'm right) he went to Shanghai to film.

Aiba: How was Shanghai?

Jun: Well, when I was there, everyone looked at me and said, "Ohno! Ohno!" No one knew it was me! (something along those lines)

The group conversation then finished, as Aiba yelled "Sakurai Sho, c'mon!" and the members went offstage to "look" for Sho. And so the concert continued with Sho's solo version of "Tomadoinagara."

And yes, if you read the song listing I made, you'll see that there were two encores. The first one was expected, especially because they hadn't yet sung their signature song, "One Love," but after that finished, the sound system automatically came on and some people began packing. Then we heard Nino and MatsuJun's voices and saw the stage lights dim again, and we're all "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

We hoped for encore number three, even though MatsuJun had said "My Girl" was really the last song they would sing, so when one of the staff members with a voice strikingly similar to Nino's came on the PA to announce exits for bus and the subway station, everyone tensed for a moment, then sighed in disappointment. Imagine 40,000 disappointed sighs. You could distinctly hear it.

After the 3-hour, 15-minute concert, I met up again with the girl who had sold me my ticket. Turns out she had just flown in from Tokyo for this concert (like many others, judging from their rolling luggage and Sapporo Chitose tags) because it was impossible for her to get a ticket for the Tokyo Dome concerts in early December. Her friend ended up not coming, but she had just gotten into Sapporo this evening thanks to a delay and almost missed the concert herself. We talked about food, Japanese language and, of course, our favorite Arashi members. (Her fave's Nino.) Then we separated again to go home.

It's those friendships you make through mutual fandom that are the most exciting to me. You share these experiences with each other, usually because your friends aren't interested in the same music or books or entertainment as you, and even though you may never see each other again, you connected for a few minutes.

Well, in most cases it's a positive relationship, but also thanks to my fellow Arashi fans, a 25-minute walk home turned into two and a half hours. Only walking. No bus, no subway. I stopped by a couple of convenience stores on the way home to buy some food. I've never seen a Lawson or 7-11 so crowded, even at 11:30 p.m. on a Saturday, but at least I wasn't the only one buying dinner covered in Arashi memorabilia.

BLOG SOUNDTRACK: Arashi - LIFE