By Cecille Santillan-Visto
To watch a summer music festival in Japan was one thing I have been raring to tick off my travel bucket list. Three months ago, I finally did.
It was not the easiest of tasks and I needed help. My first attempt in 2014 to book a concert in Tokyo was a failure. Language was a problem and trying to decipher the online booking system was frustrating even with Google Translate.
This year, as soon as I learned that I had a scheduled trip to the Japanese capital in mid-August, right smack in the middle of the scorching summer, I strengthened my resolve to finally watch a concert — no matter what it took.
Luck was on my side as the first day of the two-day A-Nation Stadium Festival 2016 was to coincide with my Tokyo vacation. The festivities featured more than a dozen Japanese and Korean pop artists. Early on, I knew I would be spending a fortune but I couldn’t pass the opportunity to watch Korean pop icon, Big Bang, which headlined the opening day.
Aside from booking airline tickets and securing a visa, here are seven things to keep on hand and in mind for your summer sonic dreams in Japan to come true:
1. Book early. It was too late when I went on the A-Nation’s Web site to purchase the concert tickets — the concert was sold out by the time I received my trip confirmation. I had to rely on online resellers, who are akin to scalpers, but are reportedly generally trustworthy. I was informed by a Japanese colleague based in Manila that concert tickets are actually sold in convenience stores in Japan but if you are out of the country, the process is a bit more complicated. Dealing with resellers meant payment of a service fee of around P1,500 charged on top of the ticket price. For my arena ticket which brought me relatively near the stage (unlike the stadium stands), I paid around ¥13,000 or P6,000, inclusive of the fee. The same ticket was sold the A-Nation’s Web site for only around P4,500. Concert tickets in Manila can go for as much as P12,000 so even the inflated price was actually a bargain.
2. The assistance of a Japanese is necessary. A translator who can help ensure that the reseller is legitimate and assist in the booking, has a Japanese e-mail address, credit card, and an address in Japan where the ticket will be delivered is required. While the Sakura Hotel in Hatagaya was willing to receive my ticket, I decided to have it instead delivered to my friend’s home address, who in turn gave it to the hotel manager for safekeeping until my arrival.
3. Arrive at the venue ahead of time. Ajinomoto Stadium in Chofu is more than 30 minutes from central Tokyo by train. There were more than 50,000 concertgoers as eager as I was to watch so it was a wise decision to be there more than two hours early. With so many acts, the show started promptly at 3 p.m. and finished after more than five hours. I witnessed the unique kind of Japanese discipline at the beginning and at the event’s close. The audience members patiently waited in line. Going inside the stadium was a breeze but after the show, it took nearly two hours to get to the nearest subway station. I was worried about the possibility of a stampede but people left the venue in an orderly fashion.
4. Be Boy Scout-ready. I was armed with a few Japanese sentences that would help me find my way. I checked out the venue a day before the concert and already bought my train tickets to get back to the hotel after the concert. I ate before the show but limited my water intake as the lines to the toilet were long. I thought I had everything planned — until heavy rain got in the way. It was summer but there was a heavy downpour in Tokyo on concert day. I purchased an umbrella, only to find out it could not be used in the open-air stadium during the show. Raincoats were out of stock and I thought I was doomed to be soaked. After more than an hour of searching and walking several kilometers, I managed to buy a cap and a raincoat from a store selling merchandise of the Japanese football team, Arsenals. Prices were exorbitant but at least I kept myself relatively dry. As it was very cold and I was exposed to the elements for nearly six hours, I was subsequently sick for an entire month.
5. Have enough money to purchase official merchandise. Shirts and cheering towels retailed between P3,000 and P4,000. Official concert merchandise is limited and souvenirs are a must so I readily bought. Despite the price, fans endured the long lines to get hold of these expensive items.
6. Any form of recording is prohibited. Cameras are a bane to a fantastic concert experience, but for Pinoys it feels incomplete without the mandatory documentation. In Japan, as in Korea, camera and mobile phone recording is not allowed. If it couldn’t be helped, as in my case, the Japanese ushers were polite in reminding fans of the rules. I was guilty of taking a few snaps and videos for posterity. I traveled all the way to Japan for this and needed to have a bit of evidence at hand.
7. Make friends with fellow fans. Japanese fans are not only polite but they are also kind. One offered a huge plastic bag to keep my knapsack and my DSLR camera dry. Another gave me water and snacks, and yet another handed me a mid-sized blanket to combat the cold. Although they did not speak English and I understood no Nihongo, we were one in our love for music, and our favorite bands.
Watching a concert overseas is expensive and takes a considerable effort but it makes for a one-of-a-kind, perhaps once-in-a-lifetime, experience.
