may '23 wrap: osaka? osaka! etc.
some notes on our first time in japan + rest of may shenanigans
Hey there friend, thanks for opening! May has been crazy—in fact, this entire summer has been crazy, but in a good way. Of course, there’s still some TWICE involved here somewhere, but then this month, we were also able to go to the beach (finally!) and meet up with some friends after months of not seeing each other so—in all, a really good month! Some notes follow, thanks for indulging <3 -K
It rained throughout our very first weekend in Japan.
We were in Osaka for TWICE—and let me tell you, no one was more surprised than I was. When we got word that we actually managed to get tickets to Osaka Day 1 on Good Friday, we were beside ourselves in delight. After all, the Japan concerts are legendary—the venues are huge and the production is top-tier. They had elevated moving stages at Tokyo Dome for Dreamday for crying out loud.
The thing was: Neither of us has been to Japan before. When we received that email, we were like: Guess we’re going to Japan in May, then. This notice dropped just a few days ahead of the Seoul concerts—so we could only apply for our Japan visas after we have returned from that Korea trip. Yes, we cut it quite close (we were sick for a bit post-Korea so we were only able to apply exactly 14 working days before our flight—the concert was on the 13th, a Saturday, and we flew in the night before)—but as with everything about C, everything is just in time (drives my Capricorn self nuts but I swear her timing has never missed) and we were able to get our Visas the Saturday before the concert1. (How’s that for a close shave???)
Apart from the Visa preps, we also had to cram our Osaka game plan—I had chosen a hella small business inn that’s walking distance from the Yanmar Stadium, so that was fine. Living within walking radius has always served as well—we always liked not being constrained by commute crowds. As expected, walking through Japan’s sidewalks was a pleasant experience, even late at night, and even under the rain.
Also: Ah yes, the rain. We knew ahead that the weather forecast for Osaka on those two days was going to be wet and wild. We came with our raincoats and bought ourselves new umbrellas. Yes: It rained throughout the Osaka concerts—most especially on Day 1!
So yes, the girls had to dance under the rain. Before a sold-out stadium full of fans drenched in their own raincoats both on the VIP floor and at the stands (we were at the stands, thankfully underneath some kind of roof, but everywhere else was drenched anyhow because the rains were hard, man).
I wish I had more photos and videos—Japan concerts are pretty strict when it comes to recording, so it’s really thanks to brave souls that we are able to get any clips at all. I was able to take a few photos, but many of my core memories from Osaka D1 were really between me, my binoculars, TWICE and God lmao.
The set was more or less the same as the ones in Seoul and Australia—with the exception of the encore songs (Japan concerts have Japan songs for encore) and “Blame it On Me” (which was in the Seoul set list but not in the Australia and Japan set lists)—heartbreaking, considering that Blame it On Me is such a powerful song that would really have sounded great in a stadium! (Understandable though, given how difficult it must be to sing back to back with Queen of Hearts.)
In keeping with tradition, the girls also went around on carts. With their latest Japanese single “Hare Hare2” (ironically, “good weather” in Japanese) dropping a day before the concert, it was expected that the girls would perform it somehow—and they did, atop the carts, underneath their umbrellas on that rainy Osaka night. They played two more songs while going around: Happy Happy3 and Candy Pop. For the Day 1 encore, they played three Japanese tracks: Celebrate, Pink Lemonade (!!! rare crowd favorite) and Perfect World. In all: 32 songs4. The finale “Talk that Talk” was supposed to be accompanied by fireworks, but given the rains the effect was quite muted (full impact realized in the Tokyo5 leg, where the weather was better).
At the end of it, we were hungry and tired and drenched—but yeah, we did it again anyway for Day 2 (because as C’s luck would have it, she was also able to secure Day 2 tickets when we were already in Osaka via the ticket trading platform6—clutch luck is clutch?? I will never question it ever).
Osaka Day 2 weather was noticeably more pleasant. At some point in the show, the sun even started shining—nearing the end actually, around the title track medley. Still, it was a blessing, and the girls really perked up witnessing the sun coming out of the clouds. So yeah, that’s a win.
Since we spent the weekend at the concerts, that means we had little to no time to go exploring elsewhere in Osaka, as we were flying out Monday afternoon. We spent lunch time at Dotonbori, taking the requisite Glico man photos and eating at this really good katsu place, before taking the train to the airport. It was HOT. Of all days for the sun to come out, and it had to be on the day we were set to fly out haha. Well, this assures one thing: We’ll definitely be back, and on a less tight schedule! :)
Anyway! More personal notes for the rest of May:
Mark and his fam went home from the US for the first time since the pandemic! That means we were finally able to meet his daughter Tahmina (a pandemic baby) for the first time ever ever ever. WHAT A CUTIE. Also, she’s a big cutie. She likes going on strolls at the mall and riding the escalator, for some reason. And Krispy Kreme donuts. So so glad they could finally take a long-haul trip—she also met her coterie of lolos and lolas for the first time! <3
Caught up with the Jowas for belated birthday treats! Our busy scheds delayed this much-awaited reunion, which finally happened over food and dessert and pasalubong <3
Beach with the Angels to close out the month of May! We were initially worried about the Supertyphoon Betty forecast for that weekend, but thankfully, apart from scattered rainshowers, we were able to enjoy this trip overall: Sea until sunset, drinking through dinner until midnight. Ayos :) The Henry Laiya is a pretty good spot! :)
And some reads:
That Dianna Agron Rolling Stone interview where she talks about her latest projects, directing, playing roles that she likes… and that one throwaway answer to a Taylor Swift question.
This AO3 fic updated after eight years and we are all tearing up with joy.
This brief drive-by thread re: Mother’s Day.
Charlie Warzel on how AI will come for your job on The Atlantic (clue: Instead of being replaced by robots, office workers will soon be pressured to act more like robots themselves.)
The Fanfic Sex Trope That Caught a Plundering AI Red-Handed via The Wired
Every Buffy episode ranked from worst to best via Rolling Stone, as the Buffy series finale marks 20 years this year (what??? I know!)
“They came back wrong.” (thread)7
The first social-media babies are growing up—and they are horrified via The Atlantic
Bonus tool: If you ever encounter a paywall, this ladder is your friend: https://12ft.io/
Anyway—if you’ve reached this far, thank you as always! These monthly compilations are a bit hard to put together, especially now that we are spending more and more time outside of the house moving compared to when we were under pandemic-related lockdowns.
We’re now on everyday RTO—since mid-May, actually—and I have been reporting in-person five days a week, eight hours a day so yes, energy’s been quite stretched lately, and many times I come home only to nap immediately lol. But yeah, after several nights of sitting down to chip away at this update, here we now are. Thank you for making it this far, and I hope to see you in the next one still!
Stay healthy! XO,
K
We processed ours via Reli Tours at Dusit Thani. Here’s the latest list of requirements. We requested Reli to try to secure for us multiple entry Visas (for a fee) and we were granted 5-year MEs. This means it will be easier for us to go to TWICE Japan events than to TWICE Korea events, because at least I won’t have to apply for a Japanese Visa every single time.
Milestone achieved: Heard Mina’s Happy Happy bridge live, finally.
The Tokyo leg fireworks were amazing.
People who want to sell their tickets cannot sell directly person-to-person—they had to do it via a platform, which we religiously refreshed til kingdom come, until we were finally able to secure tickets.
My favorite find from the thread: https://twitter.com/jeffday/status/1660391274690625536