Para Para kinda...

Despite my best attempts I couldn't get my friend to learn Para Para steps. He was amazed at how I could do it. I practiced really hard but then I realized that it's something that you encounter at almost all J-pop concerts. For access there are certain dance moves for some songs. I.E. Moonshine Dance, Lyin' Eyes, Look-a-head, and against the rules. Just to name a few. These steps come about usually to mimic the singer/performer. Many of these moves are made by the fans. I believe in the case of Look-a-head the cross over hand motion is fan made during the chorus. The standard move for a song if there is no moves is the "arm pump" I don't know what it's called. The whole audience in unison does this move. I also was able to help convert someone to access again. It's not hard to do though because DA and Hiro are awesome so it just takes a little push. ^_^

Miss me already?

My friend came from Japan to Vegas. We had a lot of fun. It has also been a busy week so far. My allergies are in high gear right now so it hurts to blink.

In more frightening news, Daisuke has his driver's license now. The roads of Japan are no longer safe for people. *laughs* In all honesty though he's probably a better driver than most people here. I say this because driver's tests in Japan are a lot more strict than here. The roads are a lot more dangerous in Japan because of size. Most people complain when they see a two lane road. Or on some of the "smaller" streets they say "This street is too narrow! It's dangerous!" what they don't know is that Japan's roads are half the width of ours here in America. A typical Japanese residential street has just enough space for one care to pass through. If another car is coming the other direction they play chicken and squeeze by each other before getting out of the way. When my friend's wife was in the car with me she commented that American roads were so big, and couldn't believe that people were allowed to park on the street. I asked if that was not allowed in Japan. (all the times I've been there I've never payed attention to that simple fact) she said "absolutely not!" I remember reading about how if a person did not have proof of a place to park their car, then they would not be allowed to register it or get insurance. So it doesn't surprise me to hear that parking on the roads is prohibited.

... I wonder if Hiro will let Daichan drive his car?

Lasik Surgery?

Apparently according to Hiro's (access's singer Hiroyuki Takami) blog he just had Laisk surgery. A lot of my friends on Mixi (A Japanese blog site) seem to be freaking out about it. One has to admit that being "put under" then having people use a laser to fix your eye doesn't sound all that safe but, statistically there are far more successes than failures. No surgery is 100% safe of course but in the grand scheme of things it was probably better for him. He complained of deteriorating sight. So he did something about it. I'm proud of him.

Home remedies

I've been sick the past few days and so has a friend of mine and we were talking about what to do when you can't keep food down. In America when a person is sick we usually recommend chicken noodle soup or broth. Japan has similar practices as well. For instance "お茶漬け" (ochazuke) It is rice that has had tea poured over it. Some people use hot water or a broth as well. It's a very light dish and is easy to swallow. Just like chicken noodle soup you can find that there are people who like it even when they are not sick. Corn soup and Miso soup are often recommended as well. (Though I'm sure there are some people who swear that Miso can cure cancer!) As in America many Japanese people drink orange juice and tea when sick. (Though Japanese consume more green tea than black or herbal teas)

access tour 08'

No theme for the tour yet but here are the dates!

ACCESS SUMMER 2008 TOUR

7/12 - Saitama - Pastel Kazo 6800 yen (doors open at 5:00 live starts at 5:30)
7/17, 7/18 - Tokyo - Nakano Sunplaza 6800 yen (doors open at 6:00 live starts at 6:30)
7/21 - Nagoya - Chuukyou University Culture Center 6800 yen (doors open at 5:00 live starts at 5:30)
7/25 - Osaka - Gran Cube Osaka 6800 yen (doors open at 6:00 live starts at 6:30)

a few things to keep in mind
6800 yen is about 68 dollars. A trick to remembering how much things are in dollar amounts is to drop of the last two numbers. Think of it as 100 yen to the dollar.

When a live start date is posted ALWAYS ADD 10 MINUTES. access NEVER starts their lives (concerts) on time.

"Live" means concert. In Japan when you say the word "concert" it brings up images of orchestras or band or opera not a pop music concert. This comes from the word "Live House" Once again because a "Concert Hall" is for non-pop music, Pop or Jazz or Rock concerts where held in bars or clubs or other places. These places were called "Live Houses" So people would say "Where is the Live House?" Meaning "Where would the group be performing?". It was eventually shortened to "Where is the live?". So today pop and rock concerts are referred to as "Lives" I believe that jazz has joined the ranks of classical music and is referred to as "concert" but I will double check on that.

Another note.
access plays at smaller "Live Houses" some of which are actually "concert halls" Some of Japan's most famous "Live Houses" are "Zepp Houses" Some people know of "Zepp Tokyo" I found (interestingly enough) that some people know of this name from the anime "Gravitation" Zepp Tokyo is a REAL place. There are Zepps scattered all over Japan. Zepp Tokyo, Zepp Osaka, Zepp Fukuoka, ,Zepp Nagoya, Zepp Sapporo and Zepp Sendai. Most "lives" at Zepp are standing room only because the places are relatively small and people stand up for the lives anyways. Many popular overseas artists perform at Zepp.

For more Zepp info check out there web page (Japanese only) http://www.zepp.co.jp/

School Info

Well for those who want to know more about the trip details here are a few things.

1. We will be leaving around 9:00 am on July 1st. From Las Vegas, NV.

2. We will be arriving in Narita Airport on July 2nd.

3. We will be attending ARC Academy in Shinjuku.

4. The dorms are not decided yet.

5. Access will be having a summer tour while we're there. WHO'S GOING? OH OH OH ME!

Hello to everyone!!!

This is Lala!

How are all of you?

Well this is my first post in is what to be a record of my trip to Japan. Until then I'll be spamming you with info about my favorite group "access" and details leading up to the trip and how you can help out!