jaymee

I feel like Dir en grey has one more album up their sleeves... i hope anyway.
 
I feel like this will be some weird ambient instrumental stuff with random guest vocalist.

Well, I enjoyed his DeG penned songs (Hotarubi, Umbrella, Fukai, Raison d'etre) so we'll see what he is coming up with this project.

I could have lived without ever seeing that photo.
 
 

That's a lot! I'm sure you'll have a blast!
 
If a band will allow you to buy or reserve tickets in advance from overseas, I'd do that since day of tickets usually cost more (and you run the risk of them selling out).
 
Or if you know someone in Japan they could purchase them for you. If not, you can just purchase them all at once at a Loppi machine when you touch down.
 
As far as experiencing the night life, if you'll be by yourself, I recommend going to a "snack", which is a bar usually run by an older lady. There will probably be more older gentleman clientele than anything else, but many of them would be more than happy to sing karaoke with you there, buy you some drinks, and maybe take you to a few other local drinking spots in return for your company and some English practice. It might sound sketchy but it's not, and it'll make for some fun memories. Plus the snack will have reasonably priced drinks and different dishes of home cooked Japanese food to compliment them.
 
Edit: I'm not sure what kind of presents are "best". Bangya give anything from alcohol (cheap to expensive), jewelry, fan art/letters, cologne, bags, or whatever else they think the band might like (or talk about wanting on their social media). If there's any kind of food or snacks your home country is famous for (especially if they pair well with alcohol), I'm sure they'll appreciate it. I personally wouldn't bother buying anything too expensive and save your money for fun times when you get here. ^^

I'm still trying to convince him (cuz he'd have to take time off work for it which j-guys hate doing...) but for now I've booked a hotel just in case!
 
 
Lol in that case, I feel like being a mitsu has more perks and you'd probably get better pics. 
 
I didn't know so many of you (re: hiroki, frayed) were settled in the Northern Kyoto area. I'm in Shizuoka pref myself, and feel like it's a good in-between location-wise. No bands ever really tour here except BUCK-TICK (bless them) and occasionally Vidoll when they were still around.
 
 
I think frayed really summed it up what I would have said. To determine whether your train expenses would be more or less than the rail pass, I'd look up the cost of each longer trip you're planning on Hyperdia to compare. Hypermedia is pretty invaluable in general for just getting around. Expenses within the city shouldn't be that much, but if you plan on doing a lot of sightseeing, ask train staff or tourist information staff about intercity passes like hiroki suggested.
 
Which bands do you plan on seeing so far? I don't know a lot about where bandomen hang out. I imagine they all have their own regular spots.  If they're indies enough they might have after parties they'll invite fans to. In general, I think a lot of Tokyo tourists like going to Shinjuku Goldengai. But Tokyo (and other major cities) have lots of back alleys full of little casual drinking places (yokocho), so maybe just go exploring one night?
 
I also agree that it can be really worth it to talk to foreign bangya. I have more Japanese gya friends than Western gya, but Japanese gya friends tend to just get together for the event and maybe dinner before/after (because Japanese people tend to divide their friendships by interest/situation instead of making general "best friends" in the Western sense), so if you find a Western gya you get along with, you'll probably have more opportunities to hang out outside of just live-going. (Obviously there will be exceptions... one of my best Japanese friends is a former gya of some of the same bands I used to like.) I've made some really good Western gya friends at shows, but then last weekend I tried to chat up a foreign gya and she didn't seem too interested in carrying on a convo so it is what it is. Don't be discouraged though!
 
 
Yeah, if you have to pick a live, the tour final probably is the best as far as getting info/freebies/turnout goes. At a lot of the smaller live houses on a tour, the crowd interaction and set lists are generally better imho. You also have a better chance at getting saizen.
 
Has Shinjuku really gotten so cheap? I remember 10+ years ago Shinjuku being the last place I wanted to get stranded in because the hotels were so few and expensive. Ikebukuro used to be the cheapest, but I have no idea now, although I really love staying at Ikebukuro DICE internet cafe sometimes since they provide free towels/showers, and the shower room is really nice... Almost like a hotel. Also if you are going long distance/ensei-ing and you don't want to pay for a hotel, if you book a return bus back that night after the live you can save yourself a good wad of cash.
 
Do you buy them serious gifts? I remember when I still bought band gifts it was mostly those little boxes of alcohol or other silly gag gifts that we'd plaster some purikura we took before the show all over. (Is putting your purikura on gifts even still a thing? IDEK now.) Once one a band member was complaining about another band member he was rooming with locking him out so he could watch some porn, so a couple of us pitched in gave him a booze/porn package of his own.
 

This almost exactly.
 
Gauze was maybe the first VK album I heard and I fell hard for it. It is still one of my fave albums after all these years.
 
Songs like Cage and Yokan are un-fuck-with-able in my book (not to mention Kyo was so dreamy in the Yokan video).

I tend to only go to final lives of tours in Tokyo, you get sneak peeks of the next release & information on the band's next tour's. I don't use my drink token 🙊 & I tend to only buy towels & cheki, & then when I get back to my home country I stick what I can & other pictures in my concerts scarpbook 😂 
 
For accommodation my favourite hotel in Tokyo is actually located within the red light district of Shinjuku & I usually stay 1 week in Tokyo which costs me $1000 & then another week in either Hiroshima, Kyoto or Osaka. I could stay with friend's or in a hostel to save money but my friend's parent's are all strict so I'd have a curfew 😒 & in hostels you have to share rooms & bathrooms 2 things I absolutely HATE to share so hotel's are a MUST for me.
 
Making friend's at concerts is something I don't do (I'm anti-social I know) if I don't know you I won't speak to you till I'm spoken to 🙊I also find doing the furi to songs extremely embarrassing plus I'm tall, so I stand up the back, I've only ever stood up the front & done furi once in my life because it was the first time I was seeing my favourite band. But I have to say Pentagon fan's are really friendly & they try to get you to participate in everything 👌
 
I LOVE giving gifts to the band so I'll buy a gift for each member (I feel mean only getting gifts for certain members) & sometimes the staff each trip 🙊🙊& I do spend a little bit more on my favourite members but yolo.

How exciting! I hope you have a blast when you go!
 
I'd say compare prices between hostels and airbnbs and see which suits you more in terms of what you're looking for. Generally speaking, this could just be me, but I've had better experiences at hostels than same-priced airbnbs. But could just be my luck of the draw. As for if the Japan Rail Pass is worth it, it really depends on how much you're traveling and how convenient you want that travel to be. I have a friend who's going all over Japan on hers, so it's definitely worth the investment on her end. Like I said above, I'm also going to be going to Hokkaido to see a band plus take a look around, so I can't say from experience that it's worth it but I'm super excited to do it. Like I said, when it comes to gya even a little Japanese can go a long way, and while it depends on the person you're talking to, they generally seem to appreciate when you try, you know?
 
I know nothing about good bars/pubs, anyone got good advice on that?
 
(Also, please, don't be afraid to talk to other foreign fans. I've run into this weird vibe constantly where foreign fans just get really awkward about talking to each other, and it's just silly. If you want to talk to someone, just talk to them, worst thing that happens is you realize they're someone not worth talking to.)

I always get shy around Japanese fans/bangya, to the ridiculous point that yesterday I was next to this girl and she was alone and looked very friendly but the only interaction we ended up having is after the live, when we spent like 5 minutes apologizing to each other about accidentally bumping our heads while moshing. D:
Maybe spending 6 hours on a bus with people could be more beneficial for that purpose. Or seizing the moment and actually TALKING to people. I think that would be my tip - don't be me, talk to people, they all seem so nice!
 
Anyway I'm spoiled so I always find a way to get home the same day - the furthest I've traveled so far for a live was from Tokyo to Ibaraki.

North-wise of Kyoto if that helps at all with placing me, haha. It's a bit less than that, but 13,000 yen one way is still more than I can really stomach.  I'd agree about Willer's comfort levels too, just if you're tall with long legs like me, try and get aisle seats when you can. 
 
Also seconding that about Japanese bangya. Like any fans of course there's some that aren't so pleasant, but I've found 90% of the time they're super sweet and eager to talk to you once they realize you know some Japanese. I've made some amazing friends that way. The scene's fun, but it's even more fun when you can make friends to enjoy it with imho. It's also a great way if you're learning Japanese to really test how far your language skills can carry you!
 
Definitely do it! I really wanted to go to Fukuoka but my work schedule just wasn't having it, but I'm happier with the way things panned out with Sapporo anyway. 

approx 80% of lives i've been to were in osaka cos i lived in northern kyoto, and most bands (even established ones) tend to skip over kyoto on their tours orz. i wouldn't exactly consider kyoto-osaka ensei cos it's only a 30-40 min ride each way and i've always enjoyed inter-city train rides.
 
OP mentioned seishun18 ticket which is an excellent way of travelling between major cities if you're on a budget & have a lot of time to spare! my record was kyoto -> osaka -> himeji -> okayama -> hiroshima to see blesscode, which took 8 hours + 5-6 transfers iirc, but the savings were significant. otherwise whenever i go outside of kansai for lives, buses (either day buses or overnight) are almost always my preferred choice of transport. the only exception to this was flying to hokkaido to see some sapporo bands cos they don't ever play outside of hokkaido haha. i def recommend not ruling out this option because it's cheaper than before with even more budget domestic flights these days. also never forget to do some research in advance because usually there are tons of day passes for intra-city buses/train/etc, as well as other deals designed for tourists or people on short trips (the irony is that most of the time few are aware of this other than people living IN the city).
 
i can't remember when the last time was i've taken a shinkansen - it's just ridiculously expensive as far as i'm concerned. i'd rather have a slightly less comfortable ride and use the extra money to buy merch and cheki lolol - but that's just me.
 
on the topic of chekis... i think of it as just a way of giving money to the band short of getting their bank account number and transferring money over. most bangya probably buy these with full knowledge that they have absolutely zero use-value once you agaru.
 
 

Best thread of the week. I needed this.
 
I just booked my first trip to Japan and I'm going sort of alone. I will be doing all the usual tourist stuff with a cousin and his girlfriend, but bangya-wise I'm on my own.
Any tips?
 
Is it better to look for a hostel or an airbnb? Is it better to buy the JRP for two weeks or buy bus/train tickets separately? If I can afford it, is it worth it going all the way to Hokkaido for a couple of days to see a band play and look around? Are japanese gyas nice-ish to people who can't really speak their language much? Are there any good pubs or bars to meet fans and/or have a laugh at drunken bandomen? XD
I'll be there from mid June until the second week of July. 

10 hours? That almost sounds like being close to Hiroshima or northern Honshu! That does sound pretty brutal on a regular basis, but I imagine the shinkansen one way is like 20,000 yen in comparison, yeah?
 
Since only one or two companies might do all the highway bus routes from more rural areas, that's a really good tip about the Willer bus pass or a bus pass from whatever company you use the most.  IMHO Willer has the most comfortable seats out of all the companies I've ever used. D:
 
When I lived in Tokyo and bused to Osaka or Nagoya, I'd often be on a bus with a bunch of other bangya doing the same, which was a cool way to make friends. I think sometimes people get shy about approaching Japanese bangya, but usually they're pretty nice about it, especially if the person you chat up has also come by themselves. Then you'll have a friend next time you go, or they can introduce you to other fans. Beyond trading, it's helped me get saizen a few times, better ticket numbers, or limited tour goods when I couldn't come in time to make the buppan start time.
 
I think that's a good way to do it. I planned a trip to Niigata that way once. I'm thinking about doing it for a summer live in Fukuoka. Might be a good little weekend trip for my husband and I, and then one night he can go explore the pubs while I go to the live if he doesn't feel like going.
 

Thanks! I figure there must be a few old school fans still around. ^^

Welcome! I'm sure you'll find a lot of users that share your taste in music!
 
What kind of vaporware do you like? I recently started listening to more of it and I'm always up for recommendations. ^^

Haha, definitely if you have the Japan Rail Pass go for it!
 
After your trip, if you have any thing you were glad you did/would have done differently re: touring, be sure to update!

I’ve been lurking for quite a while but finally decided to make an account. I just hope that I’ll actually get around to posting, I’m pretty shy.
 
I’ve been listening to VKei for over a decade (eleven years, to be technical), but my tastes as of late seemed to have jumped into a time machine; I used to be very diligent about keeping up with new or modern bands, but over the last couple years or so, I’ve been backtracking into more ~*old school*~ artists and I have a hard time keeping up with everything going on now. Which isn’t necessarily bad, I love what I listen to, but I’m hoping to find new stuff and expand my horizons yay etc. I found out about DADAROMA and MORRIGAN, bands I'm loving, from lurking around here, so I'm hopeful. 
 
Off the top of my head, some stuff I dig: Malice Mizer (because of course), AMADEUS, CANARY, Eliphas Levi, RENTRER EN SOI, NOi’X, Sleep My Dear, L’eprica, sibilebashir, Grieva, Madeth Gray'll, MIRAGE, UnsraW (RIP my sons), Gallo, MORE, sukekiyo, etc.
 
Outside of that, I like a lot of Japanese indie (new and old), v a p o r w a v e, metalcore and djent, hip-hop, jrock in general… it’s a mixed bag. 
 
But yeah! I look forward to seeing you guys around and actually interacting. 

Welcome! I don't listen to any of those bands but I know people do so you'll be welcome!

What made it so bad? 
 
Welcome btw c:

From where I'm at, going to Tokyo can be a 4 hour shinkansen ride or a much cheaper 10 hour bus ride. I actually used to think I couldn't do Sunday things either, but since I don't love myself, I figured out a way around it: I would take the bus to a certain point, and then take a much cheaper train from there to get to work on time on Monday. This is basically hell and I recommend it to no one, but not only is it inexpensive, but it's actually way more handy since the trains back to my area actually end pretty early. I go to Tokyo more than I'd really like since a lot of the bands I actively follow are based there, so I opt for cheap hostels and deal with the shared bathroom space. They at least have private shower rooms so I'm content with that. For Tokyo travel, considering even the buses can rack up the $$ pretty quick, I just invest in the Willer Bus Pass since you don't have to be a tourist to get it and it's saved me a good chunk of cash.
 
I really prefer to go to Nagoya when I can though. The buses are plentiful, the ride's not nearly so long, and the price is super affordable. I love Osaka but for some reason there aren't really buses that go there even if it's about as far as Nagoya. Whatever.
 
I do buy the cheki but not as many as I did in the beginning; I'm usually happy with one pic per member, and I do re-visit the cheki a lot so it's worth it to me. Plus I like having the excuse to talk to the other fans when we trade them. T-shirts and the like are definitely great though. (... minus a certain band that does bonus fun stuff when you buy a certain amount of cheki but we don't need to get too far into that.)
 
I'm actually going to Sapporo for the first time for a band, but admittedly, I'm more just using the band as an excuse to go somewhere I've always wanted to visit anyway. That's kind of the way I usually plan my travel type stuff,  "Eh I wanna go check this place out anyway, might as well go to this live".

It's the first time in my trips that I'm following bands and I try to go to many lives as possible. I don't mind that my hostel/hotel/guesthouse isn't that comfortable because I have a scouting past so I'm used to sleeping on the ground and grass haha. I bought the Japan Rail Pass for the 3 weeks I follow them. It's good to read other experiences so I can learn for maybe next times! 

What points do you prioritize spending money on? Is it traveling or staying in comfort? Band merch? Or just hitting as many lives (of a certain band or during a specific time frame) as possible? Are you willing to travel as far as the band is performing (like Fukuoka or Hokkaido), or are you content with just hitting as many places around honshu or around your general vicinity? Do you have any favorite cheap travel recommendations for bigger cities?
 
In the past I would travel/stay/eat as cheaply as possible (which meant lots of overnight buses, hostels/manga cafes, and rice balls/instant noodles), and then buy as many tour goods I wanted that I could afford. Now that I'm older, I still travel cheaply, but I tend to use the Seishun18Kippu when I can and drive everywhere else. Shinkansen is a last resort... I've never attended a live outside of honshu, so I've never flown to see a show.
 
I like that I can get off at random stations with the Seishun18Kippu, explore and do a little sightseeing, and then get back on the train and go the rest of the way. Now I only buy tour goods I can use (or of a certain member) and then trade with other girls on Twitter for randoms (cheki/trading cards/stickers/rubber bracelets/etc.) Since I'm getting older and going to lives takes a lot more out of me, I tend to stay at a business hotel within walking distance to the live house (I hate having lots of stuff to carry at lives, worrying about getting a locker, and commuting before/after). What about you guys?
 
Also any tips you'd give newbies possibly going on their first live tour?
 
I guess one of my tips is that you can usually get much cheaper deals on business hotel singles if you book 40-70 days before, when the tour is first announced. Then if you end up deciding not to go or can't get a ticket, just cancel your reservation within the cancelation time frame, since at least 95% of hotels don't require you to pay upfront. That way you're covered no matter what you do. Tickets can usually be gotten last minute, but with hotels it can be much more difficult/way more expensive, especially in places like Osaka where there are fewer hotels compared to other larger cities.
 
 

What points do you prioritize spending money on? Is it traveling or staying in comfort? Band merch? Or just hitting as many lives (of a certain band or during a specific time frame) as possible? Are you willing to travel as far as the band is performing (like Fukuoka or Hokkaido), or are you content with just hitting as many places around honshu or around your general vicinity? Do you have any favorite cheap travel recommendations for bigger cities?
 
In the past I would travel/stay/eat as cheaply as possible (which meant lots of overnight buses, hostels/manga cafes, and rice balls/instant noodles), and then buy as many tour goods I wanted that I could afford. Now that I'm older, I still travel cheaply, but I tend to use the Seishun18Kippu when I can and drive everywhere else. Shinkansen is a last resort... I've never attended a live outside of honshu, so I've never flown to see a show.
 
I like that I can get off at random stations with the Seishun18Kippu, explore and do a little sightseeing, and then get back on the train and go the rest of the way. Now I only buy tour goods I can use (or of a certain member) and then trade with other girls on Twitter for randoms (cheki/trading cards/stickers/rubber bracelets/etc.) Since I'm getting older and going to lives takes a lot more out of me, I tend to stay at a business hotel within walking distance to the live house (I hate having lots of stuff to carry at lives, worrying about getting a locker, and commuting before/after). What about you guys?
 
Also any tips you'd give newbies possibly going on their first live tour?
 
I guess one of my tips is that you can usually get much cheaper deals on business hotel singles if you book 40-70 days before, when the tour is first announced. Then if you end up deciding not to go or can't get a ticket, just cancel your reservation within the cancelation time frame, since at least 95% of hotels don't require you to pay upfront. That way you're covered no matter what you do. Tickets can usually be gotten last minute, but with hotels it can be much more difficult/way more expensive, especially in places like Osaka where there are fewer hotels compared to other larger cities.
 
 

Good tips!   I agree, if you can stay with friends that will save you a lot. I forgot to mention that sometimes, depending on the area, Airbnb is much cheaper than staying in a hotel and usually better than a hostel. I use bushikaku a lot in general when going anywhere long distance by bus, so yeah def a good site.
 
I also agree about the cheki. You can always use a shirt, towel, or bracelets/jewelry at the next live, but the cheki (or back in my bangya days it was usually just photosets) I just ended up sticking somewhere and not caring much. (Same goes for pamphlets, unless it was a really memorable show.) The resell value for cheki and pamphlets are usually pretty bad for indie bands, too.
 
Hopefully your foot got better and you don't have any trouble enjoying lives now. 

back when i was bangya and had the time and money to travel for concerts i was still generally stuck on only being able to go on saturdays, since i lived in shimane and there was no way i could get back if it was a sunday. So basically i chose the dates that were on saturdays and went for it--I never went off of honshu mostly because of the time and money it would take to go somewhere outside of the hiroshima~tokyo area.
 
Depending on where I went determined my method of transportation. 
Tokyo: cheapest was overnight bus but because of foot swelling issues and the fact that it was 11hrs, etc etc I went for the second cheapest option which was flying Nagoya: before the foot swelling really happened I would bus there then shinkansen back. Eventually I stopped going to Nagoya. Hiroshima~Osaka: bus(es) As for accommodations I would generally go for the business hotel route too. Hostels would be cheaper but I dont want to share a room with strangers, basically. Also I wanted my own bathroom. 
 
After a while I would just stay with friends in whatever city I went to. And to be honest if I have any piece of advice it is that: stay with friends. Cutting out the cost of hotels/accommodations can make an otherwise expensive trip reasonable.
 
Eventually I moved to Osaka and stopped enseiing. I just went to lives there, which is still mostly true since I just go to metalcore and hardcore now instead of VK.
 
 
I would also recommend using sites like bushikaku.net to compare bus prices. 
Also: as an ex-bangya I regret how much money I spent on cheki before. they're useless. get a towel or something instead.