Worldwide Handshake Event with H!P!

[Miss Moonlight]

[quote name='Shoujo Q' timestamp='1350556965' post='136022']

[quote name='rob' timestamp='1350536553' post='136014']

I'm presuming they were the only girls old enough to be allowed to go?

[/quote]



Erina is the same age as Ayumi, though born a few months apart. She has to stay behind to celebrate Risa's birthday. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... R#>/8o.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='8o' />

[/quote]

Are they far enough apart that Erina is still in middle school?

[Anderei]

I think so, since Ayumi was born in January and Eripon was born in July.

[Miss Moonlight]

That could be it... don't they have to attend middle school by law and that's it?

[Anderei]

I think so, because Reina dropped out after middle school right? Ayumi and Mizuki did an FC event early this year to celebrate starting high school though, so they're both still attending.

[Shoujo Q]

I'm going to stick with my Risa's Birthday theory. Because it's funnier.

[Shoujo Q]

Morning Musume in Taiwan!









And I guess this pretty much shows that Frances and Aiko are still H!P related?

[Pi Mako]

So creepy but I cannot stop staring at the difference in thickness between Mizuki and Haruna's thighs <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /wacko.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':wacko:' />

[Madara]

Who's the one in purple at the end on the right? She doesn't look familiar.

[BonkyuAsh]

Ayumi from 10th gen.

[Ap2000]

[quote name='Pi Miki' timestamp='1350652525' post='136073']



So creepy but I cannot stop staring at the difference in thickness between Mizuki and Haruna's thighs <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /wacko.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':wacko:' />

[/quote]



WHAT !?

[rob]

[quote name='Madara' timestamp='1350677563' post='136087']

Who's the one in purple at the end on the right? She doesn't look familiar.

[/quote]



Blue!

[Pi Mako]

[quote name='Ap2000' timestamp='1350682291' post='136094']

[quote name='Pi Miki' timestamp='1350652525' post='136073']



So creepy but I cannot stop staring at the difference in thickness between Mizuki and Haruna's thighs <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /wacko.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':wacko:' />

[/quote]



WHAT !?

[/quote]



LOL Haruna's legs are so skinny it's scary. Girl could benefit from a few added pounds.

[yuzuriha]

[quote name='Pi Miki' timestamp='1350733938' post='136109']

[quote name='Ap2000' timestamp='1350682291' post='136094']

[quote name='Pi Miki' timestamp='1350652525' post='136073']



So creepy but I cannot stop staring at the difference in thickness between Mizuki and Haruna's thighs <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /wacko.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':wacko:' />

[/quote]



WHAT !?

[/quote]



LOL Haruna's legs are so skinny it's scary. Girl could benefit from a few added pounds.

[/quote]



Reina's pretty much just as bad, though I suppose it's gotten better. I remember being terrified she was going to break watching her dance years back.

[aine]

Thanks for the photos masa! They do all look gorgeous and I'm very excited for the event in Paris.



We're all booked and confirmed to go with Berry, so we decided to do something crazy:



The Triple Birthday Project



Yeah, a shameless copy of the Zukki project, except times three. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... hahaha.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':hahaha:' /> The timing is just so convenient. We definitely had to do it for Mizuki who will be celebrating her birthday in Paris, but since the two other girls have their b-days basically within a week... <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... stling.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':whistling:' />



It's gonna be crazy tight for us next weekend, but I'm sure it's gonna be worth it. At least we're saving on shipping costs. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... umbsup.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[Madara]

[quote name='Shoujo Q' timestamp='1350645280' post='136067']

Morning Musume in Taiwan!









And I guess this pretty much shows that Frances and Aiko are still H!P related?

[/quote]



Does this mean those five will be the ones at the handshake event?

[AEUGNewtype]

[quote name='Madara' timestamp='1350860374' post='136151']

[quote name='Shoujo Q' timestamp='1350645280' post='136067']

Morning Musume in Taiwan!









And I guess this pretty much shows that Frances and Aiko are still H!P related?

[/quote]



Does this mean those five will be the ones at the handshake event?

[/quote]

I think they said it'll be different members for each appearance, so who knows.

[aine]

The H!P website lists the members attending each event and so far it's the same for all events.

[Shoujo Q]

South Korea or bust!

[yuzuriha]

MONING MUSUME

[rob]

[quote name='yuzuriha' timestamp='1350922745' post='136170']

MONING MUSUME

[/quote]



Kinda describes 50% of the fans on here

[YuuakuRisa]

[quote name='yuzuriha' timestamp='1350410796' post='135928']

I am loving those cute sparkly boots!

[/quote]



Me too, they were the first thing that caught my eye. It would have been awesome if they were used in concert. Didn't they have an different style 123 outfits with straight lines and a big sparkly bow?

[Anderei]

They had these for the summer concert:

[AEUGNewtype]

[quote name='yuzuriha' timestamp='1350922745' post='136170']

MONING MUSUME

[/quote]

I don't know if this was commenting on the way its spelled in Korean characters, but the way it is up on that ad, it would be more like MONING-GU MU-SU-MAE.



And that kinda blows if it ends up being all the same people at each event, especially for me, since I would only half-way give a shit about meeting one of those 5 members, but even less since I already met her a few years ago, so it wouldn't be worth my trouble even if they appeared down the street from me by some chance.

[yuzuriha]

No man, that's how it was romanized. I WISH I could read hangul. :(

[AEUGNewtype]

[quote name='yuzuriha' timestamp='1351192700' post='136357']

No man, that's how it was romanized. I WISH I could read hangul. :(

[/quote]

LOL, didn't even notice that, I only saw the Hangul.

[masa]

Morning Musume in France















And Kikka











Later

[Shoujo Q]

I knew Kikka would show up. I bet that was a nice surprise for some fans. :)

[star]

[quote name='Miss Moonlight' timestamp='1350591512' post='136043']

That could be it... don't they have to attend middle school by law and that's it?

[/quote]



Yes, that is true. I was reading Mineko Iwasaki's biography, and she noted that after the war, it was made a law that girls had to attend school through middle school. I only remember this because she also noted that she dropped out to focus on her dancing career.

[rob]

The system is the same as the UK, you can either go to High School at 16 or you can get a job.

[aine]

masa, you're magical, you posted better photos than mine even before we reached the hotel after the event. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... hahaha.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':hahaha:' />



I meant to post something much sooner, but internet at the hotel was agonizingly slow, and after coming back home we were just catching up on all the sleep lost when making the birthday albums... But here's my massively tl;dr, unedited, not proof-read, too much personal and too little factual account, for whatever it's worth!





The event was scheduled for 3 until 6 PM. Someone participating in the Birthday Project messaged Berry that they were going to start lining up at 8 AM, which we both agreed was a bit of an overkill, especially that we slept maybe 6 hours total in the last 3 days while making the bday albums. But it still got us a little nervous, so we pushed our plans forward and arrived at the scene around 11 AM. Unnecessarily from the practical point of view, since the handshake was guaranteed, but also just in time to get a decent place in the line.



There were maybe 30-40 people waiting when we arrived, and the number doubled within the next 30 minutes or so. It kept growing steadily pretty much until a bit past 2 PM. The wait was rather uneventful and we generally kept to ourselves with our French limited to "je ne parlez Francais". Berry put a little Blog!Project banner on her back, but it didn't get much reaction from the surrounding people. Our delusion of Internet fame got just a little crushed. We also amused ourselves trying to spot the people who submitted their photos for the Bday albums and actually did find a few. The conversations were nice if not a little awkward, but generally short as just about everyone was with their own circle of friends.



Around 2 PM tv crews and journalists started showing up and pumping the crowd up to record some cheers. They also interviewed some people. I don't know who they were filming for, because no apparently official material cropped up on yt yet. Anyway, with more and more official looking people gathering at the forefront of the line we knew the time was near. Every approaching unmarked van or tour bus was scrutinized very closely, and a couple of buses with Asian tourists actually caused some false start cheers.



Almost exactly at 3 PM, THE van pulled up. I won't try describing the crowd's reaction, but I'm sure you can imagine it just fine if you've ever been to any idol event. The first to get off the van was actually Kikka, however she was quickly shoved aside to allow the Morning Musume four to get out. After a few quick waves to the camera they all went inside Hard Rock Cafe and the crowd quickly started to compact towards the front of the line.



We were let inside HRC in small groups and immediately directed to the first floor. I should mention that on the ground floor it was business as usual for HRC, with some random uninformed patrons being rather bemused by the commotion. The line went around the whole first floor mezzanine and was moving rather slow. The girls were in the handshake room, which was actually overlooking the front entrance and the line outside. Just before the entrance to the handshake room there was a stand where you got to pay for and pick up your previously reserved 13 Colorful Character album. The handshake ticket was actually inside the CD case, so immediately after there was a staff person helping you remove the shrink wrap and take the ticket out. I nearly flipped when she used a key to rip through the shrink wrap, of course scratching the case in the process. But it wasn't the right time to make a scene. I have no idea how the handshake ticket looked or what it said, because another person took it away from you right after that.



And then suddenly, without a chance to take a deep breath and prepare yourself, you were in the handshake room. There must have been at least some 10 of the staff from UFP and HRC, but my mind completely filtered them out. Berry went first right before me and put her cards for Sayu and Ayumi in the gifts basket. She also tried putting the birthday albums there, but a UFP staff person actually took them away from her as set them aside. We can only guess whether it was because they were too big for the box (they'd have fit), or because they actually knew about the project and wanted to do something special about them, or maybe they just wanted to screen them before giving them to the girls. Ayumi was sitting right next to the gifts basket and saw the albums and gasped at their size, which made us feel bad that none of them was for her...



Anyway, at this stage my mind started to fail me. I thought I could keep my cool, but no, you don't get to keep your cool when you're in a small room together with four Morning Musume members and you can feel your hand in Ayumi's firm hold. Very surprisingly firm, considering how tiny she is. The staff in the room, Strawberry, and the rest of the world ceased to exist, it was just Ayumi's earnest look in the centre of my tunnel vision. She said "bon jour", I replied probably in all languages I know to bigger or smaller extent before I somehow composed myself. I settled on using my broken Japanese, which I figured before the event would still be more meaningful to them than English.



I think I managed to say how happy I was to meet them, and how I always supported MM. I forgot to mention many other things that I really meant to say, like making it clear that I wasn't French to show them that people actually came from other places too. But instead we just stared into each other's eyes and kept on bursting into short bouts of awkward laughter. I don't know how much time passed like that. It felt like eternity and I was sure any second I'd be pushed forward by the staff, but there didn't seem to be any time limit really. The whole setting was really cozy if not intimate as the whole bustling line was outside the room and they only let one or two persons inside at the time. Despite my blanking out I'm pretty sure they didn't let another person in until I was just about to leave the room.



I wanted to move along once I really felt I was pushing the time limit, but Ayumi actually wouldn't let my hand go. She seemed really deeply happy to be meeting the fans and as if she wanted the moment to last as long as possible with each one of them. And was probably dazed by the whole experience too, though not to the extent as I was.



After a good deal of bows and thank yous and see you agains I moved on to Haruna who was sitting next. The scenario pretty much repeated with her. I said basically the same things again. I'd have wanted to say something different and special to each one of them, but that's way above my level of Japanese. Haruna, too, really shone with happiness, and also held your hand very firmly. There was no rush still, and I felt we could have spent the whole afternoon on a friendly chat if not for the language barrier.



Mizuki became pretty much a blur in my memory. It took me a long while to actually reconstruct that I didn't skip her entirely, which I initially was really afraid I did. What I definitely did forget to do was to wish her Happy Birthday. Good job, me, considering the time and work we put into making the bleeding birthday albums. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... >/sigh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':sigh:' /> The same actually goes for Haruna, thought it was less severe than in case of Mizuki who was celebrating her bday on the very day of the handshake... <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... >/sigh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':sigh:' />



Anyway, while Ayumi and Haruna were very focused on you, Mizuki seemed a bit more spaced out. Not in the negative sense of distant or reserved, but just more quiet and calm. But still very happy, though in a more mature rather than youthfully bustling way.



Next up, Sayumi. After watching and following her closely for just short of 10 years since the 6th Gen audition, I was actually facing my favourite member Sayumi Michishige and holding her hand. I don't want to get too lofty here, but it was one of the amazing feelings. I don't know if that's what being starstruck means. I could have been starstruck if I randomly bumped into one of the major current actors I respect on the street. Being able to see and meet Sayu in person was just pure happiness.



I lost my speech completely for a good while, until Sayu pointed to the copy of Sayuglandoll I was holding in my other hand. I then managed to start talking, saying how I've been her fan since the audition, which she was surprised to hear and said was very happy about. Of course I forgot stuff like saying where I was from, and how I thought she was a great leader and so on... But I think I managed to make her message special.



We brought the photobook (and posters for the last single) hoping to get them signed. However, while in advance and throughout the whole event nothing was said that signing would be prohibited, there was also nothing obviously encouraging it. I really wanted to ask Sayu to sign it, but she didn't have a marker (not on the table at least), and me being smart didn't bring one either. So I gave up asking, not wanting to create a hassle and commotion and leave a bad impression. Same with asking to have a picture taken together, though again there were no prohibited signs and no one said anything and just about everyone went into the room with their camera in the open.



After saying bye to Sayu I dashed out of the room towards the staircase, only stopping for a second when a staff person pointed that they were handing out commemorative H!P 15th Anniversary pins. I grabbed one without looking and went downstairs, completely not flashing on the fact that the person handing them out was Kikka. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... adwall.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':headwall:' /> I still feel like a terrible person about this and I feel I should send her an apology card or something. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... >/down.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':down:' />



Yes, in retrospect, I wish I could have done many things much better. But that was probably the only chance, and in many ways it was much more special than other handshakes, with relaxed time schedule and a small private venue, without feeling the breath of the next person on your neck. So I feel really satisfied.



After regrouping with Berry downstairs we amused ourselves for a while watching the latest MM music videos playing on all the numerous screens in HRC, then went out to join the crowd waiting to bid the girls good bye. Although the handshake was scheduled for 3-6 PM, we were out some time before 4. On BishiBishi fb they said they received some 300 registrations within the first 5 or 10 minutes from opening them, however I'd say that overall there were maybe 250 people attending total. Pretty low, considering that about a week before the event they re-opened the registrations without any limits.



Kikka's van pulled up around 17:30 causing a little traffic jam in front of HRC. Morning Musume's van arrived some 10 minutes later (I guess they stayed at different hotels) and caused a big traffic jam. The sidewalk was also blocked by the crowd of fans, and every now and then a curious passer-by would come up and ask what celebrity we were waiting for. When told, they all invariably asked "Morning WHO?" before shrugging and walking away. The only random person enjoying the commotion seemed to be a tall rasta Jamaican-looking guy, smoking what looked like a fat joint, and rocking back and forth to the beat of Wakuteka and One Two Three. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... hahaha.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':hahaha:' />



After waving the second van good-bye, that was really it. The traffic resumed, the crowd dispersed quickly, and we, too, hit the road towards our hotel.



If you managed so far, here's a few photos to make up for it:

mm_paris_20121030_01.jpg

Some people really DID come at 8 AM...

mm_paris_20121030_02.jpg

The line around 11 AM.

mm_paris_20121030_03.jpg

Tsunku showed up too!

mm_paris_20121030_04.jpg

Media crews heated the atmosphere up.

mm_paris_20121030_05.jpg

The line just minutes before 3 PM.

mm_paris_20121030_06.jpg

They're here! Haruna was the first to be seen.

mm_paris_20121030_07.jpg

Sayumi being gorgeous in real life.

mm_paris_20121030_08.jpg

Haruna and Mizuki being pretty in real life.

mm_paris_20121030_09.jpg

Ayumi being cute and blurry in real life.

mm_paris_20121030_10.jpg

Kikka being cheerful in real life despite having had to wait her turn.

mm_paris_20121030_11.jpg

First floor of Hard Rock Cafe and the line winding around.

mm_paris_20121030_12.jpg

Gief monies, receev cd, touch musumes.

mm_paris_20121030_13.jpg

Two great quartets, and excuse me when I care more about the bottom one. Did I mention Ayumi is tiny?

mm_paris_20121030_14.jpg

Erina Ikuta memorabilia at Paris Hard Rock Cafe.

mm_paris_20121030_15.jpg

The door at the end of the hall beyond which the magic happened.

mm_paris_20121030_16.jpg

The crowd outside as seen through the eyes of a fan whose life just became more complete.

mm_paris_20121030_17.jpg

The girls were secretly peeking down at us from the HRC window and snapping photos with their phones. I may or may not take credit/blame for blowing their cover as I climbed up a stack of crowd control barriers to have a better view of the Cafe exit, which also gave me a better view of the window.

mm_paris_20121030_18.jpg

Anyway, once the secret was out, there proceeded a lengthy session of mutual waving and cheering and taking some photos as the girls waited for their van to arrive.

mm_paris_20121030_19.jpg

City traffic. Morning Musume. Priorities.

mm_paris_20121030_20.jpg

Ladies and Gentlemen, Kikka has left the building.

mm_paris_20121030_21.jpg

So did Sayu.

mm_paris_20121030_22.jpg

So did Haruna (pictured), Ayumi (almost not pictured), and Mizuki (entirely not pictured).

mm_paris_20121030_23.jpg

First to be spotted, and last to be seen, Haruna.

mm_paris_20121030_24.jpg

The crowd let out a quiet sigh as the silver van gained speed down Boulevard Montmartre. A few moments and few waves of an outstretched hand later it disappeared around the corner. The event was over. The dream was over. Ahead laid only the way back to one's cozy room, hotel room, train station, airport. The heart, overfilled with irreplaceable joy, shut itself up, trying its hardest not to let the everyday routine seep back in. The eyes, focused on the remote dusty pavement, remained blind to the outside world, normal world.



Having stood in place a while, abandoned in consecrated silence, they took the first of the many heavy steps.



A quiet darkness fell across the streets of Paris.