Southern California Arashi Fan Meet-Up

[riterandreader.livejournal.com]

BTW -- now that it's a week and a half away, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE (ONEGAISHIMASU) PM if you're coming FOR SURE!! I need a head count. Arigatou!

IF YOU HAVE PMed
ME, THAT MEANS I'VE PMed BACK MY CELL PHONE NUMBER TO YOU!! IF I
HAVEN'T GIVEN YOU MY CELL # AND YOU SAID YOU'RE COMING, LET ME KNOW!!

Also, keep an eye on this post for more details, in case I update!

Okay, this is West Coast (well, specifically, Southern California) fan-meet up for Arashi fans

Date: Sat, August 23, 2008
Time: 11:30 a.m.
Location: Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, California
DETAILS: We're meeting at the Yohan Plaza, by the water fountain (it's in front of the mochi ice cream shop; there's also a bakery and a kimono shop too). Thanks to LaFrug for reminding me about this!

Directions:

Okay, here's the yahoo maps for the location.

Basically, in the end you take the 101 Freeway (I take North, but I dunno which direction you're coming from, it could be South).
EXIT off at 1st Street
You take a LEFT on 1st Street
keep going West (over the bridge) until you hit Central Ave (it's right after Alameda).
There should be a parking structure to your LEFT (this part I'm hazy on).
- There's a parking fee of $8, unless you find parking elsewhere.
If that's full, there are always shopping centers and the like.

According to one of the people who lives down there, though, parking MIGHT be a problem because next week also happens to be Nisei week, and there will be a lot of festivities in LT. I didn't know about this, or else I would have moved the date! but it's kind of too late now, so that's okay. Plus, maybe that means there'll be more to do. :)

All the other places we go there are going to be within walking distance unless we go to the Purikura, which we need to drive to-- but that map is already on my post (at the end).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
F.A.Q.

Where is it at?

Little Tokyo, in Downtown Los Angeles. See the info above for directons.

What to bring.

1. Cameras, if you want. Which, I think you'd want to! XD
2. Maybe we can do a gift exchange? Well, I haven't heard much word about it, but if you want, you can.
3.
DVDs if you want (anything arashi related. But don't bring too much, as
we only have so much time, and my DVD player has only 2 hrs worth of
battery life). :)
4. Your Genki (cheerful) Arashi Fangirl Spirit!

How do I find you (as in, Liz)?

I'll
be pretty easy to find, I think. I'm tall, gaijin, and I'll be wearing
a white t-shirt that says "Aiba" on the front. (and a funny message on
the back, but I won't say! Himitsu desu!)

I also PMed everyone my cell # in case . :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Activities

Okay,
I decided to write up a list of activities. So that we all can be
involved in the planning and have fun, I decided we should all help
take a task. I need a volunteer to help with each of the following
(unless it's otherwise noted. I mean, some events you can't really have
a "planning" thing), so yeah, the more there merrier!

1. Learn the Dance Steps to A.Ra.Shi -- Someone who knows this, or is willing to learn it and then teach it to one of us! :) littlebao89

Also, a fan offered to teach us the steps to Love So Sweet!! Yay!!!

2. Arashi no Game!
I'm working on that one as we speak. It's a board game. It has tons of
trivia questions (so brush up on your Arashian-isms) and challenges. :)

3. Arashi Karaoke
-- There is a karaoke place that has lots of j-pop (including Arashi, I
heard), and it's only $5 per hour. O_O Arienatsuno!! Sounds fun! If
not, theahhmoment @ LJ is going to burn a DVD with arashi pvs &
subs, and I have my arashi Karaoke songs on CD!

4."Arashi INTRO DON ~!" - we play the first intro of an arashi song, and you must guess which song it is!! Sounds fun! (thanks, DefintionDORED for the idea!)

5. Arashi no Skits! - Here are
some great blurbs I found by a very talented writer. I asked her if we
could act out some of them (and I guess we'll have to record them, too!
^_~ if that's okay). So memorize! Get ready to act!!

6. Photographs --
I'm sure we are all going to bring cameras, haha, for the memories. So
I think we should also name some one/people official 'photographer" of
events and stuff. And of course, this person must be respectful: some
people might not want to be in pictures, so you must respect them and
not take pictures of them. Offical Photographers: ANGELA, NICOLE @ VOX
& theahhmoment at LJ

7. Purikura, if the location has one. (Note: Purikura is the little picture booth-sticker thingies.)

There are plenty of purikura at San Gabriel Cue, which crystalxapple @ LJ found, we might go to. Here's a link to the map: http://local.yahoo.com/info-31545273-cue-studios-san-gabriel

8. BOARD GAMES!! Destini~chan is bringing a Sugoroku game. Yay!

9. Watch DVDs? - Maybe, if my DVD player's battery doesn't die, and if we have time. :)

Comments

[hamstaball.livejournal.com]

I MIGHT be able to, not sure yet. I was talking to Destini a few days ago and she told me about your meet-up when I also mentioned to her about my own SoCal meet-up that I'm arranging XD

http://community.livejournal.com/je_us_fans/24287.html - here if you're interested :)

If you don't mind, may I add you on Vox? My username is the same :]

[riterandreader.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, excellente!! Hum... I dunno if city of industry is too far for me to travel to, or not... ano... I'll have to check, but THANK YOU!! :D That's awesome. :)

I don't mind at all! Well, I added you just now, lol. Hope that's ok? :)

[hamstaball.livejournal.com]

Do you know, roughly, about how many people are attending this? Haha and for me, Little Tokyo is a little bit too far too lol. But I'm sure there's lots more to do there? :>

[riterandreader.livejournal.com]

Well, there's a lot of Japanese-related things there, lols!

Ano... as for head count, so far it seems like definately 6 people (including myself), but some say they want to bring friends, so it might be slightly more than that. :)

[theahhmoment.livejournal.com]

It's always nice to hang out with other Arashi's fangirls. Ahhh, I can't wait!

So do we have to bring anything? So we'll just show up and hang out? I was thinking bringing my Jun's uchiwa and some Arashi's related magazines. And of course, my camera.

I can also burn the karaoke CD if you want me to. But I can be kinda biased since I don't like ALL Arashi's song. I'll probably put up songs that I like. XD So someone better tell me what songs to burn on there. LOL.

[riterandreader.livejournal.com]

Well, if you want to bring anything, you certainly can! (well, with in range, haha). Wow, sugoi!! yeah, camera's a must. Any fangirl goods is fine, too! You don't have to bring TOO much, though, because I don't want you to lug them all around all day, lol. But yeah, that's cool!! I *might* bring my portable DVD player... but yeah, it only has 2 1/2 hrs battery, so I dunno, we can't watch too much on it, haha.

Yay!! Thank you for volunteering for that! Ano... I have one Karaoke CD burned already, but it's not all of their songs! XD So, um... I have Hashadi no Mirai, Love So Sweet, Aozora Pedal, maybe Sakura Sake gah! I can't remember the rest. But I"ll let you know! XD Oh, and feel free to add whatever songs you like, mi dear! ^_^

lol! I'll keep ya posted, then, if there are any requests! :)

[theahhmoment.livejournal.com]

For the karaoke CD, I have a question. I can burn a Arashi's PVs DVD (with tons of Arashi's videos, with subtitle if I can find any on youtube these days). I can put all that into a DVD and have the sing along using your DVD player! I think that idea is better since we can actually see their faces on screen, and it's not that hard to do, either. My computer does all the work for me! =) Of course though, the video quality wont be HD... hahaha.

So if you want me to, I can certainly do that! ^______^

[riterandreader.livejournal.com]

Wow, that'd be super awesome! lol, that's okay. On the portable player it'd be hardly best quality for HD anyway! hehe. :)

[janlake83.livejournal.com]

wishes i can go since i'm only in san diego but can't

Aw

[riterandreader.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry. :( That's okay. Maybe next time?

Re: Aw

[janlake83.livejournal.com]

definetely

[thefrug.livejournal.com]

I'm in Little Tokyo every weekend anyway, so this is such a good idea!! I will definetly be there, and I will try to get my friend Sam to come too - she just became a fan of Arashi!

This will be so much fun, I will definetly try to make a few home made gifts and stuff for this! Cant wait to see you all!
<3
Shan

p.s. Do you know exactly where in LT are we meeting? Yohan plaza? Or the plaza where Kinokuniya is? <3

[riterandreader.livejournal.com]

Wow! lol.

Sweet! aww, you don't have to, but if you want to, that' be great! Thanks Shan!

Ah... good question. Ano... maybe Yohan Plaza is best? (because it's near the parking structure). What do you think?

[thefrug.livejournal.com]

I think Yohan plaza would definetly be the best! It's easiest to find if you are coming west from the freeway - and there's a cute little fountain - and it's right next to the Mochi place!

With the fountain there, I think it would be easiest for people to find each other - because it's hard to miss! hehe!

<3Shan

[riterandreader.livejournal.com]

True, true! Yeah, I added that to the post, and will add that to the VOX too!

[thefrug.livejournal.com]

Have we figured out what time we are meeting up for this yet?? My friend really wants to come with me, but she wants to know what time we are meeting in Yuhan plaza!?
<3
Shan

[riterandreader.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking of setting the official time as 11:30 a.m. :)

Oh, and who ever's coming (FOR SURE) I'll PM you my cell #.

[thefrug.livejournal.com]

11:30 sounds like a good time! Well, I'm for sure going to be there so whenever you PM your cell; that would be good!
Eee, I'm so excited!
<3
Shan

[kaystles.livejournal.com]

FYI if you cant find purikura in little tokyo, you can go to sawtelle blvd. take the 10W to the 405 N and exit olympic. theres a whole room full of them ^_^

Cool!!

[riterandreader.livejournal.com]

Wow, thanks for the head's up!! :) Hopefully we'll get to go there, too, then! :)

[babydamshig.livejournal.com]

Can I ask how old you guys are? I'm 24, it would be awkward if you guys are 16, 17 yrs old :P

[bakushou.livejournal.com]

Mmm well I am 20 and I'm going and a few of my friends are in their twenties as well.

[riterandreader.livejournal.com]

I'm 21. :)

[theahhmoment.livejournal.com]

I'm 21. So dont feel awkward. Haha. XD

[babydamshig.livejournal.com]

I'll try my best to be there. Dou you guys all know eachother?

[theahhmoment.livejournal.com]

I only know Liz (the person who's organizing this). I think I might bring my sister too. =P But hey, I like Hiro *points at your icon* too, so we can have another thing to talk about. XD

[riterandreader.livejournal.com]

Well, I only lightly know some people from the web, that's it. :) Oh, but I have met Destini before. :)

[bakushou.livejournal.com]

Destini here.
I will bring Sugoroku still but is there anything you all want me to grab while I am here in Japan?
Other than Arashi themselves...
Prizes or something. Let me know. ;)

[riterandreader.livejournal.com]

Hey, Destini!!
Ano, hehehehe, Yeah, if you could bring back Arashi that'd be the best, BUT since you can't... Hum, well, I'll leave that to your discretion, but you don't have to go out of your way and spend a lot. Maybe some AU fliers, I'm sure are good, and uh... well, you can decide! Hehe. :)

[misoyo.livejournal.com]

ah this is great and it's on a saturday - no work! count me in! i also go to lil tokyo every week. there are lots of stuff we can find to do around LA anyway. purikura should be very fun! and TONS of japanese restaurants~ so is this confirmed? let me know~!

Confirmed? Yeah,

[riterandreader.livejournal.com]

we're definitely doing this!! And as for the time... I'm thinking 11:30 a.m. (if that's not too early).
Yay! Glad you're coming. :)

[crystalxapple.livejournal.com]

For a place closer than Sawtelle, which is going to be a good 20-30 minute drive on the freeway, there is Cue! in parts of the San Gabriel Valley. Locations include San Gabriel and Arcadia. There are SOME purikura in j-town, but not the booth kinds. And remember that these will be in Japanese.

The karaoke place in the Mitsuwa plaza, 2nd floor, has Japanese songs. It's super cheap. $5 for happy hour until like 6 I think. Downside, gotta learn to read Japanese and the MVs aren't actual PVs used for the song. What you guys can do it bring in printed lyrics from online and sing there.

Anyway, hope you guys have fun~~~ Probably not gonna go since I've got finals the following week. Too bad there's no more tofu fest which always comes around this time of year. =(

[crystalxapple.livejournal.com]

Here's the San Gabriel Cue location: http://local.yahoo.com/info-31545273-cue-studios-san-gabriel

The plaza that it is in has a karaoke place also, though it's Chinese and doesn't carry much Johnny's. I'd say, stick to the place in Mitsuwa. It has all the Johnny's music you could ever want (albums+singles) and all the other Jpop artists. =)

[riterandreader.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link!!

Yay, Johnny's! Hehe. ;)

[riterandreader.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah? Wow, that's really cheap!! I was thinking we might go to that one... I wasn't sure about the other Karaoke places in DT.

That's okay, about the PVs. They usually aren't for American songs in Karaoke either. :( But that's a good idea! I'll let everyone know to bring some printed lyrics if they want to sing!

Aww! Well, good luck on your finals. And what's a tofu fest?

[crystalxapple.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Cheap huh. And oh yeah, it's $5 per hour. But that's still cheap considering I've been to places that go for like $7. By the way, I don't think the place opens until 1 or 2, but go early so you get a room that has newer music. I went once at around 4:30 on a Saturday and got a room that only had songs from 2006 and back.

Tofu Fest? Never heard? Aww. Well, basically, it happened during or a week after Nisei week in J-town. It was a festival where everything was made of tofu and trust me, everything was delicious. I guess cuz the number of people attending started going down along with decrease in vendors, they decided to stop it. And Nisei week celebrates second generation Japanese-Americans. They have a parade every year and 3, 4 years back, KAT-TUN was actually apart of the parade!!

[hazukashiii.livejournal.com]

heyy. I was just at little tokyo today and I just wanted to let you know that parking might be expensive and it will be hard to find cause it's Nisei week. So yeahh D:

And I'll be at the fanmeet up too :D

[thefrug.livejournal.com]

Usually on weekends however, a few of the parking structures are either free or have a flat fee, no matter how long you park in them! So, that could be a help.

Can't wait to see you there!
<3
shan