Japan Day 2: Arafes

The gates open at 3pm. My sister and I arrived at Kokuritsu at around 3:15, and the train station and entire path to the place was already packed with people going to the concert, people planning to just hang around and listen from outside, people holding up “please sell me tickets” boards, and people trying to keep everyone else in order. We noticed it when we came to line up for goods, too – just the sound of cicadas and seeing everyone walking with their Arafes shopping bags or wearing Arafes t-shirts made us feel like we stepped right into the 5×10 overture. I know some fans who aren’t so keen on Kokuritsu concerts because of the sheer size of the stadium, but for us it’s a special thing, and we’ve wanted to attend to a Kokuritsu concert ever since we first became fans. I’m so glad that we got to go, together!

Kokuritsu Kyogijo Stadium

Kokuritsu Kasumigaoka Rikujo Kyogijo, or the National Olympics Stadium, was used as the main stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies ding the 1964 Olympics in Japan. When used for concerts, it seats around 70-80,000. In May 2015, the stadium was demolished, so that a new (and larger) National Olympics Stadium could be built there, in preparation for the 2020 Olympics.

The Stadium is easily accessible from the Kokuritsu Kyogijo Station (JR Chuo-Sobu line), or from Gaeienmae Station (subway Ginza line). It’s best to go from Kokuritsu-Kyogijo Station, which is very near the stadium.

Day 1: Goods

I’m going to sleep now, so… lets just say, I spent about seven hours in the goods queue today. >.<